Getting to Endgame

Originally Published June 2000

Erika D. Brown

You have a great product idea and the entrepreneurial spirit needed to start or grow a business. You're convinced that your product is marketable. You've convinced others that it is. Those who weren't convinced offered suggestions, some of which you may have taken. Moving ahead, you produced a working prototype. Now what? Whom do you talk to? Where do you go?

For many leaders in medical technology start-ups, the next step is to present the company and its prototype at an executive-level conference. Commonly sponsored by market research or investment banking firms, such conferences offer venues where ventures can meet capitalists to cut deals and make things happen. Throughout the year, there are executive conferences dedicated to prospecting potential partners, mergers and acquisitions, and new investment financing strategies.