Oculogica

In the light of your experience, what are the trends and challenges you’ve witnessed happening in the MedTech Startups space? 

Rosina : The biggest challenge is that the exits are not there to justify investment from VCs. The larger VC funds need larger exits to justify why they’re even looking at a company. Some time ago, many VCs—and strategies—got burned with their investments. Those two factors make it very tough for medical device companies to find investors.

Could you talk about your approach to identifying the right partnership providers from the lot? 

Rosina : We look for a good fit with our personality and culture, responsiveness to a small company, and understanding of a startup pace. Obviously, price plays a role as well.

Could you elaborate on some interesting and impactful project/initiatives that you’re currently overseeing? 

Rosina : We broke the path in the industry with our de novo FDA authorization. We are now breaking the path for market development.

What are some of the points of discussion that go on in your leadership panel? What are the strategic points that you go by to steer the company forward? 

Rosina : From a personal front, I work harder than anyone on our team. I don’t expect anything from a team member that I would not do myself from a work-ethic perspective. Our mission is to change the way brain injury is diagnosed by developing a much-needed objective diagnostic. We will do this at a reasonable profit, but never at the expense of what is best for the patient.

“Our mission is to change the way brain injury is diagnosed by developing a much-needed objective diagnostic”

Can you draw an analogy between your personality traits, hobbies, and how they reflect on your leadership strategy? 

Rosina : You need to be very resilient to be an entrepreneur. I don’t give up. From a leadership perspective, our field (perhaps all fields) has some bad seeds. We won’t stoop to their level and in fact, are developing a values statement that we are going to take to the industry. We strongly believe that traumatic brain injury patients have waited so long and deserve something better. Our values are to offer clinically-validated, data-driven solutions, and to be transparent about our performance.

How do you see the evolution of the MedTech Startups arena a few years from now with regard to some of its potential disruptions and transformations? 

Rosina : I am very hopeful that women founders and leaders will be given as much credence as their male counterparts.

What would be the single piece of advice that you could impart to a fellow or aspiring professional in your field, looking to embark on a similar venture or professional journey along the lines of your service and area of expertise? 

Rosina : Ask questions. Persevere. If you are a woman, realize you will have to be two times better - more data, more buttoned-up, more everything - than your male counterpart.