Is this startup worth betting yourself on?
Joining a MedTech startup can seem like a daunting decision. How do you analyze whether the company and the role are worth betting yourself on?
Score the company on fourteen things that decide its risk, say how much each one matters to you, and divide by what the move would mean for you. One number comes out, and it is built for comparing offers.
01Leadership quality
Strength of the board
- 1
- Friends of the founder, no industry knowledge
- 10
- Industry experience with a track record of exits
Strength of leadership
- 1
- First-time leader
- 10
- Experience in the vertical and a track record of success at two or more companies
Personal connection and trust with your direct leadership
- 1
- No connection, no experience with them
- 10
- You would follow them anywhere, and they have taken companies in the space to exit two or more times
02Capitalization
Cash position
- 1
- Waiting on funding, or highly leveraged
- 10
- 15%+ EBIT on current revenue
Experience of the investment pool
- 1
- No one with industry experience; family money
- 10
- Strategics and firms with a dedication to MedTech
Access to funding
- 1
- Has taken new money on a down round
- 10
- Profitable, with a strategic making investments
03Product market fit
Clinical evidence
- 1
- Proof of concept
- 10
- Two or more RCTs complete, with published findings
Current total addressable market
- 1
- New to the world, no direct competition
- 10
- $1B+ of direct product utilization that can be displaced
Potential total addressable market
- 1
- Rare disease
- 10
- 300+ million in the US have or would need treatment
Reimbursement and financial ROI
- 1
- Costs healthcare more, though patient care improves
- 10
- Healthcare CFOs can't wait to adopt the product
Product life cycle stage
- 1
- Proof of concept
- 3
- submitted for regulatory approval
- 5
- early commercialization
- 10
- Expanding markets
Current market adoption
- 1
- Unproven
- 10
- Customers are buying as fast as they can make it
Then divide by the opportunity for reward
The scale runs the other way here: a 1 is the biggest reward, a 10 means nothing changes for you.
Personal financial impact
- 1
- Generational wealth
- 10
- The same as your current role
Personal career growth
- 1
- A significant jump in title and scope
- 10
- The same level and challenge as your current role
video
Look at the leadership quality
Start with the leadership.
A short walk-through of the calculator and why leadership quality is the first thing to score. Prefer a spreadsheet you can keep? Save a copy of the original.
Great people attract great people.
Scored it and still not sure?
A Talent Director who knows the company's corner of MedTech has usually seen how its last few hires worked out. Get into the network and ask.