We Were Wrong to Call It a Medical Device

Earlier this week, I reviewed a pitch deck draft and caught myself: “non-invasive medical-grade biometric sensing.” I paused. That phrase had been carved into every narrative I’d built since day one. Then I remembered what Dr. Vasina told me six months ago, over a crackling EU-to-Chicago Zoom call: “You’re not a medical device. Stop saying you are.” She wasn’t shutting down ambition. She was protecting rigor. And she was right. Most founders, especially in deep tech, chase the halo of “medical.”