Kelly Collier, Entrepreneur in Residence
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
I was more of an accidental entrepreneur. I never really sought out to become an entrepreneur, but once I found myself in a situation where I had a product that I truly believed could help a lot of people, I couldn’t stand the thought of the wasted potential if it never reached the market. I also realized that even though this product may have been a great idea, it’s not like other people are going to be lining up to put in the work and take on the risk trying to commercialize it if I wasn’t willing to myself. Ultimately, I was more inspired by the opportunity than I was fearful of the challenge, and I think that’s a recipe that encourages many first time entrepreneurs to take the leap.
What’s a motto that you live by?
Networking is everything! That’s probably the phrase I use most often, but what I really mean to emphasize is the importance of people and relationships. Regardless of what industry you’re in, or the size or maturity of your company, or phase of career you’re in, there is a wealth of knowledge and opportunity in the people around you. Building a strong network helped me find key partners, advisors, and resources that supported the success of my business. Being curious and getting to know more about the people in my networks really opened my eyes about how the world works. It’s also given me a great outlet to share my knowledge, expertise, and insight with others that can put the random facts stored in my brain to good use somewhere in the world!
What is one fun or interesting thing that students should know about you?
I once qualified to race triathlon at the elite/professional level, but recognized that that is an even harder way to make a living than being an entrepreneur!
What was your biggest “a-ha” moment?
When you’re dedicating all of your time, energy, and focus trying to start a company, I think it’s natural for a lot of entrepreneurs to feel like the outcome of their company defines who they are as a person. For me, this led to a very intense fear of failure. Will all those years I dedicated to this venture be wasted? Will I regret spending the prime years of my 20s this way? What about all the people I’ll let down if I fail?
One day I was talking with my husband about my worries of “what happens if I fail”. He said to me, in a very matter of fact way, that I’ll simply do whatever’s next. Get a new job. Move across the country. Take some time off. Do something different. Do more of the same. Life isn’t terribly different after a company “fails” or “succeeds”, because what matters more than the outcome is what you’ve learned and gained along the way. That was really my big “a-ha” that I think ultimately set me up for success, because I stopped worrying so much about the outcome, and focused more about maximizing the journey.
What’s your approach to team building?
It’s easy to say that startups need to have a “good team”, but it can be very hard to define what makes a team good. I believe that good startup teams are made up of people with the right kind of ambition. I tend to think that ambitious people are either motivated to be somebody or do something. It’s not that one is ubiquitously good or bad, but in a startup, you really need all your people motivated by what your company is trying to DO. I like to ask people what their future goals and aspirations are. While one might answer “I want to be CEO of my own company one day”, the ones I want on my team are the ones that say “I want to help launch the next big thing”.
Kelly (pictured second from left) and her team at a tradeshow representing her startup, ActivAided Orthotics
What’s your favorite emoji?
I’m a frequent Slack user and really enjoy being able to use custom emojis on there. By far, my most frequently used emoji is a dancing banana: (https://tenor.com/view/banana-dance-happy-supernatrual-gif-5375386). It’s more calibrated to my level of enthusiasm when giving kudos or celebrating an accomplishment than a simple thumbs up.
Kelly has spent her career working across many facets of healthcare innovation and product development. First, as the founder and CEO of a medical device company spun out of Carnegie Mellon’s Biomedical Engineering department, followed by an experience leading new product development and R&D within the medical supply corporation that acquired her startup. Currently, Kelly has a business development role at UPMC Enterprises where she looks to connect startups, corporations, and other health systems with strategic opportunities to partner with UPMC to commercialize innovations in healthcare IT and life sciences. Kelly’s journey has included being a participant and beneficiary of many of Pittsburgh’s excellent entrepreneurial resources, and now is a mentor, speaker, and subject matter expert in support of many of those same local programs. Her passion and unique expertise lies at the intersection of entrepreneurship, healthcare, and corporate innovation.
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