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Dr. Asha Parekh, Co-Founder and CEO of Frontline Medical Technologies joined The Savvy Entrepreneur recently to chat about her company's journey and about how to encourage more women in STEM, entrepreneurship, and especially healthcare startups.

Asha is a first-time CEO — no small feat in the medical device world.  She and her partner have also largely boostrapped their way through regulatory approval, and are nearly ready for commercialization.

The device they've invented and are bringing to market through Frontline Medical Technologies is the world's smallest REBOA device.  It's designed to stem traumatic bleeding to allow critically injured patients a better shot at getting to the operating room before they lose too much blood. Currently, 90% of trauma patients with significant internal bleeding never even make it to the OR.

Asha candidly shares some of the many challenges she and the company have faced.  She offers several pieces of advice that she's learned along the way.

She also is passionate and devotes time to helping girls and young women consider STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine) careers.  She shares her thoughts on how to encourage more women — not only in technology careers, but also to have the courage and vision to become entrepreneurs and leaders.  On average, only 19% of leadership roles in the MedTech industry are held by women. Similarly, only 10% of healthcare startups are owned and/or founded by women.

Click on the arrow to the left to take a listen!  Or, if you prefer, read a transcript of the interview.

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Shaniqua Davis was tired of not landing jobs she felt qualified for.  So she woke up one day and decided to do something about it.  She founded Noirefy, a platform that helps match diverse tech talent with companies interested in finding those resources.  The platform is free for job seekers, and revenue for the company comes in the form of finders' fees.  Revenue also comes in the form of coaching and consulting with companies to foster more diverse and inclusive workplaces, so that they become a more attractive workplace to hire and retain that talent.

Shaniqua joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to share the story of how she founded the company, some of the challenges of mostly bootstrapping a startup, and dealing with the sensitive issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.  It's an inspiring story, showing how people like Shaniqua are helping our world change and improve, one step at a time.

Click on the arrow to the left to listen to Noirefy and Shaniqua's inspiring story!  Or, if you prefer, read the show transcript here.

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Matrix4 was originally Patricia' Miller's grandfather's company. It made plastic parts. And when he turned over the business to Patricia, it was struggling.

She completely turned the company around.  In the process, she created what she calls the first product design and manufacturing “house.”  The house combines all four key production phases:  design, engineering, tooling, and manufacturing.  The goal was to drive industry growth and innovation, and usher in a new era of culture, leadership and sophistication.

Patricia, the CEO of Matrix4, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur radio show to share her journey and how she rebuilt Matrix4, mixing the best of the old and the new.

The story of the “House of M4” is inspiring, full of great insights on taking on a turnaround situation, building a culture, and revitalizing American manufacturing!

Click on the arrow to listen in!  Or, if you prefer, you can read a transcript of the show here!

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Taralinda and Dale Willis, the Co-Founders of Curate Solutions, prove once again that the opportunities for creative businesses are almost unlimited.  Curate Solutions is a Wisconsin-based startup that makes local government data more accessible through its AI platform.

Taralinda, the CEO, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to share the story of how they came up with the idea, how they found their first clients, and how they basically bootstrapped their way to success.  She offers tips for creating and building a business, finding helpful resources (including a stint with Madison's famed Gener8tor accelerator program).  She also provides incites on pivoting to meet customer needs, scaling a startup business, and generally staying nimble.

Her candor is refreshing, and the story of Curate Solutions is a great listen!  Click on the arrow to hear the show, or click here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of our interview!

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Franchising is a popular way to start a new business.  Scott Majeski, a franchising consultant who is the Managing Partner of FranNet for Chicago and NW Indiana, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to talk about franchising basics. FranNet advises its clients on franchising, helping match them with the right franchising option.  Scott likens the business model to a real estate agent — there is no charge to the buyer, and the franchising company pays FranNet for a successful match with a new franchisee.

Scott shares all the franchising basics: the pros and cons of franchising, as well as what makes franchisees successful.  He speaks from experience, having built and operated a successful PuriClean disaster recovery franchise himself.  He talks about some of the common misconceptions about franchising, the kind of people who are a good fit for franchising (and those who are not), the most common mistakes franchisors make, and some of the costs associated with franchising.

It's a good, practical overview of franchising for those considering this option.  Click on the arrow to listen, or click here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of the show!

 

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