Episode 255 | Brent Lavin, Founder at Ironwood Medtech Partners | Innovation Dynamics: Engineering Meets Marketing & Customer Discovery

Episode notes

In this episode, Brent Lavin shares how two decades in product and portfolio management at GE Healthcare, C.R. Bard, and BD shaped his mission to help Series A and B medtech startups build commercial logic into every stage of innovation. Brent breaks down what surprised him most moving from strategics to early-stage teams and why large companies often operate like startups when resources must be earned through influence, not authority. The conversation dives into how his engineering training powers a structured, “marketing-as-a-science” approach to product management, the most-missed elements of customer discovery, and a concrete example of winning by simplifying a “Cadillac” product into a segmented solution. Brent also unpacks what strategics look for in acquisitions plus lessons from LSI, leadership, and the discipline of endurance running. Brent Lavin LinkedIn Ironwood Medtech Partners LinkedIn Duane Mancini LinkedIn Project Medtech Website Project Medtech LinkedIn Thank you to our sponsors: Ward Law and JumpStart Inc .

• Episode 266 | Laura Corcoran, CEO & Founder of Dignity Care | Innovating Compassionate Solutions for Pregnancy Loss56 / 100
• Episode 265 | Dr. Malcolm Townes, Innovation Fund Manager at Washington University | Strategic Medtech Commercialization: Lessons from the Gap Fund51 / 100
• Episode 264 | Will Kaigler & Megan Shaw | From Innovation to Impact: Crafting Medtech Culture and Success in Pittsburgh45 / 100
• Episode 263 | Mark Domyahn, Partner at JD Lymon Group | Strategic Reimbursement Planning for Medtech Innovators
• Episode 262 | Huzaifah Salat, MD, Physician Executive | Pioneering Lung Cancer Diagnosis & Driving Clinical Insight in Healthcare Innovation