President’s Message

Since I joined ibiliti in the fall of 2009, I’ve been on an amazing journey. The launch of ibiliti is the culmination of three years of intense planning and unwavering devotion by industry leaders. These leaders believed in the power of the medtech industry for North Carolina so strongly that they found time in their jam-packed schedules to carve out a whole new organization. They worked incredibly hard to deserve the $2.5 million in funding from the state of North Carolina to launch this organization, and I am honored to have been selected to lead the effort for the next leg of the journey.

We want you to know that ibiliti is about promise. We will be making a lot of promises to you, and we are intent upon delivering. What is amazing about North Carolina is that when you make promises, the delivery on those promises multiplies, because people in North Carolina reflexively pay those favors on to others in the community. Everyone I meet (regardless of whether we have helped them yet) has asked me what they can do to help. I can think of five things.

First, just show up. Just showing up is going to make a world of difference. Come out to support us by attending events. Have a drink. Shake some hands. Meet one or two new people. Talk about what you need. You will be amazed at what you will find.

Second, ask us to help you. If you need something, it’s also likely that it’s needed by many other companies in our medtech community. Even if we can’t help you right now, we will know what you need for the future and can plan to put programs in place to provide that help.

Third, help your neighbor. Or, just talk to your neighbor. That’s your assignment. And believe me, at the end of the year, we are going to be checking to see who did their homework. When you get our survey at the end of the year, I don’t want anyone to be surprised. And we are grading you—and ourselves—on how well we do. We are striving for organic growth. We do good for someone, and they do good for 5 more people, and so on and so on. Many times, you can find a favor to do for someone that is so easy for you to do, but has a huge impact on what they are trying to achieve. This simple request will form the foundation of what will make North Carolina one of the top hubs in the country for advanced medical technologies.

Fourth, give us feedback. We want it all—good and bad. We are carving out a new path here. There is no “right” way to do this. And there is lots of room to adjust so the path is comfortable for all of us in the medtech community.

Fifth, be successful. I know you will do this anyway, but each of your successes matters so much to our community, and we want to make sure we can do everything in our power to help you achieve them.

This year, we are not asking for membership fees or financial support. Before we do that, I need for you to see the value of ibiliti to your company, your community, our state, and the economy. We do need to become financially self-sufficient in the next four years, however, and we will have to figure out together how to do that. The one thing we are really good at is leverage. We have figured out the way to leverage a small amount of time into a tidal wave of impact for the community. Next year, let’s figure out how to do that with small amounts of financial support.

In the last six months, we have been the recipients of some incredibly generous help and support. And we in return have started helping and connecting people. It is my goal to let technology help us amplify our effect. But, until that technology is in place, we will do it the old-fashioned way—one connection at a time—face-to-face or by phone or by e-mail.

I have met many of you in my travels across the state, and I have many more to meet. My door is always open, and we invite you to drop by anytime.

Welcome to your new center of innovation focused exclusively on advanced medical technologies. Look for great things to come.

Cindy