HCOB: That must have been quite a surprise — the con- fidence of that statement coming from such a renowned radiology expert at Stanford. Forchette : Yes, I was kind of floored. Brook and I walked out, sat on a park bench on the Stanford campus, and I said, “Well, I didn't expect that.” And Brook said, “Yeah. That's pretty telling.” I know a market disruption when I see it, and this experience proved to me that the Delphinus technology had clear potential to save lives. I didn’t know radiology, but what I did know is how to take a disruptive technology and drive it home to realize its true potential.” And that’s exactly what testing the hypothesis does — it clarifies things. I know a market disruption when I see it, and this experience proved to me that the Delphinus technology had clear potential to save lives. I didn’t know radiology, but what I did know is how to take a disruptive technology and drive it home to realize its true potential. So, I said, “I think I should do this.” And Brook said, “Yeah, I think you should.” So, I left my 30-year career comfort zone in ophthalmology and moved into radiology. I love to color outside the lines, and I knew my skill set could make a difference. And now Brook, my friend and mentor, is an investor through his own venture firm outside of KPCB. HCOB: There’s so much to pull from out of all these ex- periences — what would you say to students or business professionals contemplating an entrepreneurial career? What would be your most important piece of advice? Forchette : Other than testing the hypothesis, I think the most important thing to remember is that you must know who you are and what you believe in, because that’s what’s going to sustain you through the tough times — and there will be tough times. Times when you have your back against the wall and everybody’s telling you it can’t be done. Times when there’s no oxygen in the room and it’s literally hard to breathe. Times when your cash is going to run out six months before your breakthrough project is complete, and when everyone wants an answer but there are none, no guar- antees. These are the deep breath moments that cut to your core. Knowing who you are, knowing what you can do and what you believe is what will get you through to the other side. The fact is — entrepreneurs are risk takers that swing for the fence when it is much easier to bunt. As a result, some- times we hit home runs and sometimes we strike out. Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs — a record that stood untouched for decades — be he also struck out 1,330 times. I think auda- cious swings, counterbalanced by hard work, diligence and passion are worth every ounce of risk if they have even the slightest chance to deliver a better world.
So, we have the meeting, and I tell him what I knew about the Delphinus technology at the time. And then Brook did something I thought was incredible. He said to the doctor, “Mark has been in ophthalmology for almost 30 years. He knows every ophthalmologist in the industry. He stays at their homes, they're great friends. They complete each other's sentences. He's got all these companies that he could go into in ophthalmology, and it would be super comfort- able. He could do that, or, he could go into this new space where he doesn't know a soul, he's never worked in this market before, we have no idea if the technology is real or not. On top of that, it's capital equipment, and it doesn’t have a consumable component to the revenue stream.” HCOB: That doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement… Forchette : He made it sound like the worst decision in the world. But the doctor said, “I understand all that, but if this technology really does what they say it does, I think you should do it.”
Mark Forchette and Brook Byers standing in front of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers.
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