About the Guest
Laura Yecies is the CEO of Osteoboost, a company developing wearable technology to address bone density loss in postmenopausal women. She brings over 30 years of experience across technology, digital health, and medical innovation, with a focus on overlooked gaps in women's health. She previously served as CEO of SugarSync, acquired by J2 Global, Catch, sold to Apple, and Neurosync, a neurotechnology company.
Interview Summary
After three decades in consumer and enterprise technology, including several successful startup exits, Laura turned her attention to healthcare — bringing a consumer lens to a problem that traditional medtech had largely failed to solve.
The problem is substantial. Nearly sixty million Americans live with osteopenia or osteoporosis, yet the death rate from hip fracture has barely changed in 60 years. Bisphosphonate drugs — the standard of care — are effective but persistently underused. Laura read that low adoption rate not as patient indifference, but as evidence that patients were looking for different options.
Osteoboost's answer draws from NASA-funded research on vibration and bone loss in astronauts. Where whole-body platforms lose force before reaching the spine and hip, Osteoboost’s wearable belt delivers precision vibration directly to the hips and lumbar spine — the anatomy where fractures are most common and consequential.
The company received an FDA breakthrough designation in December 2020, followed by a De Novo clearance in January 2024 — only the 14th ever granted by the Orthopedic Panel in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). It is also backed by a 126-patient randomized controlled trial (RCT) demonstrating over 85% reduction in vertebral bone density loss.
When 510(k) clearance was announced for this non-drug alternative, Osteoboost’s pre-order waitlist overwhelmed its website. Laura channeled that demand into a unique ‘Founders Program’, validating commercial interest through pre-orders before shipping began.
Osteoboost launched nationally in May 2025, reaching patients through telehealth, direct online ordering, or a physician prescription — all eligible for FSA and HSA payment. More than 2,500 physicians have since prescribed the device, which retails at $995, challenging the assumption that medical devices require reimbursement (rather than self-pay) to scale.
Top Takeaways
A consumer-facing medical device succeeds when using it feels effortless. Design placement and form factor around clinical need first — then make daily use easy and unobstructive, so that compliance follows automatically. Apply the same thinking to commercial access: even a prescription product can move like a consumer one when ordering and fulfillment are built around patient convenience.
Treat regulatory as a business strategy. Pursuing a more rigorous path than a device technically requires earns the ability to make medical claims and builds trust with the medical community. Back it with trial design built around real-world use — and the result is special controls that force competitors to replicate years of work, compounded by robust IP.
Give patients community ownership, and they become your most effective sales force. Pre-orders and early access programs convert demand into advocacy before a single device ships at volume. When patients arrive for their medical appointments asking for a clinically proven, FDA-cleared product by name, physicians take notice.
Sponsors
FastWave Medical: Named MD+DI's Company of the Year, FastWave is one of the hottest medtech startups in the cardiovascular space. See how you can invest here.
Fundraising Cohort: Planning to raise capital for your startup? This live, 4-week workshop, led by Scott Nelson, is designed to help founders and CEOs tell a sharper story, get investor meetings that matter, and close real capital. Join the waitlist here.
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