While completing his PhD program, Gert Nijenbanning developed a scoliosis brace. He spun the project out of his university to pursue commercialization. Although it wasn’t as successful as he had hoped, he learned the complicated process of bringing a medical device to market—and he enjoyed the work enough to turn it into a business.

In 1999, he founded Baat Medical, a company that specializes in helping bring new medical devices to market. “We made every mistake you can imagine,” said Nijenbanning, “but we learned from it and today our process focuses on getting products to market quickly and at the lowest possible cost.”

Since then, Baat Medical’s 35-person team has helped developing launch more than 400 medical devices worldwide.

I met Nijenbanning at a NASS medical conference in Chicago, where I was presenting the Slicing Pie concept to a large audience of spinal surgeons. During the Q&A, he stood up and said, “We have used the Slicing Pie model to develop a new medical device. The model really works!”

The device he was referring to was a solution for midshaft clavicle fractures that promotes faster recovery and reduces unsightly bumps and scarring.

The inventor of the device came to Baat Medical for development, but his funds were limited. “Doctors have a lot of great ideas, but not a good system for initial funding. They are often concerned about getting taken advantage of,” explained Nijenbanning. “We offered to help develop his concept using the Slicing Pie model. He agreed, we closed a slicing pie agreement and our partnership began.”

Gert Nijenbanning

The basis of a Slicing Pie approach is correct time tracking. Medical was accustomed to project management and tracking time and expenses, but along the way we noticed that this is not a normal way of working for doctors. We had to find a good approach that worked for all parties but in the end everyone was pleased with the results.

Together, the inventor and Baat Medical developed an MVP and took the product through the medical approval process. They ultimately brought it to market under the brand name Anser Implants (AnserImplants.com).

“Slicing Pie made it possible for each of us to receive shares in the company that reflected our contributions. There are always obstacles along the way that make it impossible to predict the final investment required. Slicing Pie accounted for the changes, and it was fair for everyone,” said Nijenbanning.

“I think the Slicing Pie model needs to be more well-known. It works!" he said