If founding and running a successful medical device start-up were simply a matter of marrying lots of money to great technology, there’d be many more successful device start-ups than there are. But as anyone who has ever tried to take a device company from concept to commercial success can tell you, even the most compelling technology ideas and most resolute financial backers face innumerable challenges on the path to widespread adoption.
In fact, of all the factors that go into a successful company, perhaps the most underrated, and elusive, is experience—the insight and wisdom to work through problems gained by having...