An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
“‘Learn to sell and learn to build’ — These really are the quintessential skills for a startup founder, and while fundamental, they are surprisingly overlooked. I spent a lot of years of my youth laser-focused on building things, and then forgot to go out and try to sell them! The most useful ideas in the world will remain unknown, unless you learn how to sell them as well as you can build them.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ethan Drower.
Ethan Drower is the Co-Founder and Operating Partner of CiteMed, which is revolutionizing the European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) process. Literature Search and Review is the cornerstone of medical device companies’ Clinical Evaluation Report, and CiteMed has made this process more streamlined and optimized than ever. The CiteMed team was formed to deliver a high volume of beautifully written and formatted Literature Reviews on timelines that will enable companies to meet their EU MDR goals.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I was one of the original founders of CiteMed. My contribution to the team was originally to build and lead the software development team in the creation of our first internal tool.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
We saw a massive need rise with the implementation of the EU Medical Device Regulation in 2020 and 2021. Manufacturers were suddenly buried with work, especially when it came to Clinical Evaluation and Post Market Surveillance. Someone had to come in and innovate the space, because current best practices simply wouldn’t be enough to comply with the new regulation — we launched CiteMed to do just that.
CiteMed leverages a software platform that we built in-house to perfect the formatting of uniform and error-free submissions. Humans read and write, while CiteMed’s machines handle the arduous tasks of formatting and error handling. The result is consistency across all literature review submissions. ‘The CiteMed Edge’ has been our ability to bring together amazing technologists and industry-leading medical writers and regulatory consultants. It’s the collaboration between these groups that has allowed us to build tools unlike anything used in Regulatory Affairs and scientific literature review today.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
All of our funny stories stem from the same idea: when you’re starting out in a new industry, ‘you don’t know what you don’t know.’ At the start, we had a lot of simple oversights that resulted in some very long nights fixing issues. They are funny now, but less so in the moment!
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I have spent a lot of time and money seeking out world-class entrepreneur mentors. While none of mine are in the same industry, their insights have definitely shaped the company we have become today.
The biggest impact that mentors have had on me is that they relentlessly focus only on the things that matter. As a business owner and operator, we tend to fall victim to tunnel vision and spend our days putting out fires frantically. All the mentors I have had over the years forced me to step back and look at the big picture. Where was our company going? What did our customers want (and pay for)? How well are we running our company? I have since always put aside time each quarter to reflect on the ‘big’ questions of our business.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I truly think that being disruptive is always an overall positive thing for a particular industry. Testing the limits of any old story will either result in something new and improved, or will validate the existing structure. I see that as a net win. However, there are always casualties and pains when it comes to innovation. Take the Uber Rideshare revolution — many long-term taxi company owners watched their generations-old family businesses crumble in a matter of months. That’s a negative, however, the consumer and industry as a whole have benefited. Taxi companies are better and more modern now than they ever have been, thanks to competition from Uber and Lyft.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
‘Learn to sell and learn to build’ — These really are the quintessential skills for a startup founder, and while fundamental, they are surprisingly overlooked. I spent a lot of years of my youth laser-focused on building things, and then forgot to go out and try to sell them! The most useful ideas in the world will remain unknown, unless you learn how to sell them as well as you can build them.
‘Ignore great ideas, focus on great execution’ — This is a great piece of advice from Felix Dennis. Most tech entrepreneurs are not short on ideas, but they are short on time and focus. When I look back at all of my previous business ventures, it’s become clear to me that any one of them could have been wildly successful if I had just stayed the course and continued to execute on it. Far too often, we give up our current project for a more exciting, shinier item.
‘Lose the ego, be agile and always looking to improve’ — When you start getting a little bit of traction or success with a new idea, your natural tendency is to start thinking you have really mastered the game and understand the business. This piece of advice has been critical for us, because while we gain experience every day, it’s equally as important to always be able to see the game with a beginner’s mind. The company that admits they don’t know everything is the one that will ultimately try and execute on the next big innovative idea.
‘People who never risk anything suffer the worst anxiety of all’ — This quote had a powerful impact on me when first starting CiteMed. A new company in an old industry is a daunting task, especially when you have every intention of completely turning the current methods upside down. But the decision to press onward was made simple by realizing that I would feel worse if I never tried than if I would try and fail.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We are in the Regulatory Affairs and Medical Device space for the long haul. We hope to continue to help clients with their Clinical Evaluation submissions, while simultaneously building amazing software platforms that innovate and drive this industry forward.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
Naval Ravikant has probably had the most profound effect on how I approach business and company building. He thinks of everything in terms of time (how much will doing this action cost you) and leverage (what things can we do to increase the impact of our time). His podcasts teach you to think in terms of long-term, strategic moves.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The mind should be a servant or a tool… not a master’ — This is another gem from Naval Ravikant. I love the quote because it emphasizes one of the biggest inhibitors to success (in your business, relationships, or life in general): we simply think too much.
Oftentimes, we can be so stressed and reactive to all of the things going on in our lives, that we simply tread water and don’t end up anywhere closer to our goals. Stillness of the mind is a way to combat the constant bombardment of everyday life and make clear decisions to move you forward.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Clarity and stillness of mind would be my choice here. I think the course of the world would be changed forever if more people worked towards being able to sit quietly alone in a room with their thoughts for an hour every day.
How can our readers follow you online?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethandrower
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citemedical
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Thank you for the opportunity!
Meet The Disruptors: Ethan Drower Of CiteMed On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
