Going against the trend of so many new businesses that focus on
the highly competitive technology, software and social media sectors,
Tensegrity Prosthetics has targeted an underserved customer base in an
un-crowded field. It’s a formula worth considering for other
entrepreneurs seeking a solid foothold in the startup universe.
Small Business Drives Colorado
Setting its sights on an underserved market that has seen little innovation in decades is the startup success blueprint for Tensegrity Prosthetics, Inc.
While so many of today’s entrepreneurial ventures focus on the hotly competitive high-tech, software and social media sectors, Tensegrity is the manufacturer of the K3 Promoter, a prosthetic foot that aims to compete on function, affordability and comfort in an industry that is anything but overcrowded.
“It’s a foot that has the most human-like movement of any human prosthetic on the market,” says founder Jerome Rifkin, founder, CEO and Chief Technical Officer of Tensegrity. “It does it all without electronics and at a price any Medicare patient can afford,” Rifkin says.
Rifkin, 41, a biomedical engineer by trade, suffered a serious leg injury in a bicycle accident in 2004. During his recovery he discovered the challenges of reduced mobility and in his home workshop began building a prosthetic foot with functionality beyond what was already available on the market.
“Most technology for prosthetic feet on the market right now works and feels like a ski boot,” Rifkin says. “If you’ve ever walked in ski boots you know how scary that is and how unstable you always feel.”
Rifkin says that conventional prosthetic foot design hasn’t moved much beyond the technology of the 1980s, and in many instances, even the 1950s.
Rifkin also realized that there is limited competition in the prosthetics industry.
“There are a handful of smaller shops in the U.S. that make prosthetic feet,” he says. “The total market is 500,000 feet sold per year in the United States, but it’s good to know that the two biggest competitors that we’d be looking to displace are a German company and an Icelandic company,” he says.
Rifkin estimates there are 1.5 million foot amputees in the United States and that number will continue to grow because aging and diabetes are the primary risk factors for amputations.
“Worldwide the number of people with diabetes is going to more than triple to a half a billion people in the next 20 years,” he notes. “In the next 20 years, the number of people who are over the age of 60 will rise to 1.3 billion, tripling as well.”
Rifkin’s early innovations with prosthetic feet were funded by a large grant from the National Institutes of Health that allowed him to work on Tensegrity full-time. He is still in the process of securing additional funding for his startup.
“Investment capital from all sources is welcome as are angel investors and smaller venture funds,” Rifkin says.
There are plans at Tensegrity to push product development past the initial offering of the K3 Promoter, which is manufactured in Colorado, where the company is headquartered.
“We’re prepared right now to release a major new product every year for the next five years,” Rifkin says. “The next major product would be a foot for diabetic amputees – who are 80 percent of the market – and then we’ll move on to a powered foot that gives extra muscle return but is based on the same biomechanical principles that we’re using now and then we’ll move on to a foot for children and the knees as well.”
By keeping his eye on the industry, innovation and the competition, Rifkin is aiming to run a startup that succeeds.
“We would like to dominate our industry,” Rifkin says. “We feel like we have a totally disruptive technology.”
Source:http://cranberry.com
While so many of today’s entrepreneurial ventures focus on the hotly competitive high-tech, software and social media sectors, Tensegrity is the manufacturer of the K3 Promoter, a prosthetic foot that aims to compete on function, affordability and comfort in an industry that is anything but overcrowded.
“It’s a foot that has the most human-like movement of any human prosthetic on the market,” says founder Jerome Rifkin, founder, CEO and Chief Technical Officer of Tensegrity. “It does it all without electronics and at a price any Medicare patient can afford,” Rifkin says.
Rifkin, 41, a biomedical engineer by trade, suffered a serious leg injury in a bicycle accident in 2004. During his recovery he discovered the challenges of reduced mobility and in his home workshop began building a prosthetic foot with functionality beyond what was already available on the market.
“Most technology for prosthetic feet on the market right now works and feels like a ski boot,” Rifkin says. “If you’ve ever walked in ski boots you know how scary that is and how unstable you always feel.”
Rifkin says that conventional prosthetic foot design hasn’t moved much beyond the technology of the 1980s, and in many instances, even the 1950s.
Rifkin also realized that there is limited competition in the prosthetics industry.
“There are a handful of smaller shops in the U.S. that make prosthetic feet,” he says. “The total market is 500,000 feet sold per year in the United States, but it’s good to know that the two biggest competitors that we’d be looking to displace are a German company and an Icelandic company,” he says.
Rifkin estimates there are 1.5 million foot amputees in the United States and that number will continue to grow because aging and diabetes are the primary risk factors for amputations.
“Worldwide the number of people with diabetes is going to more than triple to a half a billion people in the next 20 years,” he notes. “In the next 20 years, the number of people who are over the age of 60 will rise to 1.3 billion, tripling as well.”
Rifkin’s early innovations with prosthetic feet were funded by a large grant from the National Institutes of Health that allowed him to work on Tensegrity full-time. He is still in the process of securing additional funding for his startup.
“Investment capital from all sources is welcome as are angel investors and smaller venture funds,” Rifkin says.
There are plans at Tensegrity to push product development past the initial offering of the K3 Promoter, which is manufactured in Colorado, where the company is headquartered.
“We’re prepared right now to release a major new product every year for the next five years,” Rifkin says. “The next major product would be a foot for diabetic amputees – who are 80 percent of the market – and then we’ll move on to a powered foot that gives extra muscle return but is based on the same biomechanical principles that we’re using now and then we’ll move on to a foot for children and the knees as well.”
By keeping his eye on the industry, innovation and the competition, Rifkin is aiming to run a startup that succeeds.
“We would like to dominate our industry,” Rifkin says. “We feel like we have a totally disruptive technology.”
Source:http://cranberry.com
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