I started thinking of a name for my burgeoning medical equipment business with the realization that it could affect the success of the company itself, both in the short and long term. So I started thinking what I want the company to be, or at least what first impression should it project, such that the name should follow it.
I am forming a company that is in the medical equipment business, and I want it to encompass the industry so that it will not be limited to a certain product. I started playing with the words "medical" and "equipment" but I cannot get something out of them. I added other words including "Devices", "Products", "Systems" and "Service" in the list and tried to rearrange the syllables. I considered MedEquip but it seems there is already that company. MediPro sounds to me like a medical supply company. Medisys or Medsys is out of the question because they sound like "May disease" which means "with some sort of illness"! MediServe is the name of a diagnostic clinic. Other considerations were ProMed, PhilMed, ServoMed, etc.
I wanted the company to be a high-tech and professional firm. I thought that a German sounding name would be nice and fitting.
I was in college when a train called MAGLEV was designed and tested in Germany. This train uses electromagnets for it to float and glide or fly through a magnetic track at speeds in excess of 500Kph! Maglev is coined from the words "magnetic levitation" which describes its basic technology, high-tech indeed!!!
And that is when the name MEDEV, short for Medical Devices, hits me. It sounds to me like MAGLEV which generates all the technological imagery in my mind. It is unique, short and easy to remember yet it seems high-tech and still describes the business we are in. Yes, MEDEV is a good name. (Of course, later, many of our customers would joke that our company is owned by a sexy Filipina actress whose surname is Medved! I learned early on to laugh at that joke and would now even suggest to name her as our honorary chairperson, ha..ha..)
Now, I am building a company. I deemed that to be taken seriously, it has got to be a corporation, so I asked my wife, my sisters and mother-in-law to join me as incorporators. I am registering the name and applying for all the permits required to do business. My house in Paranaque will be my temporary office and I will be its first employee.
With a few savings in the bank which will be added later to my wife's early retirement pay, I now must think of what the company is, what would make it unique, why would customers buy from it and what would it's business really be?
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Saturday, February 12, 2005
The Story of MEDEV Part 1: How it all began?
I suddenly realized that I am really out of work on that fateful day sometime in May, 1999. A few months ago, I just had a problem with a manager at the Philippine branch of GE Medical Systems, the world's largest manufacturer of medical equipment and part of General Electric - the world's most admired company, and I cannot help but to resign.
I was starting a family, and I have 2 small kids (one is a 2-year old boy and the other is a 3 month old baby girl at that time), and therefore needed to have a job immediately! I did my rounds of applying with other companies but, at 33, I realized I am either too young or too old for their tastes. Meanwhile, those who are willing to accept me are not willing to give me a decent salary. So what do I have to do?
Just in time, a former customer (prior to my stint with GE) contacted me with major problems regarding their equipment. They needed parts (motherboard) as well as someone to repair it. Since I have maintained my contacts with the manufacturer, IMEX Medical Systems, Inc. (now Nicolet Vascular and part of Viasys Healthcare), I can definitely help them. Problem is, the customer is a department in a government hospital and would need the exclusive distributor if in case I want to get paid (Of course I want to get paid!). IMEX did not pose a problem for they told me they can sign me up for an exclusive distributorship agreement, anytime.
It seems at that point that all the pieces are falling in place, a solution to a puzzle is beginning to unravel. I have already accumulated more than 10 years of experience in various capacities (sales, service, product management, administration) in the medical equipment business from small local family-owned companies (RG Meditron and Pharmedic Corp.) to the biggest in the world (GE Medical)! I also have already had my taste of being self employed for a while, still in the medical equipment business. Meanwhile, my wife whom I met at RG Meditron has already accumulated valuable years of experience in the processing of importations and international trading. She was with Colgate-Palmolive Phils for the last 10 years in charge of importing raw materials and her employer is luring everyone with a somewhat generous early retirement package. Everything now seems to be pointing to one direction. I thought I was ready and concluded that I must (and I did) form my own company!
The next question is, what would I name it?
I was starting a family, and I have 2 small kids (one is a 2-year old boy and the other is a 3 month old baby girl at that time), and therefore needed to have a job immediately! I did my rounds of applying with other companies but, at 33, I realized I am either too young or too old for their tastes. Meanwhile, those who are willing to accept me are not willing to give me a decent salary. So what do I have to do?
Just in time, a former customer (prior to my stint with GE) contacted me with major problems regarding their equipment. They needed parts (motherboard) as well as someone to repair it. Since I have maintained my contacts with the manufacturer, IMEX Medical Systems, Inc. (now Nicolet Vascular and part of Viasys Healthcare), I can definitely help them. Problem is, the customer is a department in a government hospital and would need the exclusive distributor if in case I want to get paid (Of course I want to get paid!). IMEX did not pose a problem for they told me they can sign me up for an exclusive distributorship agreement, anytime.
It seems at that point that all the pieces are falling in place, a solution to a puzzle is beginning to unravel. I have already accumulated more than 10 years of experience in various capacities (sales, service, product management, administration) in the medical equipment business from small local family-owned companies (RG Meditron and Pharmedic Corp.) to the biggest in the world (GE Medical)! I also have already had my taste of being self employed for a while, still in the medical equipment business. Meanwhile, my wife whom I met at RG Meditron has already accumulated valuable years of experience in the processing of importations and international trading. She was with Colgate-Palmolive Phils for the last 10 years in charge of importing raw materials and her employer is luring everyone with a somewhat generous early retirement package. Everything now seems to be pointing to one direction. I thought I was ready and concluded that I must (and I did) form my own company!
The next question is, what would I name it?
