Zero Friction

Terry Coutsolioutsos
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The show highlights people, processes and/or platforms that remove barriers from revenue growth

  1. 2 days ago

    Complexity by Design: Why Hospital Buying Got So Slow

    Host Terry Coutsolioutsos sits down with Todd Dunn, Founder and CEO of The Innovator's Journey and CEO of Accuryn Medical, to break down why most medtech companies fail not because of a bad product, but because they never built a system for transformation in the first place. Todd has spent over a decade working both sides of the healthcare fence, holding innovation and transformation leadership roles at GE Healthcare, Intermountain Healthcare, Advocate Health, and Atrium Health, where he built out systems like GE Fastworks and Intermountain's Transformation Lab. He was mentored directly by the late Clay Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma, and his own book, The Innovator's Journey, releases in November through Taylor and Francis. In this episode, Todd and Terry unpack why GPOs like Vizient and Premier function as an overlooked sales channel rather than just a tax on margin, why psychological safety has to be engineered into a company's systems rather than hoped for, why founders chasing venture capital need to understand the difference between test capital and growth capital, and why most early-stage medtech companies waste months building products before validating a single assumption about whether customers will actually use them. The conversation also covers the real math behind hospital value analysis committees, why AI-driven prospecting can replace a fraction of a traditional sales force's cost, and Todd's advice to his 22-year-old self about being patient with the status quo. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, we sit down with the leaders and technologies reshaping healthcare, digital health, and the future of business. Topics Covered: GPOs as an Overlooked Sales Channel, Not Just a TaxWhy Psychological Safety Has to Be Built Into the SystemTest Capital vs Growth Capital: The Hardest Money to RaiseThe Watch Nobody Wore: A Lesson in Vetting Assumptions Before BuildingWhy 74% of CEOs Believe They Won't Exist in 10 Years Without TransformationInside the Real Math of Hospital Value Analysis CommitteesUsing AI to Replace a Traditional Medtech Sales ForceThe Love Metric: A Better Way to Measure Customer ValueWhy Founders Need to Understand Their Board Before They Need ThemTodd's Advice to His 22-Year-Old Self: Be Patient With the Status Quo 🔗 Important Links & Resources 🤖 Learn more about The Innovator's Journey: https://www.theinnovatorsjourney.com/ 💼 Connect with Todd Dunn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dunntodd/ 🎙️ Connect with host Terry Coutsolioutsos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-coutsolioutsos/ 🔗 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ What is the one system your company is missing that would actually make transformation stick? Tell us in the comments. 👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on healthcare AI, digital health, medical software, automation, and the future of healthcare operations. #MedTech #HealthcareInnovation #ZeroFrictionPodcast

  2. 4 days ago

    Why the Sales Rep Model Is Dying in Medtech

    Host Terry Coutsolioutsos sits down with Brian Wagner, Founder and CEO of Health Insights Consulting Group, to break down why AI adoption in healthcare will ultimately come down to one thing: reducing medical errors and building clinician confidence. Brian has spent over 30 years in medical devices, medtech, and imaging, starting his career calling on interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and vascular surgeons at the founding division of Boston Scientific before it carried that name. He went on to hold C-suite roles including Chief Marketing Officer at Philips Imaging, Chief Digital and Marketing Operations Officer at GE Healthcare, and global brand leadership at Becton Dickinson, before founding Health Insights Consulting Group nearly a decade ago to help small medtech companies scale. In this episode, Brian and Terry unpack why the old med device sales model of hiring reps at scale no longer works now that value analysis committees involve eight or more stakeholders, why digitizing clinical training and education reduces medical errors by improving retention and confidence, why 70% of customers now research a product and its competitors before ever picking up the phone, and why AI's biggest long-term impact in medtech won't be cost savings but getting clinical decisions right the first time. The conversation closes with Brian's advice to his 22-year-old self about treating yourself as a bank you never stop investing in. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, we sit down with the leaders and technologies reshaping healthcare, digital health, and the future of business. Topics Covered: ● Why the Old Med Device Sales Model of Hiring Reps at Scale Is Breaking Down ● Value Analysis Committees: Convincing Eight Stakeholders Instead of One Doctor ● Digitizing Clinical Training to Reduce Medical Errors and Boost Retention ● Why 70% of Customers Research You Before Ever Calling ● Content Marketing and the Modern Medtech Buyer's Journey ● The Real Cost of Losing a Customer vs Retaining One ● Where AI Creates the Biggest Impact: Small Startups vs Global Medtech Giants ● Using AI to Reduce Radiologist Error and Build Clinical Confidence ● Healthcare Affordability and the Promise of AI-Driven Efficiency ● Brian's Advice to His 22-Year-Old Self: Invest in Yourself Like a Bank 🔗 Important Links & Resources 🤖 Learn more about Health Insights Consulting Group: https://www.healthinsightsconsulting.com/ 💼 Connect with Brian Wagner on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjameswagner/ 🎙️ Connect with host Terry Coutsolioutsos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-coutsolioutsos/ 🔗 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ Where is AI actually reducing errors or friction in your part of the healthcare system? Tell us in the comments. 👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on healthcare AI, digital health, medical software, automation, and the future of healthcare operations. #MedTech #HealthcareAI #ZeroFrictionPodcast

  3. 3 Sept

    Recruiter and Operator: Lessons From Both Sides of the Table

    Host Terry Coutsolioutsos sits down with Giovanni Lauricella, Co-Founder and CEO of Lifeblood, the executive search firm built specifically for growth-stage MedTech companies, to unpack why hiring the right executive team is the single biggest de-risking move a medical device investor can make. Giovanni has spent 16 years recruiting for venture-backed medical device companies, building out boards, C-suite teams, and commercial leadership for startups across North America, Europe, Israel, and Asia-Pacific. In this episode, he breaks down how investors actually evaluate executive hires as a de-risking strategy, why he still calls himself a recruiter even after co-founding his own medical device company that's weeks away from FDA clearance, and what separates a candidate who thrives in a startup from one who doesn't. He also shares how Lifeblood's MedTech CEO-Only Forums and the semi-annual Houston MedTech conference series, including the upcoming Houston MedTech Oktoberfest, are building a dependable medical device hub in Texas to rival the coasts. The conversation closes with his story of stumbling into medical device recruiting off a Craigslist job search, and the one word he'd use to sum up the advice he'd give his 22-year-old self working at Starbucks. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, we sit down with the leaders and technologies reshaping healthcare, digital health, and the future of business. Topics Covered: ● How Giovanni Fell Into Medical Device Recruiting Off Craigslist ● Why He Still Calls Himself a Recruiter, Not an Operator ● Building His Own Medical Device Company From the Inside ● What Investors Really Look for When De-Risking Executive Hires ● Matching Personality and Accountability, Not Just Resume Fit ● Why Startups Can't Hide Weak Performers on a Small Team ● Building a MedTech Hub in Houston to Rival the Coasts ● Inside the MedTech CEO-Only Forums and Houston MedTech Conferences ● Who Attends the Houston MedTech Oktoberfest and Why ● Giovanni's One-Word Advice to His 22-Year-Old Self: Discipline 🔗 Important Links & Resources 🤖 Learn more about Lifeblood: https://www.lifeblood.com/ 🎪 Learn more about the Houston MedTech Conference Series: https://www.houstonmedtech.org/ 💼 Connect with Giovanni Lauricella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovannilauricella/ 🎙️ Connect with host Terry Coutsolioutsos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-coutsolioutsos/ 🔗 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ What's the one hire that made or broke a company you've worked with? Tell us in the comments. 👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on medical device innovation, healthcare startups, and the future of healthcare operations. #MedTechRecruiting #MedicalDeviceStartup #ZeroFrictionPodcast

  4. 1 Sept

    The New Valley of Death: Why Cleared Products Still Die?

    Host Terry Coutsolioutsos sits down with Tim Blair, Founder and CEO of iCHOR Vascular, to unpack why hospitals have gone deliberately anti-rep - and how his team built a rep-light thrombectomy device around a 60-year-old Fogarty balloon design that still outperforms modern tools. iCHOR Vascular is a medical device startup treating peripheral vascular clots with a simplified, endovascular thrombectomy system. In this episode, Tim breaks down why hospitals are pushing back against sales reps in their hallways, what iCHOR discovered when testing modern thrombectomy tools against the classic Fogarty balloon, and why vessel integrity kept favoring the older design. He walks through the "second valley of death" in medical device funding, the gap between FDA clearance and the revenue numbers strategic buyers actually want to see and explains why reimbursement and cost of goods have to be designed into a device from day one, not solved after the fact. The conversation also covers how value analysis committees have changed medical device sales, why physician champions alone no longer guarantee hospital adoption, and how iCHOR is building toward an Apple-like, rep-light device experience physicians can trust at 2 a.m. without a rep in the room. Tim has spent over 30 years in medical device sales, marketing, and business development, including a decade at NAMSA guiding early-stage device innovation through FDA preclinical and regulatory pathways, before co-founding iCHOR Vascular with Dr. Troy Long in 2017. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, host Terry Coutsolioutsos sits down with the leaders and technologies reshaping healthcare, digital health, and the future of business. Topics Covered: ● The Deliberate Anti-Rep Movement Inside Hospitals ● Why the 60-Year-Old Fogarty Balloon Still Wins on Vessel Integrity? ● How iCHOR Vascular Was Born From a Napkin Idea? ● Simplifying Thrombectomy: Sheath and Wire Access as the Non-Negotiable ● Lower Extremity Arterial, Venous, and Dialysis: Where the Unmet Need Lives ● The First and Second Valley of Death in Medical Device Funding ● Designing for Reimbursement From Day One, Not as an Afterthought ● Why Physician Champions Aren't Enough Anymore in Value Analysis Committees ● Building a Rep-Light, Apple-Like Device Experience ● Tim's Advice to His Younger Self: Find Your Passion First 🤖 Learn more about iCHOR Vascular: https://ichorvascular.com/ 💼 Connect with Tim Blair on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyscottblair/ 🎙️ Connect with host Terry Coutsolioutsos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-coutsolioutsos/ 🔗 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ What's the biggest bottleneck slowing down adoption of new medical technology in your hospital or practice? Tell us in the comments. Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on medical device innovation, healthcare startups, and the future of healthcare operations. #MedicalDeviceStartup #Thrombectomy #ZeroFrictionPodcast

  5. 27 Aug

    AI vs AI: How Insurance Claim Bots and Provider Bots Are Now Fighting Each Other | Deepak Borole

    Providers used to call it pajama time: going home after a full day of patient care and spending the night entering notes into the EHR. Ambient AI listening has ended that. But that is just the start of what Chetu is building for healthcare. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, we sit down with the leaders and technologies reshaping healthcare, digital health, and the future of business. In this episode, host Terry Coutsolioutsos sits down with Deepak Borole, Practice Head for Healthcare AI and Digital Strategy at Chetu, a global custom software development firm with 26 years in the industry and over 2,800 engineers across 40-plus verticals. Deepak has spent 12-plus years leading Chetu's healthcare vertical, working with physician practices, hospital systems, EHR platforms, imaging centers, pharmacies, and life sciences companies to build custom AI solutions they own outright. The conversation covers why caregiver burnout is fundamentally a process problem that AI can fix, how Chetu's Track2AI framework moves clients from proof of concept to full-scale deployment, why the AI fight between insurance denial bots and provider submission bots is actually speeding up reimbursement cycles for both sides, how 70 to 80% of a radiologist's routine scan categorization can be automated without replacing a single clinician, and why the highest-impact place to start is always the highest-volume repetitive task, not the flashiest clinical use case. Episode at a Glance: Why Caregiver Burnout Is a Process Problem AI Can SolveAmbient Listening: Ending Pajama Time for ProvidersHow Chetu Builds Custom Healthcare AI That Clients Own OutrightFront Desk and Back Office Automation: Where to StartBilling, Coding, and Prior Authorization: AI vs AI on ClaimsEHR Integration Using HL7 and FHIR StandardsHow AI Is Automating 70 to 80% of Radiology Scan CategorizationHuman in the Loop: When Full Automation Is Not the AnswerProof of Concept to Full Scale: The Chetu Deployment ModelBe Curious, Be Hungry, Stay Adaptable: Deepak's Advice to His Younger Self 🔗 Important Links & Resources 🤖 Learn more about Chetu's healthcare solutions: https://www.chetu.com/solutions/healthcare.php 💼 Connect with Deepak Borole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepak-borole-626b0039/ 🔗 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ Where is the biggest manual bottleneck eating time in your practice or health system right now? Tell us in the comments. 👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on healthcare AI, digital health, medical software, automation, and the future of healthcare operations. #HealthcareAI #DigitalHealth #MedicalSoftware #ZeroFrictionPodcast #RevRxAI

  6. 25 Aug

    The Role of Management Control with Larry Mager || Zero Friction Podcast

    Only 20% of employees are fully engaged at work right now. Larry Mager says that's not a people problem. It's a process problem. And the fix starts long before the manufacturing floor. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, we sit down with the leaders and technologies reshaping MedTech, quality management, and the future of business. In this episode, host Terry Coutsolioutsos sits down with Larry Mager, Principal and Founder of Mgmt-Ctrl and author of the Management Control Quality Plan. Larry spent three decades in the medical device industry at companies including Boston Scientific and Baxter, from Fortune 500 executive roles to a four-person startup where he held one of 140 design changes on a patent for the first beer can-shaped semi-compliant balloon catheter ever built. He has lifted FDA warning letters, built corporate quality systems from the ground up, and spent his career arguing that quality belongs in every corner of a business, not just the compliance department. The conversation covers the difference between big Q compliance and little q operational quality, why revenue leaks when RevOps and BizOps run in separate silos, why executive alignment is harder than any process problem, how the theory of constraints explains why your fastest growth is only as fast as your biggest bottleneck, and why the tribal knowledge sitting inside your disengaged workforce is the most expensive asset most companies ignore. Episode at a Glance: The Beer Can Balloon: Building the World's First Semi-Compliant Catheter BalloonBig Q vs Little Q: Why Compliance Alone Does Not Build QualitySix Sigma and Lean Applied Beyond the Manufacturing FloorHow Larry Lifted an FDA Warning Letter by Unifying 22 Sites Under One Quality SystemBizOps, RevOps, and Where Revenue Actually LeaksWhy Executive Alignment Is the Hardest Problem in Any BusinessTheory of Constraints: Your Business Moves at the Speed of Its Biggest BottleneckHow Process Flow With Defined Roles Replaces Silo-to-Silo ChaosOnly 20% of Employees Are Engaged: Why That Is a Process FailureListen to the People Doing the Work: Larry's Advice to His 22-Year-Old Self 🔗 Important Links & Resources ⚙️ Learn more about Mgmt-Ctrl: https://www.mgmt-ctrl.com/ 📞 Reach Larry directly: (844) 349-2272 📕 Get the Management Control Quality Plan on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/074149910X 💼 Connect with Larry Mager on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrymager/ 🤖 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ Where does quality control stop in your organization: at the factory floor, or does it run all the way through revenue and operations? Tell us in the comments. 👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on MedTech, quality management, operations, leadership, and the future of business. #QualityManagement #MedTechOperations #SixSigma #ZeroFrictionPodcast #RevRxAI

  7. 20 Aug

    The Intersection of AI and Healthcare Security with MK Barton || Zero Friction Podcast

    A company put a fake patient's name on a billboard to show off a new feature. Then a real person with that exact name drove past and thought their private health data was on display. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, we sit down with the leaders and technologies reshaping healthcare, data infrastructure, and the future of business. In this episode, host Terry Coutsolioutsos talks with MK Barton, Co-Founder and Head of Cloud Experience at Rootwork Labs, a Chicago boutique consultancy that helps early-stage startups get their data, DevOps, and developer experience right. MK sharpened his security instincts during his time at Healthvana, where the HIPAA stakes were real, and he brings that hard-won paranoia to every client he touches across healthcare, ed tech, and beyond. The conversation moves from what HIPAA actually demands of data and DevOps teams, to the rising risk of turning autonomous AI agents loose on healthcare infrastructure, to how an AI scheduling agent cut clinic phone calls and no-shows without ever crossing a compliance line. MK also makes the case that AI should augment people, not replace them, and that your engineers, not your servers, are your real differentiator. Episode at a Glance: • What HIPAA Actually Requires from Data and DevOps Teams • Why You Cannot Move Fast and Break Things with Patient Data • Synthetic Data and Least-Privilege Access in the Real World • The Real Risk of Autonomous AI Agents in Healthcare Infrastructure • How an AI Scheduling Agent Cut Clinic Phone Calls and No-Shows • Token vs Session-Based Auth and the Lost-Laptop Problem • Why AI-Powered Phishing Is the Scariest New Threat • The Future of DevEx and Fast, Constant, Boring Deployments • Hiring, the Vanishing Junior Pipeline, and Why AI Should Augment Humans 🔗 Important Links & Resources 💼 Connect with MK Barton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkbarton/ 🌱 Learn more about Rootwork Labs: https://rootwork.dev/ 🤖 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ Would you trust an autonomous AI agent inside your healthcare infrastructure, or is that a line you would not cross yet? Tell us in the comments. 👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on healthcare, data security, DevOps, AI, and the future of building software. #AIinHealthcare #DevOps #Cybersecurity #ZeroFrictionPodcast #RevRxAI

  8. 18 Aug

    Pressure Injury Prevention & Smarter Care with Naveen Gogumalla || Zero Friction Podcast

    In 2014, Naveen Gogumalla lost his sister to a heart attack. No one found her for three hours. Her fitness tracker had been showing a heart rate near 20 beats per minute the entire time. The future of business, AI, and innovation gets built by removing friction. On the Zero Friction Podcast, brought to you by RevRx AI, we sit down with the leaders and technologies reshaping healthcare, patient safety, and the future of business. In this episode, host Terry Coutsolioutsos talks with Naveen Gogumalla, Founder and CEO of NthJen, the Kansas City company behind the MediSheet. That personal loss became the mission behind NthJen, a name that stands for a solution that transcends generations. After being featured in USA Today, Naveen has built the MediSheet into a remote monitoring system that helps facilities catch two of the most costly and preventable problems in patient care. The conversation covers how the MediSheet uses roughly 1,100 sensors to detect pressure injuries and absence from the bed, why the system reduces friction for overworked caregivers instead of adding to it, and how it preserves patient dignity with no cameras in the room. Naveen also breaks down the economics: a $26.8 billion annual pressure injury problem, a looming shortage of 350,000 caregivers, and the data trail that protects facilities when liability is on the line. Episode at a Glance: The Personal Loss That Sparked NthJenWhat the MediSheet Is and How Its 1,100 Sensors WorkPreventing Pressure Injuries, Formerly Known as Bed SoresCatching Falls and Absence From the BedMonitoring Patients Without Cameras and Preserving DignityOn-Demand Caregiving vs the Two-Hour RoundThe $26.8 Billion Pressure Injury Problem and the Caregiver ShortageHow Alert Data Protects Facilities From LiabilityWhere NthJen Is Headed: Pilots, LTACs, and Home Care 🔗 Important Links & Resources 💙 Learn more about NthJen and the MediSheet: https://www.nthjen.com/ 📧 Reach Naveen directly: naveen@nthjen.com 💼 Connect with Naveen Gogumalla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naveenvgogumalla/ 🤖 Learn more about RevRx AI: https://revrxai.com/ What would it mean for your facility to prevent a pressure injury before it ever starts? Tell us in the comments. 👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more conversations on healthcare innovation, patient safety, MedTech, AI, and the future of care. #HealthcareInnovation #PatientSafety #RemotePatientMonitoring #ZeroFrictionPodcast #RevRxAI

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The show highlights people, processes and/or platforms that remove barriers from revenue growth

Information

  • Creator
    Terry Coutsolioutsos
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Terry Coutsolioutsos