Health Tech: Shilo Ben Zeev On How Emulait’s Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness
An Interview With Dave Philistin
Find investors who contribute more than money: You need to look for people that truly understand the market, with years of experience relevant to your industry.
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 Shilo Ben Zeev.
Shilo Ben Zeev is the founder of Emulait, an infant bottle feeding company that uses 3D-Printing technology to biomimic the structural anatomy of a mother’s breast. A long-time entrepreneur in the medical device industry, he co-founded LabStyle Innovation, which produced Dario, the first smart glucose meter that connects to mobile devices through a diabetes management app. He also founded Smartzyme Biopharma, a diagnostics and therapeutics company that builds advanced tools for protein engineering; co-founded Emendo Biotherapeutics, which develops gene editing tools for genetic disorders; and founded MyBiotics, a microbiome pharmaceutical company.
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?
To be honest, my early years were very difficult. A painful relationship with my father resulted in a pretty unhappy childhood. I was sick often, and was eventually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which explained a lot of my malaise, and also the reason I struggled socially. This rough start was a blessing in disguise though, as it pushed me to work hard, believe in myself and build my resilience. It also drove my desire to make life easier for other young people experiencing the same issues I did, something which has guided me in the creation of all of my companies.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I was flying between Boston and New York once, when I saw a man reading a book about Israel. As always I couldn’t resist and asked him why he was reading the book. He told me that he was a MIT professor, an advisor to the Chinese government, and was en route to Israel to meet the Prime Minister, to explore the question of why there are so many entrepreneurs in Israel. We had a fascinating conversation that led to us talking about the importance of asking questions, which is at the crux of Jewish and Israeli culture, and how it contributes to the culture of entrepreneurship in Israel.
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?
When I was working on Dario I was blessed to meet one of Medtronic’s top executives, and one of the most highly regarded in the global medical technology space. Over the years he became a mentor of mine and a true friend. He’s always stuck by my side through thick and thin. He also helped me with the cultural “translation” when I moved to the US, and still to this day I consult with him when I think I may be missing something because of language or cultural barriers.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm” by Winston Churchill. I was a kid who grew up hearing ‘no’ all the time: ‘no, that’s not going to work’; ‘nope, you’ll definitely fail’; ‘that’s not for you’. As a result, I did poorly at school and didn’t complete a tertiary education. That closed a lot of doors for me, because early on, investors often want to see an impressive CV and background which I just didn’t have. So instead of opening doors, I had to scale the walls.
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?
Curiosity: for as long as I can remember, my mind has been going full speed ahead. I am a voracious reader and a constant observer of people and things. I hardly completed high school and don’t have an academic degree, but I believe that has helped keep my mind open, helped me see solutions where others might only see barriers, and it has also helped me see people for who they are, not what the letters beside their name say. When I was a young adult my mother took me to a specialist who said “I can give you medication and all that stuff in your head will calm down. But you won’t be you and you won’t achieve any of your grand plans”.
Knowing my limitations: I always surround myself with people who are smarter than I am but who I can communicate with and listen to. It’s not just to fill in gaps in my abilities — such as reading the fine print or crunching numbers. I truly want to know how other people see the challenges which I am looking at. I was blessed to have a partner and co-founder, David Baram, who is a brilliant scientist, both cool-headed and detached. We couldn’t have been more different, but we both knew how to communicate and work together well.
Belief in myself: No matter what I experienced, the challenges, drawbacks and failures — I simply do not have the capacity to give up, ever.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools 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?
Our aim is to ensure babies and caregivers have a positive feeding experience; alleviating issues with nipple confusion, latching, and the breast-to-bottle transition, as well as providing more support and choice for mothers.
How do you think your technology can address this?
With Emulait, we’ve designed a biomimetic replica of a nipple, designed to recreate the experience and benefits of breastfeeding for babies, when the breast is not an option. Our solution uses custom scanning software, through our mobile app, to scan, analyze and capture the shape, size, color, and texture of the mother’s nipple. We then use the most advanced 3D-Printing technology available, combined with ultra life-like silicone, to create a baby bottle nipple which replicates the structural anatomy and functional physiology of the mother’s breast. By biomimicking the look and feel of the mother, we’re bridging the gap between breast and bottle.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
It all started with my youngest daughter, Amalia. From the start, she had a hard time breastfeeding, including tongue-tie syndrome. We were told that a frenotomy (where they surgically snip the tongue) would solve the problem. After watching the procedure being performed on my daughter, I thought surely we can do better — and resolved to do something about it. I wouldn’t rest until I created a bottle that could alleviate the problems Amalia and my wife were having. The difficulties Amalia had nursing carried a huge mental and emotional toll for my wife, who was frustrated, exhausted and disappointed in herself no matter the reassurances some people gave her.
How do you think this might change the world?
I think our solution will dramatically improve early parenthood for many new families. I founded Emulait with the belief that every parent, caregiver, and child is unique — and we empower families with a system that ensures that they can all feel confident and supported, while providing babies with the best feeding experience possible.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
We are simply replicating a mother’s natural shape and feel, so at this time, I am not aware of potential drawbacks.
Here is the main question for our discussion. 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”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)
- It all starts with the idea: Make sure there is a market for your product, and that your idea offers something new, authentic and revolutionary.
- Build a killer team: Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. After all, they can only elevate you to become better.
- Don’t let venture capitalists break your confidence: If you’ve done your research (which you should have) you can rest assured knowing that you are right, no matter what other people think.
- Never settle for average: The world has enough mundane inventions, try your hardest to move technology forward.
- Find investors who contribute more than money: You need to look for people that truly understand the market, with years of experience relevant to your industry.
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?
Simply put, when your goal in business is the betterment of humanity, you have a never-ending source of inspiration, motivation and satisfaction. Goals like money or prominence are fleeting, but aiming to make the world a better place, that’s a benefit you’ll experience for the long-term.
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. :-)
Elon Musk… obviously. Not just because he is an amazing entrepreneur, but for the fact that he’s always pushing the technology over the edge, and truly trying to change the world, and in more than one industry!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shilobz
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
