Bill Rader of Efferent Labs
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Bill Rader, the founder and CEO of Efferent Labs, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Efferent Labs – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
I was approached by Dr. Spencer Rosero in Rochester NY. He is a physician researcher.
He had an idea to solve a problem he had in his clinic. He noted time after time that patients would arrive in clinic feeling different than normal, but all normal tests proved nothing out of the ordinary. After a couple days, he would again meet the patient, but this time in the ER suffering from a cardiac event.
The patients knew something was out of the ordinary, but our tests could not resolve what. The patients’ cells determined and communicated the issue, but we could not detect and decode it.
He set out to look at the patients cells in vivo, which could alert the physician to the correct issue before it manifested in a cardiac event.
He brought the idea to me, and we discussed all the potential opportunities for a device like this and set out to move things forward with a company in Oct 2013.
To get to use this device with people, there are a lot of steps, and opportunities in the steps. Today, we are on the first commercial step – use in the drug development process, known as preclinical. We will move to first human use in the coming years.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
Obviously science does not always cooperate with business, but we have continually overcome the roadblocks. Our largest issue has always been raising the needed capital to move things forward and expand. We have mostly overcome this issue with our continued progress towards commercialization. We are now working on a sizeable A round that will fund us to profitability 18 months after commercialization.
What does the future hold for Efferent Labs?
Efferent is working the program on a daily basis. The future is very bright as we are now moving into the commercialization phase of work after over half a decade of development.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Buffalo?
Buffalo is a unique area. There is a lot of spirit and talent in the area. People work together to solve problems and offer advice. It’s a great place to start a tech company.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
My years in business are a backdrop for more advice than I can share here, so I instead shared in my book: “The Venn Effect: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Success Through Purpose”. My short advice is: read not only my book, but the books of others as well. Learn through the success and failure of others, but always have purpose.