Medsider: Learn from Medtech and Healthtech Founders and CEOs

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Randy Pritchard and Erica Rogers, leaders of Axena Health. Axena is transforming pelvic floor therapy with Leva, a device bringing clinically-proven, supervised pelvic floor muscle training into women’s homes. 

Randy, CEO of Axena, brings nearly 25 years of healthcare experience to the company, most recently as CEO of Pillar Biosciences and previously holding leadership positions at Roche Diagnostics, where he spent 18 years developing commercial expertise. Erica, who sits on Axena's Board of Directors, spent a decade as President and CEO of Silk Road Medical, leading the company from early clinical trials through IPO and eventual acquisition by Boston Scientific. A returning guest to the podcast after nearly half a decade, Erica previously held roles at Medicine360, co-founded two other medical device companies, and spent over 12 years at Boston Scientific prior to her role at Silk Road.

In this interview, they share essential medtech commercialization insights: identify your specific patient segment, build continuous clinical evidence, and communicate consistently with investors. Their experience offers invaluable lessons for medical device entrepreneurs navigating today's complex healthcare landscape.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.

Second, if you want to peek behind the curtain of the world's most successful startups, you should consider a Medsider premium membership. You’ll learn the strategies and tactics that founders and CEOs use to build and grow companies like Silk Road Medical, AliveCor, Shockwave Medical, and hundreds more!

We recently introduced some fantastic additions exclusively for Medsider premium members, including playbooks, which are curated collections of our top Medsider interviews on key topics like capital fundraising and risk mitigation, and 3 packages that will help you make use of our database of 750+ life science investors more efficiently for your fundraise and help you discover your next medical device or health technology investor!

In addition to the entire back catalog of Medsider interviews over the past decade, premium members also get a copy of every volume of Medsider Mentors at no additional cost, including the latest Medsider Mentors Volume VII. If you’re interested, go to medsider.com/subscribe to learn more.

Lastly, if you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Randy Pritchard and Erica Rogers.

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Ryan Rhodes, CEO of EDAP TMS. EDAP is changing prostate cancer treatment through Focal One, a robotic high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) system that doesn’t require the use of surgery or radiation. 

Ryan has over 30 years of experience in market development, with two decades focused on medical robotics. Before EDAP, Ryan was CEO of Restoration Robotics, where he guided the company to a successful merger with Venus Concept. He spent 13+ years at Intuitive Surgical, establishing the global Urology franchise, which became the company’s entry point for broader adoption of the da Vinci system. He also spent 11 years at Ethicon (J&J) in sales, marketing, and market development.

In this interview, Ryan challenges founders to ask: Are you creating a scalable medtech solution or a product with limited growth potential? He unpacks why standardization and scalability are critical for adoption, how clinical data fuels credibility and reimbursement, and why early adopters take the biggest risks — but also reap the biggest rewards.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.

Second, if you want to peek behind the curtain of the world's most successful startups, you should consider a Medsider premium membership. You’ll learn the strategies and tactics that founders and CEOs use to build and grow companies like Silk Road Medical, AliveCor, Shockwave Medical, and hundreds more!

We recently introduced some fantastic additions exclusively for Medsider premium members, including playbooks, which are curated collections of our top Medsider interviews on key topics like capital fundraising and risk mitigation, and 3 packages that will help you make use of our database of 750+ life science investors more efficiently for your fundraise and help you discover your next medical device or health technology investor!

In addition to the entire back catalog of Medsider interviews over the past decade, premium members also get a copy of every volume of Medsider Mentors at no additional cost, including the latest Medsider Mentors Volume VII. If you’re interested, go to medsider.com/subscribe to learn more.

Lastly, if you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Ryan Rhodes.

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Kirk Huntsman, CEO of Vivos, a company commercializing a non-invasive, FDA-cleared oral appliance designed to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Kirk is a seasoned healthcare entrepreneur with a track record for scaling and exiting successful businesses. He founded Dental One, growing it into one of the largest dental service organizations (DSO) in the U.S., with over 165 practices across 15 states. After selling the company to MSD Capital, he led ReachOut Healthcare America, a Morgan Stanley Private Equity portfolio company. He later built and exited Xenith Practices, another DSO, and founded Ortho Ventures, focusing on pediatric oral appliances. Now as CEO of Vivos, Kirk and his team are developing and commercializing proprietary treatments for sleep-related breathing disorders, offering patients an FDA-cleared alternative to CPAP therapy.

In this interview, Kirk talks about his go-to-market strategy, the importance of credibility markers, the complexity of industry partnerships, and the challenges he faced pursuing an IPO.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.

Second, if you want to peek behind the curtain of the world's most successful startups, you should consider a Medsider premium membership. You’ll learn the strategies and tactics that founders and CEOs use to build and grow companies like Silk Road Medical, AliveCor, Shockwave Medical, and hundreds more!

We recently introduced some fantastic additions exclusively for Medsider premium members, including playbooks, which are curated collections of our top Medsider interviews on key topics like capital fundraising and risk mitigation, and 3 packages that will help you make use of our database of 750+ life science investors more efficiently for your fundraise and help you discover your next medical device or health technology investor!

In addition to the entire back catalog of Medsider interviews over the past decade, premium members also get a copy of every volume of Medsider Mentors at no additional cost, including the latest Medsider Mentors Volume VII. If you’re interested, go to medsider.com/subscribe to learn more.

Lastly, if you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Kirk Huntsman.

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Caitlin Morse, CEO and co-founder of BrainSpace, who has a decade of experience spanning medtech consulting, product development, and strategic advising. 

BrainSpace is developing an innovative precision drainage system with continuous ICP monitoring designed to automate cerebrospinal fluid management for patients recovering from strokes, traumatic brain injuries, and neurosurgery. 

In this interview, Caitlin shares her advice on assessing the viability of a medtech idea, tells the story of how her prototype won over stakeholders, and discusses navigating the development phase while balancing clinical and regulatory demands.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.

Second, if you want to peek behind the curtain of the world's most successful startups, you should consider a Medsider premium membership. You’ll learn the strategies and tactics that founders and CEOs use to build and grow companies like Silk Road Medical, AliveCor, Shockwave Medical, and hundreds more!

We recently introduced some fantastic additions exclusively for Medsider premium members, including playbooks, which are curated collections of our top Medsider interviews on key topics like capital fundraising and risk mitigation, and 3 packages that will help you make use of our database of 750+ life science investors more efficiently for your fundraise and help you discover your next medical device or health technology investor!

In addition to the entire back catalog of Medsider interviews over the past decade, premium members also get a copy of every volume of Medsider Mentors at no additional cost, including the latest Medsider Mentors Volume VII. If you’re interested, go to medsider.com/subscribe to learn more.

Lastly, if you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Caitlin Morse.

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we had an insightful discussion with Drs. Asha Parekh and Adam Power, co-founders of Front Line Medical Technologies. The company's COBRA-OS (Control of Bleeding, Resuscitation, Arterial Occlusion System) is a compact, minimally invasive device, designed for temporary aortic occlusion in trauma situations. 

Asha has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Western University, and combines technical expertise with entrepreneurial leadership. Adam is an academic and practicing vascular surgeon at Western University, with extensive training from institutions including Dalhousie, McMaster, and Mayo Clinic.

In this interview, they discuss how their clinical-engineer partnership accelerated development, their approach to clinical studies for regulatory clearance across multiple geographies, and their strategic decision to avoid VC funding during early development—and how that decision paid off.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.

Second, if you want to peek behind the curtain of the world's most successful startups, you should consider a Medsider premium membership. You’ll learn the strategies and tactics that founders and CEOs use to build and grow companies like Silk Road Medical, AliveCor, Shockwave Medical, and hundreds more!

We recently introduced some fantastic additions exclusively for Medsider premium members, including playbooks, which are curated collections of our top Medsider interviews on key topics like capital fundraising and risk mitigation, and 3 packages that will help you make use of our database of 750+ life science investors more efficiently for your fundraise and help you discover your next medical device or health technology investor!

In addition to the entire back catalog of Medsider interviews over the past decade, premium members also get a copy of every volume of Medsider Mentors at no additional cost, including the latest Medsider Mentors Volume VII. If you’re interested, go to medsider.com/subscribe to learn more.

Lastly, if you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Asha Parekh and Adam Power.