Developing a Surgical Innovation: Creating a Meaningful Value Proposition and a Compelling Pitch for Impact

Abstract

Medical innovation starts with a good idea, but for an idea to be successful, it must be further developed through a process that will create value and positive impact for patients and society. This development of an innovation and the process of commercialization are important pathways for any innovator to understand and navigate. While defining the right problem in medicine to solve is the first step in the process, solutions to the problem are then brainstormed and put through a series of testing, validation, and evaluation by stakeholders who would be impacted by the solution. Their feedback is not only essential for an idea’s success, but also vital to identify gaps and barriers to the solution that need to be addressed before it can move forward. This iterative process of customer discovery can take time but is worth the effort to create a solution and value proposition for an innovation that will have a positive impact on patients and society. Once an innovation has been de-risked and put through appropriate customer discovery, it must gather critical resources to move it through the commercialization process. Acquiring these resources requires the innovator to be fascicle and develop expertise with effectively communicating their idea through a compelling pitch. The first chapter provides an important overview of the innovation and commercialization process as well as helpful insights to prepare the innovator to be more successful at this creative and developmental process. Additionally, several links have been provided at the end of the chapter to videos of academic surgeons delivering compelling pitches, as examples of how this process can lead to meaningful impact.