Health Tech: Insoo Park Of Ecosense On How Their Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness
An Interview With David Leichner
Right timing — Is it the right time to introduce the technology? Do we need to wait until we have the technology to match? Similar questions must be asked to understand the technology fully and making the right public impact.
In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Insoo Park.
Insoo Park, Founder & CEO at Ecosense Inc. based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Ecosense is a leader and trusted provider of radon-detecting and monitoring solutions that are easy to use, accurate, and fast. The company’s smart real-time radon detectors utilize a patented detection technology with a high-accuracy performance, which delivers results in minutes, not days. The EcoQube was named one of the Top 100 Inventions of 2021 by TIME and is available for purchase on Amazon. Ecosense’s patented ion chamber technology performance has received independent validation from the University of Michigan (Dept. of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science) and the Kansas State University Radon Chamber. Both studies concluded that Ecosense’s patented technology performed comparably to premium research-grade detectors.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
I was born as the youngest son among two brothers and two sisters in Seoul, South Korea in 1967 when the country was in a fast economic development period after World War 2 and the Korean War were over in 1953. Almost every family was experiencing an economically hard time. Always having a curiosity for learning, creating and resolving issues or creating new innovative approaches to various tasks at hand. I was always playing Korean chess with elderly folks in my town and had a liking for sports such as baseball, table tennis, racing and even being one of the soccer team representatives from my elementary school. Very active in sport but a quiet and curious student. My father lived and studied in Japan for many years when he was young and came back to Korea to start his own business, which I believe is why I have his genes instilled into me, living in the USA and running a startup company both which I never imagined.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I was on a business trip to Gurgaon, southwest of New Delhi in northern India on some weekend in 2012. My Indian business partner/friend brought me to a fortune teller who was almost a 100-year-old lady. The fortune teller took into account my date of birth and observed my palm. After thinking for quite some time, she said to me, “Mr. Park, one day you will be doing something that will save people’s lives and you will be making a good fortune”. I had no idea what she was talking about at that moment, since I was working in the semiconductor industry at the time and had no plans of doing something else. However, here I currently stand running a start-up business, making radon gas detectors, which can protect people from lung cancer. As previously started, I never planned to live in the US and I never planned to work in the radon-related industry. A lot of interesting things always happen in your lifetime when you least expect them to occur.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Greg Caltabiano who was the CEO at my second startup organization called Teknovus. I went through three semiconductor startup companies and Teknovus was the second one, which is where I served as the Vice President of Strategic Sales. We have been really good friends since 2007, when I joined the company, Teknovus. In 2009, I was having arguably one of the most difficult times in my life, as a result of my marriage divorce. I could not keep up with my work and saw no other option other than resigning from the company. Instead of accepting my resignation, Greg gave me a month of vacation, during which he was doing all my work. He was giving me time and confidence that I needed most during this difficult time. Fast forward to the current day and he is currently one of the board members, as well as an advisor for my company, Ecosense. Friendship is a beautiful thing.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
EMENTO(I created this name).
Enjoy your moments as they will never come back! It is definitely something that has stuck with me over the years. I usually don’t regret what I did as I simply cannot change what has passed. Instead, I have been trying to enjoy moments of my work, my friendship, hobbies, etc. Running a startup is also part of trying to enjoy my life. It allows me to create and push things my way in a strategic/innovative way. Running Ecosense, currently is something that bring me great joy as I have assembled a team and work culture in the organization that is reflective of a family setting.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Accountability — you must be able to set deadlines and standards that you can uphold for yourself, as well as your organization.
Situational awareness — you must be able to be aware of things around you and have the ability to adjust as needed.
Pushing things at the right moment — understanding the situation at hand, but having the leadership ability to be the decision-maker for your organization/team.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the technology or medical devices that you are helping to create that can make a positive impact on our wellness. To begin, which particular problems are you aiming to solve?
We are addressing the critical issue of preventing radon-caused lung cancer. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. According to the EPA, radon is responsible for 21,000 lung cancer deaths annually in the U.S.
How do you think your technology can address this?
Our technology empowers homeowners to quickly and independently test their homes for harmful radon gas. Radon is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, so the only way to know your home’s radon levels is through testing.
Timely and accurate radon detection prevents exposure to cancer-causing radon gas and saves lives. It provides people with the knowledge and power to proactively address the problem with the help of radon professionals and continue monitoring to ensure high radon levels do not return.
Additionally, the quick response and accuracy of our technology allow users to observe how radon levels fluctuate seasonally and even throughout the day. This feature provides a comprehensive view of your radon levels, enabling you to make informed decisions about mitigation.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
The inspiration behind my passion for this cause stems from a deeply personal experience. I lost my best friend, Andrew, to cancer, and it was a devastating reminder of how precious life is. During this difficult time, I learned about the dangers of radon gas and how it is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.
I was shocked to discover the extremely low public awareness about radon gas as a health threat and the lMain drawback of this technology is the cost, around $150, of the product as they are more expensive than conventional radon testers, charcoal. But the cost is much cheaper than curing lung cancer later.
ack of simple solutions for detection and mitigation. This motivated me to take action and create technology that empowers homeowners to protect their families from this invisible danger. By increasing awareness and providing easy-to-use tools for radon detection, I hope to prevent others from experiencing the same loss I did.
How do you think this might change the world?
My goal is to create a world where people are fully aware of the indoor health dangers of radon gas and don’t suffer simply because they weren’t informed. It’s heartbreaking to learn that someone developed lung cancer that was entirely preventable. I want to prevent people from experiencing such sorrowful emotions.
Instead, I aim to empower them to take control of their health by making radon monitoring a continuous preventive measure. By increasing awareness and providing accessible monitoring devices, we can reduce the incidence of radon-induced lung cancer and save countless lives.
Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”?
1 . Breakthrough technology — a technology that is making a difference and is new.
2. Right timing — Is it the right time to introduce the technology? Do we need to wait until we have the technology to match? Similar questions must be asked to understand the technology fully and making the right public impact.
3. Right people — the internal team in an organization must be as good as the technology emerging.
4. Focus on education and awareness — everyone won’t have the same understanding or knowledge about the technology so educating and building a foundation is critical for success.
5. Long-term technology — create a technology that you can build upon and won’t simply die once it’s out. Solve a problem and try to find a way to advance the technology later.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Innovation. It’s as simple as that. Innovation and advancement is critical for society and the only way that we can continue to grow the world further is by learning from one another. We constantly see new ideas and innovations, but that is due to the emerging forward thinkers that make society great and as younger generations come to the forefront their new innovative approaches and ideas are vital to future generations/society as a whole.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Joe Rogan. He is a forward thinker who connects some of the world’s most brilliant minds and asks innovative questions and sometimes the difficult questions that we should be asking. His podcast has allowed various generations to learn from some of society’s greatest minds, which has only allowed us to learn further and advance as a society.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Insoo Park’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/insoo-park-2295951/
Ecosense website: https://ecosense.io/
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.
