Resiliency and Relentlessness are Crucial for Raising Medtech Capital

Joining Medsider Radio for this episode is Beverly Huss, President and CEO of Qool Therapeutics, a development-stage company working on a novel, non-invasive therapeutic hypothermia device for the preservation of tissue following catastrophic events like a heart attack, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.

Previously, Beverly was the CEO of Vibrynt, a start-up medical device company dedicated to creating minimally invasive therapies for patients suffering from morbid obesity. Prior to that, Beverly was the President of Guidant Endovascular Solutions (acquired by Abbott), a medical device company focused on the treatment of cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease.

She holds an M.S. in technology management from Pepperdine University, as well as a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from the University of Illinois. Beverly also has a few patents to her credit in the cardiovascular and obesity medical device arenas.

With me on this episode is guest host, Norbert Juist, one of the most honest, genuine, and personable people I know. Norbert is an executive recruiter at Sales Performance Resources, where he specializes in recruiting for medtech marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon.

Interview Highlights with Beverly Huss

• The origin story of Qool Therapeutics and how Beverly got involved in the company.

• The clinical trial strategy that Qool Therapeutics is following and the reasoning for it.

• Beverly’s strategic approach to making a medical device a reality, including the regulatory, clinical, and reimbursement paths that should be considered.

• Key learnings from Beverly’s time at Vibrynt.

• The “other R&R”: the importance of resilience and relentlessness when you are raising money for a company.

• How to get the attention of medical device venture capitalists.

• Critical lessons Beverly learned throughout her career at ACS and Guidant.

• Beverly’s favorite books and how they inspire resiliency.

• The business leaders and mentors that Beverly most admires.

• Advice Beverly would give to her 30-year old self