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 Full name: Stefan J. M. Kraemer, MD, PhD
MBA program title: Executive MBA 2004
Country of origin: Germany
Career History
A surgeon and professor from Munich, Germany, Dr. Stefan Kraemer had a great idea for a medical device that would treat acid reflux disease - a condition that affects an estimated 15 million people in the United States alone. Stefan's research in non-invasive surgical treatments led to a three-month contract with Scout Medical Technologies, a health care technology incubator in Kirkland, Washington. After receiving a patent and meeting with approximately 20 venture capital companies, Stefan decided to build upon his medical knowledge with an Executive MBA.
While enrolled in the program, he co-founded EsophyX, Inc., a privately held medical device company that designs and manufactures instruments that will enable incisionless solutions to reflux and other upper gastrointestinal diseases.
Venture Financing
During the first round of financing, I drew from Charles Hill's class and Bob Bowen's class. During the second round, I was able to use what Rocky Higgins taught about finance. I quickly understood how the venture capital business worked and I was able to better negotiate with them. As I worked with Jim Fitzsimmons and the other partners at Scout Medical Technologies to develop the business plan, I incorporated what I learned in the program. Over the course of the EMBA Program, we founded EsophyX, raised the first round of $5 million, and then raised the second round of $12 million. Early on in the EMBA Program, I was employee number one. Now we have 22 employees and we're adding more each month.
The Value of an Executive MBA
When I went to business school, I just had an idea and I had applied for a patent. I wanted to do more than just medicine and research; I wanted to leverage my medical knowledge in business. With the EMBA degree, I was able to develop the company from both roles. The device that we created to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease is a platform technology that we can use to treat other diseases non-invasively, including obesity. The EMBA helps me and the company develop these medical technology ideas into devices that can revolutionize invasive surgery. The potential is huge.
On Strategy
Now that we have a CEO, the fun part is strategizing and coming up with new products and ideas for approaching new markets. It's very exciting. I am drawing on a lot of the learning from the program and applying it to each stage of the company. Now I can draft and test marketing models to see how they work. I also refer to many of the books and articles I had in class--they are still super inspiring. During the program, you learn all this stuff and then after graduation it all comes back. Now I am constantly applying the things I learned.
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