DiscoverState of MedtechVenture: Scott Huennekens on The Worst Deals of His Career and What Medtech Leaders Can Learn from them
Venture: Scott Huennekens on The Worst Deals of His Career and What Medtech Leaders Can Learn from them

Venture: Scott Huennekens on The Worst Deals of His Career and What Medtech Leaders Can Learn from them

Update: 2025-09-17
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Every leader has scars from bad decisions. Scott Huennekens, medtech’s “GOAT operator” and board veteran, shares the toughest lessons from his career, including the worst deals he ever made.

We cover the six pack of mistakes, why culture and fit matter more than numbers, and how these failures shaped his approach to leadership, boards, and building value.


Episode Breakdown:

00:00 – Opening and The Challenge of Doing Big Things00:59 – Welcome to the Show: Introducing Scott Huennekens01:36 – The Hard Thing About Hard Things in Medtech03:06 – Defining Your Goals and Identity for Success07:12 – On Knowing Yourself and Exploiting Your Weaknesses08:42 – Why You Should Create a Failure Resume11:30 – Introducing the 'Six Pack' of Learnings12:27 – Mistake #1: The Letterman's Jacket Syndrome16:54 – Mistake #2: Entrepreneurial Intoxication18:54 – Mistake #3: Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?20:35 – Mistake #4: Less is More and Learning to Say No25:27 – Mistake #5: The Risk of Friends and Family Money27:50 – Mistake #6: CEO, CEO, CEO29:46 – The Investment Criteria Checklist32:42 – Getting Into the 'Pain': Facing Reality and Owning Mistakes34:32 – Case Study #1: The Nova Corps Career Mistake39:43 – Case Study #2: The Ditch Rat CEO Role46:45 – Transition to Investment Mistakes48:42 – Case Study #3: The Wonder Medical Investment54:19 – Case Study #4: The Patara Pharmaceuticals Investment1:05:07 – Case Study #5: The Q's Investment1:17:53 – Final Thoughts and Book Recommendations

Are you a medtech CEO in need of some marketing help attracting investors, growing sales pipeline, and more? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GrowMyMedtech.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to book time for a free analysis.

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Venture: Scott Huennekens on The Worst Deals of His Career and What Medtech Leaders Can Learn from them

Venture: Scott Huennekens on The Worst Deals of His Career and What Medtech Leaders Can Learn from them

State of Medtech