estimated read time: 3 minutes
Straight Talk for New Entrepreneurs EpiEP CEO and Founder Pam Bunes’
When starting a business, look for something you not only enjoy doing but that can also make money even in your absence.
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Your primary goal should always be getting to profitability or getting a product on the market as soon as possible. Pamela Bunes is CEO and Founder of EpiEP, Inc., a medical device company dedicated to epicardial EP interventions. She has 34 years of medical device history with Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endo– Surgery, Biosense Webster and two startup companies, including a public entity. In 2013, Bunes was a member of the FDA’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence team, and recently served on the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board at Yale Entrepreneurial Institute.
EleVate Magazine
estimated read time: 3 minutes
May 2021, Issue 1
PERSERVERANCE
NEW ENTREPRENEURS EpiEP CEO and FOUNDER PAM BUNES
I have always sought to have a business where revenue is coming in to cover the overhead, regardless of whether I am physically generating revenues everyday.
Many jobs, on the other hand, only pay when you are directly engaged with the customer. If you take a vacation, your overhead remains the same but you may be losing considerable money because no one is generating income. In medical device sales, I want my products to be used by doctors globally. I cannot always be there, but presumably, my revenue continues because our products are being used.
Choose a market that is significant and large enough to achieve your economic goals.
Consider how quickly you can monetize your idea. How fast can you get your product on the market and get some return for it? In the health care industry, it takes years to get a product on the market, and it frequently requires investor money. I love cutting-edge technology, and I’m willing to pursue new technology that impacts patients and improves their health care. But for entrepreneurs who are starting without much of a safety net, the first question I would ask is, How quickly can you monetize your business?
Figure out how you can reduce your overhead and living expenses so you
can work on your new business for a while without drawing a salary. Project how long it takes to generate meaningful income, and press ahead as quickly as possible.
Understand there are going to be a lot of costs.
There are going to be tough times, and you need to put savings aside for yourself. You need a way to survive while your business is getting off the ground.
To a certain degree, it doesn’t hurt to have your back up against the wall.
Some degree of pressure to succeed can provide necessary incentive. Pressure to perform is a part of entrepreneurship, and you have to embrace it or choose another direction. Decide what you’re willing to sacrifice. Keep your costs low and be ready to pivot — because even if your best idea is a great idea, if something’s not working out and there’s another option that looks promising, you can make that transition without totally abandoning your original idea.
One last thing: Turn to who have your best interest at heart. Experienced advisors are critical
for both planning for success and turning to for advice when challenges inevitably come your way. Guideance from a trusted advisor may be the difference between success and failure, so choose your advisors carefully.
PERSERVERANCE
– As told to Jocelyn Ruggiero
May 2021, Issue 1
NEW ENTREPRENEURS EpiEP CEO and FOUNDER PAM BUNES
EleVate Magazine
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