Executive Summary

MedTech and Life Sciences are fast-paced, innovation-driven industries where success demands continuous technological breakthroughs. Yet, many companies frequently find themselves trapped in short-term thinking—driven by quarterly earnings pressure and immediate market demands. This narrow focus on short-term gain inhibits long-term growth, particularly in sectors where sustained innovation is critical to competitiveness. We believe that companies can achieve outsized returns by strategically investing in mid-term R&D projects with a 2- to 4-year horizon. Triple Ring’s Corporate Growth Lab offers a proven pathway to break free from short-term pressures and unlock sustainable innovation.

The Innovation Dilemma: Incremental vs. Disruptive

In science-based industries, balancing short-term performance with long-term innovation is a constant challenge. Companies driven by quarterly earnings often prioritize incremental improvements to existing products to satisfy current customers. This strategy leaves little room for the kind of breakthrough innovation that significantly grows market share. Faced with gaps in long-term growth potential, executives turn to expensive and often risky acquisition strategies to target novel technologies and markets.

Short-termism and innovation through acquisition combine to starve corporations of the benefits of mid-term innovation projects—those that develop new products for existing customers or adapt current technologies for adjacent markets. Typically spanning 2 to 4 years, these mid-term initiatives strike a balance between immediate returns and long-term growth, offering companies a critical opportunity to innovate and create valuable intellectual property without the high risks associated with M&A or moonshot projects.

The Impact of Short-Termism on Economic Growth

Short-termism is more than just a corporate issue—it has macroeconomic consequences. Research by FCLT Global [1,3] highlights that companies with a short-term focus significantly under-perform in revenue growth, job creation, and shareholder value compared to their long-term-focused peers. While emphasis on quarterly shareholder returns has dominated the US business landscape for decades, the nation has fallen behind countries like Israel and Korea in R&D intensity and lags behind China in publications and patents. [2].

The financial impact of R&D short-termism on corporate growth can be estimated by using portfolio allocation models. FCLT Global has developed a tool that treats R&D projects as options that can be described by a Black-Scholes options model. They show that investment in mid-term innovation can increase portfolio returns.

Analogously, Triple Ring has developed a Monte Carlo portfolio tool that allows R&D executives to model their portfolio returns. The model considers “projects” where projects have multiple stages and each stage has probabilities of success, of failure, and of needing to be repeated. Later roll-out stages, in addition to the probabilities, have attached revenue. A simulated project history can be constructed by drawing random numbers and comparing them to the probabilities for the stage we’re in and thus deciding what to do next. Finally, we may construct portfolios of different types of projects, typically short-term sustaining, mid-term R&D, and (longer term) M&A. By simulating a large number of project histories we can evaluate the statistics of particular outcomes of a choice of portfolio. For example, we can find the average revenue of the portfolio as well as its standard deviation.

The figure above illustrates possible outcomes of two types of portfolios, one where mid-term R&D is included and one where it is not. Evidently, including mid-term R&D increases the likelihood of higher revenues. An unsurprising but still key finding of the model is that improving the probabilities of success in stages has a profound impact on the value derived from the portfolio. We discuss this concept of de-risking below. Another finding has to do with the relatively high probability and modest incremental value of short-term R&D. Precisely because it is likely to succeed, the modest yearly gains provided by short-term R&D rapidly get baked into expectations and so start to look less like “real” R&D.

Mid-Term Projects: The Missing Link in Corporate Innovation

A look through the archives of the Harvard Business Review shows that the need to focus on the mid-term is a long-recognized, but challenging, problem. For example, Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm, researched portfolio planning [4] and concluded that “to succeed in the long term, focus on the middle term.” He explained that corporate failures often arise due to a “vacuum” in the area of mid-term programs. Similarly, Regina Herzlinger and her collaborators urged business leaders to take “the middle path of innovation” in a July 2024 article. [5] Herzlinger described the Ajax Health model, an approach that pursues a portfolio of mid-term innovation projects (called “growth drivers”) to drive revenue growth in a commercial platform (a“chassis”). Focusing only on near-term activity plus a plan for M&A is a bit like paying one’s bills on time but then hoping for the lottery for secure one’s retirement. We all know that one must put money into their 401k and invest it, at some risk, in order to have a likelihood of anything in the end.

Good examples of well-executed and successful mid-term innovation strategies include Grail’s pursuit of liquid biopsy and Abbott’s entry into the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) market. Grail’s Galleri platform was transformative in nature, not Incremental. The integration of emerging technologies like cfDNA methylation analysis, next-generation sequencing, and machine learning allowed their customers to detect multiple cancers significantly earlier than ever before. Galleri has launched in the U.S., is generating revenue, and is supporting large-scale clinical trials like the NHS-Galleri study (140,000 participants), with pivotal data expected in 2026. This positions the product between early-stage research and long-term, system-wide adoption. Grail’s efforts required purposeful investment, operational discipline, and new partnerships (e.g., EHR integration, public awareness campaigns), all hallmarks of a mid-term innovation strategy aimed at scaling a disruptive technology. Grail’s Galleri leveraged recent scientific advances to create a new market solution, moved rapidly from concept to clinical reality, and is now poised for broader market impact.

Abbott started their journey into the CGM space with the acquisition of TheraSense and the FreeStyle Navigator, a product that struggled in the market. After assessing the specific challenges facing FreeStyle Navigator, Abbott reinvented the product’s approach, focusing on user-centric design and technological refinement, leading to the launch of FreeStyle Libre in Europe in 2014 and in the U.S. in 2017. FreeStyle Libre was a major update to existing glucose meters; it replaced fingerstick testing with a wearable sensor delivering real-time, painless, and continuous glucose data. The system has demonstrated substantial benefits, including an 80% reduction in heart-related hospitalizations for Type 1 diabetes patients without prior cardiovascular disease, and significant cost savings for healthcare systems. Abbott’s CGM technology is now used by millions of patients worldwide and is projected to add over $10 billion in value to Abbott’s business by 2030. Abbott’s CGM initiative is a textbook case of mid-term innovation: it involved a multi-year, iterative development process that led to a breakthrough product, transformed patient care, and created significant market value in a relatively short time frame.

Triple Ring’s De-Risked Approach to Mid-Term Innovation

Triple Ring offers models that allow corporations to invest in mid-term innovation without jeopardizing financial performance. Our Corporate Growth Lab and co-development models are built around two main elements. First, high-potential mid-term projects are housed in stand-alone or semi-autonomous entities (which can be formal or informal structures). By distancing these projects from the demands of day-to-day sustaining engineering, project teams can focus on innovation. Second, the separate structure allows for co-investment by Triple Ring and/or its investment partners alongside the corporate sponsor. This “skin-in-the-game” approach shares risks across partnerships and robustly aligns incentives.

Some key features of Triple Ring’s model include:

• De-risked Execution: Rather than undertaking the time-consuming and risky task of building or expanding a new team for a project, a corporation’s existing resources can work in conjunction with Triple Ring’s proven team of 100+ scientists, engineers, and innovators. From our two decades of experience starting new ventures and launching breakthrough products, we know what it takes to bring innovations to market.
• Balance-Sheet-Based Funding: By keeping the financing of mid-term projects off the income statement, Triple Ring helps protect a company’s core financial EPS and EBITDA metrics, thereby preserving shareholder value in the short-term and providing breakthrough growth opportunities in the mid- and long-terms.
• Optimal Balance of Integration and Autonomy: Projects can be housed at a corporate site, at Triple Ring’s extensive incubation and lab facilities in Silicon Valley and Boston or blended across multiple sites. Flexibility in resource utilization and infrastructure allows a corporation to choose optimal levels of autonomy for a given project.
• Strategic Partnerships: Triple Ring leverages our network of investors, venture capitalists, and corporate partners to fund and accelerate high-potential projects, enabling companies to bring innovation to market faster and more efficiently. Our investment partners include the Courtney Group, General Inception, and 1540 Ventures. For technical project execution, we have augmented our own extensive technology and product development team with a network that includes Novo Engineering, Product Creation Studios, Cortex Design, and Evolve Manufacturing. With this network, we can bring a right-sized entrepreneurial team to even the largest projects. In the strategy and regulatory domains, we work with partners ranging from top management consulting organizations to boutique specialist firms including Mind Machine and ID8 Innovation.

Embracing our models, companies in science-driven industries can tap into extensive resources to pursue sophisticated innovation projects while minimizing risk.

Conclusion: The Future Belongs to Mid-Term Innovators

The time has come for companies to rethink their approach to R&D. While short-term gains are essential, reliance on short-termism can stifle long-term growth. Similarly, high-cost acquisitions are also high risk. By investing in mid-term innovation, companies can achieve sustainable growth, stay ahead of competitors, and position themselves for long-term success.

Triple Ring’s Corporate Growth Lab and co-development models offer a proven framework for companies to capitalize on mid-term opportunities while simultaneously mitigating product-development risk. It’s time to strike a balance between short-term pressures and long-term ambitions—mid-term innovation is the way forward.

• [1] https://www.fcltglobal.org/
• [2] https://ssti.org/blog/useful-stats-us-leads-world-gdp-falls-behind-rd-intensity
• [3] https://www.fcltglobal.org/resource/study-shows-corporate-rd-investments-suffer-from-short-term-approach/#0
• [4] Moore, G.A. (2007) ‘To succeed in the long term, focus on the middle term’, Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp. 84-90. Available at: https://hbr.org/2007/07/to-succeed-in-the-long-term-focus-on-the-middle-term
• [5] Herzlinger, R. (2024) ‘The middle path to innovation’, Harvard Business Review, July. Available at: https://hbr.org/2024/07/the-middle-path-to-innovation

FAQ

What is Short-Termism?

Short-termism is the tendency to prioritize immediate or near-term results at the expense of long-term robustness and stability. Whether in business, investment, or politics, short-termism results in unbalanced strategies that emphasize quick solutions and quick wins over strategies that are beneficial over the mid- and long-term.

In innovation-driven industries, like medtech and life sciences, short-termism harms companies by driving decisions that boost profits or stock prices immediately but erode value over time. For example, under-investing in R&D might result in short-term financial gain but damages a company’s future competitiveness and innovation capacity. Similarly, short-termism often compels large corporations to adopt expensive and risky acquisition strategies that fail upon integration and scale up. Triple Ring’s Corporate Growth Lab mitigates the negative consequences of short-termism by focusing on the 2–4-year innovation horizon and building partnerships that share product development risk.

What is Triple Ring’s Corporate Growth Lab and how does it decrease new product introduction (NPI) risk?

Triple Ring’s Corporate Growth Lab is built around two main elements. First, high-potential mid-term projects are housed in stand-alone or semi-autonomous entities (which can be formal or informal structures). By distancing these projects from the demands of day-to-day sustaining engineering, project teams can focus on true innovation. Second, the separate structure allows for co-investment by Triple Ring and/or its investment partners alongside the corporate sponsor. This “skin-in-the-game” approach shares risks across partnerships, robustly aligns incentives, and advances products to market quicker.

How does investment in midterm innovation strengthen corporations?

Midterm innovation and strategic initiatives, designed to deliver results in the 2-4-years, significantly strengthen corporations in multiple ways, including improved market positioning, stronger financial performance over time, adaptation to market changes, risk mitigation, stronger customer loyalty, sustainability and long-term resilience. This kind of innovation is crucial for bridging the gap between short-term profits and long-term growth, creating a competitive edge and positioning a company for sustained success.

On Thursday, August 21, Triple Ring invites you to the 12th San Jose Hardware Meetup, a must-attend event for professionals in biomedical AI, robotics, and imaging. The event will take place at our Newark, California office from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM PDT.

Experience live demos of cutting edge technologies, hear from industry experts, and connect with thought leaders shaping the future of Healthcare technology. The evening will feature presentations by Teiko Bio and Cephla, an open mic for hardware demos, and plenty of opportunities to network. We will also host tours of Triple Ring’s state-of -the-art technology development facilities and incubator, Agility Labs.

This event is presented by Triple Ring in collaboration with San Jose Hardware Meetup, a community of people building physical products and hardware across the United States. Whether you’re looking to explore new technologies or share your work, this meetup offers something for everyone.

Please reach out to nate@informal.cc for sponsorship opportunities.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Triple Ring’s Ryan McGuinness will be attending the 32nd annual Medical Device and Digital Health Conference hosted by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati. As a trusted partner to medtech and life science innovators, Triple Ring is proud to join industry leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs at one of the most respected gatherings in the field. This event provides a unique platform to explore the latest trends shaping the future of healthcare, from regulatory shifts and investment strategies to breakthrough technologies in diagnostics, devices, and digital platforms. Ryan is especially looking forward to engaging in discussions around alternative financing models such as build-to-buy, the evolving role of AI in medical devices, and how startups can navigate today’s complex commercialization landscape. With deep experience supporting innovative products from concept through clinical validation, Triple Ring is eager to share insights and connect with fellow leaders driving impactful change in healthcare. If you’ll be at the conference and want to learn more about how Triple Ring partners with companies to accelerate innovation, de-risk development, and bring bold ideas to life, don’t hesitate to connect with Ryan.

Stay tuned for our key takeaways following the event—looking forward to an inspiring and productive time!

Triple Ring’s CEO, Joe Heanue, was featured in a white paper authored by Glenn Snyder, MedTech Practice Founder and Partner at Monitor Deloitte. The article revisits and updates a topic that Deloitte has been monitoring since 2017 – The disruption and evolution of investment in early-stage medical technology. In the MedTech innovation landscape, startups are increasingly caught in a precarious position—trapped between early funding rounds and the long, challenging journey of developing a market-ready product. This journey can span a decade or more, with financial, regulatory, and reimbursement hurdles adding layers of risk and uncertainty. To navigate this environment, alternative financing models such as build-to-buy are emerging as promising solutions. Under this model, a strategic MedTech company agrees to acquire a startup—or its assets—at a predetermined price once certain milestones are reached. For large MedTech (and Life Science) corporations, outsourcing innovation to a startup can create an off-the-balance-sheet way to fund innovation – avoiding internal R&D expenses and protecting EBITDA. For startups, these structures help derisk funding, provide access to market expertise, access to manufacturing and commercialization teams, and provide a possible path to exit.

To check in on this evolving investment landscape, Deloitte interviewed 16 leaders from VC, PE, CVC firms, and strategic investors, focusing on five critical topics shaping medtech financing today. These insights underscore the growing recognition of alternative financing models and their role in supporting early-stage medtech companies through a complex commercialization journey.

The white paper can be found by clicking this link

Triple Ring will attend the 9th Annual Rosenman Symposium at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus. Each year the Rosenman Symposium is a marquis event in the San Francisco Bay Area, bringing together the most forward-thinking minds in medtech, digital health, and life sciences innovation.

This year’s symposium promises to be a powerful convergence of entrepreneurs, investors, clinicians, and strategics—all united by a shared mission: advancing health innovation to improve lives.

If you’re attending, we’d love to meet you there! Reach out to us in advance or find us during the networking sessions—we’re always open to new conversations, partnerships, and possibilities.

Triple Ring is proud to host an in-person evening event at our Silicon Valley headquarters with Bay Area Microfluidics Network. Join us for a great evening at the cutting edge of microfluidics as we discuss Clogs and Bubbles: Common Challenges with Scaling Microfluidics. Bay Area Microfluidics is a community of experts and enthusiasts in the microfluidic industry who gather to teach, learn, share challenges and successes as the push this innovative field forward. Triple Ring’s own Rachel Gerver will present alongside Synthego’s Marc Chooljian. Buffet dinner, networking with the Bay Area’s best microfluidic talent, tours, and demos are also available. Register here!

Triple Ring partner and client, Canaery has been featured in a Wired Magazine article about their breakthrough Nose to Computer Interface technology. The article describes the company’s partnership with the US Department of Energy to harness the mammalian olfactory system to detect and monitor compounds in air. The approach enables users to decode odors that an animal smells in real time and gather critical information about hazards, threats, and contraband. We congratulation Canaery on the article and are proud to have worked alongside the team to create this amazing technology.

Triple Ring will once again participate and present at the LSI USA event in Dana Point, CA. This year, Ryan McGuinness is featured on an expert’s panel about cross border partnerships that drive healthcare innovation. The panel’s title is ‘The Case For Asia’ and includes experts from around the Pacific Rim who are collaborating and introducing novel technologies to address critical unmet needs. Triple Ring’s CEO, Joe Heanue, will also be present. Joe and Ryan will spend the week discussing our Corporate Growth Lab where we create growth drivers for the world’s top tier medical device and life science companies. Feel free to connect with us at the conference or through the Contact link below.

We are excited to be Gold Sponsor at this year’s LSX Investival Showcase USA in Miami Beach. Triple Ring’s Ryan McGuinness will lead a Corporate Venture Capital expert’s panel entitled CVCs: What They Want, and How They Align With Medtech and Digital Health M&A and BD. Panelists include Katerina Fialkovskaya, Investment Director, Philips Ventures, Rameen Rana, Investor, Samsung Next, and Jeff Weness, Head of Digital Investments, Otsuka Precision Health. Triple Ring’s CEO, Joe Heanue, will also be attending. The Investival once again will be an important venue for exchanging ideas on how to best drive MedTech and Life Science Innovation to the benefit of patients worldwide.

Today Heartbeam Inc., a Silicon Valley based medical device company, announced FDA 510(k) clearance of the HeartBeam system – the only cable-free, credit card-sized device that captures patient heart signals to provide comprehensive arrhythmia assessment.

HeartBeam’s system is a synthesized 12-lead ECG integrated with AI-based classification algorithms for heart attack detection, allowing physicians to detect non-life-threatening arrhythmias for patients in the clinic or at home. Physicians are able to identify cardiac health trends and acute conditions and direct patients to the appropriate care – all outside of a medical facility

Triple Ring is proud to have partnered with HeartBeam in the design and development of this cutting edge platform which redefines the future of cardiac health management. We congratulate HeartBeam on this critical milestone and look forward to more breakthroughs in the future.