Venture: Scott Huennekens on The Worst Deals of His Career and What Medtech Leaders Can Learn from them

Every leader has scars from bad decisions. Scott Huennekens, medtech’s “GOAT operator” and board veteran, shares the toughest lessons from his career, including the worst deals he ever made.

We cover the six pack of mistakes, why culture and fit matter more than numbers, and how these failures shaped his approach to leadership, boards, and building value.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 – Opening: why failure stories matter more than success stories

01:12 – Introducing Scott Huennekens and his track record in medtech

03:05 – The six pack of mistakes leaders repeat

05:18 – Lesson one: falling in love with the technology, not the team

07:42 – Lesson two: underestimating how long reimbursement takes

10:03 – Lesson three: chasing markets too early

13:20 – The five worst deals Scott ever made

17:11 – Case one: wrong founder, wrong fit

20:34 – Case two: technology ahead of its time

23:40 – Case three: too much money raised, no discipline

27:28 – Case four: ignoring culture red flags

32:00 – Case five: strategic partnerships gone wrong

37:41 – Why great boards matter in preventing bad decisions

42:15 – How humility and honesty shape leadership

46:54 – Advice for founders on picking investors and partners

49:38 – Final thoughts: learning from scars, not slides

Are you a medtech CEO in need of some marketing help attracting investors, growing sales pipeline, and more? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GrowMyMedtech.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to book time for a free analysis.

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