Aaron Enten, PhD MBA
In-the-trenches CEO
Bio
Aaron leads creation of company culture, corporate strategy, investor relationships, and drives strategic partnerships. Aaron is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design program, a degree focused on medical technology innovation, needs identification, and customer discovery, and received a Ph.D. and MBA at the Georgia Institute of Technology in BioEngineering Innovation Management and Technology Commercialization. He has worked as a project manager, CxO for Hire, and has started multiple companies. Throughout my career, I have honed my ability to develop and execute on strategic plans, optimize team performance, and drive operational excellence. I am passionate about building and scaling high-performing teams, and I thrive in dynamic and challenging environments. I have more than 15 years of experience in medical device technology commercialization and innovation management. My expertise originates from the management, founding, and consulting of small and mid-cap companies. I maintain advisory positions across multiple companies and have held faculty and instructor positions at the University of Washington and Georgia Tech. I continue to advise emerging growth companies, and have helped to build, instruct, and participate in accelerators across the country. I have personally founded three companies, seen successful exits, and led multinational research and development teams. I lead through influence and a culture of care, working with team members across the organization. I will capture action items and think strategically about driving complex decision making and accountability in a highly matrixed and complex organization, helping the team get to the best possible solution in the shortest possible time.
Expertise
Bootstrapping
Lean processes are essential for the successful implementation of any go-to-market and growth strategies. Bootstrapping is one approach to extend you likelihood to succeed (or at least buy you time) as you seek funding and grow.
Go to market strategy
I have founded multiple companies and seen successful exits. My expertise is in stakeholder incentive alignment and have executed numerous go-to-market analyses and strategies to secure market share.
Idea validation
Idea validation is inherently the incorrect approach to a market. Product push methodologies usually lead to restricted markets and limited success models. It is significantly better to seek market pull through customer discovery and needs identification to better ensure a product market fit.
Product management
Project management is built into every role I've held. I can assist in a multitude of processes and implementations to help plan and execute the best management protocols for your needs.
Product market fit
I have a specific background in customer discovery, needs identification, and stakeholder incentive alignment in the medical device industry. I've completed the Technology Innovation:Generating Economic Results certificate from Georgia Tech, and have been through 5 accelerators focused specifically on product market fit. I have taught, and continue to teach courses on technology commercialization and innovation management through a graduate level.
Technology and tools
My background is in medical device instrumentation, but I have broadly applicable skills across multiple technologies and tools that would normally be considered part of mechatronics. Everything from design (mechanical and electrical), to modeling, rapid prototyping, and industrial manufacturing falls under my experiential set. I have founded companies as the CTO and have acted as a CxO for hire for numerous startups.
Toolkit
JIRA
10 years of experienceRan project management and operational execution for multiple startups. I can provide high level overviews and in-depth functional assessments using paid functionalities.
Python
15 years of experienceYears of experience across multiple JuPytR languages. Experience in scripting, data analysis, and functional development for product design. Additional experience in Matlab and other non-listed languages.
Trello
10 years of experienceManaged multiple international teams and kanban-esque protocols with trello. Everything from product to project and time management can be done with this tool.
Industries
Medical Device
• Investor Relations: Raised $2.2MM+ p/e, vc, grants, competitions, other • Biz Dev: Acqd. primary customers, conducted 1000+ customer discovery interviews, iterated/field tested new business models, drove companies from pre- to post-revenue; presented to 800+ individuals in a single sitting • Staff Management: Led research, development, and marketing teams; sourced and hired 40+ interns/employees/founders • R&D Coordination: Managed 3rd party MVP development, opened unexplored market channels
Higher Education
• Management: Led multiple international research teams, 14+ students per semester, producing publications and a patent • Instruction: Graded exams, provided lectures, and worked in lab with 500+ students; Generated course material including quizzes, worksheets, and lectures; Designed, engineered, and constructed laboratory demonstrations • Research: Developed protocols and conducted data analysis Governmental and grant funded projects; $1M+ grant funding, 2 patent, 3 papers
Consulting
CxO-for-Hire | Consultant | Board Member • Management: Organized teams of 20+ people for programming, electrical board design, and system integration • Project Development: Built roadmaps, consulted management teams, and rapidly prototyped testable solutions/software • Directorship: Built data rooms for investment, Advised CEOs and worked with board members to define OKRs