Turning an idea into a viable company
The journey of Elizabeth Clayborne, MD, (MED ’11; GRS ’11, bioethics), from emergency medicine resident to successful entrepreneur began with her desire to fix a daily frustration.
Clayborne saw countless people come to the emergency room (ER) with nosebleeds and sometimes wait hours for treatment because their problem wasn’t serious. If patients stayed home, she knew, a typical nosebleed could be addressed in 20 minutes or less.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I started researching the problem and discovered there weren’t any good solutions out there,” said the Case Western Reserve University alumna.Then came her late-night “eureka moment,” which produced a sketch on a napkin and later NasaClip, a device that can be used anywhere and combines a small clamp applying steady pressure with two sponges that can be medicated.
Clayborne began work on her patent application in 2015. Five years later, she joined a business accelerator program that provided not only her first $50,000—but executive-management support that illuminated the path to take NasaClip from idea to reality.
Energized by the possibilities, she tirelessly pitched her product at entrepreneurial competitions and to angel-investment groups, friends and family—all to raise the $1 million that led to NasaClip’s product launch in 2023. During that time she also worked full time as an emergency physician, had two children and survived a divorce.
Clayborne has since raised an additional $3 million from venture-capital firms, angel investors and others. That includes $500,000 secured through a crowdfunding platform and $25,000 from the CWRU Alumni Venture Fund for university-connected startups.
Today, NasaClip is the name of the product and the company, Clayborne is CEO and the mission remains the same: making nosebleed care simple and effective to reduce the treatment burden on both patients and ER staffs.
Alumna Elizabeth Clayborne shares some key entrepreneurial steps
1. Ask yourself fundamental questions.
Clayborne considered a series of issues to ensure her idea was unique and marketable: Is there a demand for this product? Is it solving a problem people would pay to fix? Is it patentable? “Your intellectual property is the foundation of your company’s value,” Clayborne said. “And you need to ensure a good product-market fit.”
2. Surround yourself with experts critical to launching a sustainable company.
Clayborne turned to a range of experts, from funders to an engineering firm to design NasaClip. The turning point came in 2020 when TEDCO (the Maryland Technology Development Corp.) welcomed the Maryland resident into its business accelerator program and provided that first significant investment of $50,000. TEDCO later invested an additional $750,000.
3. Continue expanding your business horizons.
NasaClip is exploring more uses of its product and expanding into schools, parks, airlines and cruise ships. Clayborne said a new clip is in development to provide drug delivery inside the nose for medications such as Naloxone, an opioid reversal agent. NasaClip is sold through the company website and on Amazon.
4. Reach back and help others.
As a Black woman who is an entrepreneur, physician and mother, Clayborne is driven to encourage others. “I want my story to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, especially those from minority and female backgrounds, to know they can succeed, too,” she said.
Photographs courtesy of NasaClip