Their voices resounding in a downtown Indianapolis restaurant meeting room, doctors, venture capitalists and other health professionals swapped ideas, traded names and discussed the future of physician entrepreneurship in Indiana. They agreed that future is bright and full of promise.
Those attending the first Indiana chapter meeting of the nonprofit Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (SoPE) in June also said they recognize hurdles but hope the global biomedical and health innovation network can help overcome those challenges. Many believe SoPE can provide the necessary momentum, resources, advice and forum to bring good life-science venture ideas together with financial and technical support to get them off the ground.
The budding group, one of 23 U.S. SoPE chapters and four abroad, is the latest sign that Indiana health care is a hotbed of potential entrepreneurs. Organizers consider attracting about 100 people to the inaugural event a good indication of interest. They also say many medical professionals lack the know-how to take their proposals from idea to marketplace.
“There is certainly no shortage of opportunity for improvement and innovation in our health care system,” said Todd Saxton, co-founder of the Indiana SoPE chapter. “Certainly, many health care providers are innovative and have great ideas and are well-trained in health care, but many don’t have any business training or a network to reach out to and bring their innovations to fruition.”
Despite the state’s strong life sciences core, SoPE organizers say, Indiana’s physician entrepreneur efforts lag those in some states. Pockets of physician entrepreneurship are already thriving in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Denver, according to Saxton, associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship for the Business of Medicine MBA program at IU Kelley School of Business. “I wouldn’t say we’re behind the curve from standpoint of enthusiasm and interest, but our ecosystem, in terms of organized support mechanisms and connections, is not quite as well-established,” he said.
Saxton cited Eli Lilly & Co., BioCrossroads, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, IU School of Medicine and IU and Purdue life science research initiatives as evidence of support for innovation. What he thinks will really drive entrepreneurial growth, though, is a common interest in changing health care for the better, whether that means creating a new venture, developing a new product or process or advancing innovation within existing systems.
Desire to advance health care
A shared desire to support the life science community is why Saxton and Paul Szotek, MD, MBA, a hernia surgeon and founder/CEO of a virtual practice called Indiana Hernia Center, contacted SoPE’s leaders in Denver late last year to set up a chapter. Local members are encouraged to join the international organization (sopenet.org) for $75 annually so they can benefit from its contacts and services. The Indiana chapter, which met for the second time on Aug. 30, does not charge annual dues.
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Paul Szotek, MD, MBA
Founder/CEO
Indiana Hernia Center |
Participation in the Indiana chapter can help physicians and other entrepreneurs save money and time on ideas that aren’t viable, said Dr. Szotek, an ISMA member from Carmel. They can also learn how to package good ideas and raise money from investors.
“I think that desire for autonomy and innovation is still there, but our hands are tied by being employees of large corporations,” said Dr. Szotek, who created his Indianapolis virtual center in 2015 after leaving IU Health. “They (large corporations) are beating us into the ground, so we’re not pursuing these endeavors. We don’t know how to raise money and get a pitch together.”
He speaks from firsthand experience.
In 2014, Dr. Szotek and a partner developed a software product to let first responders at accident and trauma scenes use Google Glass wearable computers to livestream video to surgeons. But, he said, the venture failed because he didn’t have a team or business strategy.
“At that time, I realized I needed to do something else to satisfy my own entrepreneur spirit and to educate myself, but also to help other physicians,” said Dr. Szotek, who received his MBA from the IU Kelley School of Business in May. “I think we (physicians) have excellent ideas and hands-on knowledge about what patients need in order to take ideas from the bench to the bedside, but we don’t have the vehicle to get them there.”
It’s that desire to improve health care as well as to make an impact on local communities that motivated ISMA member Ragan Brackett, MD, MBA, to get involved in SoPE.
“There is a need for physician-driven leadership and change,” said Dr. Brackett, a SoPE board member and family physician in Indianapolis. “The people coming up with solutions now don’t always have the right solutions.”
Dr. Brackett said physicians have opportunities to make changes that cut health care costs and improve patient outcomes. She especially likes the potential impact of innovations on future generations: “This is going to make health care for my kids better,” she said.
For ISMA member James G. Donahue, MD, a SoPE board member who owns Family Beginnings infertility practice in Indianapolis, SoPE’s benefits include collaboration and bringing together diverse voices. “It’s all a big melting pot,” he said. “What’s really unique is everybody has different strengths.”
Dr. Donahue, who is looking for investors to help advance a new fertility device, said he hopes to learn from other SoPE physicians and make fewer mistakes.
More risk-taking encouraged
Advocates of physician entrepreneurship recognize that successful innovation requires well-conceived ideas, strong business and marketing strategies, accessible start-up funds and good feedback and support networks. They say SoPE is a risk-free testing ground and support system for new products, procedures, drugs, medical devices and ventures.
Local organizers want to accomplish this by creating a closed Facebook or chat group within the chapter’s website (sopein.com) to pitch ideas and get feedback. They plan to conduct four to six meetings a year to share information about financial resources, successful ventures and other issues, connect physicians with a legal firm to provide services for creating companies and bring investors together.
Ben Pidgeon, executive director of VisionTech Partners and VisionTech Angels, a network of 120 Indiana investors, voiced enthusiasm at the June meeting.
“My hope for SoPE is that it encourages more risk-taking,” said Pidgeon. “The corporate world exists to satiate the risk-adverse.” He believes SoPE’s efforts can remove some of the risks for physicians and innovators. “We’re going to fund opportunities that have some merit,”
he said.
Saxton said SoPE also seeks to push risk-averse health systems to support innovation, particularly from new and unproven companies.
“If hospital systems and larger practices are not open to trying newer companies’ products and ideas, that presents a real challenge,” he said. “Hopefully, SoPE can break down some of that reluctance to change and develop an innovative mindset.”
| Thinking of starting a venture? Consider this advice
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The first meeting of the Indiana chapter of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (SoPE) featured a panel with four speakers. They offered the following advice to physicians and other health care professionals thinking of becoming entrepreneurs.
Jeff Wells, MD, Indianapolis, co-founder/CEO of OurHealth, a provider of onsite and near-site wellness solutions for more than 30 U.S. employers:
- Develop a venture you’re passionate about; if you’re not passionate, your chances of success will be much lower.
- People, people, people. It comes down to getting the right people on the bus and creating the type of culture in your organization that you desire.
- Don’t let anyone else define success for you. How do you define success?
Anthony Harris, MD, MBA, MPH, Indianapolis, co-founder of EternoGen, Harris Fitness and other life science ventures:
- Realize it takes an average of 14 years to get products from the bedside to the market.
- Understand that you have to keep patients safe but that you should push innovation forward.
- Recognize when your management’s expertise is outstripped by your company’s growth, and make hard decisions to change leadership, if necessary.
- Avoid cultural clashes on your board that will stifle your ability to be effective by thoroughly researching and selecting members carefully.
Frank Lloyd Jr., MD, Indianapolis, an ISMA member and president and co-founder of Cascade Metrix, maker of an ICU point-of-care device:
- Don’t be afraid of people who criticize your approach; listen to them.
- Be honest with yourself about your capabilities and limitations.
- Be aware of all stipulations in contracts with organizations for which you work; your patent can be owned by your employer without you realizing it ahead of time.
- It all comes down to patient care and patient outcomes.
Antony Koblish, of Malvern, Pa., co-founder and CEO of TELA Bio, a surgical mesh and reconstruction company:
- Protect your innovation early, for example, with specific contract wording and patents.
- Talk to someone who knows how to raise money, and follow their advice.
- Decide whether you want to do this on your own or have a company do it for you. Answer the question: Do you have a product, or do you have a company?
- Choose board members wisely. You’re going to be in a “marriage” with them for five to 10 years.
- If your company is small, be very wary of coupling with a big organization that may have different motivations and incentives than you do.
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