Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Bussert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I was working in a small town emergency room when a disabled veteran arrived in my unit with the worst infected pressure injuries (also called bedsores) that I had ever seen. He was septic and near death. As I was caring for him he told me that his doctor had prescribed a $4,000 wheelchair seat cushion to help treat his wounds, but he couldn’t afford it and the sores just kept getting worse. I was shocked and angered that this man was suffering so horribly because of overpriced medical devices.
I’ve always been a maker and hacker, and enjoyed problem solving. I taught myself electronics and programming when I was 12, and I was a published software author at 15. Prior to becoming a nurse I had worked in IT. As I thought about my patient and the seat cushion he couldn’t afford I decided to see if I could create a better device and engineer it to be build affordably. After building a few prototypes in my garage I knew I was on to something. I started learning more about pressure injuries to see if there was a valid business case for the product. That’s when I learned that in the US someone dies of a pressure injury every 10 minutes, and that the current standard of care in most facilities is a labor-intensive manual schedule that requires caregivers to physically lift and move patients every 2 hours, around the clock. In 2019 I formalized the business to work full-time on bringing this product to market.
Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
When I was working in IT I lived for several years in England. During that time I got to experience first hand their single payer medical system, and I thought it was wonderful! Every person, regardless of their income level, had access to medical care. No one was making the tough decision about whether to buy their medication or buy groceries. When I returned to the US the difference in our system really struck me. Here we price medical care as high as possible and if a person doesn’t have insurance then they do without. I lived that acutely, because at the time I moved back insurance required that you live in the US for 12 months before you qualified to buy a policy, For my entire first year back in the US, every doctor’s visit or prescription was billed at full price, not at the discounted rates they negotiate with insurance.
When I started this company one of our core missions was that we will build more affordable devices so that the people who need them will have access to them. I’m proud to say we’re accomplishing that! I don’t know what happened to the veteran who inspired this product. Once he became an inpatient I never saw him again, but I’ve never forgotten him. Inspired by him, we’re going to market at a price point that’s 80% less than the current best selling alternating pressure cushion in the market, and we’re offering more features. This business model opened up an untapped market for us. In the US, insurance companies will not pay for alternating cushions to be used to prevent pressure injuries. They require a patient to have a serious, potentially life-threatening, wound before they’ll pay.
We’ve developed a business model that will allow us to sell into long term care facilities, which currently use physical labor to try and prevent wounds. Despite their best efforts, every year 5% of their patients get a pressure injury that requires advanced treatment such as hospitalization or even surgery, and the facility pays those medical bills. They aren’t allowed to bill the patient or insurance. They’re spending millions of dollars every year on this issue. We are going to be able to provide better health for the patients while also saving the facilities money. We’ll also free up countless hours of staff time by eliminating the manual turning schedule, helping to ease staffing shortages.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
I’ve started and run a few different businesses in my life, but this one has several key differences. It’s the first medical device I’ve ever built, and it’s the first business I’ve ever owned where I needed to raise outside capital. When I started the business I was really unprepared for how difficult that second one would make my life! Fundraising has been the hardest part of this whole journey. Initially, I figured other people would see my vision and want to participate. Wrong!
Both women and minorities struggle to raise money. Less than 2% of venture capital is invested into women-owned businesses. At times this has been really discouraging. There have been so many times I’ve thought we’d have to give up. I’ve had to go for months without paying myself, and I haven’t been able to hire people who have experience in this space who could help lighten the workload. And yet every time I’ve thought that maybe it’s time to quit something happens to give me renewed energy and hope. I’ve won several grants from organizations that help fund women and minorities. I’ve met angel investors who understand the problem we’re trying to solve. I’ve met amazing mentors who have freely shared their wisdom and helped me build a stronger business. I’ve found business partners who are willing to think outside the box to help get this product to market.
I know I’m not alone in this struggle. Along our journey I’ve met so many successful founders who shared their own stories about being just days away from not making payroll and being ready to give up when they met the right investor. Their stories inspire me to keep going. I know we’re building something important. I know we can save lives. I know we can do this!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
My co-founder and business partner is also my spouse. A lot of people are shocked to hear that we can work together, but we’ve done it for most of our lives. We met at college and started our first business a few years later. Working together we grew that business from a one-person consulting gig to a regional consulting firm with 15 employees. When our kids were grown we sold that business and took advantage of an opportunity to relocate to Europe. We’ve also started and ran a couple of smaller businesses since that time.
While many people think that spouses in business together is a red flag, for us it works well. In fact, I would say it’s one of our super powers. We have very different skill sets, so we manage the business very much like partners. Sharon handles all the financial things and almost everything that requires keeping track of details. I handle product development and networking. I trust her wisdom in her core areas and she trusts mine. We’re both 100% committed to the mission of the company, so we don’t have to justify the long hours and small paycheck to a spouse who doesn’t understand. Working with a spouse certainly isn’t for everyone, but for us it’s great!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://wavetherapeuticsinc.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wavetherapeutics/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wavetherapeuticsinc/