Entrepreneurship Zone: 08 July 2020: How A Neurological Condition Led 27-Year-Old Entrepreneur To Start MedTech Company, NeuroVice

[Bulls n Bears]

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

·          

Meet Ashlyn Sanders, the 27-year-old CEO and founder of medical device technology startup company, NeuroVice. NeuroVice is developing PATI (The Protector Against Tongue Injury). PATI is a symptom-management, oral device technology that safely prevents tongue biting and oral injury during seizures. PATI is a first-to-market solution that was developed after Sanders received a diagnosis of Chiari Malformation, a rare and incurable neurological condition that affects the brain. Sanders started NeuroVice based on her desire to improve the patient experience for millions of others living with seizures. 

For decades, seizure safety guidelines say not to put anything in the mouth of a person who is having a seizure. Out of desperation for a solution, seizure sufferers have resorted to using hazardous objects such as spoons, towels, socks, and pencils. These objects cause choking, cracking of teeth, and can block the airway. NeuroVice has developed a solution. PATI, The Protector Against Tongue Injury, is the first, symptom-management, oral device technology that safely and effectively prevents tongue biting and oral trauma during seizures. PATI’s patent-pending, the disposable design prevents dislocation or dislodgement during the episode, allows for natural airflow, and prevents saliva from collecting in the mouth, which can lead to choking. With PATI, you don’t have to worry about suffering painful oral injuries, and the discomfort that leads to costly emergency department visits prevents you from doing tasks such as talking or eating, and prolonged healing that diminishes your quality of life.

Since founding the company in 2014 and at 24-years-old, NeuroVice has captured attention and funding from the likes of retired NBA legend, Charles Barkley, 

“Ashlyn’s presentation was one of the most professional and charismatic business plans that I’ve ever received, and I wanted to do my part in ensuring her success. My goal is to help advance women in the technology field and shine a light on their efforts; Ashlyn is a great example of someone who will leave a major mark in the industry.” – Charles Barkley

A consistent part of Sanders’ story is an ability to defeat odds and overcome obstacles, personally, academically, and now entrepreneurially. Her resilience, determination, and perseverance have allowed her to continue striving despite setbacks, leaving a trail of excellence that hopes to inspire others. Sanders’ kaleidoscope of interests at the confluence of technology, health, and policy have guided her as she works to improve the lives of those with mental illnesses and brain disorders. 

We sat down with Sanders to discuss NeuroVice’s mission and impact, being a Black woman entrepreneur and her plans to expand the company. 

Dominique Fluker: Share your entrepreneurship journey. Why did you decide to create NeuroVice?

Ashlyn Sanders: I didn’t plan to become an entrepreneur, but a life-changing diagnosis led me down this path. It wasn't easy to imagine or comprehend. I was lying in an intensive care unit hospital bed, awaiting what I hoped were regular brain scans and discharge papers to go home. Instead, at the young age of 22, I was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening neurologic condition called a Chiari Malformation.

After years of optimal health, my scholarly interest in healthcare collided with my personal life. My previous decision to pursue medicine stemmed from my observations of the adverse effects of health disparities and chronic health challenges. Unbeknownst to me during those formative years, my sense of purpose would again reappear, only this time from a firsthand perspective.

I had just begun graduate school at Duke University when I became ill. It was devastating. As my late mentor, Dr. Brenda Armstrong, said, “Sickness takes away your self-control. It humbles you. It puts your priorities somewhere else, so other things that are important in your life often get left behind.” Although my diagnosis was the most challenging experience of my life, unbeknownst to me at the time, it ended up not being fortuitous, rather a unique part of my journey in sending me down the path of entrepreneurship, a way I otherwise wouldn’t have pursued. My diagnosis allowed me to intimately understand the patient experience, which I believe to be the most critical aspect of medicine. My experience as a patient reaffirmed my desire to shape the healing process for others.

I planned to enter medical school immediately following graduate school to pursue Pediatric Neuropsychiatry. Still, I continued to feel compelled to improve the patient experience for those living with seizures through innovation and creative problem-solving. The impact of my patient experience, like the two-inch scar on the back of my head, left an indelible impression on me, and ultimately fueled my desire to start a Medtech company, NeuroVice. After completing graduate school, I founded NeuroVice and set out to develop a first-to-market solution - a technology that will enable people to live healthier, happier, and safer lives. 



NeuroVice's PATI

 NEUROVICE

Fluker: What’s NeuroVice’s mission? What problem do you hope to solve with your product? 

Sanders: Think of your closest loved one. Imagine helplessly watching as they violently shake, their limbs jerk, thrash, and contort, and their facial muscles contract causing them to chew their tongue and cheeks incessantly. Imagine being told being told the best, and the only thing you can do is watch them suffer as the episode takes its course. As a patient or a caregiver, this is one of the most disempowering feelings - to suffer without a solution.

When I realized the oral complications of seizures had not been addressed in the marketplace, this piqued my curiosity and catalyzed me to develop PATI.  We are on a mission to disrupt the seizure safety guideline that has been in place for decades: Don’t put anything in the mouth during a seizure. I realized this was a guideline because it was such a big problem, yet there was a lack of innovation to create a solution that was both safe and effective.

Our patent-pending medical device is engineered and designed with the seizure patient in mind. PATI does not become dislocated or dislodged during a seizure, allows for proper breathing, prevents saliva from collecting in the mouth and provides a protective barrier between the teeth, tongue, and buccal tissue (cheeks).

 PATI will be prescribed to patients and include a portable container and a wristband. The compact box allows users to carry the device for easy, quick, and convenient access, and the wristband will enable others to know the user has a PATI in case the user needs assistance with administering the device. Before seizure onset or upon experiencing an aura, the user will remove PATI from the portable container and place it into their mouth. PATI is disposable (one-time use), so after the seizure, the user will discard and restock their box with a new PATI.

NeuroVice is not just any ordinary Medtech startup but one with an exceptional focus on leveraging insights and experiences of those impacted by seizures to develop a novel solution. Empowering individuals to manage their health is the future of healthcare.  I believe medical device technology will be the enabler that makes this paradigm shift possible. PATI will be one of the few medical device solutions in the world in epilepsy/seizure market.

Founding NeuroVice has been one of my most rewarding experiences because I have been able to use my knowledge, creative problem solving, and leadership skills to solve a problem that has never been solved. As a founder, I knew the most important quality to possess wasn’t my curiosity or ingenuity, but my unique understanding as a patient of how the disease affects people. I understand how disease or illness affects not only patients but caregivers who worry about their patients or loved ones. My empathy, resilience, and determination have contributed to my ability to persist despite setbacks and challenges toward success. 

Fluker: Last year, NeuroVice won $15,000 in funding from the New Voices Foundation. Share what prompted you to enter the New Voices Foundation pitch contest, and how’d you feel when you won?

Sanders: I became familiar with the New Voices Foundation from a business mentor. I appreciated their mission to support underrepresented founders. I was very excited when I learned I was selected as one of the few finalists to pitch in Austin, Texas, during SXSW. I was able to network with other founders and business experts who offered valuable insights and advice. When I was announced as the 2nd place winner, I was very thankful and excited because the funding enabled us to continue refining our concept and design.

Fluker: Has it been difficult to find funding as a new and Black woman entrepreneur? How’d you catch the attention of retired NBA legend, Charles Barkley as an investor? 

Sanders: I am underrepresented in the startup community in three ways - I’m young, I’m a woman, and I’m African-American. I am fortunate to have parents who have always supported and encouraged me and who also taught me to have a strong sense of self, which fostered my sense of purpose. Inexperienced does not mean incapable, and I always remind myself of that. The funding landscape for people of color and women is devastating. I plan to help change this after successfully exiting my company. 

Because of my under-representation, I knew I had to have the courage to take risks and the self-confidence and perspicacity to see them through. It was incredibly difficult to raise capital. I had exhausted my non-dilutive resources, such as grants and pitch competition awards, and made the difficult decision to seek dilutive capital. After my 40th “NO,” I stopped counting. However, I knew that if I kept praying, having faith, and working hard, a door would open.

Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows, and Charles Barkley was a guest shark a few years ago. After watching his biography profile on the show in which he stated his interest in investing in minority entrepreneurs in technology, I decided to write to him about the vital work we were doing at NeuroVice. A couple of months later, I was invited to pitch my business to him and several others. We ended up closing a seed round earlier this year. I am so grateful to Charles for the opportunity he afforded me and his willingness to take a chance on me. Charles believes we have the next blockbuster product that will also have a social impact in improving patients’ lives.

Fluker: What are your business goals for your company? How do you envision NeuroVice scaling within the next 3-5 years?

Sanders: PATI is the next billion-dollar idea. Epilepsy is the 3rd leading neurologic disorder in the world, and 1.6+ million others live with other seizure-causing conditions, such as strokes, traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). 1 in 26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy at some point in their lifetime, and there are 100,000 newly diagnosed cases in the US each year. 40-45% of people do not respond to medication, and for various reasons. For those with drug-resistant seizures, seizures always present danger of oral complications. In the United States, 60+ million prescriptions are written every year to patients that still experience seizures. The frequency can vary from a few times a year to hundreds a day. PATI is a device that supplements patients’ comprehensive epilepsy management to include seizure symptom management.

Because PATI is disposable and improves the patient experience across multiple revenue streams (EMT and EEG application), this generates diverse and recurrent revenue streams. Additionally, one of the life cycle capabilities of PATI is that it can be used to prevent oral injury during nocturnal seizures. Thus, the user would administer PATI every night. A prescription "kit” will include a 30 or 60 day supply of PATIs, a portable container, and a wristband. Refills will consist of the amount of PATIs.

Based on these metrics, we are confident we’ve developed the next billion-dollar idea. This does not include market penetration globally. We hope to exit the company and bring PATI to market within the next 1-2 years. 

Fluker: Share your best piece of advice for upcoming Black women entrepreneurs. 

Sanders: Keep the faith. Believe in yourself. Believe in your mission and why the future you are building is worth pursuing. You must have persistence, determination, and fortitude to overcome setbacks and challenges.

My journey has been like the nonlinear, algebraic graphs I studied as a Mathematics major, but I always tell people, detours are much more scenic than direct routes. Pay attention to them because you never know what they will teach you and where they will bring you.—Forbes.com



Founder and CEO of NeuroVice, Ashlyn Sanders 

NEUROVICE

 

 

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

Telephone:      <tel:%2B263%204%202927658> +263 4 2927658

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:       <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

Website:         <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH8LYgdY55h-XKseuM8Kpr-JKdfhQ> www.bulls.co.zw 

Blog:            <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw> www.bulls.co.zw/blog

Twitter:         @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:       Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:      <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA> www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200707/94a53242/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4846 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200707/94a53242/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 33754 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200707/94a53242/attachment-0004.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 294095 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200707/94a53242/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 83299 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200707/94a53242/attachment-0005.jpg>