The Medtech Innovation Podcast cover art

The Medtech Innovation Podcast

The Medtech Innovation Podcast

By: Spencer Jones
Listen for free

About this listen

 Medtech Innovation Podcast: Spencer Jones dives deep into winning medtech startup strategies. Each episode unpacks hot takes and insider tactics from the trenches of medtech innovation. Join physician inventors, founders, engineers, and healthcare market makers as they share actionable insights to navigate the FDA, secure medtech funding, and drive medtech breakthroughs. No-nonsense advice to be a change maker in medtech.©️ 2024 XO Medtech Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • He got fired and built an automation empire

    He got fired and built an automation empire
    Jul 23 2025
    I'm joined by Aaron Moncur, Founder and President at Pipeline Design & Engineering, as we explore his unique approach to building an engineering empire centered on promoting joy in team members' lives, innovative automation solutions, and creating community-driven platforms that are revolutionizing how engineers collaborate and learn.In this episode, we dive deep into:From Near-Death Surfing to Engineering Excellence → How a life-threatening surfing experience at Diamond Head shaped Aaron's resilience and company philosophy → Why Pipeline got its name from Banzai Pipeline (not oil pipelines) as inspiration for engineering excellence → The journey from Hawaii to Arizona and building a culture-first engineering services companyRevolutionary Company Culture Philosophy → Why "treat customers well, but treat team members better" drives superior engineering outcomes → How daily huddles, weekly launchpads, and core value nominations create authentic engagement → The 10-week sprint story that proves culture translates to tangible business resultsGoverned by Productivity, Not Bureaucracy → Why engineers purchase without approval processes and how trust accelerates project delivery → The guiding principles approach that empowers decision-making over rigid rule-following → How small teams of 10-15 maintain quality without drowning in processAI Integration That Actually Works → Using ChatGPT to transform meeting transcripts into winning project summaries → Why customers say "you guys actually listened" when AI helps capture requirements perfectly → Team adoption strategies that prioritize productivity over mandatesThe Engineering Empire Ecosystem → CAD Club's mission to prevent violence by teaching life skills through engineering mentorship → The Being an Engineer podcast reaching 300+ episodes with industry legends like SolidWorks founders → The Wave platform creating mentorship connections and design accelerators for engineersEasy Motion: The Game-Changing Innovation → How no-code visual programming eliminates the controls engineer bottleneck → Reducing 30-40 hour programming tasks to 20 minutes with drag-and-drop automation → Why mechanical engineers can now create sophisticated automated sequences without codingPDX: The Ultimate Hardware Training Bootcamp → October 21-22 intensive featuring 30+ industry experts in custom manufacturing → Office hours concept providing live consulting on real engineering problems → Why small teams with multi-disciplinary talent can develop artificial hearts in under a yearBest Quotes: "What makes a kid so angry that he's willing to harm one of his peers? CAD Club is really about helping kids understand what healthy adult behavior looks like.""The best way to treat your customers well is to make sure your team is really happy doing what they're doing. Would you rather have an engineer just showing up for a paycheck or one finding joy in their work?""We don't have any formal approval process for purchasing. When an engineer needs something, they buy it. We've been operating for 15 years and it's never been a problem."Want more insights on medtech innovation?Subscribe to the channel so you don't miss hot takes and insider tactics from the trenches of medtech startups.🤝 Join the #1 network for medtech innovators on the internet. Join for free using this link - https://tinyurl.com/xo-medtech-free-tier Find vendors at MedtechVendors - https://www.medtechvendors.com/📈 FREE 5-day course: https://xomedtech.com/free-courseFIND SPENCER JONES ON SOCIAL Spencer's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/medtech-innovation/ XO Medtech LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/xo-medtech/FIND AARON MONCUR ON SOCIAL Aaron's LinkedIn Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pipelinedesign/Pipeline Design & Engineering Website - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pipelinedesign/The Wave Platform - https://www.thewave.engineer/PDX Event - https://www.thewave.engineer/product-development-expo/pdx-2025/Episode Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction and surfing story from Hawaii 12:00 - Custom automation and fixture examples 18:00 - Culture philosophy: joy as highest purpose 28:00 - Productivity over bureaucracy approach 36:00 - Communication skills for engineers 44:00 - The engineering empire ecosystem 52:00 - Easy Motion no-code automation platform 58:00 - AI integration and future tools
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 24 mins
  • How to scale your platform technology

    How to scale your platform technology
    Jul 9 2025

    I'm joined by Ross Peterson, Chief Business Development Officer at ProPlate, as we explore the specialized world of metallization and electroplating for medical devices, from life-saving pediatric applications to cutting-edge energy delivery systems.
    In this episode, we dive deep into:

    The Science of Medical Device Metallization
    → How electroplating adds metal microinches at a time using electrical current and metal ion chemistry
    → Why vacuum deposition is required to metalize non-conductive polymers like balloon catheters
    → The four primary applications: stimulation, ablation, sensing, mapping, and radio opacity

    Rare Earth Magnet Plating Mastery
    → How ProPlate became the only company in North America capable of electroplating neodymium magnets
    → Why these strongest commercially available magnets corrode in open air and are extremely toxic unprotected
    → The supply chain implications of China's dominance in rare earth materials

    Life-Saving Pediatric Innovation
    → The heartwarming story of plating magnets for UCSF Berkeley's esophageal atresia treatment device
    → How magnetic anastomosis creates a non-invasive solution for babies born with disconnected esophagus
    → Why receiving a Christmas photo from a healthy patient family became the ultimate reward

    Next-Generation Electrode Technology
    → How replacing thick platinum iridium with stainless steel and selective precious metal plating cuts costs 50%+
    → The game-changing potential for PFA devices using 20-30 electrodes per device
    → Why traditional marker band methods fail on miniaturized, flexible stents

    Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities
    → The shift from wet chemistry to PVD processes for superior polymer compatibility
    → How batch processing beats one-by-one crimping for complex geometries
    → Creating marker bands under 2 French with wall thicknesses under 1 mil

    Best Quotes:
    "One in 3,000 babies are born with esophageal atresia. If anything, this is something that we should be working on."

    "The first few batches came out with no magnets left. They disintegrated, they were rusted."

    Want more insights on medtech innovation?
    Subscribe to the channel so you don't miss hot takes and insider tactics from the trenches of medtech startups.
    🤝 Join the #1 network for medtech innovators on the internet. Join for free using this link: https://tinyurl.com/xo-medtech-free-tier

    Find vendors at MedtechVendors - https://www.medtechvendors.com/
    📈 FREE 5-day course: https://xomedtech.com/free-course

    FIND SPENCER JONES ON SOCIAL
    Spencer's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/medtech-innovation/
    XO Medtech LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/xo-medtech/

    FIND ROSS PETERSON ON SOCIAL
    Ross's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-peterson-proplatetech/
    ProPlate Website - https://www.proplate.com/

    Episode Timestamps:
    0:00 - Introduction to Ross Peterson and ProPlate
    5:00 - Electroplating explained for fourth graders
    12:00 - Rare earth magnet challenges and supply chain
    18:00 - Life-saving pediatric esophageal atresia project
    25:00 - Working with startups vs large strategics
    30:00 - Future opportunities in electrode technology
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • How to develop a medical device

    How to develop a medical device
    Jul 2 2025
    I'm joined by Jeremy Ridley, Senior Director of Engineering at Delve, as we explore how the best engineers design and develop complex medtech innovations, from managing regulatory constraints to building breakthrough products that actually make it to market.The Hidden Reality of Medtech Engineering Leadership→ Most engineering leaders underestimate the time required for regulatory alignment - Jeremy reveals it should be happening from day one, not after product development→ The biggest career mistake engineers make is staying in their technical comfort zone instead of developing business acumen and market understanding→ Successful medtech engineers must become "translators" between technical teams, regulatory bodies, and business stakeholders - it's a skill that separates leaders from individual contributorsWhy Traditional Product Development Fails in Medtech→ The waterfall approach that works in other industries creates dangerous blind spots in medtech where regulatory changes can kill projects overnight→ Jeremy's contrarian take: spend more time in the problem definition phase rather than rushing to solutions - most failed medtech products solve the wrong problem elegantly→ User research in healthcare requires a completely different approach than consumer products - you're often designing for three users: patients, clinicians, and administratorsThe Regulatory Reality Check Every Founder Needs→ FDA conversations should start 18-24 months before you think you need them - waiting until you have a "complete" product is a recipe for expensive pivots→ The Pre-Submission process is your secret weapon for getting regulatory clarity early, but most startups use it wrong by asking vague questions→ Quality systems aren't just compliance checkboxes - they're competitive advantages that enable faster iteration and better products when implemented correctlyEngineering Team Building Secrets for Medtech Startups→ The ideal early engineering hire isn't the most senior person available - it's someone who's navigated 0-to-1 product development in regulated industries→ Cross-functional collaboration skills matter more than pure technical depth because medtech requires constant coordination between engineering, regulatory, clinical, and business teams→ Remote engineering teams can work in medtech, but you need different processes for documentation and knowledge transfer due to regulatory requirementsThe Economics of Medtech Engineering Decisions→ Design for manufacturability from day one - Jeremy reveals that manufacturing constraints kill more medtech products than technical feasibility issues→ The "good enough" philosophy from software doesn't apply to medtech where incremental improvements can mean life or death for patients→ Budget 30-40% more time and resources for testing and validation than you would for non-medical devices - this isn't optional padding, it's realityNavigating the Innovation vs. Regulation Tension→ The most successful medtech companies treat regulatory strategy as a product feature, not a barrier - it becomes part of their competitive moat→ Innovation happens within constraints, not despite them - Jeremy's teams use regulatory requirements as design inspiration rather than limitations→ The biggest breakthrough opportunities exist where regulation is evolving - AI/ML in medical devices is the current frontier with massive potentialFuture-Proofing Your Medtech Engineering Career→ Learn to speak the language of business outcomes, not just technical specifications - your ability to connect engineering decisions to patient outcomes and revenue determines your ceiling→ Develop expertise in emerging areas like digital therapeutics, AI-enabled devices, and remote monitoring - these are where the growth opportunities will be→ Build relationships across the entire medtech ecosystem including regulatory consultants, clinical partners, and manufacturing specialists - your network is your net worth in this industryBest Quotes:"Most engineers think about regulatory as this thing that happens at the end. But if you're not thinking about it from day one, you're setting yourself up for failure. The FDA isn't your enemy - they're actually trying to help you build better products.""The biggest mistake I see engineering leaders make is staying in their comfort zone. You can't just be a great engineer anymore. You need to understand the business, understand the market, understand the regulatory landscape.""Quality systems aren't overhead - they're actually your competitive advantage. When you have robust processes, you can iterate faster, you can scale better, and you can respond to regulatory feedback more quickly.""Innovation doesn't happen despite constraints - it happens because of constraints. Some of our best product decisions have come from regulatory requirements that forced us to think differently."Want more insights on medtech innovation? Subscribe to the channel so ...
    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.