Contestant's Case to Win
This is based on the number of votes received.6 years ago I invented a device to help my son's needle phobia by blocking shot pain. Now, our 100% mom operated company is a certified woman-owned small business manufacturing a medical device for any sharp or burning pain - splinters, injections, stings, even itching! Our business has been doubling about every 6 months since we launched our product on May 1st 2009, and the last quarter of 2011 saw a spike in both US and international sales.
I am a practicing pediatric emergency MD and pain researcher. After doing studies to be sure Buzzy worked, I got a $1.1M NIH SBIR fast track to research the concept. Sure, there are lots of app designers, but how many female medical device manufacturers are there? Sometimes it takes a mom.
A paper in December demonstrated that Buzzy triples IV access success in children, as well as decreasing pain by half at a fraction of the cost of other methods. We have not advertised, but have sold 11,000 units through word of mouth and medical trade shows. We are intentionally growing organically. Now that we're established in over 400 hospitals and proven effective in scientific studies, we are moving our means of production to the US to facilitate faster supply and bring jobs to the US.
As a physician and mom with elementary-aged kids, it is important to balance work and family. When I'm invited to lecture at a conference, it's a family affair - my husband, kids and I all work the booth. Our talented Buzzy team is made up of professional moms who also balance work and and family.
The technology is now patented and we won the 2011 Medical Design Excellence Award in self-care and over the counter products, competing with companies like Johnson and Johnson, Novartis . . .the big boys.
Never, never, never underestimate what a mom on a mission can accomplish!
