Medical Startup Entrepreneur
Greater Boston Area
- Current
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- Founder at Accelerated Medical Ventures
- Advisor on Healthcare Innovation at Partners HealthCare
- Director & Co-Founder at 3DM Inc.
- Past
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- Partner at NetVentures
- Director, HPGarage Technology Ventures at Hewlett Packard Company
- General Manager at Global Networks Inc.
- Biomedical Analyst at MD Buyline Inc.
- Education
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- Venture Capital Institute
- Yale University - Yale School of Management
- Southern Methodist University
- Recommended
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6 people have recommended Zen - Connections
-
312
connections
- Industry
- Medical Devices
- Websites
Zen Chu’s Summary
FOCUS AREAS:
- Medical devices with fast approvals
- Software & connected healthcare
- Solutions with high patient engagement & emotion
I help to accelerate the development of high impact clinical inventions, by bridging science & the venture business, enabling the confluence of good people and worthy ideas. I am devoted to medical innovation and I work at the earliest stages to envision, create, patent, de-risk, develop and sell medical devices, healthcare information technology, and consumer medical products.
Helping physicians and scientists translate their inventions into real-world therapies is very satisfying, especially in the rare moments when the complexities of healthcare can be distilled into a simple solution. Along the way, I have been very lucky to learn alongside world-renowned scientists and some of the best venture capital investors while helping accelerate important discoveries.
Zen Chu’s Specialties:
I wear many hats within early stage ventures: invention, intellectual property mapping, clinical markets, regulatory strategy, technical assessment, physician focus groups, fundraising etc. Experience in medical devices, surgical & robotic tools, biomaterials, healthcare software & data, clinical nutrition, controlled drug delivery & regenerative therapies.
Zen Chu’s Experience
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Founder
Accelerated Medical Ventures
(Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)
2007 — Present (2 years)
Accelerated Medical Ventures specializes in helping physician and surgeon-inventors invent high-value clinical innovations and accelerate them to the patient bedside. The company serves as an early stage investor, inventor & operator of these companies. Active investments are in the areas of cardiac surgery, robotic surgery, biomaterials, stem cell therapeutics, ultrasound diagnostics, healthcare information & connected healthcare, consumer healthcare, nutraceuticals.
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Advisor on Healthcare Innovation
Partners HealthCare
(Non-Profit; Hospital & Health Care industry)
2007 — Present (2 years)
I currently advise multiple academic & clinical institutions on healthcare innovation including Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Cleveland Clinic Innovations, CIMIT (Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology) BioDesign & the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Some of my work and views can be found at http://cimit.typepad.com/cimit_forum_blog/2008/05/zen-chu-slides.html -
Director & Co-Founder
3DM Inc.
(Biotechnology industry)
September 2002 — Present (6 years 11 months)
Co-founded, bootstrapped and led as CEO the venture capital backed biomaterials company based in Cambridge, MA. PuraMatrix nanofibers as synthetic injectable scaffolds for medical devices, drug delivery and regenerative medicine. MIT Scientific co-founders include Drs. Shuguang Zhang, Alan Grodzinsky, Robert Langer, Alex Rich & Carlos Semino. Company sold to NMJ Japan in 2007.
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Partner
NetVentures
(Privately Held; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)
October 1999 — January 2002 (2 years 4 months)
Early-stage venture capital fund founded by Adam Kirsch, co-founder of Bain Capital. Invests in software, consumer internet and medical devices. NetVentures seed-funded 3DM Inc.
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Director, HPGarage Technology Ventures
Hewlett Packard Company
(Public Company; HPQ; Information Technology and Services industry)
July 1996 — December 1999 (3 years 6 months)
Founded HP's venture capital and new technology ventures group. Led relationships with top-tier venture capital firms, leading startups and internal HP Labs and product groups.
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General Manager
Global Networks Inc.
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Hospitality industry)
July 1993 — September 1995 (2 years 3 months)
General Manager of a hotel, restaurant & nightclub consulting and outsourcing company.
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Biomedical Analyst
MD Buyline Inc.
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Medical Devices industry)
June 1991 — July 1993 (2 years 2 months)
Analyst for the leading medical device and hospital equipment analyst firm. Surveyed doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and manufacturers across performance, quality and ROI metrics.
Zen Chu’s Education
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Venture Capital Institute
VCI , Venture Capital & Entrepreneurship , 1998 — 1998
The leading international program and curriculum for private equity and corporate venture capital investors, sponsored by the National Venture Capital Association and the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship.
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Yale University - Yale School of Management
MBA , Venture Capital & Entrepreneurship , 1995 — 1997
- Activities and Societies:
- Appointed to Yale Corporation Endowment Advisory Board, elected Yale Senator
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Southern Methodist University
BSEE , Biomedical Electrical Engineering , 1989 — 1993
Entirely self-supported by scholarships and full-time work throughout college.
- Activities and Societies:
- Student President, School of Engineering & Applied Science
Pi Kappa Alpha, Tau Beta Pi
Additional Information
Zen Chu’s Websites:
Zen Chu’s Interests:
Besides each having an early-stage venture-backed startup, my wife and I are raising two soccer-obsessed boys and a crazy little sister in Cambridge, MA.
Zen Chu’s Honors:
MIT Technology Review Magazine - Top 10 Emerging Technologies for 2007
Dow Jones / Wall Street Journal 2007 Healthcare Leader
Frost & Sullivan - Technology Leadership Award, Biomaterials, 2006
NSTI Nanobiotechnology Venture Prize, 2006
R&D 100 Magazine - Top 100 Important New Products for 2005
Invited lectures at Yale University, Harvard Medical School, MIT, National Institutes of Health, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Boston University School of Engineering, UCSF, Dow Jones / Wall Street Journal Healthcare Conference, Stem Cell Summit, Charite Hospital Berlin, Texas Back Institute, CIMIT (Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology).
Zen Chu’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
