Last year, ConforMIS, Inc. was able to double its revenues. And the first quarter of 2012 brings even more good news, as they had recently acquired their Series E funding amounting to $89 million.
This particular round was participated in by Axel Johnson, Inc. and AGC Equity Partners. Investments also came from Government Investment Funds from Asia and the UAE.
ConforMIS’ CEO Philipp Lang shares more about their recent funding and the company in this recent e-interview with Lead411:
Who are your competitors and how are you different from them?
Because the market for knee replacement is large with over $6B in worldwide revenues, we compete with some very well known companies. They include Zimmer, DePuy (a J&J company), and Stryker. However, while ConforMIS competes in the same category, it is unique in its approach and technology. Other companies offer standard, off-the-shelf implants that come in a limited range of shapes and sizes. The ConforMIS approach takes advantage of the latest advances in imaging, 3D computing, and manufacturing technology to offer personalized implants and matching surgical tools in a simple, single use kit. No other company offers this type of customized solution with such an efficient delivery model.
What marketing tactic has given you the highest ROI? What percentage ROI do you get back on this?
We are big believers in online marketing approaches, both to surgeons and to patients. Especially as anemerging, fast growing company, it makes our marketing approach highly cost effective and allows us to do more than we could using any other approaches. So we focus on our online presence and invest in digital assets that are scalable to a broader community as we grow.
What do you plan to spend your new funding on? Product development? Marketing?
We are on a fairly aggressive growth trajectory and want to continue that success. So we will use the funds to support ongoing sales and marketing expansion as we continue to roll out our award winning line of knee replacements. In addition, we will be building out our manufacturing infrastructure to support the growth and to get better control of our supply chain, which is its own source of innovation. Finally, we will be investing to continue filling out our line of knee implant solutions and looking into another joint as well.
If this is your first round of financing and you’re the CEO, how many hours did you put into working on getting your financing? Was that taking up the most of your day?
This is our Series E round of financing so we’ve had experience going through the process. Fundraising is a highly demanding activity and requires a team that understands its importance and is dedicated to its success. We find that fundraising is not a start and stop activity, but something you spend years establishing the base on through your presentations and meetings with different groups over years. Then when you are at a stage where the fundraising makes sense, it becomes a very intense activity requiring a lot of time and involvement from the whole company. But the value is that it sharpens how you think about the company and operate as well, so a lot of the investment of time is in the actual running of the business, not just the external relationships.
How many employees do you have?
ConforMIS employs approximately 200 employees.
When were you founded?
2004
How much did you revenue increase(if any) this year over last year?
We more than doubled our revenues in 2011.
Want to read more on their recent funding? You can check ConforMIS’ press release here.
ConforMIS Raises $89M In Series E Funding
This particular round was participated in by Axel Johnson, Inc. and AGC Equity Partners. Investments also came from Government Investment Funds from Asia and the UAE.
ConforMIS’ CEO Philipp Lang shares more about their recent funding and the company in this recent e-interview with Lead411:
Who are your competitors and how are you different from them?
Because the market for knee replacement is large with over $6B in worldwide revenues, we compete with some very well known companies. They include Zimmer, DePuy (a J&J company), and Stryker. However, while ConforMIS competes in the same category, it is unique in its approach and technology. Other companies offer standard, off-the-shelf implants that come in a limited range of shapes and sizes. The ConforMIS approach takes advantage of the latest advances in imaging, 3D computing, and manufacturing technology to offer personalized implants and matching surgical tools in a simple, single use kit. No other company offers this type of customized solution with such an efficient delivery model.
What marketing tactic has given you the highest ROI? What percentage ROI do you get back on this?
We are big believers in online marketing approaches, both to surgeons and to patients. Especially as anemerging, fast growing company, it makes our marketing approach highly cost effective and allows us to do more than we could using any other approaches. So we focus on our online presence and invest in digital assets that are scalable to a broader community as we grow.
What do you plan to spend your new funding on? Product development? Marketing?
We are on a fairly aggressive growth trajectory and want to continue that success. So we will use the funds to support ongoing sales and marketing expansion as we continue to roll out our award winning line of knee replacements. In addition, we will be building out our manufacturing infrastructure to support the growth and to get better control of our supply chain, which is its own source of innovation. Finally, we will be investing to continue filling out our line of knee implant solutions and looking into another joint as well.
If this is your first round of financing and you’re the CEO, how many hours did you put into working on getting your financing? Was that taking up the most of your day?
This is our Series E round of financing so we’ve had experience going through the process. Fundraising is a highly demanding activity and requires a team that understands its importance and is dedicated to its success. We find that fundraising is not a start and stop activity, but something you spend years establishing the base on through your presentations and meetings with different groups over years. Then when you are at a stage where the fundraising makes sense, it becomes a very intense activity requiring a lot of time and involvement from the whole company. But the value is that it sharpens how you think about the company and operate as well, so a lot of the investment of time is in the actual running of the business, not just the external relationships.
How many employees do you have?
ConforMIS employs approximately 200 employees.
When were you founded?
2004
How much did you revenue increase(if any) this year over last year?
We more than doubled our revenues in 2011.
Want to read more on their recent funding? You can check ConforMIS’ press release here.