From ER to CEO: Navigating Entrepreneurship with Dr. Liz

Explore the incredible journey of Dr. Liz Clayborne, an emergency medicine physician turned entrepreneur. Dr. Liz shares her powerful story of resilience, innovation, and triumph in the face of adversity. Gain insights into the challenges and successes of fundraising in a tough climate and gain insights on the strengths of women and minority founders. This episode is a must-listen for all current and aspiring female founders!

You can connect with Dr. Liz on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethpclayborne/

 Or follow her on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter: @DrElizPC

 To learn more about NasaClip, please visit https://nasaclip.com/ .

Follow us on Tik Tok @shesambitiousaf for more content and episode teasers!

Transcript

[00:00:00] 

Angelica Maestas: Hi, everyone. Today we're joined by guest, Dr. Liz Claiborne. Liz, I'll give you a moment to go ahead and introduce yourself.

Liz Claiborne: Thanks. So I'm Dr. Liz. I am an emergency medicine physician by training a faculty member with the University of Maryland and the CEO and co founder of Nazaclip, which is the first and only adjustable hands free nosebleed rescue device that just got introduced to market late last year in 2023. And I'm really excited to talk to you about my entrepreneurial journey as a mom doc and physician entrepreneur.

Angelica Maestas: Awesome. Well, that's so exciting. And, and you've had a couple of pretty significant wins given the tough fundraising climate. And yeah, you've been, you've been kicking butt. So I would love for listeners to hear a little bit about your journey and how you even got started down this path of entrepreneurship.

Sure. Yeah.

Liz Claiborne: Definitely. Well, so to start with the problem, right? I. fell [00:01:00] into this entrepreneurial life. I was actually just happily going along my projected path as an academic emergency medicine physician and, you know, had a lot of interest in policy, did not have any prior business training. But when I got into residency, that is where I first encountered that we see about 500, 000 ER visits a year for nosebleeds.

And I just could not believe that people would come to the ER for such a small simple problem, right? I'm like, just hold pressure on your nose. But when I looked into it further, I found out that, you know, nosebleeds are most common in kids aged 2 to 10 older adults, 55 to 80, who are often on blood thinners and that people tend to mismanage nosebleeds.

When they happen, they often put their heads back. And when you're really supposed to go forward, they pinch the wrong part of their nose up here on your nasal bridge instead of down here, the soft part, and they don't hold constant pressure, which is the most important thing because you need to hold constant pressure.

constant uninterrupted pressure for 10 to 20 minutes to stop a nosebleed, which sounds really simple. But I guess if you're a panicked younger [00:02:00] person or older adult, it doesn't happen. And then I guess with all the blood, they end up in the ER. And as a resident, I found that we didn't really have anything to give them.

I was often taping together tongue depressors to like make a clip. So in the process of doing that, I was like, We should have a better solution for nosebleeds that would maybe help people avoid even having to go to the ER to see someone like me and that is where the idea for Nasaclip came from. So I'll show it to you real quick so you guys can see the technology and then I'll talk about how this was an idea in my head that is now officially a product that you can buy on nasaclip.

com. So this is Nasaclip, this is the adult device. We also have a pediatric form of the device. For ages two to 13 and then adults are 14 plus. So if you are having a nose bleed, you can medicate the sponges with an agent like Oxy, Taz, or Rin. You simply clear your nose of clot, insert the nasal sponge, rotate it into place, it pitch shut.

It just like that. It holds rb, constant erupted pressure, the right anatomic location. You leave it in place for 10 to 20 minutes, and then simply release the [00:03:00] clip. Check for bleeding, it can even be rinsed and reinserted. And later this year we're actually coming out with a new version of the device where the sponges are replaceable and that's what we're actually gonna be launching on Amazon. So this was just something I had in my I the head, the idea of what it would look like, but definitely in the beginning to not know where to go. And so I would say I stumbled through this process over a long period of time. It was on the back burner for several years, but then in 2020 I had the opportunity to participate in the Tedco Builder Fund, which.

which is kind of Maryland's state based venture fund, and it had a specific program that was looking at kind of female and minority founders. And so that is where I got my first source of capital and the first kind of also mentorship that I needed to kind of get the company off the ground and start building towards our first fundraise.

And so I would say those early dollars are. The most difficult by far, because you really have to just have people believe in you based off of something that doesn't exist yet. And the [00:04:00] idea that you have, and I'm oftentimes, they're just the ones that believe in you as a founder. So today I've raised 3.

5 million for this company. I started out with two convertible notes. That were 550, 000 each with smaller checks coming kind of from my friends and family. But which were a lot of my physician colleagues and then now are currently in the middle of a 4 which we've raised over half of 2. 5 million closed on the vast majority that actually closed in 2023, which was a very challenging year to fundraise.

And as you know, we get into the details. This is an uphill battle for women in general, but especially women of color.

Angelica Maestas: Mm hmm. Yeah. Well, first off, congratulations on that. That is phenomenal in the, the toughest fundraising climate indefinitely it's so it's, it's, it's a huge accomplishment to be able to achieve that. Yeah. I'd love to. To hear a little bit about your take on women in minority led startups, you know, I know you did a [00:05:00] panel discussion recently and would love to hear some of your, your insights and takeaways from that.

Liz Claiborne: Absolutely. I actually do a keynote speech on this that I title weed, wine and leadership cultivating our best potential, which just like your podcast title is very attention grabbing and is meant to entice some curiosity. And what I do in the beginning is really set an example of how there is a lot of unconscious bias against certain groups and what they're perceived.

Strengths and weaknesses are, and my perception is that often women are perceived to not be as strong of leaders because we're historically haven't been leaders, right? We are new to kind of being CEOs and founders, and statistically, we're still only giving about 2 percent of venture capital to women.

But what I think the misconception is, is that we're a higher risk pool or that we are a riskier environment when actually statistically Women outperform men in all types of metrics. [00:06:00] We're often as founders faster to revenue, faster to profitability. And I always share the statistics that even though we're only 2 percent of venture capital, we represent 17 percent of unicorn exits.

And women of color are actually even better, right? I think that you have to look at the battle that's required for me to fundraise. And the way that I usually illustrate this is to give an example of like a white male founder on average needs to speak to about seven contacts to get a yes or like a turn on an investment.

A black female founder has to speak to 10 times that amount, 70, 70 people to get one wet. Yes. So you're going to think about the caliber, The strength and the resilience that is involved in a founder that can deal with that. And what that also means they're probably bringing to the table. And so even though I'm going through, you know, a huge number of people to get a yes, I think that actually we tend to be better leaders and innovators because it is kind of built into the very fabric of our culture to be innovative and resilient, which are the characteristics of leaders and particularly [00:07:00] founders who are in kind of a smaller business startup or a new entrepreneurial journey.

Are really required to have in spades, right? You have to be able to deal with the ebbs and flows, the ups and downs, the constant, like, bipolar experience that is being a startup founder and be able to do that while maintaining all other aspects of your life. And I think that women in general always have done that because we're required to multitask.

I think a lot more. in certain capacities of our life than maybe men are. And because we've had to work so much harder to get where we are at. So my message that I like to deliver to the funding institutions and to investors is that if they have the courage to really look at some of their unconscious bias against like women and the perception that they are more risky, they will identify diamonds in the rough all around them.

People like me. who will definitely be knocking it out of the park with nasa clip and have a plan to be, you know, a unicorn billion dollar exit. And if they want to take that ride with me, there is an opportunity to invest early and to support me in the [00:08:00] most critical phase of my growth so that I can really show you what I am capable of as a leader.

And part of why I'm so passionate about making nasa clip Successful is not only because I think it's a simple, but elegant solution to nosebleed emergencies, but also because I think my story as a founder will be so important and inspirational to other women and people of color that want to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams,

Angelica Maestas: Amen. And everything you just said perfectly illustrated why you have been successful fundraising. And it's beyond the story of, of what the product is and the problem it solves, but it is also the level of confidence and so much of investing in a, in a startup founder is, do I believe this founder has what it takes to succeed?

And. That can be an uncomfortable thing for a lot of women, they're not used to, or they feel boastful you know, those things that don't come naturally in [00:09:00] our tone, you know, how we speak to people and it's, it's something that you have to, you know, Build, develop, train yourself to get better at, and the reality of it is this is an unfair bias that we have to deal with, but it's not going away.

And so if you're choosing to be a funder or a founder in this space, you have to recognize what you're up against. And I think you've very artfully. Mastered articulating that.

Liz Claiborne: Thank you. And what you said is spot on. And there's also data to back that up. It's another point I make in my speech, which talks about how men actually tend to over inflate or, you know, exaggerate their skill sets and success. Whereas women actually underestimate their efforts. And so women will always have the perception that they're not doing as Well, or they're, they're not as good, right?

That's where this whole imposter syndrome comes from. Like they don't believe they don't belong there, even though in actuality, they might be actually outperforming, you know, people who [00:10:00] are in their peer group of the opposite sex, whereas men might actually think they're doing amazing and are not actually performing that well because that their conception of like what they're used to perceiving as success.

It's all molded upon my kind of culture and these really kind of difficult, nuanced messages that we tell ourselves and perceive from our community. And so I'm big on women always coming on strong and confident. It still is a thin line to walk because it is, I think, the kind of feminine, gentle, nurturing capacity of women that make us strong leaders.

So I don't want to lose that right with being confident. I don't want to come off, you know, bitchy or cocky, but I do want people to believe in me and believe in my drive and believe in my message, which I agree with you as part of the reason I've been successful in fundraising with also maintaining kind of all of the softer qualities and the soft skills that I know actually make you an excellent CEO and founder.

Angelica Maestas: Mm hmm. [00:11:00] Well, and then add to that being a mom and the skill set that you have there I was speaking to a guest yesterday and she said, you know, I had my breast pumps on and I had the baby in one arm and I was unloading the dishwasher and then I had my friend on speaker and we were talking about a meeting to plan for.

And that's just normal moms know how to multitask. And that is not something that men grasp as, as naturally as we do. The other thing is the the emotional intelligence that women have.

Liz Claiborne: Absolutely.

Angelica Maestas: And how important that is into building a team, especially early stage startup being able to develop a team that's going to stick with you requires a level of, of EQ that we possess more of.

Yeah.

Liz Claiborne: And it is again, research based evidence shows us that the soft skills or emotional intelligence, these are the characteristics of what [00:12:00] define an average leader from an exceptional one. And women tend to actually possess a lot more of those traits. And it is because of our experience, like being a mother, right?

When, when I told you about the Tedco program I went through, that was after I had like been on the front lines in the ER as a pregnant ER physician, I was like. Six months pregnant when the pandemic hit. So I worked through the first wave. You can remember way back when there was no PPE and people were dying left and right.

And testing took up to 10 days. I mean, very scary times. I worked in an extremely hard hit hospital in Maryland, just outside of DC got through the first wave delivered my daughter, May 30th, 2020. And did the accelerator program during my maternity leave because that's the only time I had to do it. So I like breastfed my newborn infant through this program.

And fortunately I could because it was remote because the pandemic hit. So, you know, that's what actually afforded me the possibility to kind of start this company, but it just goes to show you like. That's why, you know, [00:13:00] we're able to do some of these things that maybe other people aren't doing, but it's out of the necessity based on the circumstances that we often encounter as women.

And I've started to look at these opportunities instead of hindrances as like lessons and as like the challenges that actually strengthen us and make us better for leadership in the future.

Angelica Maestas: I love the, I love that you're, well, one is that it's a keynote of yours because it's shedding more light. You're giving it a platform and a space for other women to hear about the topic. And. More importantly, is to understand that they can tap into their strengths that they are there and that they might be a little bit hidden, but they're there.

And they're what make women really great leaders.

Liz Claiborne: Absolutely. And I'm all about us. Like again, you know, shining our light and really stepping into our power. I'm excited about what, you know, future years are going to bring. If I look at the amount of progress that have happened between my grandmother's generation and my mother's, what my mom did versus what I can do.[00:14:00] 

And then what my two daughters are going to be able to do with me as a mom, right? I'm excited I'm excited to see what you know, a world that has the opportunity to be led by the strength and brilliance of women can look like and of course men will be there too. It's just, I think that we haven't had the full opportunity to appreciate all the wondrous things that could happen when we have more women.

Women step into the light and step into their power.

Angelica Maestas: I would love to hear. I imagine you've looked at the data on this too on minority founded. Companies and what you found to be strengths.

Liz Claiborne: Yeah. You know, statistically right now we only have about 0. 34 percent of black women receiving venture capital. And what I ask people is like, what is 0. 34 percent round to it? It rounds to 0%, right? Like we essentially don't give anything to women of color. It's such a small percentage. And even overall with with black founders, it's just over 1%.[00:15:00] 

So you're talking about minuscules amount of capital that goes to, you know, a population that again, because of the way that they think the experiences they have, the lived histories that they bring with them, I think they have immense opportunity to be some of our best founders and our best entrepreneurs.

But if you don't have that initial capital to get out of the gate, right? That first fundraise is the hardest, right? And most of us don't have the friends and family network that a lot of other people do that, you know, allows them to get the early traction or, you know, take those first steps. And I think that a lot of the industry has under appreciated how challenging it can be to even get your, you know, first step you know, moving forward.

When you don't have that community that a lot of other people have now for me, I was a physician. So I fortunately at least had my physician colleagues, right? That I could call upon to write 5, 000 checks for me in the beginning. A lot of [00:16:00] people don't have that because they don't, sometimes their ideas don't see the light of day.

And I think that what we're learning more and more is if we can diversify people who are investing in entrepreneurs, then we will see more diverse funding. And so my overall goal. Once I exit nasa clip is to also be someone who's in a position then to go back and invest and have either my own angel group or venture arm that is going to pour resources into other women and people of color.

Because I do know the sheer number of like, great ideas that are out that are probably not getting a fair shot just because, you know, they don't have that access to capital early on.

Angelica Maestas: I love that. And I love that you are already thinking about post exit life and that, and that you are, you are not done. You are going to continue

Liz Claiborne: No, no,

Angelica Maestas: in a different way.

Liz Claiborne: step one. Step

Angelica Maestas: that's so important. And it's the reason I stepped into venture. Is I had my founder [00:17:00] experience, lots of lessons learned.

There went through acquisition, lots of lessons learned there too. And really just. recognizing that the only way to change who gets funded is to change who is doing the funding. And so I love that you are already thinking about that because that means we'll invest in more women and more women of color.

And it's, you know, a slow progression to have that impact, but worthwhile and fruitful and we'll pay dividends and I the point you made about minorities and the traits that we bring to the table, that degree of resilience, it's such a gift it's, you know, on various episodes, I talk about my upbringing and past and history.

And while there's much of that, I wish I'd never experienced. The gift in it is that it created a very resilient and resourceful human being that can navigate any kind of path, treacherous waters, [00:18:00] whatever it is. And those are the ultimate qualities in a founder.

Liz Claiborne: Absolutely. Yeah. The opening monologue of my speech, I really literally asked people, where does the best marijuana come from? And then I pause and I say, okay, let me propose a different question. Where does the best wine come from? And they're like, and they're like, Oh, a lot of people like take a breath because those two questions sound.

You know, very different. Even though I'll bring up, I learned way more about alcohol abuse and the consequences of disease related to alcohol versus THC, which we spent like zero time on in med school. So why is there a bias against like marijuana versus alcohol? I, I use this to illustrate the unconscious bias that exists, but I interestingly find that.

First weave in? Well, the answer is that for both instances, the best wine and the best weed come from circumstance where the plant is forced to endure a harsh climate, rocky soil, unpredictable weather patterns. [00:19:00] Anytime it has to stress or. Kind of basically innovate to survive. You're going to get, you know, your best fruits, your best produce, your best, you know, flowers, your best plants.

And to me, that's also a great analogy of why people who come from backgrounds that are a little bit more difficult and arduous tend to be some of our best leaders.

Angelica Maestas: Amen. I love that. I need to see one of your keynotes,

Liz Claiborne: I will let you know what I would. This is another thing I've been working on. I haven't had as much time to dive into it, but it is on the horizon and it gives me a wonderful opportunity to share my big idea, right? Which is that women and especially women of color are primed to be our best leaders, but also be able to share my entrepreneurial, you know, journey.

A lot of my family history that have molded me the way that I am. And so it's a win win because it brings attention to me and the company. It spreads an important message and hopefully it motivates others.

Angelica Maestas: Mm-Hmm. . Well, I think you should also write a book, maybe post exit, before you get into venture and [00:20:00] investing. Write a book and, and that way it's there in print for everyone to, to continue to read because you know, it's inspiring and that's what we need to hear more of. I love that you are. Very matter of fact, and, you know, just state, this is the reality.

This is the world we're in. This is why here's what we can do. And, you know, the more that women can see other women succeeding in spite of those challenges, that's very inspiring.

Liz Claiborne: Sure. And that representation matters, right? That's part of why I'm working so hard. That's part of why I am driven the way that I am is that I understand that it's a lot easier for people to imagine and see themselves successful in a certain position if they have some type of example. And I've had examples in my life too, right?

I didn't just do this. make this up. But I continue to dream really big and believe. I mean, I 100 percent know that I'm going to be accomplishing these things, and I not only know it for myself, but I know that it will happen so that it can help inspire other [00:21:00] people and give them that example that they might need so they could take their next step.

Angelica Maestas: Do you have any tips or techniques that you do for dreaming big? I'm big on like verbally expressing things to the universe and, you know,

Liz Claiborne: I like that. Like one of my favorite quotes is manifest that shit, which I think, you know, there's a lot of work that has talked about manifesting. In fact, I follow this podcast by David Sinra called founders, which I highly recommend anyone who is an entrepreneur or a founder. And he basically summarizes different autobiographies and biographies of very famous, successful.

Entrepreneurs, founders, you know and, and famous public figures. And there are a lot of consistencies in the stories that you'll see. A lot of them talk about resilience and innovation and like kind of the determination, but a lot of what they talk about is confidence and just actually visualizing and seeing, you know, what's in front of them.

before [00:22:00] it's there and acting as if it is, has already happened. And so I do do a lot of I think the, as close as the routine meditation as I can do for my ADHD emergency med brain can tolerate. I do try to pause every day to kind of rehearse like these six areas of my life. In the way that I want to see them, my family life, my professional life, my spiritual life, my service, you know, oriented goals.

And I update them as I've continued to progress. So they're not always stagnant. But what's amazing is that I have already seen things starting to happen in my life that maybe a year ago were only things I was telling myself every day. And so that represents that repetition matters and that belief matters, right?

I think that that, you know maybe in the future, they'll be able to prove this scientifically, but you do pull towards you the energy that you're projecting. And so if you're rejecting that positive outflick, if your expectation is that this will happen, I think it flows to you more naturally. And I think [00:23:00] that that is a technique that others can use.

Angelica Maestas: I'm in 100 percent alignment with that. I believe in the laws of attraction and the more negative you put out and the more negative thoughts you're attracting it, but also you're telling yourself all of these awful things. And so it starts manifesting. So the, the more positive self talk. Helps, but also it just, it helps to attract to those things.

And it's why I've always been the big dreamer and I've been called ambitious, you know, Oh, isn't she ambitious? And yeah, I am.

Liz Claiborne: I know. Isn't it funny how it's almost insinuated as like a dirty

Angelica Maestas: It is. Yeah.

Liz Claiborne: for us, right? For us, not necessarily for everybody. No, I mean, I think, and remember to also give yourself grace. Like we all have really hard things to go through and I don't think there's a problem with being upset or sad or moving through your emotions.

I just think you have to always like make sure that you're being aware of like how much of your time is spent you know, maybe pondering or, [00:24:00] you know, like thinking about things that are more negative versus how much time are you thinking about the positives in your life and where you want to go?

Because it's really easy to get, like, wrapped up in that negative, you know, funnel. And it's especially if things are hard, right? It's hard to sometimes break out of that, but it's that mental fortitude that will bring those good things to you if you can do it. And you can just keep saying it to yourself and seeing it in your head.

Vocalizing it. It will eventually come.

Angelica Maestas: Have you found that the, the people in your network have always been supportive of this path as you went down entrepreneurship? And do you think it's because you kind of projected all of the positive and confidence or how did that kind of develop for you?

Liz Claiborne: Yeah. I mean, I think even my family really early on, they always thought I was gonna be a politician, I think at the end of the day, which we'll see if that actually happens. And I run for, you know, like public office. I, I certainly have always had a longstanding comfort with being a leader, with [00:25:00] being very comfortable with my orating skills and speaking.

And I didn't really know how that was going to translate. Like I was already doing a lot of. public policy and kind of ethics work within medicine. But certainly when the pandemic hit, for example, and I mentioned I was pregnant, I did quite a bit of media during that time because people wanted to know what it was like to be a pregnant ER doc.

And then I learned I had a knack for live television. And so before I knew it, I was on like CNN and MSNBC. NBC and like all these different networks talking about my experience. And what that did is really primed me to then translate very easily to being a great ceo and founder because what you have to do when you're pitching is speak clearly and concisely and with confidence and with clarity.

And so I always had that a little bit of that going on, but there's all these kind of interesting synchronicity The things that happened, right? Like that happened right before I went into the accelerator program. And now all these other opportunities crop up just because I say yes to opportunities like this, getting on a podcast and who knows who's gonna see it.

So yes, I think that it has [00:26:00] attracted people to fall in my path that have been helpful. And I think that I've always known I was probably destined to do something that is more visible and I don't mind being a leader. Some people don't like to be in the spotlight all the time. I don't necessarily.

Think it's always great as you can see at the highest levels. I think it works against people, especially some of their personal lives and things that you're able to accomplish. But at the same time I realized that not everyone can do that. And so it's a privilege for me to be able to be in the position to do it.

And I consider it more of a responsibility for me to use those skills.

Angelica Maestas: Yeah, and I love what you said about saying yes to opportunities. A lot of times the opportunities that present themselves that give you a knot in your stomach usually present a growth opportunity. And I say, take it. You know, I'm, I'm a recovering, awkward person. And. You know, years ago I was, you know, I was the programmer analyst, did not want anything to do [00:27:00] with people.

I didn't develop social skills until my late twenties. It was just, I was consistently putting myself into uncomfortable situations because I wanted to develop social skills. And so even the degree I took in school was business because I knew it would force me to give presentations. And they were

Liz Claiborne: for knowing that

Angelica Maestas: awful.

Yeah.

Liz Claiborne: for identifying it and then wanting to do something about it.

Angelica Maestas: Yeah. I was like, well, I'm going to do this painful, painful thing. I don't know how I didn't pass out in some of those presentations, but every uncomfortable instance got a little bit less uncomfortable. Then to the point where I'm giving presentations for the White House summit and at CES, and it's just, you know, that evolution that you can have.

If you just say yes to opportunities is just so remarkable. I

Liz Claiborne: Yeah. And like they say, you know, with no risk, there's no reward. So I've always been comfortable doing non traditional things and kind [00:28:00] of stepping off the beaten path. But part of the reason I do that is because I know there's these, all these unknown benefits to taking these risks and trying something new.

And I haven't always known exactly what was going to come of it, but I've had enough wins from doing that in the past that it always seems like it's worth it.

Angelica Maestas: Yes. Amen. Well, I think that's a great way to wrap the episode. But before we wrap, I would love for you to tell us a little bit more about where you're at right now and how listeners might support you.

Liz Claiborne: Absolutely. So please, you know, certainly follow me on all your social media networks. I'm on LinkedIn, all of that. My handle is Dr. Eliz, P C D R E L I Z P C. You can also follow NASA clip on all of those at N A S A. And then certainly since we are now like in the full throttled focus on sales you can help me as a young founder by going to nasa clip.

com and looking to see if you want to have this nosebleed rescue device in your home, [00:29:00] suggested to your school nurse, your sports, you know, clinic. If you're tied to any medical institutions, I welcome any introductions. And I also welcome anyone reaching out to me that just has a question. Like I have been trying to take as many people with me on this journey as possible.

And especially. Other, you know, younger founders that just don't know exactly what they're doing. I'm happy to give you, you know, for what it's worth. My two cents about my experience. And if you want to contact me, you can reach me at E Clayborne. That's E C L a Y B O R N E at nasa clip. com. And I look forward to hearing from you guys and I appreciate you helping me to spread the word about nasa clip, which will be the future bandaid of nosebleeds.

Angelica Maestas: Awesome. Thanks for being on Liz.

Liz Claiborne: Thank you for having me.