Where are they now: Martyn Knowles (MBA '18) and Ben Wood (BSBA '03, MBA '18) UNC Kenan-Flagler

Learn what it takes to follow the path that Marytn and Ben took: https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/mba/weekend-executive-mba/admissions/requirements-deadlines/ Ted Zoller of UNC Kenan-Flagler has a conversation with Martyn Knowles (MBA '18) and Ben Wood (BSBA '03, MBA '18) about their venture and how they maximized their UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA. From the classroom to the marketplace: Two medical professionals leveraged their extensive experience and new entrepreneurial skills to launch a successful company and product. Martyn and Ben, friends since starting medical school together in 2003, entered the entrepreneurship track of the Weekend Executive MBA program already fixed on a specific outcome — launching a company that applies business principles to the healthcare profession and addresses problems surgeons face in the operating room. The entrepreneurs’ initial product, OpFlow, is a cloud-based software platform that increases communication and cuts costs in the operating room. “The program served as an incubator and accelerator for our product,” says Martyn. “We utilized our company as the basis for our class projects and were able to receive feedback from world-class faculty. Those relationships enabled us get to the point where we were able to successfully launch our company before the end of our MBA program.” While in the program, the duo won the SoftLaunch Coaches’ Choice Award, presenting their venture pitch to coach-judges from marketing, strategy, finance, and legal disciplines. But, the judges weren’t the only ones to see the value of OpFlow. After a successful pilot project, leadership team members at UNC Rex Hospital engaged in contract negotiations with the OpFlow team to expand the use of the product. “The pilot was an opportunity for our proof of concept,” says Wood. “Alongside the technological expertise of our CEO, David Rowe, the MBA program catalyzed the development of our idea to a commercially viable product.” “If you have an idea, the best way to determine its viability is to enroll in UNC Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program and put your idea to work,” says Knowles. “Between the network, the classes, the professors, and the content, you come out well-versed in how to make your company a success.” www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/