53. Misti Staley - FreeArm - How a Personal Tragedy Led to Innovation in the Health Industry

Written by Robert Wagner, CPA, Advisory Partner | Jul 19, 2021 3:24:36 PM

Misti Staley is an artist by education and training and is also an inventor, having provided health industry aid and at-home medical equipment through the FreeArm Tube Feeding Assistant and the FreeArm Muscle. She is the founder and CEO of Staley House, LLC, and Director of the nonprofit Freeman Foundation.

Misti was recently featured in the Success Stories section of Arkansas Business, the weekly business newspaper for the state of Arkansas. In 2019, she was named an Arkansas Business’s 40 Under 40 honoree.

In this episode, Misti reflects on how heart and lung complications suffered by her son Freeman in 2015 inspired her to develop what would become the FreeArm and the feeding tube’s advantages over the traditional IV pole. She speaks frequently on the road, discussing perfecting the design through customer discovery with a current goal to get the FreeArm covered by insurance.

Additionally, Misti discusses how her art background informed the design process behind the FreeArm, what she has learned about entrepreneurship and business throughout the journey so far, and her global expansion plans for the company.

This episode is now on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen via the podcast player embedded above.

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