# Episode 255 | Brent Lavin, Founder at Ironwood Medtech Partners | Innovation Dynamics: Engineering Meets Marketing & Customer Discovery

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/project-medtech-601743/episode-255-brent-lavin-founder-at-ironwood-medtech-partners-innovation-dynamics-engineering-meets-marketing-customer-discovery
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/project-medtech-601743/episode-255-brent-lavin-founder-at-ironwood-medtech-partners-innovation-dynamics-engineering-meets-marketing-customer-discovery.md
Podcast: [Project Medtech](https://stenobird.com/podcast/project-medtech-601743)
Published: 2026-04-06T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/projectmedtech/episodes/Episode-255--Brent-Lavin--Founder-at-Ironwood-Medtech-Partners--Innovation-Dynamics-Engineering-Meets-Marketing--Customer-Discovery-e3hbndg
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/1e555244/podcast/play/117873520/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-2%2F421301129-44100-2-e300e85b9922a.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2546

## Resource

In this episode, Brent Lavin shares how two decades in product and portfolio management at GE Healthcare, C.R. Bard, and BD shaped his mission to help Series A and B medtech startups build commercial logic into every stage of innovation. Brent breaks down what surprised him most moving from strategics to early-stage teams and why large companies often operate like startups when resources must be earned through influence, not authority. The conversation dives into how his engineering training powers a structured, “marketing-as-a-science” approach to product management, the most-missed elements of customer discovery, and a concrete example of winning by simplifying a “Cadillac” product into a segmented solution. Brent also unpacks what strategics look for in acquisitions plus lessons from LSI, leadership, and the discipline of endurance running. Brent Lavin LinkedIn Ironwood Medtech Partners LinkedIn Duane Mancini LinkedIn Project Medtech Website Project Medtech LinkedIn Thank you to our sponsors: Ward Law and JumpStart Inc .

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## Transcript

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