Where did you grow up, and what sparked your interest in entrepreneurship?
I feel like I’ve taken a very non-linear career path. I was born and raised in India. I did my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and then moved to the United States to get my first Master’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering at San Jose State University in California.
I started working in manufacturing, for a company called Avid, developing music consoles used by musicians and in the film industry. Within a year, I met Carolyn Brown, an RN and Director of Quality & Safety at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center who ran quality improvement programs in health care. I met her during a seminar—her talk inspired me—and I took a graduate course that she taught. She asked me if I had thought about how my work might apply to the health care industry—I realized my skills and interests could be applied to help improve patient outcomes. She eventually became my thesis mentor during my Master’s. A good mentor makes a big difference—I give credit to her for making important introductions for me that enabled me to make that shift.
Since then, I’ve gotten my Master’s in Public Health, and I just completed a PhD in Clinical Research with a concentration on clinical trials, both from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. When I think of everything I’ve learned and the journey I’ve been on, I give huge credit to the mentors who have pushed me to push myself. My two primary mentors in the areas of entrepreneurship and biomedical ventures have been Brian Nickerson (he was also my PhD advisor), and Dov Shamir.
I’ve learned how important it is to have entrepreneurial thinking to bring solutions from bench to bedside, how practicality can improve overall health and quality of life. My real start in entrepreneurship was in 2019; I was working on a technology for navigating patients with substance use disorder from the emergency department to outpatient clinics. So much hustle is required to do entrepreneurial work! That technology failed—the company did not take off—but I learned so much from that experience.
In 2022, I was accepted into the Targeted Healthcare Innovation Fellowship (THRIVE) Fellowship by Mount Sinai Biodesign, an eight-month program focused on developing innovations in medical devices and healthcare technologies. The program is designed to provide an experiential team science platform to help participants take an idea from concept to commercially viable innovation.
At the same time, I was part of the Fellows Program by Mount Sinai Innovation Partners, which taught me how technologies are evaluated and innovators supported for continued growth. I was introduced to the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network; as part of my dissertation, I was developing a framework to evaluate a clinical trial network’s performance. The idea of the business model canvas became an integral part of my dissertation, inspiring me to create a context for improving the effectiveness, transparency, value proposition, and strategic alignment of a clinical trials network. My PhD was a mix of clinical research and systems engineering — learning entrepreneurial skills was like icing on the cake.
What motivated you to become an I-Corps instructor? Have you taken a company through I-Corps?
My first introduction to I-Corps was in 2019. My first I-Corps was in 2023, during the THRIVE fellowship. I worked with a team of graduate students and Susan Khalil, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist and an Assistant Professor in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Icahn, to find a way to non-invasively diagnose early-stage endometriosis—our effort would become Endocare. We participated in the regional I-Corps and won the Mount Sinai Pitch Challenge and the national I-Corps in July/August 2024. At that time, I had already been an observer for regional I-Corps. This past fall, I was an observer for the life sciences bootcamp, and I was an adjunct for the regional I-Corps this past January.
Early detection of endometriosis remains a challenge, particularly in stages 1 and 2. Right now, the gold standard for diagnosing endometriosis is through laparoscopic surgery; however, the disease has often progressed by the time this is done. EndoCare is exploring non-invasive imaging approaches to assist in identifying potential early-stage cases and determining the need for further testing. We have a training data set of 200 MRIs to look for early-stage endometriosis lesions and to determine the need for further testing and the laparoscopic procedure.
What question do you wish entrepreneurs in I-Corps asked?
There’s no wrong question in a regional I-Corps program. Everyone is at a very different stage, so their questions will vary. However, the best questions entrepreneurs in I-Corps can ask are the ones that challenge their assumptions. Instead of asking, “Do I have a good idea?’ they should ask, “Who actually needs this, and why?” or “What problem am I really solving?”
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from Arber Ruci, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at CUNY’s Office of Research, is to “critique, not consult.” My role is to help teams refine their thinking rather than give them direct answers. If they truly understand what they’re building and who they’re building it for, navigating the business model canvas and conducting interviews becomes much more effective.
Can you share a market or customer challenge that still requires a solution you’re hoping to see?
So far, I’ve seen many companies in the life sciences and digital health space. The engineer in me would like to see some manufacturing-based ideas, or efforts to improve manufacturing. There haven’t been many recent improvements in that space in the United States, and I would love to see that come through the I-Corps process.
So much of manufacturing is outsourced. I am mentoring a team from Columbia University’s Almaworks Accelerator that is creating robots to help manufacture furniture. It’s interesting to me that this is starting to happen, and I would love to see more of it.
What’s the biggest surprise you’ve experienced as an I-Corps instructor?
We get a lot of “Aha!” moments. One thing I love to see is the effort each team puts into the I-Corps process, not just to finish but to learn and grow their innovation further. Some may not go further, but they are dedicated to their idea. That’s very motivating to me. Even if your technology fails, the skills you learn in learning entrepreneurship will help you to get a better job in your industry. Understanding both research and business are very valuable within and outside of academia.
What advice would you give to I-Corps participants?
A key to success for I-Corps participants is to understand both the technology they are working on and the problem they are trying to address. Also, never underestimate the value of finding a mentor. Finding a mentor should be like the customer discovery process: find someone working in your space, interview them, see if they have the knowledge to help you move forward—or not. Are they interested in the problem you are trying to solve? Look beyond their credentials and determine if they have passion for solving the problem you are trying to address.
Mentors can make a huge difference in achieving success or failure. The journey may not be easy, but mentors can help you to manage, utilize, and improve your skills. You should have several mentors across your entrepreneurial path.
Can you share a recent accomplishment?
First, I officially completed my PhD in January, marking the culmination of years of research. Most recently, I accepted a position as Program Manager - Education & Entrepreneurship/Innovation with Mount Sinai Innovation Partners. I’m excited for the opportunity to empower innovators at Mount Sinai with the aim of helping faculty, researchers, and students turn their groundbreaking ideas into real-world ventures.
I am also still working on Endocare. We are refining the algorithm and continuing to conduct customer discovery to be sure the Minimum Viable Product we have is what the customers need. We are also heading to the annual American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Clinical & Scientific meeting in May to connect with more experts.
What are you reading (or hoping to read soon)?
Many of the books I read are about startups. I’m currently rereading Venture Deals and Startup Communities, both by Brad Feld. I read fiction as a break from work.
What do you do to relax?
As soon as I completed my PhD, I adopted a dog, a one-year-old Belgian Sheepdog-German Shepherd mix, named Luna. I spend most of my downtime playing with her, doing obedience training, and taking her out for walks. Taking care of Luna is keeping me busy—and healthy! I run with her every day, and will be taking her to the Catskills soon to go hiking. I will also start training soon with Luna to run a 5K this Spring.