translational121Working on groundbreaking genetic testing research in a lab is one thing, but actually using that data for actionable results in a clinical environment is another.

That’s why Translational Software was founded back in 2009 by 14-year Microsoft veteran Don Rule, who started the Mercer Island-based company to provide the software that labs need to interpret the results of genetic testing.

“Just as separating software from computer hardware revolutionized the computing industry, providing software independent of the testing instrument or specific laboratory will revolutionize the interpretation of genetic tests,” Rule said.

The six-person startup uses a cloud-based platform to bring the analysis of molecular data to doctors in mainstream clinical care.

“We were one of the first — if not the first — company to recognize that there needs to be an interpretation industry that is separate from either the lab or the equipment industries,” Rule said.

We caught up with Rule to learn more about Translational Software for this installment of Startup Spotlight, a regular GeekWire feature.

Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: “We transform the results of genetic tests into actionable guidance for physicians.”

Inspiration hit us when: “In 2005 I was discussing my Microsoft bioinformatics initiative with the CEO of Life Technologies. At one point she raised her hand to stop me and said, ‘You have to realize that if we don’t get this technology into the clinical environment, it all will have been for nothing.’ It occurred to me then that while there are a lot of brilliant scientists are working on genomic technologies, they will require technologists to make it usable in the clinical environment.”

VC, Angel or Bootstrap: “Angel. We were too early to market to get an angel investor interested. Now as we have proven the market, we will look for expansion money — but it will be a whole different conversation than in 2009.

Our ‘secret sauce’ is: “We are hardware agnostic so we enable labs to use the best technology for their purposes and raise the level of quality across all platforms. Our SaaS platform lowers costs for the lab to enter the market dramatically and provides a lot of flexibility in the service that we can provide. From a technology side we don’t just provide a data dump, we integrate it into the operational flow of the lab to make it easy to win business and scale.”

Translational Software founder Don Rule.
Translational Software founder Don Rule.

The smartest move we’ve made so far: “We recognized early on that the manufacturers of testing equipment have great platforms for providing data — but not information. We reached out to them and they understood immediately that our product makes theirs significantly more valuable. Virtually all existing customers are referrals from either analyzer companies or other service providers that will make money with our services in place.”

The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: “I focused too long on the platform for connecting labs to their customers. This was a mistake because:

  1. There were already Lab Information Management companies in the space and they were threatened.
  2. Pushing out too early to the end user would have consumed a lot of support and slowed development.
  3. The early code was build on Microsoft Silverlight which became obsolete the day the iPad shipped.

We pivoted to back-end services late in 2012 and the response has been fantastic. I could not have dreamed that we would have this many customers at this point.”

Would you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: “Bezos. He understood from the beginning that it was necessary to keep prices in line to build market share and make products accessible to everyone. Our goal is to democratize access to clinical genetic testing.”

Our world domination strategy starts when: “We begin partnering with others to provide a wider range of interpretation (in the next quarter); we establish a global service; we integrate genetic test results into patient’s medical records so that they can come back to us for re-interpretation as the patient’s condition and medication list evolves.”

Rivals should fear us because: “We are very good at applying as small amount of capital to solve big problems.”

We are truly unique because: “We were one of the first — if not the first — company to recognize that there needs to be an interpretation industry that is separate from either the lab or the equipment industries.”

The biggest hurdle we’ve overcome is: “Staying motivated as the market emerged. We always knew we had a great idea and solved important problems, but the use of pharmacogenetics has been slow to emerge and the early players were focused on building their own proprietary solutions.”

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: “Pivot early and often.”

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