Tad Hartlaub
Medvance Marketing
Leaving Corporate Med Tech to Build an Agency & Help Startups Beat the 80% Failure Rate|Tad Hartlaub
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"it's amazing what you can learn if you sit back with a notepad and a pen and just watch clinical procedures, workflows.
Key Takeaways
- ◆Eighty percent of med tech and biotech companies fail not because the technology is bad, but because founders struggle to translate innovation into commercialization and clinical adoption in the healthcare community.
- ◆When a hospital procurement team blocked adoption of a bacterial-reduction lighting system priced at $30,000 per OR due to competing capital budget priorities, shifting it to a leasing model within the operational budget of individual ORs dramatically improved adoption without changing the product itself.
- ◆At trade shows, geotargeting specific clinicians and procurement specialists within a one block radius of a convention hall keeps costs down for medical device companies while enabling an extremely targeted approach to reach their exact customer base.
- ◆Tad observed dental assistants struggling to assemble x-ray components during multiple practice visits, then built a device that reduced incorrect x-rays and improved patient outcomes.
- ◆Dental proved economically unstable as a startup market because 50 to 60 percent of dental spending is out of pocket and fluctuates with the economy, which pushed Tad to pivot toward med tech and biotech where more funding exists.
- ◆One client's adoption program built around the operational budget rather than capital budget drove third-year growth of 160 percent and proved that removing financial friction is as important as solving the clinical challenge.
- ◆AI is useful for truncating research and generating options from large data sets, but the personal touch from someone with 20 plus years in med tech is required to assess what's feasible, within budget, and actually workable.
Full transcript
Show
Chad Paris
Welcome back Process Over Pressure, the show where we get the real story from the people who built something. The winds, the grind, and everything in between. I'm Chad Paris, founder of Stonefly Consulting Group. And my belief is simple. Pressure usually shows up where a process quietly broke down. Today's guest has laid that on both sides of the tape. My guest is Tad Hartlaub co-founder and strategic lead at Medvance Marketing. Tad spent years in corporate med tech, in product development and marketing. He's got eight patents to his name, seven of them in medical devices, and he walked away from the corporate machine to build his own thing. Tad, welcome to the show.
Tad Hartlaub
Thanks, Chad. Appreciate it and glad to be here.
Chad Paris
Yeah, really excited about having you on. And you know, I honestly I'd love for you just to kind of kind of take me back there. give me give me, you know, you were you were in the bad world and devices and had a successful career. take me back to that that pivotal switch where you went from corporate America to, hey, you know what, I'm I'm gonna do this on my own.
Tad Hartlaub
Okay, well I, you know, I'd worked at Pfizer, McKesson on on the dental side. I worked in Dentsply, Sorona, and these large corporate companies, and started to experience interactions with small incubator and startup companies. As a matter of fact, my first patent I got with two of my brothers who are physicians. And we actually invented a flexible shave biopsy device, basically a flexible scalpel. And really enjoyed that, licensed it to the tech transfer group at the University of Wisconsin and Madison, and so really lived that experience and saw how incubators and startups and new companies have sometimes challenges trying to get their technology out to the market. and so after a about twenty two, twenty-three years in corporate, decided it was time to go ahead and live that experience more, to go ahead and bring the skills that I had learned to bear with upstarts and and incubator companies.
Chad Paris
That's that's fascinating. You know, somebody who who not only, you know, a lot of a lot of people on the marketing side, you know, they they've they've gone into companies or whatever and they've done marketing on that side of it, but but there's not many that's actually as far as living it from the manufacturing side of creating something, knowing how to build that, and then turn around and and and see a need that how do you market this and how do you get it in the right hands and how do you get it out there in the market. so you you you've kinda it honestly I when I talk to a lot of marketers, one of the things that's the hardest disconnect is really understanding the the guts of manufacturing of something and being able to articulate that. And you've kind of lived both. So you kind of come with little bit of an advantage, I'd say.
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah, and it it exactly, Chad. And and one of the biggest challenges with upstarts and and incubator companies is usually they're started, these companies are started by biomedical engineers, engineering people, chemists, and so they usually really understand the science behind it. But eighty percent of med tech and biotech companies fail, not because of the technology is bad. Usually it's fantastic technology. It's being able to translate that to commercialize it and to be able to go ahead and bring it out to the marketplace, out to the healthcare community where it can start to be used. and and that's really where we've designed Medvance Marketing is to really focus on that, to be able to bridge that gap from med tech and biotech innovation into real real world clinical adoption.
Chad Paris
Yeah. You know, I I have being being a consultant and it's similar. I mean, we're in different avenues, but you you're marketing and but when you're sitting on that side of it, one of the things that that I have noticed and and I'm maybe more of a question here is that there's a lot of really, really, really smart business owners who have built things and a lot of them are more engineer brain or more around, you know. finding something that they want to invent and they do that. And I I have seen this pattern where their brain works differently than someone who's on a creative side. And so the part of the the building and making sure it's nuts and boats, it works, it does everything is takes a certain type of mind and do that, right? Like I couldn't do that. But now the part that I think you and I are and you maybe have a little bit of both. is the creative side of that. I think there there's a lot of business owners that that that struggle in that in-between of I've got something really good, but how do I get it out in the market? Because it's totally a different thought process. It's a total different like like it's just it it it sometimes it's hard to resonate. And I see that a lot in business owners.
Tad Hartlaub
Yes, and especially when you're in the again to the med tech space, because usually they're very focused on on the as you said, the nuts and bolts, the actual function of the product. And sometimes they lose the ability to be able to really see the value proposition to the clinical community, what we call basically the product or market fit analysis. Okay, you've got this great product, it's meeting a need, but how can that be translated And packaged and communicated to the healthcare environment, clinicians, and and not only clinicians, but healthcare facilities. Because very often clinicians will love a product, but if it's not positioned correctly from a costing perspective, if if the you know CMS and and insurance codes aren't correct and all the regulatory piece, there can be challenges there to be able to to get that adoption within the healthcare environment, the overarching healthcare environment, not just the clinician.
Chad Paris
Yeah. That's you know, it's it's like anything else. You got a great concept, it's only a great concept until people know it's there. And then once people know it's there and it's available, you know, the rest is history. But I you know, you think about in this world how many people have created brilliant things, but just never was able to get it in the market because they just people didn't know about it. Like if the marketing side of that is just was was not very good. And
Tad Hartlaub
Right.
Chad Paris
I mean it happens way more than a lot of people imagine.
Tad Hartlaub
And that's that's true with like in in my corporate role, we were developing a a technology. Actually, it was just being commercialized when I started at this company. and again, this was in my in my corporate career, but it was a device that using a specific wavelength of light was able to reduce the bacteria count in hospital ORs. And it was a lighting system along with a a sensor and it was really neat and they showed you know an 80 to 90 percent reduction in bacteria in the OR just overnight. So of course after a procedure they wipe it down, but then this would continually kill that bacteria and avoid potential hospital acquired infections, which account for you know tens of thousands of deaths every year of patients.
Chad Paris
Yeah.
Tad Hartlaub
And so they developed it, but it was $30,000 per OR. And so if the average hospital say had four or five ORs, you know, they're looking at $150,000 to implement this. Well, the C suite, the executive suite at the hospital was like, well, that's fine and dandy. It's great, but we still need to be able to get a new MRI machine, which is going to be a half a million, or we're going to need this. So it was the competing priorities. And so one of the things we did is we looked at it as. realize that if we could get that into an operational budget, so basically a lease to own to address that pain point where the clinicians and the hospital staff saw the value of the product, but were getting pushback from the C-suite in the in the facility, that we might be able to get more adoption. And so we came up with a licensing solution, or leasing excuse me, solution where they were able to put a small amount down And make monthly payments all within the operating budget of the OR and not involve that C-suite. And so we saw the adoption go up because of that. So that wasn't really a, you know, focusing on the technology. That was really understanding the pain points, the value proposition of the product, and being able to address and come up with a solution that would get better adoption.
Chad Paris
Yeah, I mean that's strategy, right? And that's that's what that's the part a lot a lot of, you know, when when I talk to business owners and and I hear it and and I'm sure you do too in in the medical world is you know, there's always great concept and and sometimes the strategy, it's you know, when I think about marketing or implementing to a company or or any of those, it's the s it's the it's the validities in the strategy of how you're gonna accomplish that, right? There's a thousand ways to get there. And think you just evidently explain to the listeners a very brilliant way of a a a solution that we all would agree if anybody was talking they would say, well that's gonna cut down tens of thousands. I mean it's gonna pay for itself in in a year because of the infections of people coming back or having to, you know, could possibly get sued or whatever. Like it's gonna cut down on that. Like that's a no-brainer, it pays for itself. But sometimes at the executive top, they're looking at PLs and data and
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah.
Chad Paris
board level decisions and they're like, we got to spend so much, we can't, we got to either buy this or buy this. And it's not necessarily about the long play. It's about right then what you have. But your strategy was to go in and say, okay, we can make this inside an operational budget. Is it a win? Because I think everybody in the operating room would go like 100%, this is a great device. And that's a strategy, right? That's a strategy to get it in and sell. A lot of people miss that.
Tad Hartlaub
Yep. And it was it was really neat to be able to see that and to be able to work with the the different parties involved to be able to to go ahead and get that implemented. But yeah, that's it's it's critical. It's understanding again that that pain point and what the challenge was and then and then addressing that. It you know, that was more business focused, but it really tied in because then from a marketing perspective, really able to go ahead and and lead with that approach.
Chad Paris
Yeah, it is
Tad Hartlaub
as the sales staff was then going into these facilities, understanding the pain points and having a solution to address it.
Chad Paris
What's the biggest challenge you see like right now when you're talking to companies and you're kinda helping them? Like what's maybe one of the biggest I guess pushbacks you get or or trouble areas that you're hearing from founders and owners that they're struggling with when it comes to the marketing side?
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah. I think a lot of it it revolves around procurement, especially in the healthcare facilities. if they have a product, as I mentioned, like with the the lighting system to kill the bacteria in the ORs, it was really, although it was the the executive suite at the facility, it was really a pu procurement issue and competing priorities. So there again, understanding what those pain points are, understanding what the pain points could be from a regulatory.
Chad Paris
Mm-hmm.
Tad Hartlaub
a standpoint from from all the different standpoints and then being able to convey that and communicate that in in impactful engaging marketing communication pieces so the website emails trade shows one of the things we do at trade shows that we've done for clients is we do geotargeting so we're able to target specific clinicians
Chad Paris
Yes.
Tad Hartlaub
and or or procurement specialists or purchasers at facilities, able to target them directly within a one block radius of a convention hall where where an event is. And so to be able to go ahead and do that targeted approach, we're able to number one, keep costs down for the the the medical device company, and then also able to go ahead and extremely targeted approach reach their Reach their customer base.
Chad Paris
I s that's you know, we we are advancing daily in technology and what we're able to do. And you know, I I've I've I talked to a lot of, you know, business owners and and the in a lot of different spectrum, not not just in in you know, in marketing, but maybe they don't market, you know, medical like you do. But I would say that the medical industry, i if if I had to guess, has been one of the most challenging to navigate of any with all the lot different regulations and and you know, just just the the cost, right? It's it's an expensive cost and how you navigate that. So you guys have to really be like this on top of it, right? I mean have to be.
Tad Hartlaub
Yep. And make sure, because it's a highly regulated industry, the FDA, and so it's critical to be able to go ahead and understand the claims that you're making and that you have supporting documentation, that the company has supporting documentation. So anytime a a client will come up with, hey, we'd like to use this approach or we develop an approach, we have to make sure that it's going to, you know, fit the regulatory piece. And that we've got supporting documentation to be able to substantiate any claims that we make. and and that that can be an issue. Are there there are companies, I mean the FDA can come in if you're making a claim that's not substantiated or or you're having any any type of regulatory issues, the FDA can come in and shut down a company overnight. So it's real important to make sure that you're you're crossing all the T's and dotting all the I's. from a marketing perspective. So and understanding that and the critical need of that and supporting documentation is something that we we help a lot of our clients with too.
Chad Paris
Yeah, that's that's amazing. And that's a that's a big part of it. So you we talked about this a little bit kind of right in the beginning and I I just want to circle back because I think it's I think it's pretty impressive. You you have you know, eight patents that that you had and and I think you you mentioned you if I talked earlier, I think you and your brothers had some of these that y'all did together or something like that. Is that right?
Tad Hartlaub
That was yeah, that was our that was my first one. actually I was in was in pre-med and my brothers and I had come up with this. My one brother was an associate professor, just graduated medical school, and I got an associate professorship at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and at the family practice program there. And so WORF, which is the tech transfer for the university, said, We'll go ahead and we'll take the technology and advance it advance it. But
Chad Paris
Yeah.
Tad Hartlaub
We found it because my brothers were working with dermatologists, which is primarily the market for this product, and and saw a need. And so we put our heads together, you know, as brothers will often do, and and came up with a solution, designed it, patented it, and and then the first company they ordered fifty thousand of them and marketed it and it's interesting. Although it's changed a little bit, the design has changed a little bit. My wife went in for a procedure. And lo and behold, the dermatologist pulled out one of these devices. And so it was neat to actually see that in practice.
Chad Paris
Did she is she like, hey, I know the guy who invented that?
Tad Hartlaub
Sh she did, and the dermatologist was very interested and said, Well, I'd like to see some more information about that. So it was you know, it it was interesting. And then my other inventions also, patents were around kind of that's that same thing. It's it's amazing what you can learn if you sit back with a notepad and a pen and just watch clinical procedures, workflows. So if you have a product that that is in a specific workflow. In a hospital to be able to see who touches it, how they use it, the challenges they have. another one was a dental product, and it was around dental x-rays. And we saw a challenge as we were watching, typically the dental assistant as they were doing the dental x-ray, and there were some challenges putting together different components to get a proper x-ray. And so we were able to see what that challenge was, verify it in multiple. different dental practice visits and then come up with a solution and four of four of my patents are a rounded device to directly address that. Better better x-rays, reduce risk of of incorrect x-rays, and therefore better treatment options for the dentist and then you know better outcomes for the patient.
Chad Paris
Yeah, it's it's amazing that you know this is what's so great about the country of the world that we live in with so many brilliant people. And I think you s you said something that I think is is so true. Is and and and I honestly in my own consulting world, I I believe the same philosophy. I I don't we would you really step back and you watch and you see problems or I call them, you know, not necessarily call them problems, but you Areas of improvement, let's say it that way, to be able to evaluate those and say, okay, I've seen this like multiple times now. What can be a solution to fix that? And and that's that's kind of you know what you're describing. You did that and you said, you know, here's a problem. They're they're they're having to use this and that, and to try to get in is not good. Like, how do we fix that? And and it takes people like yourself and stuff to stop and go, all right. Let's let's tweak this. So, you know, you and your brothers w we and I'm asking this kind of money, like when y'all first started building these or doing that, did y'all do it like in the basement or did y'all have like a garage or or where did you start?
Tad Hartlaub
Well, because because it was a medical device and had to be done in a clean room, it was really designing prototypes that shouldn't be used. You know, we would recommend they use it like on an orange or something so they could see how the product would work. But and then put together a packet, a a company was started to specifically try and commercialize this. And so we worked with them. And that's actually where the bugged bit fall. me as far as getting into marketing, product development in, in the med tech space, was working with that company. I was in pre-med, so I had the lightest course load of my my brothers and started spending maybe five or 10 hours a week helping them out. And I was just like, I love this. This is fantastic. So switch my major to business and and and haven't looked back. But it it it's interesting you brought up the the challenges that that that come up.
Chad Paris
That's all.
Tad Hartlaub
And how that translates into marketing too. So, like with a lot of our clients, it's understanding what that pain point and challenge is at the facility, with the clinician, with all of the stakeholders that are involved, all the way up to the C suite at the hospital. And ways that you can you know put together marketing materials and and really have a a cohesive, simple message that conveys the the strong value of. their product to be able to get traction in the marketplace.
Chad Paris
Yeah, I I think it there there's somewhat there is such similarities. And I think I think with when people are are again, it goes back to I said earlier, I think, you know, like in the business world, in the medical world, in any any business structure, you know, there's there's so much noise, right? There's always so much noise and so much expectation to get things accomplished tomorrow that everybody seems to be like going a million miles an hour. rather than like, hey, hold on a minute. Let's let's let's slow down. Let's figure out who we are, what this is, how we want to package it. What's the package look like? What is the how how we gonna deliver this? What's gonna be our game plan? Put together some game plans. Have some trial and error in it, where if this one doesn't work, we have this one. Like we're doing some A B testing and things like that. Like a real strategic mindset around how to launch something or or even write the course or fix anything inside of a business takes some slowing down and understanding and uncovering some of the scars to figure out how we can make it better.
Tad Hartlaub
yeah, absolutely. And really understanding your your customers, understanding their pain point, where that challenge is. And if you can address that issue, if you can communicate that your your med tech or biotech solution addresses that, you I think you can't help but win because the especially in in healthcare, they're looking for viable solutions that are, you know, cost effective is always important but not as important as being able to provide better treatment options and better patient outcomes. I mean that's what the healthcare community is screaming for. And if you can come up with a solution and properly communicate that through marketing campaign and a strategic marketing approach into the healthcare space, I think quite honestly you can't help but be successful.
Chad Paris
I I agree. So you're today you you is it year three that you're in with Metvance? Is it three three or four?
Tad Hartlaub
Yes. Yep. year three. Yep.
Chad Paris
Okay. Now you got how it you don't have a big team, or you got a small team, but pretty efficient team, right? We got three.
Tad Hartlaub
three, right. Well there's th three of us directors. I handle the strategic and then the business operations and have have some support. And then Carissa Morin is our creative director and she's responsible for all of the creative aspects, the websites, the marketing materials. And then on the digital side, we've got Kelsey Cuff who is handles all of all of the digital side. So she does the emails. social media and and it and addresses you know all of the the the digital including Google, Google Analytics, Google ads. So really between the three of us, we realize that we really have a nice package to be able to provide a very concierge approach to med tech and biotech companies that are startups and and in incubators to be able to go ahead and really get some traction early out of the gate.
Chad Paris
Yeah.
Chad Paris
That's cool. So so take me back. I mean, you c you're you're in year three. y you remember that first day? What what was it like?
Tad Hartlaub
it was it was it was very exciting. Very exciting. I mean, we really felt and and I I've always been and you know the show Mad Men, right? You knew that that what I liked about it was not the flawed characters, but the approach that they had to the marketing, which was really to understand that that pain point. And it was neat. And I thought, wow, if you could take that kind of classic storytelling, that classic approach to marketing. And couple that with new technologies that are out there, analytics, you've got AI, you've got digital, and and and really bring those two together that it could be very helpful to the med tech and biotech space.
Chad Paris
Yeah. Have you I'm sure it's kinda evolved from day one to what it is today. It's always, you know, owning a business, I would tell you, I have myself, there's always you you you pivot and change and and you know what you think you're gonna do in the beginning sometimes changes and fluctuates and your approaches change, right? They're not always like you don't write any I don't think anybody maybe writes it installed. This is what we're gonna do. We're not looking back. We're not altering it one bit. Like that's not reality. You have to be willing to do that sometimes.
Tad Hartlaub
Yep, to pivot. And and we did. We actually started primarily in in the in the dental space. That was my most recent position and so corporate position. So I had connections there and and used those connections to go ahead and and convey what our company was and how we could help. So we got some initial traction in the dental space. But one of the challenges with the dental space is that most dental is out of pocket. So probably 50 to 60 percent can be out of pocket. So economy goes up, spending goes up on dentistry. Down, it it goes down. So and then my wife actually works at a at a university, a medical school, and they have an incubator there. And I started connecting with some of the people and they said, Wow, you know what we could use? You got a good understanding of of med tech and biotech marketing and A lot of our incubator companies and startups really don't understand that. They don't understand that skill set and they desperately need it. Would you be willing to meet with some of them and and help them out? So we started doing that and and and that's that's how we pivoted when we realized that this was really the space. And there's usually, to be honest with you, there's more funding on the med tech and biotech space. for companies than there is in in dental. So we realized there seemed to be more of a of a gap here and they had the resources to be able to follow through on some strategic marketing campaigns and approaches. So we pivoted.
Chad Paris
Well, and it gives you a chance honestly to be in the middle of the two things that you do love the marketing side and how to get it out there, but also the creative side, because you're you're in these incubators and you're seeing what they're building and you kind of start to you get I'm sure you get a chance to understand what they're building, how they're doing it. So it kind of it kind of feeds that that fun, creative, let me build it kind of spirit in you and then as well as, Hey, how do we now take it and Okay, y'all got it built. It's ready to go. Now give it to me and let's go put it out there. Like that's that's gotta be you know, for you, like you've landed in the right spot.
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah, definitely feel that way. And there's a there is, and Chad, you're hitting it right on the head. There is a raw energy when you have a new product, an innovation, startup company. I mean, you know, you you you think about Amazon and you think about companies like that and how exciting it was, but challenging initially for the founders. And so really to be involved in that and to be able to provide. viable cost effective solutions and approaches to be able to go ahead and and move the technology forward and connect it, you know, be that bridge to the clinical adoption is is absolutely fantastic.
Chad Paris
Yeah, I mean it's it's you know that that's the thing for me that I I enjoy and I think you and I probably will will will be aligned in this is like seeing company entrepreneurs, business owners, seeing these incubators get something off the ground and start growing, having success. That's very rewarding for me. Like I love to see the the smiles that they have because like the some of the things that we help implement. They're starting to see them come and they're working and they're helping them. And at the end of the day, you know, they're they're their company's growing. And you know, that's a I don't think a lot of people talk about that enough, but for me, that's one of the most rewarding things. Yes, we all work because we have to get paid, got bills, but that is really way more important to me to see that. I enjoy seeing that.
Tad Hartlaub
yeah, definitely. Like back to that bacteria killing light I had mentioned. I mean, to see the growth. you know, the third year growth was up I I think it was about 160% to target. And so, and that was all because of understanding the challenge with adoption at the healthcare facility coming up with a program to be able to use the operational budget and and to be able to see that get traction and grow. And and at the end of the day, you're right. It it's all about metrics. And the the biggest metrics, you can look at clicks and forwards and likes and all of that. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to revenue and being able to you know get your product out there, get it adopted, and to be able to see growth and in in revenue and adoption. And that's real exciting.
Chad Paris
So this this last part that that I'd like to kind of let's talk about, and and I'm gonna preface it by because you and I have had a little pre-conversation. You know, one of the things that I loved about your story, and I want to make sure I tell it on this show because I think I think a lot of businesses are missing this element, is you have a very big interest and personal relationship with the people that work for you, and y'all spend a lot of I think you even said at the beginning of your day, y'all y'all spend your day started talking about each other and what's going on in their life and all those things. And I thought that that really resonated with me because I want to get into talking about AI. And so I want the reason I say that is I wanted to start by you're very much a personal person and human element. So before we get into AI, I just want to make sure I I said that, but because I I I I think we do injustice if people didn't know. Like the way you run your business thing is very important.
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah, and and and I'm glad you brought that up. I mean, with Carissa and Kelsey, we we have our our partners meeting every week. And the first thing we do is, okay, so what'd you do this weekend? Or you know, what how are the kids doing and and and talking about that? Because it's it really is. And that's what I like about about healthcare, med tech and biotech is these are solutions that are making people's lives better. So it's a very personal story. It's a very Personal experiences, these technologies are advanced. It's not just, you know, like with with the bacteria killing light again. I mean, it wasn't just a pet rock. it was, it was something that had real impact, that it was saving lives. And and that's to me and and to us, I think that that that elevates what we're doing and brings clarity to why we need to to work together to understand each other, support each other so we can. You can get these products out to market.
Chad Paris
Yeah, I mean it's an a it's a leadership, you know, it's it's a pillar of leadership to understand your people and and to be able because you know, everybody learns different, everybody is inspired differently. And so when you when you as a leader understand how to communicate with people and how to motivate people, it sure makes the job easier than not understanding that. so so, you know, AI you know, is is a man, it's it's like it feels like every time you turn the TV on it's in the news or they're talking about You know, this Fable Five was out and then they they they canned it and you know there there's just there's a lot of talk about AI. It's all over the place. There's AI data center going up everywhere. AI's in my business. I use AI, use AI with my customers and I have a you know, my belief on that. on the medical side, are you guys seeing some of the AI tools being implemented and used today?
Tad Hartlaub
Yes. Yep. And and we ourselves, like you said, Chad, for you know, that you use them, we we use some AI tools also. But AI is good, I think, really at truncating the research and the the options investigation. So it's looking at what type of things are out there, you know, what what are possible solutions and then looking at those and then you you really need the the breadth of knowledge.
Chad Paris
Yeah.
Tad Hartlaub
in in the industry, like you know, my twenty plus years in in med tech, to be able to go ahead and look at what's going to work, what's not gonna work. It's that it's that that personal touch as we it as we had talked about. So AI can never replicate that completely, but it can certainly be a good resource to be able to look at a large swath of data and to be able to provide potential options. Then the the The human aspect has to come in and and look at what's feasible, what's within budget, and all those other aspects.
Chad Paris
Yeah, I I always you know, when when I have the AI conversation and and it it it's it's amazing at how many marketing firms, PR firms, consulting firms, everybody is is using AI. And and there's you know I I think there's a there's a fine line between using it the right way and and just overusing it. And I I always say that to people because I get asked this all the time and I'm sure you do too. Well, okay, we're you know we we want to do a marketing campaign and we're we're we'll just we'll just pull it into these AI tools and let it go do its thing. I mean, you you you fight against that. I mean, but you hear it. Yeah, I mean it it it's $199 to do it and I'll just let it go do its thing, right? I mean you see that. You you you come. and I always tell people, well, you certainly can do that. Absolutely you can do that. And it and it's there. And and by all means, if if if that's the budget you have, then I highly recommend you to do that. That's that's okay. You just have to know what you're getting and it and the the problem is is that there's so much AI tools out there.
Tad Hartlaub
yeah. Yeah.
Tad Hartlaub
yeah.
Chad Paris
If you don't understand how to use them and how to use them to your advantage, because you got to think about using that tool as a leverage to help you achieve what you're trying to achieve. If you're letting the the tool run how you do business, it's not going to work. It's it's more advantageous edge, is what you're trying to do with that, rather than looking at it like, well, this is gonna solve everything. Because it it may not. It may not solve, you know, I use this example. If you're
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah.
Chad Paris
If you have a if you have a terrible sales process and they don't know what they're doing, putting AI tool is not gonna fix the sales process, it's still broken. and I can it once you fix the process, then you can put the AI tool in it and help with the workflow. That is absolutely what you can do. But you know, it's it's a broader misconception out there.
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah, yeah. No, I would I would agree. And your analogy of the sales is exactly it. I look at at AI as just another tool to use. and and and I think it allows you to get from A to B, usually a little bit quicker and afford you more options to be able to get to B. But ultimately at the end of the day, you it's assessing budgets, skill sets within the the the med tech or biotech company, what what their solution is and how it addresses. Remember, AI is only as good as as the information that's out there. And a lot of the technologies that are being developed are new. And so there's not much from an AI perspective out there, also. So that is one challenge that we have too, is that you know, there's just not a lot around specific spheres of technology that are being developed by the med tech and biotech companies because they're new. And so, you know, they're starting to to bring that to the forefront and maybe in four, five, six, seven years that that AI will be more robust and more accurate with the information. But right now it it just kind of provides some some different options to evaluate and then apply to the new technology.
Chad Paris
Yeah. Yeah, I mean I work I work with with people in the medical world and I and I work with with with law firms and and the the two those two are the are always the the most interested because there's two government bodies over both of those, right? I mean you you want your lawyer personal information and personal stuff like that and getting it out there is is obviously a no no. But then you have HIPAA and and all the rules and regulations around the medical side and so those are typically the two fear points for for either side and so You you're right. There's they're still developing and they're still doing that and and and there's this there's a real fear of how does this work in that and not you know break up and and and and there's a fine line and it's it's still being, I guess, courted to to figure out how to work in that.
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah. And I think that's where the strategic focus comes in and understanding, okay, what's the long-term goal? What is your long-term goal for the company? And then being able to understand the iterative steps along the way and and incorporate all the tools that are available. you know, key opinion leaders in that particular healthcare field, bringing them in, publish papers and articles, evidence-based.
Chad Paris
Exactly.
Tad Hartlaub
And AI and and you know competitive analysis and looking at all these different different tools, but ultimately at the end of the day, I think the strategy needs to to be developed by somebody who has that experience and and has developed a a deep understanding of the pain points and the value proposition of that particular product to properly convey it in the marketplace and to grow the business.
Chad Paris
That's it. And that's and that's it. I can agree with you a hundred percent. And I think that's the the right approach. I I think that's the smart approach. I think it's the safest approach. And when you're, you know, when you're looking at these different, you know, AI tools and you're looking at that, whether you're you know, it like your case with an incubator that's trying to release something, you know, having a having a a med batch that knows where to use use it, but also has that. That real human element that can say, listen, you don't need that. That's the wrong path to go. Because that's that's the expertise that you bring. That's why you do a relationship with that, rather than just going saying, Hey, I'm just gonna buy this tool and bolt it on. No. Help me understand where it flows with inside of what I'm trying to do. Because, you know, there's there's so many there's so many options. and a lot of them are very similar options. Like you may have You well, this one tool does this thing, but it's there's nine of them out there that does the same thing, just a little bit different. And when you're trying to, you know, keep that human understanding in element, because you know, let me use it this way. I I say people all the time, so if I was if I had one doing a an SEO for me and it was doing all that, well, everybody has a an AI SEO tool now. So it's all writing the same SEO for everybody. That human element to take what it writes and say, okay, this is wrong, this is wrong. Let me implement the human part to it is what's going to make it stand out. Just having it and go click and switch is not going to work. And that's the same thing with bigger scale of what you're talking about and what I believe too is that it's a great tool, but it's a it's a baseline for you to be able to go in and add real human experience, personal touch, how to make it implement into there where it's authentic.
Tad Hartlaub
Exactly.
Tad Hartlaub
Yeah. And then as you said, the implementation of it too. Okay, so you've come up with this great plan. Now you have to implement it. And that unfortunately implementation is still very labor intensive. It requires people to engage to be able to look at different things. And so the strategy often can be helped with AI as a tool and somewhat the implementation, but the majority of the implementation still needs to be done, you know, feet on the ground.
Chad Paris
Yeah, I agreed. Well, listen, what a great conversation we have. We're we're up against our time. if someone's out there and they have a a medical patent that they're sitting here ready to go and they're having a time, they need to know, man, how do I get this out there? How can they get in touch with you?
Tad Hartlaub
they can visit us on our website, which is Medvance Marketing all one word dot com. and yeah, just check out our website. There's a contact form there to reach out to us. or I'm on LinkedIn, Tad Hartlaub Feel free to reach out to me through there. Medvance is also on LinkedIn. You can reach out to us through there and Facebook also. So
Chad Paris
Fantastic. Well, Tad, thank you again for for sharing your journey. I hope that I think it's been a great conversation. I hope people out there will will watch our my podcast and subscribe to it and we'll have this content out in a few weeks. And yeah, excited about this one to drive. What a great conversation. Thank you very much for being on today.
Tad Hartlaub
thank you, Chad. I greatly enjoyed it also and look look forward to seeing the the podcast get out there and your podcast grow.
Chad Paris
Thank you so much. Well, as always, Chad Paris on Stonefly Consulting Group. This is Process Over pressure. See you next time.
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