When the Mission Drives the Tech: Co-Founder Conversations

<p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">It’s not every day that a patient-doctor relationship turns into a Techstars-Funded medical innovation startup. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Onyinye Balogun and Eve McDavid, the co-founders of Mission-Driven Tech, a women's health venture in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine dedicated to the transformation of cervical cancer care with modern technology.</p> <p class="">Onyi, as her friends call her, is the CMO of Mission Driven Tech and also an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine specializing in the treatment of breast and gynecologic malignancies and does research into improving cancer care in low and middle income countries.</p> <p class="">Eve, the CEO, is a former Google executive who is also a Stage IIB Cervical Cancer survivor. Eve and Onyi met during the pandemic, when Eve was undergoing cancer treatment under Onyi’s care.</p> <p class="">I heard Eve and Onyi’s presentation at the 2023 Techstars Demo day in New York and was stunned by the fundamental disparities in historical improvement in gynecological cancer outcomes - as they point out in this conversation, in recent years, Prostate cancer treatment has achieved a nearly 100% five year survival rate. In the same period, cervical and uterine cancer mortality has gotten worse, while cancer treatment for all other cancers has improved exponentially. Their company exists to change that story.</p> <h3><strong>Co-Founder Communication Insights</strong></h3> <p class="">This conversation is one of a series on co-founder communication. Check out my interviews with the co-founders of online gaming start-up Artie on <a href= "https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/cofounder-conversations-pivoting-while-staying-sane"> Pivoting while staying sane</a> (the secret - have a coach and a therapist!), a conversation with <a href= "https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/wired-to-create-together"> Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman</a>, the co-authors of the 2015 bestseller, Wi