Meet the Expert: Kathryn Zavala

COO, MedTech Innovator

Managing Director, BioTools Innovator

A scientist by training, Kathryn pursued the business side of science. As part of the MedTech Innovator founding team, she has launched new programs focused on specific regions, special interest areas and adjacent verticals. Kathryn has collaborated with senior management from leading manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson, BD, Olympus and Nipro. With unique nonprofit management experience as well as investor diligence having evaluated thousands of startups over the years, she was the perfect choice to take the lead for the accelerator spinoff, BioTools Innovator. We talked with her about the impetus behind this new venture. 

Why is MTI’s mission “to improve the lives of patients by accelerating the growth of companies that are transforming the healthcare system” so critical at this point in time?

Healthcare innovation is not any more critical now than it has been at any point in time. It is always important and should be constantly ongoing. I’ve had personal experiences, as I know many people have also had, that demonstrate how we’ve come a long way in terms of diagnosis and treatment. However there are still many inefficiencies in healthcare delivery, and clinical areas lacking solutions. Shortcomings in our healthcare system are ongoing and innovations to help improve care should also be ongoing.

As the largest accelerator of medical devices in the world, what factors distinguish MTI from the competition?

We have always been very thoughtful and deliberate in everything we do. In the early development years of MTI, we put ourselves in the shoes of an innovator and questioned what they didn’t know, what were their needs, and how could we help them get their technology to market. We’re startup friendly and don’t require participation fees or having to give up any equity. We’re virtual, even before the pandemic, which allows innovators to remain in their supportive ecosystems; we bring the resources to them. Another big factor is the sheer amount of industry involvement we have in our selection process and mentorship program. Even though there is a great business development component for our partners, they are attracted to this program because they genuinely care about innovation and share our passion of getting these technologies to market. For our part, we develop high quality, well-planned events that cultivate engagement and deliver value for all participants.

What are you looking for in a start-up when selecting companies for your portfolio?

First and foremost, on the business side, the company has to be solving a real unmet need compared to those that have cool technology without a value proposition, which tends to not be as successful. Additionally, it’s important that there are customers willing to pay for the solution. On the personal side, we look for CEOs and founders that have the self-awareness to know where they are now and where they want to be or need to be in a couple of years, and what resources will help them get there. Also, an understanding of not knowing what they don’t know. Most importantly, it’s coachability. There are great companies out there that check the boxes yet, talking with the founders, it’s clear they don’t need us because they think they’ve got everything figured out. Companies also need to be at the right stage where they have the ability to take on the advice and act upon it because a misstep can cause a setback and disservice to the patients waiting for this innovation.

What are the benefits for the startups accepted into the accelerator portfolio?

Our participants gain benefits in five areas:

• Resources and funding – What often initially attracts participants is the competition for non-diluted funding. Across our programs, we give out $1M—MTI gives $500,000, MTI Asia Pacific gives $200,000 and BioTools gives $300,000—plus a lot of in-kind resources. Each of our service provider partners designates a certain amount of services provided directly to the cohort companies—e.g., consultant hours, inventory strategy, and discounts on products/software.
• Educational curriculum – We’ve developed a customized program that serves companies across the spectrum, from early-stage companies that are looking for regulatory expertise on their first product to more mature companies that are looking to grow and scale. What it’s not is an entrepreneurship boot camp.
• Mentorship – A big driver in the success of MTI’s portfolio are companies such as J&J and Edwards Lifesciences that select cohort participants they want to mentor. We provide a specific program that guides mentors and mentees to work toward realistic short-term goals and walk away with a tangible benefit or knowledge that they gained from what MTI has provided.
• Visibility – Because of our rigorous selection program and track record, companies that make it into the program enjoy a sort of cachet. Anecdotally, we’ve heard from companies announced as part of the cohort that investor interest increases. We also put in a lot of effort to connect our cohort companies with investors, especially through showcases with our conference partners, MedTech Strategist, DeviceTalks, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and AdvaMed.
• Peer network – We know that it is a lonely world being an entrepreneur. We provide a place for founders and startup leaders to talk with others facing similar challenges and share best practices, obtain solutions and get referrals.

Out of 400+ companies in your portfolio and 134 products on the market, do you have a couple of standout success stories?

Tough question given our success rate with over 400+ companies. Here are three that come to mind for different reasons:

• Day Zero Diagnostics – A nontraditional medtech company, they were part of our 2017 cohort and our grand prize winner that year because they addressed sepsis, which is an urgent unmet need within our healthcare system. Their success was due to an amazing founder who had previous experience with other companies, and who also understood and embraced MTI. Last year they announced a $20 million round and their mentor company, BD, participated which demonstrates the benefits of early relationships.
• Avenda Health – Their story demonstrates how MTI accelerates early-stage companies. They are developing a solution for personalized prostate cancer care. We met the founders when the technology was still in the university. They were officially spun-out two weeks before the start of the program because it is a requirement to be a company to participate in the cohort. They’ve now expanded to a new office location with a much bigger team, obtained breakthrough device status and completed a $10M Series B that was recently announced.
• Osso VR – A virtual reality company that is innovatively using gaming technology for surgical training. Justin Barad, MD, the CEO and founder deserves the credit for starting with 10 employees and just recently celebrating 200 employees. It has been exciting to see how this company started, and how they’ve grown and matured since they were in a cohort. To date, Osso VR has brought in $109M in funding.

What was the impetus for starting BioTools Innovator, a new version of the MTI concept?

MTI’s successful flagship MedTech program that has helped our companies accelerate provided a replicable working model. We saw a gap in the life sciences research tools space that has a lot of great innovation and promising technology but sees a lot of failure. Two things were the driving force behind starting BioTools Innovator. The founders were not making it because of mistakes that early advice could help them avoid, and they were not connecting with the right people to create a support system. Research Corporation Technologies and BroadOak Capital Partners (two organizations that have been very active in this space) have been instrumental in launching the BioTools concept providing guidance on the areas of interest, company selection and mentoring, as well as opening up their networks.

In July, BioTools Innovator announced a new cohort for 2022. Can you walk us through the four-month program that culminates with the Capstone Event in October 2022?

It follows the same model as our flagship program only tailored to life sciences. Companies had a virtual kickoff to get to know each other and also get matched with a mentor to work with them on short-term goals. The educational program includes a webinar series covering topics that are most interesting to them and office hours for different experts to come in on specific topics with interactive engagement such as problem-solving ideas and case studies. As with MTI, there is an active peer network, which includes bringing in alumni from last year’s cohort to provide additional resources.

Where could a new venture like BioTools Innovator be in the next five years?

BioTools Innovator has created a new niche separate from biotech and biopharma accelerators. The type of companies that we look at have traditionally fallen through the cracks—they’re not medtech, they’re not biopharma where they often get outshone by a fancy new drug. Companies that have participated in our pitch events have commented that they’ve never seen so many experts all in one room that understand what they are working on. They feel like they finally have a name to describe themselves.

In five years, the biotools category will be visible in more places such as biotech conferences with a biotools track. We’ll have developed a nexus for life sciences and research tools companies so that they know where to go for expert advice and valuable connections

We intend to grow the cohort from ten our first year to the same number as MTI’s cohort, which this year was 54 companies. And we will continue to attract and generate new partners in addition to our founding partners Research Corporation Technologies and BroadOak Capital Partners, and our acceleration partner Nissan Chemical America Corporation.