Why is a company started?

Who starts a company?

Who builds, develops and advises that company's growth?

The Flexuspine story. . . 

Flexuspine began with a simple but inspired idea that gradually gathered momentum attracting the medical community's leading entrepreneurs, investors and surgeon advisors.

The inspiration:

In the spring of 2003, Charles Gordon, M.D. attended a meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. It was unusual for him to attend a meeting alone without family or colleagues; little did he know that his peaceful solitary weekend would give him valuable time to contemplate a paradigm shift. As luck would have it, Jeffrey Wang, M.D. was a presenter at the meeting and in his talk he referred often to the "FSU" (Functional Spinal Unit). He described the three-joint complex, the disc and facet joints and how they are a unit each dependant on the other. Dysfunction afflicting one of the three joints is typically dependent, related to, or a result of, one of the other joints. Each part of the unit works together in unison, each depending upon the other to create motion. Dr. Gordon approached Dr. Wang after his presentation with sincere appreciation for giving him such a clear and eloquent review of the kinematics of the functional spinal unit. In 2003, the majority of presentations were about discs, and discs only. Disc arthroplasty, not total spine arthroplasty, was the hot topic. "It made me feel like we were talking about total knee arthroplasty but only talking about replacing the femur and not the tibia," recalls Dr. Gordon. The fact that the facets are joints that move together in concert with the disc was not being discussed at that time. Dr. Gordon recounts, "I went back to my room after my discussion with Dr. Wang and relaxed on the balcony taking in the beautiful Phoenix sunset and pondered why we, as spine surgeons, weren't discussing the spine as a functional unit when considering arthroplasty. As a board-certified neurosurgeon, I knew it was logical - so why wasn't the medical community discussing this concept in more depth?"  That evening, with renewed clarity, Dr. Gordon made a decision to commit to a product design that addressed the functional spinal unit. He would soon learn that it's easier said than done.

From inspiration to perspiration:

"I was under the naive assumption that with simply the idea, I was 90% there. I could conceptualize the product and sell the idea to a company and be done with it," stated Dr. Gordon. This couldn't have been further from the truth. Dr. Gordon partnered with Corey Harbold, a local Tyler, Texas industry professional, to work with an engineer to create drawings and to prototype the product concept for patent submission. He then worked with local business professional Heather Easterday to come up with a viable business plan. Dr. Gordon felt strongly that addressing all the joints within the spinal unit was going to be the future of spine.

Dr. Gordon began exploring the varied business paths to take with his patent pending idea. He met with Erik Wagner, then Chief Technical Officer for Abbott Spine, and without even learning the particulars of the concept, Erik informed Dr. Gordon that many companies would rather acquire developed technology than take on undeveloped ideas or concepts. Erik encouraged Dr. Gordon, if he felt strongly in his idea, to not give up on the concept. Not to be dissuaded, Dr. Gordon kept focused, but soon realized the business side of medicine is best left in the hands of those who have been down that road before.

Going for it – getting a company off the ground.

Dr. Gordon asked Erik to recommend a consultant to help him turn his product into a company. Erik recommended his former business partner, Vin Jannetty, with whom he started Spinal Concepts. Vin graciously spent time with Dr. Gordon giving him the benefit of his years of experience in the medical device industry, but stopped short of committing to work with him. Vin had just come off a project and was taking some time to consider his options. Dr. Gordon, on the other hand, knew Vin was exactly the right person to take his concept and turn it into a successful business. Dr. Gordon relentlessly pursued Vin until he was convinced to join the company in 2005 as President and CEO. Vin's initial responsibility was to build the company on a solid foundation. He knew the amount of research and time it would take to do it right and not cut corners. Vin's first job as president was to build a solid company supported by solid investors.

It had been nearly two years since Dr. Gordon had first met Erik Wagner, who had since ended his 9-years with Spinal Concepts/Abbott Spine, and was now taking some time off. Erik had no desire to jump into a new project, but soon found himself teamed up with Vin, immersed in Flexuspine full-time as CTO. Having spent some time with both Erik Wagner and Vin Jannetty, Dr. Gordon knew both men had the tenacious business savvy needed to build a truly innovative company around his unique concept. They both had a successful record of achievement working in and developing solid companies from the ground up. They each have over 25 years experience in business and medical devices, most notably founding Spinal Concepts in 1996 to become an innovative full-line spinal device company that was later bought by Abbott Labs in 2003 (now Zimmer Spine in 2008).

Dr. Gordon continues to contribute within Flexuspine as Director and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. He is committed to keeping the company focused on his vision of recreating the three-joint complex. He, along with other surgeon advisors, provide a practical, hands-on resource for Flexuspine engineers to evaluate instrumentation as well as keep a keen eye on the clinical application of the implants and instruments. "It is a joy to continue to be involved with this company that I helped develop, while turning over the day to day business and technical roles to such capable, trustworthy individuals. I truly believe that by replicating the full, complete, three-joint functional spinal unit, we will get to where we have always wanted to be – to recreate, not suspend, natural spinal movement. We have a team of committed business veterans and a group of highly capable engineers; I am very enthusiastic about the future of Flexuspine".