Building a Consumer-Focused Medtech Business

Interview with Tivic Health Co-founder and CEO Jennifer Ernst

Jennifer Ernst, Co-founder and CEO of bioelectronic medicine company Tivic Health, didn’t follow a traditional path to the medtech industry.

Her career began in computing, as a communications manager and business development director at Xerox PARC, before becoming Chief Strategy Officer for Norwegian electronics manufacturing company Thin Film Electronics.

But then the field of bioelectronic medicine caught her eye. She knew this was an area where her experience in translational science — taking groundbreaking research and turning it into a commercial product — would make a difference.

“It’s really an exploding area in science. I was incredibly drawn to it in part because of how little is actually known about how the electrical system of the body works,” Jennifer says.

In 2016, she and biomedical engineer and inventor John Claude founded Tivic Health with the goal of developing advanced bioelectronic solutions that treat disease, increase wellness, and improve lives.

Their flagship product is ClearUP, an over-the-counter handheld device that uses gentle pulsed electron waves to relieve symptoms of sinus and nasal inflammation, nasal allergies, sinus infections, chronic sinusitis, cold, and flu.

The device received FDA clearance in early 2019 and entered the market later that same year. Tivic has since sold more than 30,000 units of ClearUP.

“It’s been a pretty fast, rapid and exciting journey from concept through commercialization now to actually providing our investors liquidity and having the opportunity to grow the company in the space of bioelectronic medicine to a multi-product company,” Jennifer says.

In this episode of Medsider, Jennifer shares how consumers can play a key role in boosting support and evidence for over-the-counter medical devices, and why she thinks direct-to-consumer business models will transform the medtech space.

Guest
Jennifer Ernst
CEO of Tivic Health

Jennifer Ernst came to the medtech space after more than 20 years in the computing and electronics industries, serving in high-profile roles at Xerox PARC and Thin Film Electronics. She participated in the launch of the Global Women’s Leadership Network, which aims to provide women with the opportunity and resources to make a difference in their communities. In 2016, Jennifer founded direct-to-consumer medtech company Tivic Health and helped lead development and commercialization of the company’s flagship device ClearUP.

Key Learnings from Jennifer's Experiences

  • If you’re making a consumer device, think about the form and function of your product and how that aligns with consumer expectations. Your advertising and instructions for use should be as clear as possible from the outset.
  • Focus on building support for your over-the-counter device through user reviews and word-of-mouth. If consumers back your product and use it every day, they’re more likely to share that with physicians who will then recommend it to other patients, resulting in a flywheel effect that could open doors to further channel opportunities.
  • Don’t shy away from challenges, but make sure you’re also prepared. Getting financial backing in the direct-to-consumer space isn’t easy. The more you demonstrate the value of your device in the real world, the more comfortable investors will be in funding your vision.

Focus on User-Friendly Design

People tend to come in with preconceived notions of how something works or should work. For example, when they see something that’s supposed to help with sinus pain, they might automatically think it should be inserted inside their nose and operate like a nasal spray.

But that’s not how Tivic Health’s ClearUP works. Users should hold the device against their cheeks, nose, and below their eyebrows.

The Tivic team had to figure out how to communicate that information to people buying the product on Amazon or at their local drugstore.

“We had to really think about: How’s this form factor going to communicate that you don’t want to [put this in your nose]? That’s not how you use it,” Jennifer says. “How are we going to communicate with all the video, with the advertising to make sure that the first time somebody picks up the product that we aren’t feeding into a mental model that’s going to lead them into misuse?”

How much time will it take to train the user on how to use the device? That’s something any company that is making an over-the-counter (OTC) or home-use device should think about, Jennifer says.

Jennifer and her team concluded they had about 2.3 seconds to show consumers how to use ClearUP, and they figured out how to communicate that information succinctly through advertisements, videos, and the user manual.

This user-centric philosophy is something all medtech companies should consider when developing direct-to-consumer devices.

“This is not ‘open up the book and let them really study and read the user manual in detail.’ … As medical companies, we have to be aspiring to the level of design … that the best of consumer product companies have achieved,” Jennifer says.

Jennifer emphasizes that entrepreneurs need to design products that people want to use every day. Developing devices with consumers in mind will have a major impact on the future of OTC devices, she says.

Let Consumers Lead the Way

About 40% of the potential ClearUP user population — those that experience pain and congestion from sinus inflammation — never see a doctor, Jennifer says. That statistic was the driving force behind Tivic’s decision to make the device available over the counter.

Jennifer hasn’t ruled out the possibility of making it available via prescription and eligible for reimbursement later down the road, but the team needs to figure out what reimbursement codes would apply to the device.

In the meantime, Tivic is focused on building up a consumer base and a body of evidence for ClearUP.

“[That evidence] includes your Amazon reviews, it’s your product reviews, it’s people talking about your product, it’s your news coverage. So [it’s] really building up the base of the consumer first, and making sure that we’re creating benefit for the person that has to pay for the product,” Jennifer says.

Jennifer believes this consumer-first strategy is the future of healthcare.

“There are a couple of big trends that suggest this is going to become a more dominant part of the health tech world,” she says.

She points to Roman, a digital health clinic for men, and Nurx, a female-focused telemedicine company, both of which offer prescriptions after allowing patients to consult with a physician online.

There’s also a movement in which treatment for certain conditions is moving from specialty clinics to the primary care setting. For example, patients might go to a specialist for a migraine diagnosis, but most of their care might be managed at their primary care office.

“More and more of the consumer [experience is] realizing that they’re stewarding their own healthcare, and beginning to use doctors more and more as the consultant in the process, but not always as the single-source provider,” Jennifer says.

There was a similar situation in the market with AliveCor, a medical device company that developed AI-enabled electrocardiogram sensors that deliver heart data digitally. AliveCor started with patients as its end users, and those patients introduced the product to their doctors. Doctors then created more demand for the product and asked for the device to be integrated with their health systems.

In that same vein, Tivic Health believes patients are the key to success. Being able to excite end users and making sure your product is well-positioned for them is the critical first step for consumer medical devices. Users will then help bring the medical community on board as part of their care journey, Jennifer says.

“I honestly believe that we’re going to see that as a pattern that starts to emerge the same way we have seen direct-to-consumer emerge in other industries,” Jennifer says.

Take Risks and Try Something New, but Keep in Mind the Challenges Ahead

If you’re working with a business model that hasn’t been used before, be prepared for more of an uphill battle when it comes to fundraising. It’s an even steeper climb if you’re looking to enter the direct-to-consumer space. It can be difficult to find medtech investors who want to invest in direct-to-consumer healthcare models, according to Jennifer.

“When we think about the medtech funds, people haven’t been out raising capital to tell people, ‘I’m going to invest in a direct-to-consumer new model in healthcare innovation.’ Those investors are on the rare side. They may have raised it to say, ‘We’re going to invest in early-stage medical device companies,’” Jennifer says.

Jennifer likens it to the early days of Warby Parker — a first-of-its-kind direct-to-consumer prescription eyewear company.

“In the early days of Warby Parker, they did not have backing … until the breakthrough moment where they demonstrated that people really would buy glasses online,” Jennifer says. “It was a really strange concept … that’s [now] an iconic case study.”

Now, entrepreneurs will often say they want to be the Warby Parker of whatever industry they’re in.

Jennifer predicts similar things will happen in the medtech sector as companies show they can be successful.

“As we build success cases, and as we see companies that successfully build and acquire and exit, then firms will become more comfortable investing in that model,” she says.

Jennifer envisions Tivic as being the “acquirer of choice” for emerging bioelectronic medicine technologies.

The way to do that is to continue listening to consumers and doctors, building trust within the science and investor communities, and always being prepared for the challenges ahead.

Download a copy of the interview transcript right here.
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Jennifer Ernst, Co-founder and CEO of bioelectronic medicine company Tivic Health, didn’t follow a traditional path to the medtech industry.

Her career began in computing, as a communications manager and business development director at Xerox PARC, before becoming Chief Strategy Officer for Norwegian electronics manufacturing company Thin Film Electronics.

But then the field of bioelectronic medicine caught her eye. She knew this was an area where her experience in translational science — taking groundbreaking research and turning it into a commercial product — would make a difference.

“It’s really an exploding area in science. I was incredibly drawn to it in part because of how little is actually known about how the electrical system of the body works,” Jennifer says.

In 2016, she and biomedical engineer and inventor John Claude founded Tivic Health with the goal of developing advanced bioelectronic solutions that treat disease, increase wellness, and improve lives.

Their flagship product is ClearUP, an over-the-counter handheld device that uses gentle pulsed electron waves to relieve symptoms of sinus and nasal inflammation, nasal allergies, sinus infections, chronic sinusitis, cold, and flu.

The device received FDA clearance in early 2019 and entered the market later that same year. Tivic has since sold more than 30,000 units of ClearUP.

“It’s been a pretty fast, rapid and exciting journey from concept through commercialization now to actually providing our investors liquidity and having the opportunity to grow the company in the space of bioelectronic medicine to a multi-product company,” Jennifer says.

In this episode of Medsider, Jennifer shares how consumers can play a key role in boosting support and evidence for over-the-counter medical devices, and why she thinks direct-to-consumer business models will transform the medtech space.

Guest
Jennifer Ernst
CEO of Tivic Health

Jennifer Ernst came to the medtech space after more than 20 years in the computing and electronics industries, serving in high-profile roles at Xerox PARC and Thin Film Electronics. She participated in the launch of the Global Women’s Leadership Network, which aims to provide women with the opportunity and resources to make a difference in their communities. In 2016, Jennifer founded direct-to-consumer medtech company Tivic Health and helped lead development and commercialization of the company’s flagship device ClearUP.

Key Learnings from Jennifer's Experiences

  • If you’re making a consumer device, think about the form and function of your product and how that aligns with consumer expectations. Your advertising and instructions for use should be as clear as possible from the outset.
  • Focus on building support for your over-the-counter device through user reviews and word-of-mouth. If consumers back your product and use it every day, they’re more likely to share that with physicians who will then recommend it to other patients, resulting in a flywheel effect that could open doors to further channel opportunities.
  • Don’t shy away from challenges, but make sure you’re also prepared. Getting financial backing in the direct-to-consumer space isn’t easy. The more you demonstrate the value of your device in the real world, the more comfortable investors will be in funding your vision.

Focus on User-Friendly Design

People tend to come in with preconceived notions of how something works or should work. For example, when they see something that’s supposed to help with sinus pain, they might automatically think it should be inserted inside their nose and operate like a nasal spray.

But that’s not how Tivic Health’s ClearUP works. Users should hold the device against their cheeks, nose, and below their eyebrows.

The Tivic team had to figure out how to communicate that information to people buying the product on Amazon or at their local drugstore.

“We had to really think about: How’s this form factor going to communicate that you don’t want to [put this in your nose]? That’s not how you use it,” Jennifer says. “How are we going to communicate with all the video, with the advertising to make sure that the first time somebody picks up the product that we aren’t feeding into a mental model that’s going to lead them into misuse?”

How much time will it take to train the user on how to use the device? That’s something any company that is making an over-the-counter (OTC) or home-use device should think about, Jennifer says.

Jennifer and her team concluded they had about 2.3 seconds to show consumers how to use ClearUP, and they figured out how to communicate that information succinctly through advertisements, videos, and the user manual.

This user-centric philosophy is something all medtech companies should consider when developing direct-to-consumer devices.

“This is not ‘open up the book and let them really study and read the user manual in detail.’ … As medical companies, we have to be aspiring to the level of design … that the best of consumer product companies have achieved,” Jennifer says.

Jennifer emphasizes that entrepreneurs need to design products that people want to use every day. Developing devices with consumers in mind will have a major impact on the future of OTC devices, she says.

Let Consumers Lead the Way

About 40% of the potential ClearUP user population — those that experience pain and congestion from sinus inflammation — never see a doctor, Jennifer says. That statistic was the driving force behind Tivic’s decision to make the device available over the counter.

Jennifer hasn’t ruled out the possibility of making it available via prescription and eligible for reimbursement later down the road, but the team needs to figure out what reimbursement codes would apply to the device.

In the meantime, Tivic is focused on building up a consumer base and a body of evidence for ClearUP.

“[That evidence] includes your Amazon reviews, it’s your product reviews, it’s people talking about your product, it’s your news coverage. So [it’s] really building up the base of the consumer first, and making sure that we’re creating benefit for the person that has to pay for the product,” Jennifer says.

Jennifer believes this consumer-first strategy is the future of healthcare.

“There are a couple of big trends that suggest this is going to become a more dominant part of the health tech world,” she says.

She points to Roman, a digital health clinic for men, and Nurx, a female-focused telemedicine company, both of which offer prescriptions after allowing patients to consult with a physician online.

There’s also a movement in which treatment for certain conditions is moving from specialty clinics to the primary care setting. For example, patients might go to a specialist for a migraine diagnosis, but most of their care might be managed at their primary care office.

“More and more of the consumer [experience is] realizing that they’re stewarding their own healthcare, and beginning to use doctors more and more as the consultant in the process, but not always as the single-source provider,” Jennifer says.

There was a similar situation in the market with AliveCor, a medical device company that developed AI-enabled electrocardiogram sensors that deliver heart data digitally. AliveCor started with patients as its end users, and those patients introduced the product to their doctors. Doctors then created more demand for the product and asked for the device to be integrated with their health systems.

In that same vein, Tivic Health believes patients are the key to success. Being able to excite end users and making sure your product is well-positioned for them is the critical first step for consumer medical devices. Users will then help bring the medical community on board as part of their care journey, Jennifer says.

“I honestly believe that we’re going to see that as a pattern that starts to emerge the same way we have seen direct-to-consumer emerge in other industries,” Jennifer says.

Take Risks and Try Something New, but Keep in Mind the Challenges Ahead

If you’re working with a business model that hasn’t been used before, be prepared for more of an uphill battle when it comes to fundraising. It’s an even steeper climb if you’re looking to enter the direct-to-consumer space. It can be difficult to find medtech investors who want to invest in direct-to-consumer healthcare models, according to Jennifer.

“When we think about the medtech funds, people haven’t been out raising capital to tell people, ‘I’m going to invest in a direct-to-consumer new model in healthcare innovation.’ Those investors are on the rare side. They may have raised it to say, ‘We’re going to invest in early-stage medical device companies,’” Jennifer says.

Jennifer likens it to the early days of Warby Parker — a first-of-its-kind direct-to-consumer prescription eyewear company.

“In the early days of Warby Parker, they did not have backing … until the breakthrough moment where they demonstrated that people really would buy glasses online,” Jennifer says. “It was a really strange concept … that’s [now] an iconic case study.”

Now, entrepreneurs will often say they want to be the Warby Parker of whatever industry they’re in.

Jennifer predicts similar things will happen in the medtech sector as companies show they can be successful.

“As we build success cases, and as we see companies that successfully build and acquire and exit, then firms will become more comfortable investing in that model,” she says.

Jennifer envisions Tivic as being the “acquirer of choice” for emerging bioelectronic medicine technologies.

The way to do that is to continue listening to consumers and doctors, building trust within the science and investor communities, and always being prepared for the challenges ahead.

Download a copy of the interview transcript right here.
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