A Medical Device Innovator's Long Road To Success

By K. John Morrow Jr., Ph.D., Contributing Writer

Mike Hooven is a long-standing fixture in the Cincinnati medical device scene, and his newest company will surely gain him further recognition. But it was a number of failures throughout the years at multiple business ventures that forged the road to his eventual success.

Trained as a mechanical engineer, Hooven came to Cincinnati in 1988 to work for Ethicon Endosurgery, a division of Johnson and Johnson, as director of new product development. During this period, he directed a team of 200 engineers, developing a range of 100 new products. But his long-term plan was to start his own company. So, in 1994 he left Ethicon with a lot of experience, but not much cash.