AirSeal develops and commercializes an innovative patented biomarker for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The venture has created a method that allows for rapid and accurate evaluation of cFAS levels in the blood and helps accurate diagnosis of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).
Stephen Wu (MBA ’23) and Mohamed Zayed (EMBA ’23) are the team behind AirSeal. Stephen answered a few questions about their startup.
Tell us your startup story – What is the problem you’re solving?
We are striving to innovate the diagnosis and care of cardiovascular disease, which is the No. 1 silent killer in the U.S. and costs over $400 billion per year.
What is your solution to that problem?
We are commercializing a patented serum biomarker with proprietary IP out of Washington University to develop a more accurate method of diagnosing cardiovascular disease. This proprietary technology allows us to identify cardiovascular disease earlier in the patient care workflow and has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of hundreds of millions worldwide.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?
Fancy ideas or technologies are never the key to a successful business, only value creation & enabling buys from target customers is.
What do you love about entrepreneurship?
Full ownership to push everything forward. Thinking of the same topic from many different perspectives in depth. To keep learning every day from every failure and feedback.
What advice would you give to someone considering creating a startup or entering an entrepreneurship competition?
Build a solid solution or validation to the question first before getting started: Who are your customers, why do they need your products & services.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
AirSeal was founded on the first day of the two co-founders’ MBA program at WashU Olin Business School. It was the first conversation between the two co-founders, who never knew each other before that. Both founders have immediate family members who suffered from or passed away from cardiovascular disease. Hence, improving the care of patients with cardiovascular disease means a lot to both founders.
The winner of the Spring 2023 GIA will be announced at The Washington University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards Presented by the Skandalaris Center on April 20. All are welcome to attend the awards ceremony to see which team(s) will win non-dilutive funding for their venture.