It’s hardly surprising that men dominate medical technology. After all, women have barely made a dent in most technology companies, where their presence in public relations, administration and human resources isn’t duplicated in the engineering jobs that typically pave the way to the executive suite.
And women lag even more as founders of technology start-ups. A 2013 study* found that only 3% of technology companies are started by women.
Is it because the venture capital community is less hospitable to women? Or, as some have suggested, is it that women are less comfortable with the risks of entrepreneurship?
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My own experience as a medical device entrepreneur and consultant on several company acquisitions has taught me that gender is irrelevant when it comes to hard work, intelligence and mental toughness.
And women are catching on. They are starting businesses in greater numbers than ever before – and succeeding. According to the 2013 study, private technology companies led by women are more capital-efficient, achieve higher return on investment, and, when venture-backed, bring in more revenue than male-owned tech companies.*
Women who are creative thinkers and are willing to incur risk can find the freedom that comes from working for themselves and the flexibility to forge their own trail. With the healthcare industry undergoing enormous change and growth, medical technology offers opportunities to do that while fostering change that improves the delivery of healthcare and outcomes for patients.
Women considering entrepreneurial initiatives in medical technology should follow these basic principles.
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- Start with a big idea that solves a big problem: A new business must start with a powerful idea for a product or service that fills a real unmet need. Market is everything.
- Pursue a practical solution: Focus on products that are safe, effective and easy to use for both physician and patient. If the product doesn’t make physicians’ lives easier, they won’t use it. The product must produce meaningful clinical data that speaks for itself.
- Build relationships – early – with clinicians: Medical entrepreneurs must be out in the field developing ties with physicians and getting their input early in the design process. No matter how well designed your product or how impressive your patents, physicians will have the last word on the usefulness of your product. They are vital to your success.
- Be prepared to shift gears: Don’t fall into the trap of becoming so enamored of an idea or a product that you lose sight of its real likelihood of succeeding in the marketplace. You must have the flexibility to move on to something else when changes in the environment cause the ground to shift under your feet and your plans to be upended.
- Enjoy the ride! Successful entrepreneurs make adversity the energy that fuels their creativity. They don’t learn their most valuable lessons in the classroom but in the trenches. They thrive on the long hours, the unpredictability, the rush that comes from building something important and valuable.
If you are a woman with a medical background and an interest in technology, you have many options open to you. You can work at a small start-up or in a large corporation; you can pursue the goal of becoming a chief medical officer or seek a position in law or finance. Paradigm shifts in our healthcare system are creating opportunities to grow and evolve.
And if you don’t like what you see, go start your own company!
*“Women in Technology: Evolving, Ready to Save the World,” 2013, Vivek Wadhwa and Lesa Mitchell
[Photo from Flickr user Scott Swigart]
Kathryn Stecco, M.D., co-founder and chief medical officer of Panthera MedTech, has more than 15 years of experience as a surgeon and consultant to medical technology start-ups. Panthera MedTech is a partnership that focuses on founding new companies in the areas of mobile health, medical device, biotechnology and health information technologies.
