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The journey from Sandia Engineer to Entrepreneur to…

Daniel Neal

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RPL Hartmann tests Sept 1986

• Laser mask with 13 active spots+3 cal spots

• 1 Million fps film camera– 80 frames/experiment

• 20 m optical relay using off-axis spheres

• Elaborate synchronization

• Manual data analysis

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Wavefront sensors are used to measure all aspects of light

•Intensity and phase•Passive measurement•Large dynamic range•High sensitivity•Low noise•No reference beams required•No “phase unwrapping” required•Simple, compact construction•Differential measurement•LOWER COST

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The one-dimensional wavefront sensor was designed to measure aberrations

• 1D wavefront sensor– 2048 element line scan camera (DALSA)– 10 element cylindrical lens array

• Mount designed by Herb Thomas– CAMAC crate data acquisition 4 channel at 5 MHz,

12-bit• Data acquisition program written in Turbo-Pascal by

Dave Bodette– QuickBasic computer programs for data analysis

Original 10 element 1DWFS and later 40 element binary optic version

• High speed was needed for RPL experiments (5-10 kHz)

• Most aberration was in one direction only• Line-scan cameras with requisite bandwidth

were available

These advances opened the possibility of an “all-electronic” wavefront sensing system

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With micro-optics technology, arbitrary shape apertures are easily created

Diamond shape aperture matches hex pattern deformable mirror

Telecentric hex array

Pupil remapped WFS

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Coming soon to a Walmart near you!Complete Light Analysis System (CLAS)

• Complete integrated wavefront sensor analysis system

• Windows software controlled data acquisition and automated analysis

• Exposure from 1 to 1/10,000 sec• 72, 144, and 250 µm spatial resolution• Large dynamic range: up to 100 µm WFE• Phase resolution: l/50 - l/100• Relative or absolute analysis modes• Modal and Zonal wavefront reconstructors• Automatic M2, RMS WFE, Zernike modes• Multi-shot analysis (60 Hz)• Fast setup, easy to use, simple alignment• Pulsed or cw• Customizable for your application• Adaptive optics compatible• Includes: Wavefront sensor system, CCD

camera, computer and all analysis and control software WaveFront Sciences,Inc.

Optics and InstrumentationAlbuquerque, NM (505)235-8231

Initial specifications are subject to change without notice

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WaveFront Sciences, Inc. began operations in 1996

• Established 1995 as a spin-off from Sandia National Laboratories

• Located in Albuquerque, NM• Initially 3 cubicals at TVC• First building: 3000 sq. ft. • 2 x 12,000 sq. ft. buildings• Class 100 clean room

• Initial employees:• Ron, Tim and Dan• ~15 employees in 2000• 54 in Jan 2007• Sold to AMO in Jan 2007• Abbott acquires AMO in Feb 2009• AMO acquired by Johnson & Johnson Feb 2017

ColumbusNanotopography

and Flatness Tool

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The exquisite detail of the dopant striations is unveiled by optimized reconstruction

• Optimized proprietary reconstruction technique

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The James Webb Space Telescope• 6.5 meter primary• 18 1.5 m segments• l/20 optics at 600 nm• Beryllium, machined,

ground and then polished segments

• Large multi-layer sunshield

• Space deployed optics and sunshield

• 1.5 million km (1 million miles) from the Earth orbit (at L2 point)

Need a way to test the optics during early fabrication

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Scanning Shack-Hartmann concept and major subsystems

The Primary Mirror is in Auto collimationThe IR Shack-Hartmann sensor is on the scanning

paragon gantry

ReferenceWave Front (T)

IRSHWFS (WFSI)and

CompressorTelescope (LWO)

IR Source(T&WFSI)

(shown in twopositions)

Primary Mirror& Mount (T)

Paragon Gantry:Scanning (B-E/T)

Granite TableSupport (T)

IR SourceSupport (T)

Compressor Telescope and LWIR WFS

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Complete Ophthalmic Analysis System

• Complete system for optical metrology of the eye

• High resolution/high dynamic range wavefront sensor

• Variable position optical system uses active optics to maximize performance

• The COAS G210 is already a third generation product

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COAS Measurement results

• Sphere: -12 to +7 d• Cyl: 6 d• Measurement time: 5 sec

autorefract, 13 ms measurement• Zernike polynomial to arbitrary

order• Accuracy: +/- 0.1 diopter

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The Wave of the future in contact fitting and manufacture

PatientMeasurement

Custom LensManufacture

Objective and Subjective

Patient Validation

Quality ControlAnd

Product Validation

OmniWaveProcess Control And Validation

ClearWave

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GOAL: take advantage of all that we have learned to make an improved instrument

• Combine several instruments into one– Aberrometer– CT– Autorefractor– Keratometer– Pupilometer

• Improve performance for all functions

• Take advantage of synergisticinformation

• Integrated footprint

Since 2012 iDesign has already improved the vision of >100,000 eyes

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Year Product

1996 CLAS2D introduced – 1st commercial WFS

1997-1998 Numerous applications: Aero-optics, laser BQ, astronomy, C2100, telecom

1999 Ophthalmic WFS—Supports experiments on Pikes Peak

2000 COAS G100/G200 – 1st commercial aberrometer – Asclepion Meditec

2000 Columbus and COAS G200 win R&D 100 award

2003 COAS HD – high resolution wavefront sensor (research), G210

2004-2005 ClearWave, Crystalwave, nano-phase, CLAS-XP, HP, Omniwave (Vistakon)

2006 SSHS systems, FGCT research

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Evolution of aberrometers

iDesign

WF + TopoCustomVue treatment planning

WF + Topo???

2000 2000-2008 2009-2010

Breadboard

WF Eye measurement feasibility

Whole eye WF

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COAS G100COAS G210

2010+

Whole eye WF,ResearchCustom lasikDynamic aberrations

iDesign +

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Some things I’ve learned along the way…

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There is life after Sandia• For a high tech company, 40-60% of the tasks are technical

in nature• Products are not the same as prototypes

– At Sandia, I never developed a product– Products need continual improvement– May have to comply with regulatory/safety/standards issues

• Problems are opportunities• New products, innovations are the growth path for success

Running a high tech company involves many of the same “fun” things that I did at Sandia

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Retrospective: 20 years laterThe things we did right

• Good business plan– Identified long term strategies– Careful market survey

• Broad technology base– Multiple market segments– Continuously expanding market– Successfully introduced several new products/year

• Conservative growth– Growth limited by firm commitments– Conserve capital

• Negotiated positions– Maintained ownership/board control

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Retrospective: 20 years laterThe things we did wrong

• Poorly documented ideas and products– Several lost opportunities because we didn’t document our ideas– Some products pulled from market due to poor compliance

• Overly optimistic market assumptions– Created the market for our products– Very slow to get started

• Slow to react to personnel problems– Need a get the job done attitude– Lost employees due to poor communication

• Missed opportunities– Time to market too long

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And when something goes wrong…

• Make lemonade– Usually there is something you can take away from any

business failure– At least you learned something

• Some personal examples– VISX contract loss

• Enabled us to have patent rights

– Columbus failure to launch• Learned how to make accurate sensors

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There are three kinds of companies

• Accounting based– Focus on finances, cash flow, bottom line– Slow decision making, risk averse

• Product based– Driven by technology– Develop new products efficiently

• Customer based– Responds to customer needs– Customer support

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Be careful of regulated industries• Several industries are highly regulated

– Medical– Aircraft– Automotive– Semiconductor

• Very specific rules and standards apply in these regulated industry– Failure to comply can lead to loss of sales, or even violate the law!– There are a host of international and ANSI standards that attempt to help with these

issue• But they change constantly• Compliance with some standards is a prerequisite for sales in certain regions (e.g. CE

mark for EU sales)• Keep careful records from the beginning

– Requirements, design, verification, even project planning may be required– There are numerous “experts” available to help with registrations

• Plan the regulatory strategy early in the product lifecycle

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The end game – Exit strategy• Consider carefully the eventual exit strategy

– Most business plans are vague on this point• Three strategies

– Sale/merger with a larger company• Strategic• Profit/growth based

– IPO– Founder equity purchase or Employee Stock

Purchase Plan

Other stakeholders may force your hand (e.g. VC)

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There is life after exit• Three year contract for continued support

– Purchase contingent on milestone deliveries– Yet we were able to meet them

• This can lead to a new position– Potentially with good salary/benefits

• Non-compete clause has limited the things I can do– But I’ve still found lots of interesting opportunities– I’ve been able to do side projects along the way

• I went from “being the boss” to “having a boss” (7 layers)• I wasn’t ready for all the change

– Uninformed decision making– Different perspective

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Conclusions

• Customers first• Learn the business approach• Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate• Don’t forget intellectual property• Markets don’t wait• Have fun

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And now for something completely different

www.presbyopia-international.com

www.wlpow.com

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The ESTT played a key role in enabling my transition

• 8-10 businesses fail within the first two years– Lack of real customer conversation– No unique value proposition– Failure to communicate value clearly– Leadership breakdown

• As an engineer, these risks are hard to quantify– You don’t really know if you have a market for a product until you sell

one– It may require several iterations before your product is market ready– Business is not necessarily driven only by specifications and performance

• The ESTT program provides a “safety net” to allow the Sandia entrepreneur to experiment

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Letting go is hard to do• Sandia has an enormous set of capabilities

– Laboratory space and equipment– Facilities and equipment– Services– Libraries/shops/test facilities

• A Sandia staff member enjoys respect, responsibility and opportunity• You don’t want to be “just a vendor”• Research is fun and exciting• You’ll have to build your own infrastructure from the ground up

You’re still the expert in your field, with new and different opportunities for recognition

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You already know how to sell products

• Every day you sell your ideas– Conferences, papers, project meetings, proposals

• Selling products isn’t any different• When you have a good product, selling it is fun

– Believe in your product– The next version is always better

• Sell the one you have• Perfect is the enemy of “Good enough”

• Marketing involves stuff you already do• Trade shows• Technical papers• Personal contacts

Be certain you have customers and markets, not just technology

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Business is Business• Business functions are completely different from technical functions• You need to be able to speak both languages• You will deal with people who ONLY know the business side• Business people ASSUME you have all the technical issues worked

out• Marketing will require your involvement• Administration is a significant burden

– Office lease, telephone and utilities, services, payroll, accounting, legal, insurance

Be sure you are ready to be a businessman

Better yet, hire a professional

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Everything is negotiable

• Leases, Intellectual property, Venture Capital, Employment, Contracts, etc.

• Learn this skill• You will need a lawyer

– Do the real negotiating BEFORE getting lawyers involved– Keep control of your own lawyer

• Get it in writing• Be able to walk away

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You can take it with you• Patents (through licensing)• Security clearance• Laboratory access• Contracts

– Significant $ for startup– Highly dependent on individual customers

• User facilities• Library• Insurance and benefits• TVC space and help

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Conflict of interest, or Confluence of interest

• Sandia requires potential entrepreneurs to fill out conflict of interest paperwork– This usually only limits you from making decisions regarding purchases

from your own company– Be careful about patent rights for joint projects– You are not restricted from giving advice for free

• Many opportunities work for both your and Sandia’s advantage– Joint projects– Small Business Assistance program

• Check with Sandia for latest rules• Don’t inadvertently tip your hand

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Don’t tip your hand too early

• Before you leave Sandia, have everything ready– Intellectual property– Investment and capital– CUSTOMERS– Business plan

• Think security and need-to-know– Department/director are usually supportive, but not always– You may need to change your mind

• Be careful of competitors• But don’t wait too long, business opportunities won’t wait

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Hire your friends?• Make sure you know their JOB capabilities• Hiring/firing/promotion decisions are more difficult• Business professional publications discourage hiring friends/family• However,

– You know you can trust them– You know what they can do– They’ll be on the same team

• Professional associates may be the best option• Sandia Post Docs

Make long term agreements up front, and stick to them

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Life isn’t fairNeither is licensing

• V.C. companies, banks, investors will want solid intellectual property rights– Patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc.– Only EXCLUSIVE licenses are useful

• If you don’t have these rights, someone else will– Careful patent searches protect you from surprises– Search frequently– Look for non-Sandia opportunities

• Sandia expects to make money from you– Recover patent application costs– Potential for royalty income from your products– You get some of it back– If Sandia doesn’t own it, then maybe you can

• DOE insists on fairness of opportunity– Unwilling to issue exclusive licenses to recent Sandian’s (2 years)– Advertising potential I.P. through CBD

• Alerts your competitors• Raises costs

• File your own patents