Innovator of the Week
Jeff Morrill
President of SimQuest Systems
Please provide your 30-second pitch about your company.
SimQuest Systems creates innovative medical training simulators that allow physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare professionals to develop, evaluate and perfect their skills without risk to patients or use of animals. Our over-arching goal is to reduce surgical errors and enhance patient safety.
The mission of SimQuest is to be the industry leader in surgical simulation by providing medical professionals with the tools they need to achieve and maintain excellence in surgical performance.
Who or what was your best resource for starting your company?
The founder of the parent company SimQuest Solutions, Dr. Howard Champion, was the pivotal resource. He had the deep understanding of the market need and how advanced technology could fill the need for surgical training. He proved this by winning more than $45M in federal funding to facilitate the R&D of the technology.
Dr. Champion pioneered the category and created the opportunity and prototypes for us to build commercial products.
What was your biggest obstacle in starting your company and how did you overcome it?
The biggest obstacle was finding the right resources and this includes finding the right people, advisors, medical experts, capital and an office location. For example, the software talent necessary to build a high-performance, scalable simulator with advanced C++skills is unique.
We were fortunate to win the Flatley Challenge and receive free office space for a year. We are grateful to set up our shop in such a great location for the company and our employees.
What’s the best advice you have received?
Three key items of advice stand out to me: (1) don’t be afraid of failure, (2) learn from everything and (3) invest in your people so they will act like owners.
All are paying huge dividends.
What about the NH lifestyle appeals to you?
NH appeals to me because of the quality of life here and the opportunities it brings for both professional and personal growth.
I want my kids to have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and experience Newfound Lake, Loon Mtn. and climbing Tuckerman Ravine while at the same time doing what they want professionally.
In addition to the lifestyle appeal, we are excited to tap into and work with local resources. For example, Dr. Joseph Rosen of Dartmouth has been a great help, providing excellent clinical guidance on one of our products as well as on business structure.
What does the future look like for your company?
Our future looks very bright! The need for simulation-based surgical training is growing, both in the US and globally, and its potential to enhance performance is being realized both in the civilian and military arenas.
Connect with SimQuest on LinkedIn!
Connect with Jeff Morrill on Linkedin!