HDO Health - Bryan Stewart, Nadi Graham, Tanya Nocera feature #6 of Together Talks
- KLS
- Feb 16, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 14
"Together Talks" feature # 6: HDO Health presented by KLS, freight company.
Some background on HDO Health
HDO Health was founded in 2021. Bryan Stewart was introduced to 3 individuals who created the product known as The Journiquet™. Bryan met Nadi Graham, Tanya Nocera, and Dr. James Allen McElroy who had been developing the product as part of an engineering capstone project at The Ohio State University (OSU). These four individuals co-founded HDO Health.
Bryan Stewart (CEO), Nadi Graham (VP of Education and Training), Dr. James Allen McElroy (Vice President of Medical Affairs), and Tanya Nocera (Vice President of Research and Development) were brought together due to ties at Ohio State University. Now they operate this company trying to save lives with their product. In addition to the four co-founders, there are an additional 20 members on the advisory board at HDO Health.
Bryan created HDO Health's name, but all felt the message.
H – heart-led
D – data-driven
O – outcome- focused
The team stated how it was important for this company to serve others, not just in the product, but also in their reach, mission, and future goals. They wanted to ensure they created a product that would be superior to the current options. Every step taken was to achieve one basic goal, "save lives".
Heart-Led
The idea for this product was the brainchild of Nadi and Dr. McElroy in 2017. Friends for over 10 years now, they were at dinner one night complaining about the functionality of current tourniquets. They envisioned there had to be a way to make a better product. This led them to Ohio State University where they were introduced to Tanya Nocera. The three of them worked tirelessly to bring the vision to reality with a prototype followed by simulation and training.
During their work at OSU, they were introduced to Bryan. Bryan had been encouraged by a mentor to seek out some of the programs OSU offers for entrepreneurs. About 10 caught his eye from the catalog but based on his background and values he felt this product was the right fit. Soon after the four co-founded HDO Health.
Version 3 The Journiquet™ was produced in December of 2022, a mere 7 months after version 2 of the product. It is currently pending final submission for an FDA 510(k) review and clearance, which is currently planned for Q2 2023. In addition, the product is also waiting for the final issuance of patent and trademark approvals.
As a career law enforcement officer and tactical medic, Nadi could clearly explain the benefit of this product compared to the competition. He stated that The Journiquet™ could be applied in approximately 26 seconds. The average for similar products is around 40 seconds. But there is a caveat, the current options don't come pre-assembled. Nadi mentioned he has used the same tourniquet for a few years, and the fastest he has assembled and used that product is around 90 seconds.
Data-Driven
The Journey
Product development and funding proved to be some initial challenges for this start-up. Doing most of their work at Ohio State initially, they too were impacted by the shutdown of Covid. Once Bryan was brought into the fold, he took over the business aspects. The company also had to manage to build its network for future manufacturing and distribution partners. Fit and values have played an integral part in their partnership selection, and they are confident they will be well-equipped when they receive regulatory clearance. The HDO Health team is also doing all this while everyone works another job/career. Everyone on the team is doing this to create a lasting impact and legacy beyond themselves.
To date, the company has raised $455,000 of non-dilutive funding as outlined on Crunchbase. Nearly 100% of that has been allocated to product development and commercialization. They are currently raising money in their seed round, looking for $1.75 million to purchase inventory and other necessary aspects to scale the business following the FDA clearance.
Nadi has served with the Ohio State Highway Patrol for the last 23 years. He also serves as a course instructor for Louisiana State University. A big reason that he believed in this product was the option for anyone to be able to use it. Simplifying the process and allowing anyone to save a life resonated with him, given his experience. The other issue to address was the price of current market options. Sometimes north of $700 for a single-use tourniquet isn't a realistic option for small locations like churches, small hospitals, schools, and even businesses. When we asked Nadi to describe his favorite moment in May of 2022, "The first time I held version 2 in my hands. We had worked so hard and long developing it, but until that moment, I couldn't fully embrace what we had developed. But, once I opened the box and could put it to use, I realized we have a game and life-changer here."
Tanya is faculty at Ohio State University in the biomedical engineering department. One of the programs she is involved in is the capstone for medical devices. That is how The Journiquet™, Nadi, and Dr. McElroy were introduced to her and OSU. Most projects that come through OSU don't continue after the founders see the time and work that goes into it. However, Nadi and Dr. McElroy were not going to be deterred. Their passion and dedication are what brought Tanya into the fold. She was able to resonate with their mission because she too got into this field because she wanted to develop products to help improve and save lives. A common theme amongst all members has contributed to the success of this product. Her best moment was when she held Version 3 in her hands and watched the pre-submission of the FDA approval. "It all felt real, I was overcome with emotions." I also asked her if there is a moment that brings the most joy thinking back about this journey, and she told us, "Every other Saturday our core group has a zoom call to talk about where we are (HDO) and we share a moment of gratitude, as part of our culture. I sit back and reflect on not only this wonderful product and company we have but the individuals who make it up. That in itself is gratitude."
HDO's Mission
Upon FDA approval, the company hopes to be able to sell directly to customers through Amazon and other channels. The belief is that The Journiquet™ should accompany any location that has a defibrillator on site. Additionally, as soon as the selling of inventory begins, a portion of all profits will be donated to either Veterans or First Responders supporting organizations. Once again echoing the company's commitment to giving back.
Recently HDO Health was accepted by Skillbridge. They have had two interns through this program to date. They are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand their workforce while contributing to such a great cause.
HDO Health's primary focus is launching this product to as many hands as possible. However, they also have future plans. The ideal timeline would be starting in 2024 to take the technology and brand of The Journiquet™ and sell it to a medical emergency portfolio company, allowing the new company to scale it at a higher level. HDO Health's vision and passion are to develop the product and then pass the torch to another company to scale and expand its reach.
Assuming all goes to plan, HDO Health plans to take part of the profits from selling off The Journiquet™ and pivot to their next innovation. That is the goal here, not just to cash out, but to move on to another challenge that they can collectively improve on. HDO Health wants to remain an innovation hub and continue to find ways to improve on current technologies and products. As they have stated every step of the way, "we want to help save lives"
Outcome-Focused
In Conclusion
We want to thank HDO Health and its four co-founders for their work and for allowing us to share their stories and mission. A special thanks to Bryan Stewart, Nadi Graham, Tanya Nocera, and Dr. James Allen McElroy for their contributions. This wonderful product will hopefully receive FDA clearance and hit the market in 2023. And who knows one day it may save your life or the life of someone you know. KLS is grateful to feature HDO Health as part of its "Together Talks" campaign.
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