Changing the Cast Game ft. Diana Hall of ActivArmor | EYB

A Chemical Engineer from Colorado School of Mines, and Colorado Manufacturing Woman of the Year in 2022, Diana Hall Founded ActivArmor in 2016 to revolutionize the medical immobilization market with custom designed 3D printed casts and splints.  ActivArmor is used by NFL teams and other professional athletes, and is contracted with the top hospitals, sports medicine and orthopedic clinics in the country, and in 15 other countries.

Elevate Your Brand is the #1 marketing podcast for entrepreneurs and “wantrepreneurs” looking for insider tips and secrets from the most exciting new and growing brands in Los Angeles and the US at large. 

Each week, entrepreneurial special guests join Laurel Mintz, founder and CEO of award-winning marketing agency Elevate My Brand, to discuss the marketing failures and successes that have brought their brands to the next level. Learn from real-life experiences and be inspired by leaders in your industry about how smart digital and experiential marketing can elevate your brand.

Contact us: https://www.elevatemybrand.com/contact

Stay connected & DM us feedback on the podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatemybrandla/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevatemybrandla/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elevatemybrand

Transcript

00:00.26

elevatemybrand

Hi everyone and welcome back to another episode of elevate your brand I of course am your host laurel mins and I am joined today by Diana Hall who is the Ceo and founder of active armor Diana thank you for joining us today I am so excited to talk about this.

00:13.62

Diana

Thank you for having me.

00:19.55

elevatemybrand

Before I met you I had no idea that a product like this even existed I have been very lucky knock on wood to have never broken a bone before but I have a lot of friends and family who have and frankly, the casting process is really disgusting. And you have figured out a much better way to do it So tell our audience. What active armor is all about.

00:41.72

Diana

You are absolutely right? And well I started this company because I'm a chemical engineer and so I've worked in material science and 3 D printing and software engineering and ah it was funny because I started running a mentoring program for children in poverty and. They would have these filthy casts on that would you know you never know how your background in your history is going to come into play in your life until you do something else and then it all starts making sense and so that's how this came to be I was running this mentoring program where the kids would have domestic violence or substandard living conditions and they would.

01:07.26

elevatemybrand

So right.

01:16.12

Diana

Often have these casts that would get smelly and filthy and I thought man this is really archaic what we're doing. We're wrapping some fabric that hardens onto your arm and then you're told not to practice basic hygiene for weeks or months like you can't even take a shower. You can't even wash your hands to have a snack. Not only during a pandemic but just in general that shouldn't be the standard of care and so I saw that there was a big gap in the market and a strong need for a hygienic breathable washable alternative to traditional casting and that's how the company came to be so you're absolutely right? It was. Definitely a strong need that we were able to fill.

01:51.27

elevatemybrand

I Love the technical background that you have and I love the the care background that you have. It's not often that you find both sides like we call ourselves that elevate a center brain agency inspired by creative but driven by data and I feel like you have a lot of that too. But I Love I Want to like really double click on the technical side tell us how you came to like really figure out the technical ass I mean this is three D printed on site at hospital systems casting that is no small Feat. So How did you come up with the technical components and then you know figure out how to do that And. Ah, 3 D modeling and it is really wild but so exciting and I mean it's the most futuristic company I've ever seen and.

02:35.68

Diana

Yeah, there are a lot of details into it as you can imagine ah because the old style is you just have some fiberglass material sitting in your drawer and you pull it out. You wet it and you apply it to the patient and they leave and then you saw it off right? and that's kind of the old process The new process is very digital. So. You're going to use a 3 D iphone app 3 d scanning app that'll create a precise body map of the patient in full color so that you can draw or see any incisions or you know, ah, ah, any sort of a laceration or anything that you might need to offset in the cast. Ah, or and where you want an exposure for a bone stem muscle stem ten s units biomonits ah any of the advanced healing technologies that you might want to use and so you can even draw with a washable marker right? onto the skin where you might want specific advanced healing treatments to be applied. Or if you want an exposure or an offset or where you want the cutlines of the device to be um, every single person is unique in their injury or condition as well as their body map. So if you have a patient with an amputation or you know limb differences. They might need something that you can't fit with traditional splints or that casting would. Ah, interfere with their lifestyle activities and so with ah 3 d body imaging and 3 D Cad Design and manufacturing you can make every single device bespoke or specific for that patient. It allows you to have ah true precision medicine.

04:03.99

Diana

Into ah immobilization which could be for fracture care or for chronic conditions like Carpal tunnel or for wound care like diabetic foot or any reason that you might need a mobilization or support. You know we have ah professional athletes who are contracted with the workers comp group for the Nfl so we have professional athletes that we fit. And they all need very custom designed products. It might need to be thicker thinner in an area or their limb in a certain position ah to immobilize them so that they can practice their sport right? so Ah, every single person is unique. Their needs are unique and their conditions are unique and this allows doctors to have full autonomy and be able being able to create whatever they need for their patient and so the technology that's involved is the 3 d scan the 3 d design process and then the three D Print and then application to the patient and then there's also the fittings and adjustments that are you're able to do onsite to turning that whole analog process into a digital process took a lot of technology advancements over the last you know, eight or nine years since we've been doing this but not only that but then regulatory. Um, you know to have a medical device and have it. You know, registered and listed with the Fda and when you're bringing a new product to market. There's a lot to think about there insurance you know, medical device liability insurance and you know, um, all the insurance coverages from the different. Companies you know anthem aetna you know, Medicaid Medicare all of those things navigating the health care system and billing all of that stuff ah is has been I mean it's like drinking from a firehose in this business as you can imagine.

05:47.75

elevatemybrand

Yeah, well you know I'm leading you down these questions because I know this brand so well and full disclosure to those listening I am a proud marketing partner I am a proud investor I really really believe in what Diana and her team has built um and there's such a cool factor like to the cast itself. Really recommend you. Go check them out obviously at activearmor.com. But um, when you hear bespoke you think expensive but this is fully covered by insurance tell us a little bit about that site because I just think that more people need to know about it because you obviously need. Both doctors and patients to be going into hospital systems and asking for the product.

06:27.30

Diana

Absolutely And that's what we really wanted to do when we brought it to Market. We wanted to compete with traditional casting in price as well. Not just ah in you know in use but also in price so that it could be available. It could. Ah, change the entire market from casting to three D printed cast you know from traditional fiberglass into this and so it had to be covered by insurance that was absolutely a requirement for the company to end the product to be scalable and so yes, it is covered by insurance. It. It is more um, expensive in the entire system because you have all the digital systems but it is covered ah as dme So durable medical equipment. So like a splint right? So but it's still for a mobilization and and the primary use for active armor has been fracture care because as you can imagine the difference between.

07:02.41

elevatemybrand

Okay.

07:18.50

Diana

Traditional casts and this product are dramatic because you can you know, shower and sanitize your hands and you know wash and all those kind of things. Um, when you're wearing a splint for Carpal tunnel or whatever and you're allowed to take it on and off it's not It's not as big of a deal but when you compare it side by side to traditional casting There's a dramatic. Ah, improvement in patient care and patient quality of life with the act of armor and so that's why we wanted to compete in that space and it was very important for us to be covered by insurance and affordable for everyone even who's paying cash like for me I have a very high deductible plan. So I'm paying cash for almost everything. You know during the year and so I still need it to be affordable so it is priced right along the lines of you know, medicaid and Medicare and private insurance. So it is affordable to everyone as well.

08:06.41

elevatemybrand

And it is such a game changer I mean I I don't even know if I've told you this but I actually have a window open on my phone because when people ask me what we invest in and what I'm so excited about in terms of the future of healthcare. I actually show them your product because I think it is such a game changer and when I talk about it I talk about imagine this look on a kid's face when they have to go on vacation to some tropical location with their family and they can't get in the water like the the sadness and that's just like 1 small like use case. But even to your point like not being able to shower not being able to like practice normal hygiene with a cast on and again I haven't had this personal experience but you hear all these like crazy stories of doctors taking casts off and there'd be rulers and pencils and erasers and things down these disgusts and like. They're being gangrene and like all kinds of disgusting the foulness of like it just makes me nause even thinking about it and you've solved for that. Not to mention like again, go check the website out. They're frigging cool like they look what like I might it's like I'm almost a Madonna moment and um I might be overstating slightly but it's.

08:57.20

Diana

Yeah, right.

09:15.16

elevatemybrand

Kind of cool looking.

09:16.24

Diana

Yeah, no, very and that's the point right is every single one is custom designed to be as breathable and open lattice as possible while still immobilizing the area they need to immobilize ah fully and so it's a lot of technology. It's a lot of. Um, you know, finite element analysis and voroid patterning and all of the things that are necessary to say hey you know this is a tiny infant wrist and this is a giant Nfl player wrist and yet the bespoke solution will work for both of them. Ah, and it will be specifically how they need it to be and that that is the real I p of this company right? Anybody can go and reverse engineer 1 cast but it's the whole process that allows you to. Make a custom device for any body part for any patient that is where the value is in the company and that's why it's great for our investors too. I mean it's not like anybody can just be like oh I'm just going to go three D Print Print something in my garage. It's like well. That's nice, but this company. Yeah, this company is definitely a scalable and and and it brings value to more than just orthopedics right? So you can imagine in Sports Medicine you can imagine in the military I mean we were just awarded a military grant and a contract which.

10:14.89

elevatemybrand

Um, good luck.

10:32.38

Diana

Can imagine if you're out in you know in theater and you're in the let's say you're in the desert and you're injured and you have some sort of a ankle or wrist injury or whatever you are out of commission and if you like you are literally not able to work because if you can't get wet. And wash and things you you just can't even function and that's true for people in food handling that's true for people in Healthcare If You can't sanitize your hands you are literally out of work and that's tough for a lot of people I mean the kids aren playing on the beach as well. But imagine kids you know with sensory issues or special needs and we have Veterans and others that have cast claustrophobia and they just can't function in in a cast not to mention the normal things that we have like the problems we have where we you know drop stuff inside of it I had 1 ah mom whose little kid threw up down her cast and I know can you imagine.

11:21.75

elevatemybrand

Oh god oh my god Diana no oh oh my god.

11:26.97

Diana

Yeah, and then you know how they're sawing it off I've had doctors that you know they have cast claustrophobia and they go and saw it off themselves or or little kids. You know that chew their own cast off or something like that. So you know it's definitely a problem that needed to be addressed and we're excited to be the ones to get to do that.

11:42.60

elevatemybrand

Yeah, incredible. We're going take a really quick break. We'll be right back.

11:52.24

elevatemybrand

Thanks for sting and with us and you're just joining us. We are chatting with Diana Hall who's the Ceo and founder of Active Armor Active Armour is really changing the entire model of custom casting and I'm so proud to call myself a partner and an investor and Diana and. Like in awe of what you've built here. Um take us a little bit through the entrepreneurial journey from kind of v one to where you are today on some of the lessons you've learned along the way. Um like what was one of the moments where you were like this is a product that's going to work. Ah, and some of the lessons like along that path.

12:28.36

Diana

Sure, absolutely so like I said before you know I'm a chemical engineer I had no idea that I was going to do something like this I was working in fortune 500 companies and software and engineering and then it took me running a mentoring program for kids in poverty in order to see this need and try to fill it and then it was. Really me just making a couple of casts on a 3 d printer and saying hey you know take this to your doctor and ask them if you can wear this instead and the doctor saying hey can you make us some more of this and me saying I don't know and so I called the Fda and asked them if it was something I could do and this was way back in 152 they were still. Developing the test protocols for 3 d printed wearables and so they hooked me up with ah Dr Lex Schultise at the University Of Maryland's Robert Fishell Medical device institute and I got to actually work with him to help work on the testing that you would.

13:19.62

elevatemybrand

Wow.

13:21.16

Diana

Do for a new medical device which is biocompatibility micro perrosity. All of those things and I get to develop the research abstracts you know, ah publish those at the major um trade shows and the conferences like american society of orthopedic professionals. Um, Acsm American Colleges Sports Medicine Annualal conference and stuff like that and to actually publish those in collaboration with the Fda and the Robert Fish all medical device institute. So. It's been a really great learning process for me and so exciting. You know I I believe and I dumped my entire life savings into this company and. Um, you know quit ah a 6 figure job to do this and you know there have been many times where I thought you know I can't do it I'm not going to be able to you know have a bring up a new medical device company in the competitive landscape like it is. There's just too much involved. It's going to cost too much and everything but I've had. People like you and people who believe in the product and to help invest and help become partners. Um in bringing this product to market you can imagine as you know as just ah, an individual who has an id and season need and knows how to fill it but you need help like you. You're going to need I've had this great advisory team too. So um, you know Dr Kevin Kaplan the team doctor for the Jacksonville jaguars and um, ah, Dr Ralph Beauard he's you know the founder of exos and ah so there have been a lot of people who have helped me.

14:53.87

Diana

Get to this point by learning all of the things that I needed to learn not just about the product but about bringing a medical device to market and about commercialization and scaling and all of the things that you you know I have an Mba so I learned it in theory but when you actually do it. It's just way different.

15:12.51

elevatemybrand

Um, very different. Yeah.

15:13.47

Diana

Way and yeah, and so I would just say surround your people My and only advice would be surround yourself with the people who do know the answers and then lean on them. You know, ask them everything because it's really hard to get there if you don't have a full team behind you.

15:27.70

elevatemybrand

Totally I love that you group throughout these like gigantic words some of which I've never heard before and you say them with such confidence and you say them so quickly I'm like um, okay yeah I love that she thinks I know what she's saying in this moment because I have no freaking clue what you just said, but sounds really smart. So yeah. You're so brilliant Diana like so brilliant. Um, what's.

15:46.96

Diana

Ah, well in my space. Don't ask me anything about sports and by the way. Ah Dr Kaplan will laugh because he you know he called me and he said hey I'm I'm the team doctor for the jaguars and I said great what is that and he goes He goes football and I said okay you know things like that like if you ask me stuff outside my wheel. Well yeah, it'll be a difference in story for sure.

16:09.73

elevatemybrand

Yeah I have that conversation lot I'm not a sports person either and so people will say something and I'm like that's the oval ball made out of the pig skin right? Yeah, that's the brown 1 right? Yeah I totally have that same conversation.

16:18.10

Diana

Yeah, ah exactly I said who did I I said who did I fit on the team the thrower and they're like yeah, he's called the quarterback I'm like okay, but.

16:27.60

elevatemybrand

Um, ah you know we can't be good at everything Diana we just simply can't um, tell us 1 of the like amazing stories of like when you really.

16:34.90

Diana

Ah, right? Ah yeah.

16:42.68

elevatemybrand

Helped someone and they came to you and they were like you've changed my life.

16:45.94

Diana

Sure So I Know there's ah, there's a couple.. There's a bunch actually but I'm gonna tell you one that I Just love one of them. Um is a patient who had diabetes and she had an injury where she fell and she broke the part just um, I'm gonna say this so that. It's easy to understand. But it's just above the elbow and below the shoulder so that bone was broken and then um because she had diabetes. She couldn't wear a traditional cast and she ended up getting staph infection in the bone and have a chunk of bone removed. So her arm you can imagine if you have no bone between your elbow and your shoulder and your arm is just. Flesh there and just flap flopping around like it would it would flip Backward. You know like it would be almost nauseating to see because it was like it looked painful. Although it wasn't so much for her but it was her arm was completely not functional as it was and but she could still move her fingers like grip things and stuff and they were going to amputate her arm.

17:31.16

elevatemybrand

Ah, ah.

17:40.45

elevatemybrand

Oh my god.

17:42.00

Diana

But because they couldn't do it. They couldn't make anything for her because she had diabetes and so it would be immobilized there and she would have skin issues and things like that so she had no alternative but for it to be amputated and so when she came to active Armor. She had a lot of. Issues like just dealing with people looking at her and feeling nauseous or like ew and you know that would be the impression that people would so would have when they would see her and that that takes its so toll on you. You know, psychologically and so ah, when she got an act of Armor. We made her one that was pink and it was all spider web you know and all the way from.

18:12.50

elevatemybrand

Yeah.

18:21.39

Diana

You know, underneath her armpit all the way down to her hand and using this act of armor that she's going to have to wear for the rest of her life. She's able to pick up grocery bags and carry them and work out and she said when people see her and they see that on her arm. She goes people come up from all around and say. Oh my gosh that is so cool where did you get that is that a robotic that is amazing. That is so neat and it's so Beautiful. It's pink and everything little kids. Want to come up and touch it. She's like it has changed her entire life and her whole feeling on the injury because we saved her arm and then she has to wear this forever but it's it's changed. From her being like people being grossed out by even looking at her to thinking. She's super cool and so she told me that it was just a game changer for her whole life and you know stories like that you know even when I'm broken tired you know through the entrepreneurial journey as you can imagine and like.

19:11.54

elevatemybrand

Yeah.

19:14.20

Diana

You know discourage and thinking I don't know if this is worth It. You know those kind of things and then you hear a story like that and it just makes everything worth it and you realize why you're doing it and I think that's why it's so important to not only have it be about money and success in a product where you feel like it's. You know it could be commercially viable. But if it's also a mission for you If You also know that you're Improving. You know the lives of people with your product or service or whatever. That's what helps you hang in there. That's what. Helps make it successful and what helps people buy into it. You know people like yourself who see it and they're like yeah this is something that I want to be a part of and I want to invest in.

19:53.93

elevatemybrand

I Love that story Also like I don't know if I've ever had someone on this is probably the grossest and also most inspiring podcast I've ever done between the nastiness of the cat and the like flopping arm story and also being inspiration behind it.

20:07.21

Diana

And yeah.

20:11.41

elevatemybrand

I think you get 10 out of 10 points for gross and inspiring at the same time Diana I love it. Um.

20:13.87

Diana

Oh I have I have way more I'll tell you about this infant hip spike it cast that you can't even imagine imagine like babies when they have hip dysplasia and they have they have to wear diapers and they're in a body cast for you know? yeah up to years. You know what? I mean to straighten their spine.

20:22.55

elevatemybrand

Yeah, oh yeah.

20:33.49

Diana

And and they're trying to wear diapers and you're trying to wash that out of a cast can you imagine I mean like it's yeah, it's horror. It's horrifying what people put up with when they don't realize there's an alternative and there wasn't you know so and that's what we're trying to do is is change change the way people are thinking about casting and and start.

20:36.32

elevatemybrand

Oh my goodness.

20:43.58

elevatemybrand

Yeah.

20:51.74

Diana

You know, saying hey I'm not going to put up with not being able to wash my hands before I eat for eight weeks you know

20:56.74

elevatemybrand

Yeah, yeah, unbelievable. We're gonna take 1 more quick break. We'll be right back.

21:07.20

elevatemybrand

All right? Thanks for sticking with those chatting with Diana Hall who is the Ceo and founder of active armor kind of what does the future hold for active armor I know that you are always improving. Always iterating can give us a little sneak peek on like what? what's the net. What's new and next for you all.

21:22.18

Diana

Absolutely so we are so blessed to be able to advance with every new advancement in technology in 3 d printing and scanning et cetera. So with the 3 d printers. You know when the next one comes out they can work just like on star trek where you just go boop boop. And it comes out in 30 seconds that's where we're heading with the whole thing right is to make it faster easier, simple and better simpler and better and so ah, it's really cool to have that that technology at your fingertips and be evolving with it and so that's the goal of our company right now. Is to make the technology workable for everyone and make it easy and cost of for effective. Yes.

22:06.53

elevatemybrand

Ah, you can't can't do that without fundraising so we are here to also pitch you a little bit and make sure that you're out there if anyone's interested get in touch with Diana how can they reach you in the team.

22:16.36

Diana

Yeah, absolutely so activearmor dot com reach out to us. Um 805 8 3 6 6 nine zero is our 800 number and we do have a fundraising round open right now for your accredited investors for a short, very limited time until it closes. So if you aren't accredited investor you want to get in on this round. Um, again, the valuation should be a lot higher because we just got this government contract right now for 1 point, $3000000 to open up. Ah these new sites. Ah military-based sites over the next twenty four months but also ah you know to have us have a contract with the government that will allow us to. Ah work with any of the other agencies that in contract with them and sell our product to them so that's super cool. We have a lot of potential there and you know an improvement in our ah in our valuation of the company because we're now adding the military into our.

22:58.14

elevatemybrand

Yeah, yeah.

23:11.89

elevatemybrand

And this round's not to be open for very long like I don't even know by the time if this this comes out if it'll even still be available. So I don't even know if I should have mentioned it honestly.

23:11.97

Diana

Ah, potential for sales now. Yeah, that's the goal it.

23:23.79

elevatemybrand

But I'm just so proud of you and what you've built here and honored to be on both sides of the table. So I'm I'm really really excited for what you built and what we're building in the future. Um, in the last few minutes that we have left. We'd like to humanize the conversation a little bit so we're going to move over into what we call our quick fire. Are you ready.

23:27.45

Diana

Thank you.

23:43.58

elevatemybrand

All right? What was your favorite subject in school. 

23:45.15

Diana

Chemistry.

23:47.58

elevatemybrand

What was the last concert you went to?

23:52.47

Diana

Oo Duran Duran ah had a cover band and it was awesome I'm from the 80 s so yeah, 

23:58.97

elevatemybrand

I could totally see rocking out to that. Yeah I could totally see that. Um, how do you deal with stress. Yeah.

24:10.31

Diana

oh I exercise. Um. And because it's much needed and I also go to the beach because I live near the ocean and the ocean just does it for me every time.

24:17.80

elevatemybrand

And um, do you have any pet pes.

24:18.13

Diana

Yes, hair on the soap. Just it don't leave hair on the soap at its growth Just don't do that.

24:24.23

elevatemybrand

Um, hilarious. Um, what was the last thing that made you cry.

24:32.68

Diana

Um, it was oh this is a really cool story. But um, my brother passed away from cystic fibrosis and ah I remember when they launched their second location at children's hospital Colorado with the active armor product. And they told me when the launch date was going to be at the second location. It was on my brother's birthday so that just made me ball like a baby and ah made me realize why I'm doing this and yeah, that definitely made me cry.

25:03.18

elevatemybrand

That's such a sweet story. The last question is what is your favorite word and why and this could be a word that just pops into your head for the purpose of this conversation or something that has had real meaning to you over time. So.

25:16.93

Diana

Authenticity I would say because it's something that I have found very attractive to me and that really helps I've I've worked on making sure that every conversation that I have with both my friends my family and my co-workers um just exudes authenticity because. Really? um, just want to make sure that everybody's communicating well and accurately and it it really improves communication more than just words when people you know are being authentic with you and you feel comfortable enough to be authentic with them. It really just saves a lot of time and pain.

25:43.22

elevatemybrand

And.

25:53.15

Diana

Um, in building and maintaining relationships. That's right, That's right.

25:57.70

elevatemybrand

Yeah I love that no bs no vs at active armor I love it. Um, well this has been such a great conversation Dan it you could just take us home with some final words of wisdom about anything you'd like active armor entrepreneurship just take us home with. You know anything you'd like to to share with our audience.

26:16.40

Diana

Sure I would just like to say um that being an entrepreneur and bringing a new product to Market is such a blessing and an awesome experience if you get the opportunity to do anything that's game changing like that or a really. Ah, make it change in an old school Market. Go ahead and give it a shot even if you fail you're going to learn so much. But it's really just inspiring every single day to see people going out on a limb and you know cracking open the glass ceiling and making things happen that wouldn't have happened. If We hadn't all worked together to try to break it. So Yeah I would just say keep going. It's awesome.

26:55.40

elevatemybrand

Yeah, amazing Dana. Thank you so much for spending some time with us today. It's been a real pleasure and thanks to everyone who tuned in stay tuned for more from elevate your brand coming up next.

27:01.90

Diana

Thank you, you too.