This is the fourth article in a continuing monthly series chronicling the growth path of Genevolve Vision Diagnostics, a life sciences startup based in Albuquerque, NM that is commercializing cutting edge genetic research to develop new diagnostic tests and gene therapies for colour blindness.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
Sometimes, you need to take a step back to get two steps ahead.
In the almost two months since we last touched base with Matt Lemelin, CEO of Genevolve Vision Diagnostics, this has certainly proven to be the case.
Genevolve was planning to make a big splash at the annual meeting of the American Academy for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus this month. An impressive showing here could spark the endorsement and early adoption from the broader medical community Genevolve needs to kick start the process for qualifying its Eyedox Genetic Test for Color Vision for insurance reimbursement. However, Lemelin decided to pull out of the show and refocus on the largest industry show of the year – the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology taking place in Chicago in November.
“The stars are not aligning as planned for our launch,” he said. “We have had delays on the science side. A major challenge lies in, for a lack of a better word ‘transferring’ the test collateral from the research side to a commercial entity so that it works flawlessly. This has turned out to be quite a challenge. It is imperative to release a perfect product to preserve our reputation.”
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By Martin Soorjoo
This is a guest post from investment coach Martin Soorjoo. We welcome your comments.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail
– Benjamin Franklin
There are three undisputed truths:
- Delivering a winning pitch will often determine the survival and success of a business.
- People create their best work when they have time, space, and silence.
- Proper rehearsal is critical to delivering a professional, persuasive performance.
Yet despite these truths, most sales and investor pitch preparation takes place at the 11th hour, amid constant distraction and noise with minimal, if any, rehearsal. It’s a small wonder that most pitches are weak and ineffective and consequently fail.
The first draft of anything is shit.
– Ernest Hemingway
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By Francis Moran
Ottawa is about to finally get its own edition of Startup Weekend, a global phenomenon that has seen more than 45,000 technical and business people come together in more than 200 separate events around the world to spend a full weekend building new businesses. The intensive 54-hour company-building competition will take place in the nation’s capital April 27 to 29 at Shopify’s headquarters at 126 York Street in the Byward Market.
Although The Ottawa Network had a similar event a couple of years ago, this will be the first time the city has welcomed the official Startup Weekend, an initiative of the Kauffman Foundation, the large American NGO that promotes entrepreneurship. The event kicks off on Friday evening with rapid-fire pitches from participants who would like their ideas to be the focus of company-building teams over the weekend. All participants vote on which ideas will be workshopped, and teams form organically around each idea. The teams work feverishly all weekend, breaking occasionally for presentations, sleep and coffee, and present their ideas late on Sunday afternoon. A panel of judges selects the winning team.
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We kicked off the second year of our new blog with a strong month of posts that covered a wide range of topics including leadership, content marketing, SEO, Pinterest for B2B businesses, trademarks, free tools for social media and PR, and succession planning.
On that final point, we said a sad farewell to a valued colleague last month. For our Linda Forrest, it was time for a new challenge in a new city. After a successful seven years with us, Linda has taken on the role of Digital Media Communities Manager at the Canadian Digital Media Network based in Kitchener/Waterloo. We welcome you to reach out to her on LinkedIn or Twitter to stay in touch.
Without further ado, here are our posts, in case you missed them, from February.
February 8: Giving your team ownership by Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
February 15: Burning the candle at both ends as the clock ticks down by Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
February 21: What an IP Coordinator should know: Something about trademarks by David French
And on a related note…
In addition to our series, our associates and guest bloggers were also busy writing on a great range of topics. Here are our other posts from February, as ranked by the enthusiasm of our readers:
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By Leo Valiquette
For 12 years I have worked as a business journalist and marketing and public relations professional. In these roles I have engaged with a horde of entrepreneurs, executives, investors and other ink-stained wretches who would rather write about corporate stars than movie stars.
I could write a book or two from what I have learned about what it takes to get a product to market and succeed as an entrepreneur. But attempting to do such a thing without having actually lived that roller coaster ride for myself seems like presumption of the worst kind.
On the other hand, I have been tinkering away for decades on a variety of ideas that I thought could have commercial potential. They’ve kept me up at night. They’ve led me to beg off on Sunday dinners with the in-laws. They have even led me to take a personal health day or two back when I had a J.O.B.
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By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
