Know your sauce

Congrats, now that you leading a small orthopedic company.

I’m going to guess that your company has a unique thing that differentiates it in the market…  and only one thing.  This is your Secret Sauce. Your secret sauce is your raison d’être. This is the unique value of your company. This is what makes you special.

By contrast, the big 5 orthopedic companies have no secret sauce.  They don’t need it. They dominate in the marketplace because they have massive distribution, a ridiculous breadth of product lines and mountains of cash.  Scale, but no sauce.

Know your Sauce

As a small company, your secret sauce will either make or break your business. You must know exactly what it is. Your secret sauce could be literally anything. Let’s look at some examples.

The sauce could be in the areas.  Here are some real examples: 

• better business model for selling non-FDA solutions (BalancedBack),

• cheaper delivered implants (OrthoDirectUSA),

• better implant inventory organization (GEO),

• novel treatment for AO  (Active Implants),

• better solutions for infections (OsteoRemedies),

• better clinical analytics for joints and spine (TracPatch),

• better surgical training (Osso VR),

• better patented suturing technique (KFx),

• better software algorithm (EnHatch),

• better treatment by remote control  (NuVasive / Ellipse Technologies),

• better intra-operative data (Augmedics),

• better implant coatings (Titan Spine),

• better surgical treatment for bunions (Treace Medical),

• better surgery kits (Flower Orthopedics) 

• or better friendlier treatment (Green Sun Medical).

Own your Sauce

Whatever your sauce is, you must Own it. You must…

• Nourish it.

• Protect it.

• Improve it.

• Expand it.

• Market it.

Hire people who have expertise in it and keep them happy. Spend more time on your sauce than feels right.

Don’t worry about your Commodities

The things that are not your secret sauce are just commodities. These are the things that do not define or differentiate your company. You have to know that these things that are just ordinary. You could make changes to these commodities and nobody would notice. For instance, your commodities could be your packaging, your pricing, your implant materials, your surgical training, your sales/distribution model, the implant itself, the instruments, your surgical technique, your manufacturing process, your building, etc.  You do not need to own these. Outsource them if possible. You do not even have to nurture these.

Focus on your sauce and you will win in the long term.