Being in R & D is a life with many more days of frustration and disappointment than accomplishment, but this was one of the latter. I just found out yesterday that the FDA had finally approved the Esteem Hearing Aid and couldn't be prouder. My pride comes from having worked for the company solving technical problems so that the clinical trials could start again.
This moment was a long time coming - 15 years in fact. The product had been through a number of ups and downs - I was always amazed that people would continue to fund the start-up for so long - $120 million was invested!
When I was there, there were 25 people or so employed - the smallest company that I have ever worked for. Being that small everyone had to pull their weight and there was limited division of labor. If more parts needed to be built, anyone and everyone could be called in to help. With 25 people, you were 4% of the company's output. If you were a slacker, that would be quickly noticed, unlike at a company of say 25,000 where you are only 0.004% of the output.
1 comment:
Sincere congratulations, John. You're right to be proud of an accomplishment that can make a profound difference in the lives of many people.
Frank
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