Betting on Yourself and Building What Matters with Téa Phillips
Description
🧩 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 38 🧩
What does it really take to launch a medical device company without outside funding? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Téa Phillips, Founder & CEO of ATS Innovations, to share her remarkable journey from engineering student to first-time founder—and what it meant to risk everything to build a product that could change lives.
Téa developed the Metaflex Glove—now an FDA-registered medical device — that combines compression, grip strengthening, and finger stretching for individuals with arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, and other conditions.
💥 But getting to market wasn’t easy. Téa shares:
- Why she quit a secure engineering job to bet on herself
- How she bootstrapped a capital-intensive business with no outside funding
- Lessons learned from bad hires, ex-partners, and hard pivots
- How she navigated tariffs that nearly shut down her business overnight
- Why building something meaningful starts with deep personal conviction
Whether you're a founder, investor, or operator—this is a masterclass in grit, creativity, and purpose-driven building.
🛠 Learn more about Metaflex: https://www.metaflexglove.com
📩 Connect with Téa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsphillips/
You can also check her company's LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ats-innovations/
💬 Drop a comment: What’s the boldest bet you’ve made on yourself?
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🎧 Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
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