Building Better Biotech with Kevin Rocco

Dec 15, 2022

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Kevin Rocco was the Founder and CEO of Biorez, a Biotechnology company that invented a regenerative and absorbable ligament brace called the Biobrace. Biorez was acquired by Conmed in 2022 for $250 Million dollars, and Kevin is now working as VP of Bioinductive Technologies at Conmed.

In this interview, get the fresh perspective of a founder that went through every pitfall and pivot imaginable, and how he was able to successfully sell his business at the peak of its valuation. Learn about Kevin’s perspective on engineering innovation within teams, how to “hack” getting a PhD, his learnings from raising money, convincing investors to pivot, and how he turned his lack of experience into an essential asset.

OUTLINE:

(00:00) - Intro
(3:00) - Origin Story
(4:00) - Large Companies Struggle To Innovate
(5:58) - Entrepreneurs Shouldn’t Avoid Taking Risks
(9:19) - How To Build An Innovation Engine
(15:28) - How I Hacked Getting A PhD
(20:20) - Your Life Doesn’t Have To Stay On A Traditional Track
(23:15) - Being Number Two At A Startup
(28:00) - Experiencing Failure In A Startup
(31:00) - Learning To Raise Money
(36:34) - Your Story Is Your Strategy
(41:20) - The Big Pivot
(43:53) - Can Inexperience Drive Success?
(48:25) - Learn From Competitors To Beat Them
(52:41) - Venture Capital Incentivizes Businesses To Burn Money
(58:00) - Raising Money Always Sucks
(1:06:20) - All Deals Take Six Months, and Deals Never Happen
(1:10:00) - Tips For Entrepreneurs

EPISODE LINKS:

Biorez: https://biorez.com/
Conmed: https://www.conmed.com/en-us/
Kevin Rocco on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrocco/

HIS FAVORITE BOOK:

Jim Collins, “Good To Great”: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://forwardobsessed.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forward-obsessed/id1615760781
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TrkOZ7xL7WSlzc2mrwXuC?si=aa5e7790aca64e05
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5b9WPqVXz_qlfXgK3hHPs4z
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5Yt0LiPml0y6pNUSrqHzWql

SUPPORT & CONNECT:

Digital Surgeons Website: https://digitalsurgeons.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@digitalsurgeons
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalsurgeons
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/210497/