Case study

Chief Executive Officer – Early Stage MedTech Start-Up

USA
Digital human figures in a grid and binary-coded background, arms outstretched. Futuristic and technological theme with a sense of innovation.

THE CHALLENGE

Our client was an early-stage MedTech start-up with incredibly promising technology. The product they were developing was widely considered the “holy grail” of treatments for a particular chronic disease, but no previous company had been able to make it work technically. However, our client’s oUS clinical data suggested they had, demonstrating dramatic improvement in patients sustained over 3+ years.

As a first-of-its-kind device, the next part of their journey was to take their product through a clinical trial in US, ultimately working toward PMA submission. As is often the case, enrollment in their trial proved more difficult than expected. Further, while venture investment in the MedTech industry had begun picking back up, the market still remained very challenging, and our client needed to raise additional capital to complete their trial.

The current CEO, a co-founder, determined it had come time to retire, so our client required a new CEO who could unblock enrollment bottlenecks and secure a sizeable Series B, while also laying the foundation for commercialization and reimbursement.

THE SOLUTION

Ultimately, all start-ups and their investors want a successful outcome. Whether it’s a sale to a strategic, a larger investment firm, or an IPO. The pathway to the best exits is always building an exceptional business. So, our approach to this search was to identify CEOs who had taken their company through a large-scale clinical trial, received FDA approval, commercialized their product, and achieved a lucrative exit. Additionally, because our client played in a close-knit segment of the MedTech industry, it would be extremely useful for this person to have experience in the space. Because this criteria limited the talent pool, we also looked at COOs, CFOs, and other key executives without whom these companies would not have been successful.

Due to the nature of the search, we essentially knew whether a candidate was qualified or not before reaching out to them. Their track-records spoke for themselves. We needed to ensure they would be a culture fit with our client, and check a few specific experiential points here and there, but the real challenge was ensuring we could get this finite pool of candidates interested in the opportunity. To this end, we applied the following: 

  • Used the challenges the company faced to our advantage, positioning the opportunity as an exciting challenge for a seasoned exec to sink their teeth into.
  • Leaned heavily into the large size of this patient population, the clear treatment gap, and the extremely compelling clinical evidence our client possessed.
  • Made sure to first understand what each individual candidate’s push and pull factors were before selling them on anything.
  • Leveraging referrals as much as possible – cold outreach can work but is more challenging with this type of audience.
  • When we did have to rely on cold outreach, we were very tailored, and very persistent.

THE RESULT

In under a month, Miramar presented a slate of four highly qualified candidates for the position. The search committee interviewed them and selected two finalists. The Board voted and a CEO selection was made.

The impact

Our client has accelerated enrollment in the pivotal trial and is making strides towards securing additional funding to take them through a PMA submission. Further, with CE Mark in hand, they are exploring commercial pathways in Europe to generate non-dilutive capital. They now seemed poised to capitalize on a tremendous business opportunity offered by an excellent technology. Most importantly, they have the potential to bring significant relief to a huge numbers of patients.