Innovate or Get Left Behind

The life of Derek Herrera is a story of adaptability and resilience. The founder and CEO of Bright Uro was able to pivot from an elite Marine officer to a medical device entrepreneur. His life, so far, is nothing short of incredible.

Derek served in the U.S. military as a Marine infantry and special operations officer. Unfortunately, while deployed in the Middle East, he sustained injuries during an enemy firefight in Afghanistan in 2012, leaving him paralyzed chest down. 

After medically retiring in 2014, Derek earned an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He’s also started several medical device companies, such as Spinal Singularity–now known as UroDev Medical– and Habit Camera.

Derek established his latest venture, Bright Uro, in 2021. The California-based company is developing innovative, user-friendly urologic diagnostic tools and devices. 

Bright Uro has closed on a  seed round of financing and is rapidly making progress on their Glean Urodynamics System, which aims to replace the traditional, invasive diagnostic exam used by clinicians to determine lower urinary tract function. Bright Uro’s device is a more comfortable, efficient, and accurate tool that may significantly impact the diagnosis and treatment of lower urinary tract conditions.

In this episode of Medsider, Derek shares his journey in the competitive medical technology arena, from leveraging his personal experience to drive innovation, and pursuing meaningful work, to successfully bringing a medical device to market.

Key Learnings From Derek’s Experience

• Leverage your personal experience, or close connection, to the problem you’re trying to solve. When developing medical devices, an intimate knowledge of patient or clinician challenges can be a powerful motivator and provide valuable insights into your target market.

• To set your medtech startup up for success, you must carefully tread the line between efficiency and maximizing opportunities for success. From top to bottom, it’s imperative that each person on your team clearly understands their role and the impact it has on the company’s goals.

• Be ruthless with your decision making during product development. Incorporating only the most necessary features and having a clear picture of how you will navigate the regulatory landscape is crucial if you want to successfully launch your device in a cost-efficient way.