Oct 30, 2024 · 24m · the-pitch
Will VCs Bet $4M on This Robot Healthcare Startup?
Ryan James · 11m spoken Josh Muccio · 3m spoken Jesse Middleton · 2m spoken Cyan Banister · 1m spoken Charles Hudson · 1m spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Ryan James pitches Doppel Technologies on The Pitch, seeking $4 million for a telerobotic ultrasound platform that allows remote specialists to conduct live diagnostic scans in underserved rural hospitals. After demonstrating the platform's safety systems, Medicare-backed hospital unit economics, and 510(k) regulatory pathway, Ryan secures investment commitments from Charles Hudson and The Pitch Fund.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Josh holds 19.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Josh as informed peer 3.3 Guest teaching 3.8 Guest disagreement 1.0 Josh pushing back 2.0
speaking balance: gold is Josh, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:16 Ryan dismisses reselling competitor hardware
Ryan firmly rejects Cyan's suggestion to resell French hardware, detailing how its awkward manual assistant requirement ruins sonographer workflow.
Hardest push from Josh ▶ 9:08 Cyan challenges building custom hardwareCyan pushes back directly on Doppel's decision to build hardware rather than white-labeling an already FDA-approved foreign device.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:51 Ryan explains critical access hospital financialsRyan educates Josh on rural hospital economics, explaining that Medicare reimburses critical access hospitals strictly at cost so profit maximization is not their mandate.
Josh holds their own ▶ 12:00 Jesse applies autonomous farming parallelsJesse demonstrates investor domain expertise by breaking down telematic versus autonomous business models from his firm's agricultural robotics portfolio.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Josh as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Josh pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introducing Doppel and the Promise of Remote Medical Hardware | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Josh opens the episode detailing the challenges of hardware startups and introduces Ryan James. Ryan delivers his pitch uninterrupted, highlighting the mortality disparity in rural healthcare and Doppel's telerobotic solution. | |
| Demonstrating Robotic Ultrasound Mechanics and Safety Systems | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | The panel asks clarifying questions regarding hardware ergonomics and safety mechanisms. Ryan explains their haptic pressure feedback algorithms and past successful trials on animal subjects. | |
| Analyzing Doppel's Moat and Regulatory Strategy | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | Josh asks whether Doppel is using custom or off-the-shelf robotics hardware. Ryan details their use of Universal Robotics arms and explains their fast-track 510(k) FDA predicate strategy based on a French competitor. | |
| Evaluating Market Differentiation and Hospital Economics | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | Cyan pushes Ryan on why they don't simply resell the French competitor's device instead of building hardware. Ryan explains the severe ergonomic flaws in the competitor's system and explains Medicare reimbursement models for rural hospitals. | |
| Exploring Mobile Applications and Sonographer Lifestyle Benefits | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Cyan and Jesse suggest alternative business models like mobile units and draw parallels to autonomous farming tractors. Ryan explains the core lifestyle benefit for remote sonographers who currently endure extensive travel. | |
| Reviewing Capital History and Rural Hospital Priorities | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | Josh expresses surprise that critical access hospitals are not motivated by maximizing profit. Ryan explains the governmental cost-reimbursement model that allows these non-profit rural facilities to focus strictly on community coverage. | |
| Investor Deliberations and Charles Hudson's Investment Offer | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Jesse passes due to sector misalignment while Cyan requests follow-up diligence. Charles makes a $25k commitment, and Josh joins in with a $25k-$50k syndicate check. | |
| Post-Pitch Investor Analysis and Deal Reflections | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | In post-pitch deliberations without the founder, the investors reflect positively on the market timing for medical robotics and compliment Ryan's founder presence. |
Statements from this episode (17)
Doppel converted four LOIs into contracts after hospital prototype tests
“Since starting our company two years ago, we've tested our prototype
In multiple hospitals, we've turned four LOIs into contracts”
Doppel Technologies is seeking to raise $4M
“And I'm here to raise four million dollars to build a future where everyone has the same access to care regardless of where they live.”
Founders performed remote heart procedure on a pig from 2,000 miles away
“The first system that we built was for a minimally invasive heart procedure. The electrophysiologist was in Chicago. Our system was in Seattle, and we did a heart procedure on a pig, and we did it successfully.”
Telerobotics value lies entirely in software stack, not new hardware
“The really important insight was that all the technology is already here. Like, they're fantastic robots. They're fantastic devices. We don't need to rebuild any of that. The missing piece was a software stack that connected it all. So all of our IP, all of ou…”
Doppel on track to launch first US telerobotic ultrasound system
“Yes, so right now, all of the big ultrasound manufacturers have been trying to tap into the rural market, but they can't because the specialists aren't there, and so we're on track to be first to market with a telerobotic ultrasound system in the U.S., and tha…”
Doppel uses off-the-shelf Universal Robots hardware used in warehouses
“Yeah, this is an off-the-shelf robot that anyone can use. It's made by Universal Robotics. So this robot is not only used in medicine, it's also used to move boxes in warehouses and things like that.”
Doppel projects FDA Class II 510(k) clearance by mid-2025
“In Europe and Canada, but not in the U.S. They haven't tried to sell their device in the U.S. Yet, and so that leaves this, not only this enormous market opportunity in the U.S. For us, but it also just like rolls out the red carpet in terms of getting FDA cle…”
Doppel hired the former regulatory consultants of its French competitor
“So we actually hired their former regulatory consultants.”
Medicare reimburses critical access hospitals for capital costs of new equipment
“So when one of those critical access hospitals performs a procedure, Medicare will reimburse them for the cost of performing that procedure. They'll also do that when they purchase a new system.”
Doppel plans $60,000 hardware pricing plus $50-$100 per-procedure fee
“Our basic business model is, ah, cost us about 50 K to build the system. We're planning to sell the system for 60 K and then charge a 50 to 100 dollar per procedure fee, and so we really start to see economic success with volume of procedure.”
Dopl tested remote robotic system between Houston and Seattle over 5G
“We actually did a test from Houston to Seattle over T-Mobile's, five G network.”
Dopl plans to test telerobotic ultrasound platform in a moving ambulance
“We're about to do a test in a moving ambulance.”
Dopl has raised $870,000 to date, including Techstars investment
“We did Techstars fall of twenty-twenty-two. That was our first 120 K and then a ton of very forward thinking angels that include physicians and technologists. To date, we've raised 870 K.”
Banister: Closest robotics investment is in automated robotic eyelashes
“The closest investment I have is in robotics like this is and it's a luxury sort of thing. It's not as life-saving as what you're doing, but it's robotic eyelashes.”
Hudson commits minimum $25,000 investment into Dopl pending diligence
“No, I mean, look, depending on the price and depending on what I learned in diligence, we would do more, we won't do less than 25.”