Janis Muench (CEO, Sphaira Medical)
A techie at heart, Janis founded his first company in 2001, building websites for Germany’s largest global companies like Siemens and VW. He then worked in strategic finance and venture building, launching several companies as an entrepreneur, and engaging in corporate leadership roles around the world — ultimately conducting large-scale mergers and acquisitions for Bertelsmann from their US headquarters in NYC. Janis entered the healthcare space in 2017, working with this same focused ambition: to create immediate and sensible solutions with a truly positive impact on people's lives. His venture Sphaira Medical (↗) is developing the world’s first mobile protective pod — a highly mobile shell that is protected against environmental influences and that could fundamentally improve the lives of patients in protective isolation. Read a Handelsblatt article (in German) about Janis and Sphaira Medical here (↗).
Can you explain your job to a five year old?
Some sick people have to be completely alone for a long time so that others don't get sick, too. This is called medical isolation. But being alone for long makes you even sicker. That's why I'm developing a kind of wheelchair with a see-through bubble. In this little car, sick people can be safely visited by their family and friends.
What excites you most about your job?
Right now, I'm excited to develop an innovative solution that will make a real difference for people in some of life’s most challenging situations. Even though we all know by now how difficult quarantine can be, weeks of isolation after a bone marrow transplant, for example, remain unimaginable. Creating a way that patients and their loved ones can see one other will make a fundamental difference.
Which trend will change the future of medicine?
I am still fascinated that it was possible to develop a vaccine response to a new virus within months. We are just beginning to understand biology and medicine on a molecular level, and I expect that we will see many more big steps in this direction.
Looking back, which trends have you missed or underestimated?
In the long term, I think we're going to see a lot more in terms of data in healthcare. There is still a lot to do.
Which MedTech initiative or startup deserves more attention?
Small and early-stage startups. Especially in Germany, medical hardware innovation is driven largely by big corporations.
Where would you put a million dollars?
Right now? In my start-up Sphaira Medical.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Never start a med-tech / hardware startup in Germany.