When April King, a nurse anesthetist , had an idea for a device that would open up a patients airways and help elevate their jaw during sedation, she turned to the San Diego Inventors Forum. They helped her obtain the resources she needed to make her idea an actual product.
Through the organization, she met all the vendors and service providers that she needed to launch the company — a product designer, engineer, marketing consultant, manufacturer (in Oceanside) and intellectual property attorney. One-stop shopping with imminent success.
The idea for King’s product came from her firsthand experience delivering anesthesia for more than 10 years. “Often I had to ventilate a patient in the recovery room, and I had to lift up their jaw so that they could breathe, because often they were too sleepy to maintain their own airway,†she said. Some days she had to do this 20 to 30 times, and some procedures required two people.
So she formed Hypnoz Therapeutic Devices and set out to raise money. The usual story — friends, family and fools showed up, and today the company is profitable. You have to love the entrepreneurial spirit.
Photo by phozographer