Summary
Glad to have you back to another episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast!
The podcast crew is back in person and better than ever! In this episode, Jeff Amerine and Caleb Tally meet with Vance Clement, CEO, and Spencer Jones, Founder, and CTO, of Lineus Medical. With their company being right on the heels of FDA approval for their flagship device, Safebreak Vascular, you won’t want to miss this discussion! We cover all things from balancing expectations, responding to failure, and navigating what’s next after success.
Thanks for tuning in!
Shownotes
(1:22) Introducing Spencer Jones and Vance Clement
(1:27) Origin story of Lineus Medical
(9:25) SafeBreak Vascular in the Marketplace
(12:43) Pros and Cons of Accelerators
(20:58) Future of Lineus Medical and Venture Capital
(24:29) Transitions from Day Jobs to Entrepreneurship
(26:59) Counting the Cost and Responding to Failure
(35:44) Advice to Fellow Entrepreneurs
(39:45) Wrap Up
Links
Quotes
“As startups do, [we were] trying to balance things on a knife’s edge. We were waiting to get clearance and then we would have lots of money, and if we did not get clearance, we would have zero money.” (9:25) – Vance Clement
“[A good accelerator] can be really valuable with helping you grow, helping you learn, but then helping you expand your network in areas where you may not have a lot of contacts.” (15:11) -Spencer Jones
“It’ll become painfully obvious when it’s time to leave your current employer for your entrepreneurial endeavor.” (28:40) Spencer Jones
“A simple rule: the rule of PI, it’s going to take 3.14 times longer than you think. And cost 3.14 times as much money.” (37:14) Spencer Jones
An Overnight Success Story 6 Years in the Making with Vance & Spencer of Lineus Medical
You are safe and secure in your day job… but have you ever gotten the itch to drop it all and start something new? Have you seen a problem and want to be the first to create a solution?
Keep reading about this week’s episode as Jeff Amerine, and Matthew Ward get to hear from Spencer Jones and Vance Clement of Linneus Medical from their adventures of medical entrepreneurship!
See a Problem and Solve a Problem
Linneus Medical all started with an idea formed in a Little Rock hospital. Spencer was a night shift nurse and began noticing that when a damaging force was on an IV line, it would cause it to break into two pieces and offload. Thus began the idea of the device, SafeBreak Vascular. It would reduce the number of complications requiring peripheral IV restarts by separating when and IV line interacts with a harmful force. Vance soon joined in and Linneus Medical was off to the races. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, how did this even begin?
Count The Cost
From idea to approval took six years of putting all talents, time, and money on the line, and when push comes to shove, Lineus could have bankrupted or made millions for Spencer and Vance. With the device being more unique than its predicates, the process from creation to FDA approval required a good amount of clinical trials… all during a pandemic. The odds were seemingly against them, but their passion behind the product would make the most recent FDA approval a sweet, sweet victory. With the recent FDA approval, the latter was the case!
With very different backgrounds, both Sencor and Vance experienced hurdles in their road to the early stages of a startup. Spencer emphasized that being up front and transparent when quitting a job to pursue entrepreneurship is vital. If you are looking to jump ship, keep in mind that honesty is always the best policy!
On the flip side, Vance realized that his desire to be an entrepreneur was not quenched within a large corporation. This required a leap of faith from the security of big business to the turbulent waters of startups. This also meant he would have to learn how to handle failure well. Vance explains his experience with spending six months starting a not-for-profit company all to see it go nowhere. Choosing to learn from and move forward after failure is what would set this power team apart.
“I want everybody to know that it’s not all a rosy path” (31:30) – Vance Clement
Lastly, you have to remember why you got in the startup game. Both agree that the ability to have a significant role in all decision-making and movement in the company is what made the challenges of transitioning to a startup worth it.
Investors, Accelerators, and Connections… Oh my
Vance is adamant that you need not only an investor but also a believer in your product. This is what will bring the referrals to grow your company. Piggybacking off that, Spencer points out that accelerators are the more time-consuming and tedious choice, but was the right one for Lineus Medical in the long run.
Although they both hail from Arkansas, they chose to reach out to accelerators from Connecticut to Seul Korea. This not only built connections but brought a new air of confidence to this Mid-Western American company. Spencer and Vance avoided accelerator tourism by being strategic, selective, and then fully committed.
“Accelerators are very much, you know, you get out of it, what you put into it. And they take a lot of time. We don’t have a lot of time to spare.” (20:25) Spencer Jones
What’s next?
The next 3-5 years bring Lineus to possibly running back the same formula with their secondary product, but for now, the focus is on creating revenue.
A big question for the team was how to navigate venture capital. As most startups know, you are getting on the treadmill of venture capital when you take venture capital money. The more money, the faster you are running. To turn a run into a jog, Lenius medical paced itself with four companies with the explicit goal of raising sales to a specific level.
Balance Expectations
The most significant piece of advice comes from Spencer looking back on what he would tell his past self. Although the company is very successful now, he wished someone would have mentored him on the time, money, and stress of any prolific startup. Having realistic expectations protects from burnout.
With Lineus Medical and SafeBreak Vascular changing the entrepreneurial world, we were stoked for them to be a part of our first in-person show since the pandemic. They are creating important things and impacting lives worldwide!
Stay tuned for each week’s episode as we continue to track down and hear impactful stories and advice from genuine startup junkies!
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