The Alamolar.
From Tech Startup to Dental By Daniel Yates '18
Often times when people hear I used to run a technology start up, the first thing they ask me is, “Oh so is it like Shark Tank?” If you’re not familiar, Shark Tank is a show on ABC that stars billionaire Mark Cuban and other millionaire investors that have an interest in growing young businesses. Contestants on the show pitch their idea or company to the “sharks” who in turn, sometimes fight over who can make the best deal, if the company shows some promise. Most of the time the entrepreneurs get verbally chastised as the sharks explain why their lifelong dream product that they poured their life savings into will never succeed.
Constant Evaluation and Feedback One of the most important things in dental school and running a business is learning how to absorb feedback and improve yourself or your product. In our company, customer feedback is one of the most valuable inputs we consider when developing our product. It’s one of the key principles to the "Lean Startup" by Eric Ries, a successful serial entrepreneur that pioneered this school of thought. Companies that sell a successful product usually never get it right on the first try, but they’re set up to adapt and evolve quickly based on customer feedback so that they can use this data to shape their product (often called a “pivot”).
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ABC's hit show "Shark Tank" In some ways it is very actually but it’s also grossly overdramatized in others. It doesn’t show the day to day struggles of the company but merely just a glamorized and quick “elevator pitch”. In a lot of ways “Shark Tank” reminds me of the application process for dental school (albeit not nearly as intense) and the day to day activities of a startup are similar to life as a dental student.
Dental school is similar, especially in the pre-clinical years where you’re still learning and developing your hand skills and habits. Understanding faculty evaluation and criticism for daily assignments is crucial for developing your skill set so you don’t make the same mistakes again during a practical. In dental school, feedback is built into the very core of the curriculum and most programs spend a lot of time to make sure the lines of communications are open and clear. Just think about all the different criteria on your grading rubrics for a crown preparation.
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