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The Innovator’s DNA


We often encounter systemic problems in healthcare, but how often do we stop to imagine and implement solutions?

Entrepreneur Michael LaFauci has implemented one innovation after another. His most recent venture, Midas Healthcare Solutions, addresses the unglamorous issue of clinical drug diversion and waste. Mike’s MidasVIEW system integrates digital connectivity, 360-degree cameras and artificial intelligence to create a verifiable chain of custody and make drug diversion feel cool. The innovation improves efficiency, protects healthcare workers and ensures patient safety.

It’s not his first health tech innovation. Mike started his career as an Assistant Director of Pharmacy, but he’s had a series of business successes. In a recent episode of Moving to Value Unscripted, Mike discusses the qualities that led him to bridge systemic gaps with solutions again and again.

1. Seeing Solutions

A bedrock of the innovator’s DNA is linking a problem in one field to a solution in another. Mike believes that innovators intuitively look at the world and ask why things happen a certain way, then take action to make them better rather than simply moving on.

2. Unlikely Inspiration

Mike’s ventures have stemmed from "aha" moments sparked by everyday objects.

  • A Hot Dog: Waiting in line at Shea Stadium, Mike missed a home run. Annoyed, he developed some of the first self-ordering software for stadiums.

  • A Hotel Key: Opening boxes with a plastic hotel key to avoid damaging the contents, Mike saw a potential medical instrument to prevent fetal lacerations during C-sections.

  • A Lint Roller: Midas started with a lint roller when Mike connected the ease of tearing off and tossing out a used sheet to destroying fentanyl patches more effectively.

3. Building A Team

Innovation is a collaborative effort, and Mike shares deep gratitude to his team at Midas, as well as his wider network of supporters. He recruits experts to transform abstract concepts like a lint roller prototype into sophisticated tech solutions, and counts on trusted investors to support the implementation of his ideas. Mike just wishes for more time in the day.

4. Dedication

True innovation is not instantaneous, but requires patience, commitment and "blood, sweat and tears.” Mike notes that the journey from his initial lint roller idea to a deployed pilot took six years of stealth development and fundraising. He kept momentum by focusing on first downs every day, making incremental progress that led to the "touchdown" of market commercialization.

5. Falling Forward

Innovation requires a specific mindset regarding failure. Mike emphasized the courage to “fall forward” into the unknown. This involves ignoring skeptics who emphasize risk, instead seeing risks as new challenges to overcome. He asserts that, above all, belief in oneself is the driver of successful change.


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