{"id":2923,"date":"2021-08-09T13:23:29","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T17:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/?p=2923"},"modified":"2026-03-26T15:15:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:15:58","slug":"combining-passion-and-hard-work-elevates-startup-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/startups\/combining-passion-and-hard-work-elevates-startup-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Combining Passion and Hard Work: Elevate\u2019s Startup Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-megaphone\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=TLFIE2620870826\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><!-- Megaphone -->\n\n\n\n\n<p>Being dominant in a market full of alternatives requires entrepreneurs who\u2019ll go above and beyond to meet their customers\u2019 needs. Companies that thrive in such environments leverage their passion to understand and solve problems faced by their products\u2019 end users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, I\u2019m speaking to Kelly McGee, the co-founder and current engineering and design VP of Elevate Dynamics, a healthcare product company that builds ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) to help people suffering from foot drop.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In today\u2019s episode, you\u2019ll learn about their AFO product and the problem it solves for its users. We\u2019ll dive into the challenges that are faced by startups and how to overcome some of them. You\u2019ll also hear more about the importance of market research and the role that data plays in product development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us as we discuss how Elevate Dynamics successfully combined hard work and passion to build a successful product.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"402\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/DSC_0880-600x402.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/DSC_0880-600x402.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/DSC_0880-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/DSC_0880-768x514.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/DSC_0880-1536x1028.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/DSC_0880-2048x1371.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/DSC_0880-900x602.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Join Siemens startups program to grow your startup to its full potential with the right software solution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/digital-transformation\/xcelerator-startup-solutions\/design-simulation-startups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Siemens Startups Program: from idea to market leader with the right tools<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen to this episode of&nbsp;Startups: Combining Passion and Hard Work&nbsp;to learn how Elevate is using decades of orthopedic experience and industry-leading engineering to change the medical device industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out this video to see how Elevate combines passion and hard work and how when Siemens software is placed in the right hands, startups can make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/videos.mentor-cdn.com\/mgc\/videos\/5400\/2c63c038-0e21-434f-94b8-85b87420ffc2-en-US-video.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, you can access this podcast via:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/hardware-startups-digitalization-to-realization-podcast\/id1527528898\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iTunes<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/26s0XADllRzIzmVf3aUS5q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/Technology-Podcasts\/Hardware-Startups-Digitalization-to-Realization-P-p1357195\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TuneIn<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/feeds.acast.com\/public\/shows\/5f1ed522ab65d03a95452ff6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RSS<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/hardware-startups-digitalization-to-realization-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get updates from the journey of Elevate:<a href=\" https:\/\/www.elevatemovement.com\/\"> https:\/\/www.elevatemovement.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"bio-block row\">\n    <div class=\"col-3 order-first bio-pic\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/Kelly2.jpg\" alt=\"Guest: Kelly McGee- Co-founder of Elevate \" \/>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"col-9 bio-info\">\n        <div class=\"bio-header\">\n            <h4 class=\"speakerintro\">Guest: Kelly McGee- Co-founder of Elevate <\/h4>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"bio-biography\">\n            <p>Kelly McGee is a co-founder and head of Engineering and Design at Elevate, a healthcare technology company focusing on creating products that empower people to move.<\/p>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"bio-contact\">\n            <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kelly-mcgee-011b6180\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Connect with Kelly McGee on LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bio-block row\">\n    <div class=\"col-3 order-last bio-pic\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/Paul-Musto.jpg\" alt=\"Host: Paul Musto- Portfolio Development Executive at Siemens Digital Industries Software\" \/>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"col-9 bio-info\">\n        <div class=\"bio-header\">\n            <h4 class=\"speakerintro\">Host: Paul Musto- Portfolio Development Executive at Siemens Digital Industries Software<\/h4>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"bio-biography\">\n            <p>Paul Musto is a Portfolio Development Executive for Siemens Digital Industries Software focused on delivering design and simulation software solutions to small and medium sized businesses (SMB), including companies in the early startup stage. Prior to his current role at Siemens, Paul was Director of Marketing for the Electronic Board Systems segment at Mentor Graphics (now part of Siemens), responsible for driving product strategy, go-to-market solutions, and market development. Paul has over 30 years of electronics and software design experience. Prior to joining Mentor, Paul led a software development organization at Cadence Design Systems, responsible for Cadence\u2019s electronic engineering implementation tools. Throughout his career, Paul has extensive experience serving in various technical, product marketing, and business development roles. Paul holds a B.S.E.E. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA<\/p>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"bio-contact\">\n            <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/paul-musto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Connect with Paul Musto on LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being dominant in a market full of alternatives requires entrepreneurs who\u2019ll go above and beyond to meet their customers\u2019 needs&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77663,"featured_media":2926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[324],"tags":[378],"industry":[60,62,66],"product":[],"coauthors":[405],"class_list":["post-2923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startups","tag-medical-devices","industry-medical-devices-pharmaceuticals","industry-medical-instruments-equipment","industry-small-medium-business"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/08\/AFO2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2923"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11591,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2923\/revisions\/11591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2923"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=2923"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=2923"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/podcasts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}