Dr. David Albert is not just your average doctor — he's also a scientist, inventor, and serial entrepreneur who has gone viral on YouTube. He once quipped, "Plan B is MD," and took the leap from medicine to start a company. He is the man behind AliveCor, a pioneer in the field of personal electrocardiograms (ECGs).
In the late 1980s, after completing medical and engineering graduate school at Duke University, Dr. Albert found himself back at the University of Oklahoma. Being a young innovator, he had already licensed a few inventions. But when he couldn't find any takers for his new cardiovascular device, he took a chance at it himself. "That was the dumbest idea I ever had," he jokingly says. However, his mentors thought otherwise, reassuring him that if things went awry, he could always return to medicine. Thankfully, he’s never needed that backup plan.
Fast forward to today, Dr. Albert is the founder of AliveCor, known for its Kardia brand, which has set the gold standard in personal cardiovascular solutions. One product that's making waves is the KardiaMobile Card, a device the size of a credit card that fits right into your wallet.
In the beginning, Kardia was a smartphone case add-on that transformed the devices into personal ECG machines. But now, the product line has expanded to feature three key devices: KardiaMobile, KardiaMobile 6L, and KardiaMobile Card.
AliveCor is making waves not just with its hardware but also with the comprehensive ecosystem surrounding it. "We're not just a hardware vendor. We're a solution vendor, and we're a personal cardiovascular solution vendor," Dr. Albert notes. All the KardiaMobile devices are backed by services like expert reviews of ECG readings, advanced algorithms that analyze the data, and detailed reports to track the patient’s heart health. Not to mention, the company has established powerful partnerships with giants like Omron and GE Healthcare to integrate their technology with existing healthcare workflows seamlessly.
Key Learnings From Dr. Albert’s Experience
- The transition from academia to entrepreneurship may not be seamless. You need to be realistic, utilize resources to your favor, have the right mindset to continuously learn lessons, and know how to cultivate strategic partnerships.
- The lines between medical devices and consumer marketing are not as rigid as you might think. By bringing in the right expertise, being agile, and focusing on consumer awareness and branding, you can forge a new path that is both medically sound and consumer-friendly.
- When it comes to fundraising, understand the fundamentals of valuation and don’t get fixated on high numbers. Leverage a network of allies who can help you make the right connections and include tangible prototypes and demonstrations in your pitches.
Dr. David Albert is a multifaceted individual — a physician, scientist, inventor, serial entrepreneur, YouTube sensation, and even an adventurous surfer. His academic journey led him from Duke University, where he completed both engineering and medical graduate studies, back to his roots at the University of Oklahoma. He already had several licensed inventions when he decided to stake it all on a new cardiovascular device. The gamble led him to found AliveCor, now a frontrunner in personal electrocardiograms (ECGs) under the renowned Kardia brand.
Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Entrepreneurship
A physician-scientist by training and a risk-taker by nature, Dr. Albert knows the ropes of both the medical and business worlds. His wisdom, seasoned with both “bruises and pain,” offers a fresh perspective for anyone seeking to marry their academic background with entrepreneurial zeal.
First and foremost, Dr. Albert stresses the importance of having a safety net. Don’t fall prey to survivorship bias — there’s an illusion that success is almost guaranteed because we're most exposed to the success stories, while failures go largely unnoticed. Doing everything correctly doesn’t guarantee you a spot among the year's most successful businessmen.
Entrepreneurship is inherently risky, and it's essential to be prepared for unfavored outcomes. "Have a plan B,” Dr. Albert suggested.
Dr. Albert also warns about the steep learning curve. "I was incredibly naive when I started my first company. I have a master's in bruises and pain instead of an MBA," he says. While the road is challenging, each setback can be a teacher if you have the right mindset. He also points out that there are many resources today to help you start a company, such as accelerators like Rock Health and MedTech Innovator. It's worth investing the time and effort to seek out these options that can help bring your ideas to reality.
Another fundamental piece of advice from Dr. Albert is to develop well-rounded skill sets. As he wisely puts it, "Going through that process is an education in and of itself." You may have a great idea as a physician, but as a CEO, you also need experience in human resources, marketing, sales, regulatory, and manufacturing to name a few. While you may be an expert in your field, understanding the multifaceted aspects of running a business is crucial.
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, Dr. Albert advises finding a well-suited partner who complements your skills: "Go find somebody who's done it before, who has the chops in business, who knows how to functionally start a company, and who can be side-by-side with you to implement your idea and turn it into a true innovation.”
Medtech With a Consumer Face
Medical technology and consumer-focused marketing don't naturally go together, but Dr. Albert has managed to marry the two.
Acknowledging the limits of your knowledge and experience is a first step in the right direction. Dr. Albert isn’t a marketing expert, so he strategically assembled a team. "We hired the right people for our leadership team. A number of them come from Amazon, who sold things like Alexa," Dr. Albert says.
The diversity in expertise becomes particularly crucial given the complex regulatory environment in which AliveCor operates. "We're a Class II regulated medical device company. We get audited by all kinds of people," he adds. But rather than being stressed out by regulatory hurdles, Dr. Albert gets the right people on board to ensure smooth sailing.
Being adaptable to fit in the consumer market is crucial. Taking things one step further, Dr. Albert almost reinvented AliveCor’s business model over the years. "We started off prescribing only from the FDA, and only over the years did we move to being able to prescribe over-the-counter, and then we have some pure over-the-counter." Industry-specific expertise is the key to driving a medical device company to such frontiers. He concludes, "We live in two worlds” — referring to the strict regulation around the medical products and their consumer-facing marketing strategy — “If you want to do that, go find people who have done it."
Having a brand identity is another important aspect of consumer-facing medtech. Some medical device companies don’t need to bother with advertising if they cater to practitioners directly. However, it’s not the same for over-the-counter devices. "Every day, I run into people who don’t know AliveCor, but they know Kardia," Dr. Albert says.
Direct-to-consumer advertising doesn't just create product sales; it builds brand capital. "The value of a brand is unbelievable," he asserts.
Show, Don’t Tell
With his humor and wit intact, Dr. Albert offers several practical and insightful bits of advice when it comes to fundraising. “Do you understand the math of 100% of zero? 100% times zero is zero,” he jokes, challenging the preoccupation many entrepreneurs have with high valuations. "At the beginning, I would encourage you to be humble — unless you just have something that you know is going to change the world," Dr. Albert advises.
Fixating on a high valuation at the cost of dilution might be a myopic approach. Although alluring, money's not the end-all, be-all in this game. Rather, aim for partners who add genuine value to the journey like a broad network, proven experience in the industry, or specialized expertise.
Now, how do you get people to not only notice your invention but also believe in it? There are a few ways to do that. One is showing people something tangible, i.e., prototypes. “We live in a ‘prove it’ industry where you have to offer proof not only to the regulators, but to your customers or else they're not going to believe you,” Dr. Albert says.
It was exactly what he was doing — demonstrating his product — when he went viral with a simple YouTube video. Many people were excited, and many didn’t believe it was possible, to which he responded somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “You know you've made it when you have YouTube haters”.
Showing, not telling, is a strategy Dr. Albert brilliantly connects to his direct-to-consumer approach, which spans FDA, advertising, and fundraising.
The second advice Dr. Albert gives is to “find allies who can help you [get your foot] in the door," whether it's a legal advisor who can introduce you to venture capitalists or a physician who can vouch for your medical device. This resonates with AliveCor's direct-to-consumer model, which has been key in building the Kardia brand through advertising, retail channels, and partnerships.
Lastly, Dr. Albert emphasizes the importance of maintaining your credibility. For him, clinical validation remains a cornerstone. "We are the golden standard, as proven by hundreds of publications," he proudly declares. Credible proof adds another layer to Dr. Albert’s fundraising strategy, offering both a competitive edge and peace of mind to potential investors.
Dr. David Albert is not just your average doctor — he's also a scientist, inventor, and serial entrepreneur who has gone viral on YouTube. He once quipped, "Plan B is MD," and took the leap from medicine to start a company. He is the man behind AliveCor, a pioneer in the field of personal electrocardiograms (ECGs).
In the late 1980s, after completing medical and engineering graduate school at Duke University, Dr. Albert found himself back at the University of Oklahoma. Being a young innovator, he had already licensed a few inventions. But when he couldn't find any takers for his new cardiovascular device, he took a chance at it himself. "That was the dumbest idea I ever had," he jokingly says. However, his mentors thought otherwise, reassuring him that if things went awry, he could always return to medicine. Thankfully, he’s never needed that backup plan.
Fast forward to today, Dr. Albert is the founder of AliveCor, known for its Kardia brand, which has set the gold standard in personal cardiovascular solutions. One product that's making waves is the KardiaMobile Card, a device the size of a credit card that fits right into your wallet.
In the beginning, Kardia was a smartphone case add-on that transformed the devices into personal ECG machines. But now, the product line has expanded to feature three key devices: KardiaMobile, KardiaMobile 6L, and KardiaMobile Card.
AliveCor is making waves not just with its hardware but also with the comprehensive ecosystem surrounding it. "We're not just a hardware vendor. We're a solution vendor, and we're a personal cardiovascular solution vendor," Dr. Albert notes. All the KardiaMobile devices are backed by services like expert reviews of ECG readings, advanced algorithms that analyze the data, and detailed reports to track the patient’s heart health. Not to mention, the company has established powerful partnerships with giants like Omron and GE Healthcare to integrate their technology with existing healthcare workflows seamlessly.
Key Learnings From Dr. Albert’s Experience
- The transition from academia to entrepreneurship may not be seamless. You need to be realistic, utilize resources to your favor, have the right mindset to continuously learn lessons, and know how to cultivate strategic partnerships.
- The lines between medical devices and consumer marketing are not as rigid as you might think. By bringing in the right expertise, being agile, and focusing on consumer awareness and branding, you can forge a new path that is both medically sound and consumer-friendly.
- When it comes to fundraising, understand the fundamentals of valuation and don’t get fixated on high numbers. Leverage a network of allies who can help you make the right connections and include tangible prototypes and demonstrations in your pitches.
Dr. David Albert is a multifaceted individual — a physician, scientist, inventor, serial entrepreneur, YouTube sensation, and even an adventurous surfer. His academic journey led him from Duke University, where he completed both engineering and medical graduate studies, back to his roots at the University of Oklahoma. He already had several licensed inventions when he decided to stake it all on a new cardiovascular device. The gamble led him to found AliveCor, now a frontrunner in personal electrocardiograms (ECGs) under the renowned Kardia brand.
Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Entrepreneurship
A physician-scientist by training and a risk-taker by nature, Dr. Albert knows the ropes of both the medical and business worlds. His wisdom, seasoned with both “bruises and pain,” offers a fresh perspective for anyone seeking to marry their academic background with entrepreneurial zeal.
First and foremost, Dr. Albert stresses the importance of having a safety net. Don’t fall prey to survivorship bias — there’s an illusion that success is almost guaranteed because we're most exposed to the success stories, while failures go largely unnoticed. Doing everything correctly doesn’t guarantee you a spot among the year's most successful businessmen.
Entrepreneurship is inherently risky, and it's essential to be prepared for unfavored outcomes. "Have a plan B,” Dr. Albert suggested.
Dr. Albert also warns about the steep learning curve. "I was incredibly naive when I started my first company. I have a master's in bruises and pain instead of an MBA," he says. While the road is challenging, each setback can be a teacher if you have the right mindset. He also points out that there are many resources today to help you start a company, such as accelerators like Rock Health and MedTech Innovator. It's worth investing the time and effort to seek out these options that can help bring your ideas to reality.
Another fundamental piece of advice from Dr. Albert is to develop well-rounded skill sets. As he wisely puts it, "Going through that process is an education in and of itself." You may have a great idea as a physician, but as a CEO, you also need experience in human resources, marketing, sales, regulatory, and manufacturing to name a few. While you may be an expert in your field, understanding the multifaceted aspects of running a business is crucial.
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, Dr. Albert advises finding a well-suited partner who complements your skills: "Go find somebody who's done it before, who has the chops in business, who knows how to functionally start a company, and who can be side-by-side with you to implement your idea and turn it into a true innovation.”
Medtech With a Consumer Face
Medical technology and consumer-focused marketing don't naturally go together, but Dr. Albert has managed to marry the two.
Acknowledging the limits of your knowledge and experience is a first step in the right direction. Dr. Albert isn’t a marketing expert, so he strategically assembled a team. "We hired the right people for our leadership team. A number of them come from Amazon, who sold things like Alexa," Dr. Albert says.
The diversity in expertise becomes particularly crucial given the complex regulatory environment in which AliveCor operates. "We're a Class II regulated medical device company. We get audited by all kinds of people," he adds. But rather than being stressed out by regulatory hurdles, Dr. Albert gets the right people on board to ensure smooth sailing.
Being adaptable to fit in the consumer market is crucial. Taking things one step further, Dr. Albert almost reinvented AliveCor’s business model over the years. "We started off prescribing only from the FDA, and only over the years did we move to being able to prescribe over-the-counter, and then we have some pure over-the-counter." Industry-specific expertise is the key to driving a medical device company to such frontiers. He concludes, "We live in two worlds” — referring to the strict regulation around the medical products and their consumer-facing marketing strategy — “If you want to do that, go find people who have done it."
Having a brand identity is another important aspect of consumer-facing medtech. Some medical device companies don’t need to bother with advertising if they cater to practitioners directly. However, it’s not the same for over-the-counter devices. "Every day, I run into people who don’t know AliveCor, but they know Kardia," Dr. Albert says.
Direct-to-consumer advertising doesn't just create product sales; it builds brand capital. "The value of a brand is unbelievable," he asserts.
Show, Don’t Tell
With his humor and wit intact, Dr. Albert offers several practical and insightful bits of advice when it comes to fundraising. “Do you understand the math of 100% of zero? 100% times zero is zero,” he jokes, challenging the preoccupation many entrepreneurs have with high valuations. "At the beginning, I would encourage you to be humble — unless you just have something that you know is going to change the world," Dr. Albert advises.
Fixating on a high valuation at the cost of dilution might be a myopic approach. Although alluring, money's not the end-all, be-all in this game. Rather, aim for partners who add genuine value to the journey like a broad network, proven experience in the industry, or specialized expertise.
Now, how do you get people to not only notice your invention but also believe in it? There are a few ways to do that. One is showing people something tangible, i.e., prototypes. “We live in a ‘prove it’ industry where you have to offer proof not only to the regulators, but to your customers or else they're not going to believe you,” Dr. Albert says.
It was exactly what he was doing — demonstrating his product — when he went viral with a simple YouTube video. Many people were excited, and many didn’t believe it was possible, to which he responded somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “You know you've made it when you have YouTube haters”.
Showing, not telling, is a strategy Dr. Albert brilliantly connects to his direct-to-consumer approach, which spans FDA, advertising, and fundraising.
The second advice Dr. Albert gives is to “find allies who can help you [get your foot] in the door," whether it's a legal advisor who can introduce you to venture capitalists or a physician who can vouch for your medical device. This resonates with AliveCor's direct-to-consumer model, which has been key in building the Kardia brand through advertising, retail channels, and partnerships.
Lastly, Dr. Albert emphasizes the importance of maintaining your credibility. For him, clinical validation remains a cornerstone. "We are the golden standard, as proven by hundreds of publications," he proudly declares. Credible proof adds another layer to Dr. Albert’s fundraising strategy, offering both a competitive edge and peace of mind to potential investors.
