Episode #92 The Journey of Imua with Meghan Alonso
Meghan Alonso’s journey of Imua, with imua being a Hawaiian word imua (ee-mooh-ah) meaning “to advance forward with passion despite rough waves”, was birthed from a personal history of medical needs along with a huge passion for helping people. Meghan’s company Imua Services, helps startup companies and individuals get their medical innovations up and running. With nearly 75% of all startups in this field failing, Imua Services offers training, education and connections to key development partners, tailored to the client’s needs so they can bring their life-changing and even life-saving technology to the world.
Meghan’s Inspiration
Meghan’s passion stems from some rough waves due to medical issues for her and her family. Meghan was born with a folded retina in her left eye that by the time she was in college was replaced with a custom made, hand painted prosthetic eye which looks almost imperceptibly real. She also has an extra vertebrae in her spine which has resulted in numerous issues including scoliosis, disk herniations, and a tilted pelvis among others. She had a love of dance and gymnastics, and despite pain which she learned how to manage through exercise, she excelled at both, and even did gymnastics right through college.
Her family’s biggest challenge though came from an unidentified illness that plagued her brother, which was eventually identified as Hepatitis C. Both Meghan and her mother also tested positive for it. Meghan’s mother likely contracted through a blood transfusion in the mid ‘70s which she transferred to her son and Meghan in utero. This led to 7 different treatments of low-dose chemotherapy. Through this challenging time they kept moving forward, and now happily report that all three of them are completely free of the disease.
The Hawaiian Connection
Meghan’s passion for surfing led her to Hawaii where she enrolled in a graduate program that ended up not being for her. After one semester, she dropped out, and surfed all over the island. She worked at the 4 Seasons Lanai which she loved but eventually realized she didn’t see herself doing it long term. She obtained Exercise Science Master’s Program in Houston and eventually settled in San Diego. There she helped athletes reach their full potential. This led to her working in an orthopaedic rehab clinic where she was exposed to medical devices, and a multitude of patients with different rehab protocols. She was later invited to build a rehab centre from the ground up which is now a three centre organization.
When she moved on from there, she Meghan had the opportunity to live out one of her childhood dreams of dancing on TV and with the Ooh La La salsa dancing troupe, toured all over Europe and the US. She also was part of America’s Got Talent in Season 6. All the dancing took a toll on her body, and the pain in her back became increasingly worse and she discovered she also had hip dysplasia and she had damaged the lining of both of her hip sockets. This led to surgery in Colorado which involved a hip replacement. Her experience at the clinic led her to finally dive into the field of medical devices.
The Journey of Imua Services
She started Imua in 2015 after she had been working in medical product development. The company she was working for was predominantly an engineering firm that innovators used to take care of the engineering component of the device idea. She soon found herself being contacted by passionate people who had great ideas, but no idea how to get started. Initially, she offered them resources to help them get started, and soon, it became a business.
Meghan helps her clients navigate the complicated process of bringing their ideas to the marketplace. Whether they move towards actually manufacturing and marketing their product, or selling the idea to a company who can do so, Imua’s mission remains to become the world leader in helping entrepreneurs, scientists, students and inventors bring their life changing ideas to fruition.
Connect with Meghan
You can connect with Meghan on her IMUA website at http://imua-services.com/, via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanalonso, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/meghanmalonso?lang=en, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/meghanmalonso.
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Resources
Episode 2 of Meghan’s Podcast – Inspired by IMUA – Running on 3D Printing Prosthetic Legs: How 3D Printing Changed Derby the Dog’s Life with Tara Anderson: http://imua-services.com/taraanderson/
Meghan’s Podcast – Inspired by IMUA – http://imua-services.com/podcast-archive/
Texas born and bred with ALOHA SPIRIT and a sprinkling of So Cal carefree, meet Meghan Alonso. Meghan M. Alonso is known for her medical device podcast, Inspired by Imua, and her valuable connections in the medical industry. She is a patriotic military wife, pet parent, founder and co-founder of 4 successful companies who thrives on guiding medical device and IVD companies through development and manufacturing.
When she isn’t helping others, Meghan is hard at work on her MBA she is pursuing from Auburn University, staying active with her adorable husky Abby, cross-fitting, enjoying great restaurants and fine wine with her husband, and soaking up the sun on the So Cal beaches.
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