Dr. Clayborne

CEO, Doctor, Mother, Leader, and Woman of Color

WORDS BY DR. ELIZABETH CLAYBORNE

INTERESTINGLY, MY LIFE TOOK AN ABRUPT TURN WHEN I WENT FROM A VERY STRUCTURED, PREDICTABLE CAREER AS AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN TO THE NEVER IMAGINED UNPREDICTABLE ROLE OF CEO AND FOUNDER.

In this new role, I learned that I am good at redirecting, pivoting and making a way when there isn’t one. I always tell people that your intuition and emotional intelligence will take you far if you are attuned to recognize it – trust your gut. I’ve become a master of multi-tasking because I lead a multi-faceted life. I proudly tap into those parts of my personality and identity as Liz the CEO, founder, mother, doctor, leader and woman of color.

I HAD TO STOP WONDERING HOW GOOD I WAS AND EMBRACE HOW GOOD OF A FOUNDER I WANTED AND KNEW I COULD BE.

Three key pieces of advice that I give other entrepreneurs

1

Don’t let perfection paralyze the process. Your first prototype of your product or iteration of your idea may not be perfect, but you need to get it out. You have to start somewhere and take that leap. You will learn, grow, and improve the product along the way – you just have to keep moving ahead before an opportunity passes.

2

Build a great team. Remember to set the tone for the culture and environment of your company by attracting the people you want to work with. Establish what you want that vibe to be early on and invest in people. Building a great team will help you reach success.

3

Believe in yourself. Don’t let fear or insecurities bog you down. I had to let go of the imposter’s syndrome, especially as a Black woman, and whether I was qualified to be a CEO. I had to stop wondering how good I was and embrace how good of a Founder I wanted and knew I could be.

My role today as a CEO and Founder has helped me realize and engage in the things I am most passionate about – speaking in front of people, leading by example, representing Black excellence, building generational wealth, and being a role model to my daughters. To me, it’s like living in a dream, and hopefully, my experience can help open doors, through knowledge and understanding so that others can pursue their dreams no matter their background.

Learn more at NasaClip.com and please follow Dr. Clayborne on Instagram and X @DrElizPC.

Getting Outside the Box in My Own Thinking

The skills I rely upon every day to be a great physician, mother, professor and public health informant, also align well with making me an excellent entrepreneur, CEO, and innovator. Thinking outside of the box helped me to invent a medical device that makes it easy to treat nosebleeds–NasaClip. My device combines constant external nasal compression with intranasal sponges that can be medicated with hemostatic agents such as oxymetazoline to help anyone anywhere stop nosebleeds fast! It will be the “Band-Aid” of nosebleeds and help doctors, nurses, coaches, trainers, schools, parents, caretakers, and the everyday person with common nosebleeds treat their problem quickly and conveniently.