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The BioBuzz on… Harpoon Medical’s CEO Bill Niland

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Leader: Bill Niland, President & CEO, Harpoon Medical

Location: Stevensville, MD

Started in: 2013

Overview: Harpoon Medical, Inc. is a privately held medical device company developing technology for the treatment of heart disease. The company’s lead product is an image-guided, minimally invasive surgical tool for mitral valve repair.

Goal: Harpoon is developing its first prototype devices now with the goal of conducting first-in-man testing before the end of 2014.

Customers: Departments of cardiac surgery at hospitals

Q&A with Bill Niland

How have your previous experiences in the healthcare industry prepared you for your current role as President & CEO at Harpoon Medical?

Harpoon Medical

My first two companies were more service related, but still about starting from scratch, and hiring the right employees. Then, with Vapotherm, I had a large role in running the company after I founded it. While there, I learned a lot about the regulatory rules and guidelines in the U.S. and worldwide, the importance of a company’s intellectual property portfolio to investors, and about raising money.

In my career so far, I’ve learned that while everybody has great technology, most startups fail because they don’t raise enough money to get the technology to the market and across the finish line.

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