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Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a major global cause of mortality, claiming over 7 million lives annually. With a survival rate of less than 5%, only a fortunate few are rescued by publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public places such as airports, hotels, and shopping centers. Despite this, no portable personal device is available for individuals at risk of SCA to use in emergencies. To address this issue, Shelley Savage, the CEO of CardioThrive, has spearheaded the creation of PocketDefib™, a fully automated, compact defibrillator that can administer a full-strength, lifesaving shock of 140 joules in just 20 seconds without requiring any assembly before use.
During our recent interview with Shelley, we discovered more about CardioThrive’s groundbreaking AED leasing plan, which can help individuals restore a normal heart rhythm and save precious lives.
Below are the highlights of the interview.
Q) Can we have a brief background on your professional journey? What was your journey like to get where you are?
Shelley) Like most people trying to make their way in the world, I went to college seeking a degree in Business Administration and Finance. I figured out very quickly that going the academic route was not a good fit for me. I had an entrepreneurial mindset, and college seemed to be training me to take direction from others. There was no critical thinking involved in any part of the curriculum, and it just felt wrong to me. I decided to stop after receiving an Associate in Science Degree and became self-employed from there on out. I’ve done everything from restauranteur to managing construction projects and real estate sales. I met my husband in September of 2000 and ended up managing his Cardiology practice for 15 years, which brought me to where I am today.
Q) What led to the inception of CardioThrive? Please share some details about CardioThrive and how it is helping its clients.
Shelley) In April of 2007, my husband was training for a 100-mile fundraising bike ride with one of his colleagues. He came home very late that day because his colleague suffered a cardiac arrest while on the ride. He was very upset because here he was, a highly trained, highly skilled Cardiologist, and he knew exactly what to do, but he didn’t have the tool he needed to save someone’s life. He asked why no one could make a defibrillator so small that it would fit in the zipper pocket on the back of his biking shirt. I set out to figure out why that was, and after nearly 2 years of exhaustive research, I found that there was no specific reason why it could not be done. Defibrillator innovation seemed to stop 28 years prior for no conceivable reason. From there, the design of the PocketDefib was conceptualized, and our first patent was filed.
Q) What makes CardioThrive different from its competitors?
Shelley) The PocketDefib is the first ultraportable, single-use AED that requires no assembly before use. It is truly the first of its kind. It measures 5” x 2 ½” x 1 ½” and will fit in your pocket. It’s slightly thicker than two iPhones put together. It is unique in every way, and this type of innovation is long overdue in the world of AEDs.
Q) What is your vision for CardioThrive? And how are you planning to achieve that?
Shelley) Our vision is to make these ultraportable AEDs available to everyone. They are so easy and intuitive to use that a 3-year-old can figure it out without any training. Ease of use is one of the major barriers to the efficacy of the public access AEDs. While public access AEDs only contribute to a meager 1% of the total sudden cardiac arrest survival rate, 70% of all out-of-hospital SCAs occur at home. You can buy an AED at Costco for about $1,200, but this is cost prohibitive for most people. CardioThrive has devised an affordable monthly lease program, including all maintenance, with no long-term contract. We believe that coupling ease of use, no maintenance, and an easy month-to-month lease will allow more people to have an AED accessible at home. This will contribute greatly to our ultimate goal, which is to make Sudden Cardiac Arrest a routinely survivable event.
Q) What are the major challenges of the industry, in your opinion? How are you tackling those?
Shelley) The major challenges of the industry have more to do with penetrating the home care market, which has not been done yet. We believe we have the right device and the right method of accessibility to break that barrier.
Q) How do you focus on Diversity and Inclusion in CardioThrive?
Shelley) It’s very simple. CardioThrive is an equal-opportunity employer. That means you give everyone an equal opportunity to apply for a position regardless of age, race, religion, or gender. We are looking for the most experienced, highly qualified individuals with the right skill sets to perform the job. We do not care about anything else. A glaring contradiction that accompanies this question is that by instituting a “diversity and inclusion” hiring model, you end up discriminating against another individual outside of those perimeters who has worked hard and has the right experience and skill set but would be overlooked because he’s an average white guy. I’m sorry. I don’t buy into that, and I stand firmly behind hiring based on qualification and merit, regardless of any politically correct social agendas.
Q) What milestones and achievements are you most proud of?
Shelley) I am extremely proud of our accomplishments over the years. We’ve been featured in the February 2017 PACE Medical Journal, which highlighted our clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic, where we proved that our unique design could do something that no other AED can do – Deliver a therapeutic shock at only 23 joules. We’ve been recognized many times as being the most innovative defibrillator device developer by firms and publications such as Frost & Sullivan, Acquisition International Magazine, Business Worldwide Magazine, and we were featured on an episode of Worldwide Business with Kathy Ireland. We also hold over 100 patents filed in 16 countries. There is a tremendous amount of hard work put into this, and we are looking forward to having these devices available to the public very soon.
Q) What would you like to be remembered for by your peers and new entrepreneurs?
Shelley) My perseverance. I am extremely tenacious, and I simply do not quit. I grew up in a household with very outgoing, competitive brothers. I owe the development of that personality trait to them. They learned very early on never to tell me that I can’t do something because I will find a way to do it no matter how challenging or how long it takes. My best advice to anyone with a dream to create something would be never ever give up if it is your passion. Stick to it and make it happen!
Q) What are your priorities in the next five years from a personal and professional point of view?
Shelley) My priorities are to bring this truly innovative technology to market and to build a strong global company that cares for its employees and its customers. We need to look out for each other with integrity and compassion. That seems to be sorely lacking in today’s corporate world. From the employer’s side, I want to create a happy, life-balanced workplace. I want CardioThrive employees to actually be excited about going to work each day. From the customer service side, I want CardioThrive customers to know that we stand behind our products and that we will always be available to them to assist in every way. I will never allow our customer service line to be an automated system. If you need to call us, you will get a live person on the line every single time. In a nutshell, I’m openly rejecting corporate shortcuts and money-saving automated systems. I think that the public, our customers, are ultimately hurt by that, and it simply is not worth it to me. They deserve much better treatment than that. I want to bring things back to person-to-person contact with honesty and integrity. The world needs more of this, and I will settle for nothing less.
