November 22, 2017
Meet Mary Franzese, the Italian dreamer who cracked the MedTech market
Mary is one of the five winners of the joint AXA-Global Invest Her (GIH) Mentoring competition, dedicated to promoting women entrepreneurship. Discover her story.
1 minute
Mary Franzese has always wanted to make a difference and challenge herself. As she mentioned: ‘I need to work on something that makes me proud, passionate and engaged about my job, allowing me to be responsible of a group of people and motivating us to do all the best everyday to hit new milestones.’ Mary credits her family and education for her strong desire to become an entrepreneur and improve the life of others.
Using new technologies to save lives
Now the cofounder and CMO of Neuron Guard, our young woman entrepreneur heads an Italian MedTech start-up specialized in medical devices. Mary is well-aware of the burdens linked to the healthcare system, especially when it comes to chronic illnesses or disabling conditions.
Her last break-out? An Automatic External Defibrillator for the brain, a potentially life-saving medical device for the treatment of brain damages. Composed of a cooling/warming collar, covered by a protective shell and powered by a smart control unit, this new technology aims to become the standard of care for Targeted Temperature Management (TTM) therapy. Through Neuron Guard she hopes to improve patients’ outcomes by reducing the burden both on them and their loved ones.
Creating a strong network by leveraging this Mentoring Program
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read moreOne may wonder what encouraged this successful and resourceful entrepreneur to apply for the AXA-GIH program. Mary explains that when looking at mentoring programs, she was seeking great connections and support in the business environment. She further highlights that she was attracted to this specific program as it actively celebrates milestones and supports women throughout their entrepreneurial journey. She plans to leverage the platform to better access capital and build a strong network. And she hopes to be inspired by her AXA mentor and find guidance for her next steps.
‘If you can dream it, you can do it’
Mary Franzese’s motto is ‘If you can dream it, you can do it’. Her own experience has pushed her to always look forward to forging relationships with other women entrepreneurs and break the glass ceiling for the next generation. Through mutual support, networking and experience sharing, Mary hopes that women will help one another and push society to become a place where women entrepreneurs can lead their companies to success without gender-based obstacles. As she points out, women represent only 30% of all entrepreneurs in Europe and MedTech is a particularly difficult market to crack. But Mary did not let this statistic hold her back. She refers to herself as a stubborn dreamer entrepreneur whose life mission is to save lives by leveraging technology. She credits programs such as the AXA-GIH Mentoring Competition for encouraging and supporting young women entrepreneurs around the world to pursue their passions and change the world.
