Align Technology emerged from an unlikely source-two second-year Stanford business students with no previous start-up experience. These entrepreneurs were able to sign on major venture backers in a field which has never before attracted much interest from medical device investors: orthodontics. The founders' idea was that, by using advanced product design and manufacturing processes, the company could produce the Invisalign system of removable, clear plastic dental appliances that, for certain orthodontic patients, particularly adults-a large untapped market--could take the place of traditional metal braces. The challenge for the new company: to tap into a fragmented physician market not accustomed to new technology, moreover with a consumer-preferred device.

While many ideas for new devices originate with physicians, the true doctor/entrepreneur is rare. Rodney Perkins is one of the few who's actually been successful at it.

Amunix’s XTEN technology for half-life extension and precise drug delivery has been used by multiple partners over the past 15 years, but now the firm is building its own cancer therapy pipeline.