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About
2020 brings our first European event and our tenth reunion
What and why is the 10x Medical Device Conference?
Q: Why do alumni return each year?
A: For inspiration, fun, ideas, and community.
TESTIMONIALS
What Alumni Say About 10x
Medical Devices Group Origins
LinkedIn groups launched in September 2007. Christopher Taylor started the Medical Devices Group in March 2008. It was the 78,665th group formed. Now there are more than two million.
Tragically, Chris died at age 47. He went into cardiac arrest at Medica (of all places!) in 2011.
His wife Janet informed me a month later. She asked me to continue his work.
I built a memorial page for Chris first. The page remains, untouched, since 2012. In gratitude, group members donated nearly £2,000 for his daughter Charlotte’s college fund.
A Perfect Storm
It took me nearly a month to process 4,000 backlogged requests to join. I remember finishing the task, relieved, and going to bed.
The next morning, there were 125 more.
They came – literally, by the thousands. The group added 75,000 members in 2012 alone.
It seemed everyone got the message at once:
You have to get on ‘social media.’
LinkedIn has these things called ‘Groups.’
You get on them and participate in industry-specific discussions. Like a post or leave a comment.
It’s a great way to build your network and grow your business!
Participation thrived, especially for those heated “medical device tax” discussions.
It was fun back then. “Regulars” became well-known by face and commentary.
A Conference is Born
I knew the world didn’t need another medical device conference.
I made one anyhow. I wanted to meet my new virtual friends, these active Medical Devices Group members – in person.
It began as the “10x Medical Device Conference for Exponential Growth.”
This was the first homepage.
98 people came that year to Minneapolis – including Senator Amy Klobuchar to discuss the medical device tax with Representative Erik Paulsen.
I made a small profit after expenses. Maybe the conference could compensate me for the unpaid hours I moderated the group?
The Group Evolves and LinkedIn Mucks Things Up
The Group continued to grow until 2018 when membership peaked at 354,758.
Much of the luster was gone by then.
Why? Three main reasons (smallest to greatest):
- Moderation. Shameless promoters stopped coming because I wouldn’t publish their spam.
- LinkedIn. LinkedIn “ruined the platform.”
- Disappointment. Few saw business-building results from their effort.
I liked posts. I left comments. But I got no new business out of it.
So, they concluded, “I don’t have time for this. I’ll continue doing what I know works: Trade shows!”
Soon, they’d discover trade shows aren’t what they used to be. (That’s a story for another time.)
We Take Back Control…
In September 2018, LinkedIn made sweeping changes to groups (don’t ask me why) that removed announcements (I could no longer send the weekly message) and moderation (anyone could post about anything without my approval).
This would have killed most groups, but not ours, because I rebuilt and completely upgraded
MedicalDevicesGroup.net.
MedicalDevicesGroup.net subscribers still get email messages and access to webinars, job opportunities, and other resources.
Still, there’s no denying a smaller footprint. LinkedIn is a behemoth, after all.
… and Take a Major Step Forward
In October 2019, we launched MDG Premium, where I join your team and give you direct access to all the experts and resources I have for $49/month.
You get access to my entire network of experts in virtually every discipline you need to run a successful medical device business.
Before MDG Premium, you would have to personally interview every consultant – and get billed at their hourly rate.
With MDG Premium, for just $49 a month, you can chat with them directly.
Features include:
- Our weekly open mic call.
- A full directory of everyone on the platform.
- Direct messaging to anyone on the platform in real time.
- Access to my private folders and resources.
- Public consultations on issues that matter to you – conveniently organized into channels.
- A 10 percent discount to any event I host.
Adoption was immediate and growing.
I believe we were prescient; the industry needed it. I believe “Slack 2019” (since acquired by Salesforce.com) was to team collaboration what “Facebook 2007” was to social networking a decade earlier.
MDG Premium evens the playing field versus the industry’s titans and gives you access to the most qualified experts in the industry.
Enjoy a free trial with my compliments! 😃
Which brings us to today
Now you understand the history of the Medical Devices Group, why the 10x Medical Device Conference was born, and why it thrives today.
If you read this far (thank you), you really want to know:
Should you attend the
10x Medical Device Conference?
– and –
What will you get out of it?
Let me answer you completely so you have perfect information and can make an informed decision.
Our 2022 Event
After a pandemic-induced two-year hiatus, 10x returns in May 2022 with a solid core of faculty and friends.
That’s because so many MDG Premium members – who attend our weekly online conversations – have come to know one another virtually. Now is finally when we can meet in person, some for the first time!
Our last conference, held in London, was our first in Europe. We’ll likely return – but I’ll be more comfortable after hosting our first live event after the pandemic in San Diego.
You want a respite to reignite your creative juices, stimulated by the group’s best ideas.
You want to meet my most trusted advisors in every discipline.
You want to join a network of medical device professionals on whom you can rely.
You want my friends to appreciate you as an expert in your field.
You want to discuss a range of timely subjects.
You need to gain specific knowledge covered in one of our workshops.
You want to “walk the trade show floor.” (We have none.)
You want to meet people who excel in the same things you do.
You want to focus narrowly on your area of expertise.
You plan to “work the crowd” and hand out lots of business cards.
You need to collect “leads” to “justify your ROI” to your boss.
You have no intention of building enduring relationships.
It’s like this: These are my friends I’m introducing you to. Please don’t come to “sell” them.
Instead, come be inspired with us. Help us think through issues with which we struggle. We’ll gladly do the same for you!
Who else is coming?
Since 10x is primarily about building lasting relationships with people I personally know and value, your next logical question is,
Okay, Joe, so who am I going to meet?
Easy. Click here and I’ll send you a list of registrants.
Then, if you think, “Yes, I want to meet Joe’s friends and join an alumni community hundreds strong,” please, come. Join our family.
I hope to meet you in person then.
Sincerely,
Joe Hage
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