PBS - It's Your Business Interviews Téa Phillips

Best Quotes

"This community has given me so much and I just want to give back to it." - Téa Phillips

"Make sure it's something that you're passionate about because it's difficult and most businesses fail... So make sure it's something that you love doing every single day." - Téa Phillips

"I always felt like I was meant for something and I couldn't see what it was. And when I had the opportunity to create MetaFlex, I realized like this is it. This is what I'm meant to do." - Téa Phillips

"This community wants to invest in its people and I'm just so lucky to be one of its people." - Téa Phillips

"I love the process of learning and I feel like every choice I've made has led me in this direction... I'm a lifelong learner and I love the process of trying and failing and then getting it right because it's really rewarding." - Téa Phillips

 

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Key Takeaways

• Passion is Essential for Entrepreneurial Success - Starting a business requires unwavering dedication, so ensure your venture aligns with something you genuinely love and are willing to work on every single day.

• Community Support Can Make the Difference - Leveraging local resources like The Biz Foundry, Tennessee Tech's Eagle Works competition, and mentorship networks can provide crucial guidance and support for new entrepreneurs.

• Personal Experience Often Drives Innovation - Téa's grandmother's arthritis struggle inspired the MetaFlex glove, demonstrating how personal challenges can lead to meaningful business solutions that help others.

• Bootstrapping Requires Strategic Planning and Patience - Self-funding a business means carefully managing resources, working while building your company, and being prepared for a longer timeline to market.

• FDA Registration and Compliance Take Time - Medical device startups should plan for extended regulatory processes and factor this timeline into their business development strategy.

• Rural Communities Offer Unique Advantages - Choosing to build a business in rural Tennessee provided Téa with strong community support, lower costs, and the opportunity to give back to her region.

• Embrace the Learning Process - Viewing failures and challenges as learning opportunities rather than setbacks can help entrepreneurs persist through difficult periods and ultimately succeed.

• Start Where You Are - Téa began developing her idea while still a student, showing that entrepreneurship can start during any life phase with the right support system and resources.

 

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Who is Téa Phillips & What is "ATS Innovations"

Generally speaking, I believe we all hope to make a positive impact on the world around us, and Téa Phillips, founder and CEO of ATS Innovations, found a way to do just that. With a compassion to help those suffering from joint issues like arthritis and tendonitis, she used her engineering skills to create the Metaflex Therapy Glove, which has helped people all over the world find much sought after relief from their joint issues.

Michael Aikens: We're here in Cookeville, Tennessee talking with Téa Phillips, founder of ATS Innovations. Téa, welcome to the show. We certainly are happy to have you on the show, so let's start out with the basics. ATS Innovations - tell us about it, what is your business?

Téa Phillips: Happy to be here, Mike. ATS Innovations is a company I founded when I was studying mechanical engineering at Tennessee Tech University for the purpose of bringing the MetaFlex Grip Strengthening Compression Glove to life.

So this is something that we made to help people manage arthritis at home. Compression and grip strengthening are two of most recommended therapies for improving symptoms of arthritis, pain, mobility, function, grip strength, but no one had put them together before.

So we put it into this really breathable, wearable glove - it's got a really gentle compression, adjustable resistance bands, and the idea is you go about your day and you're working against these resistance bands to strengthen your grip. And it's been helpful for a wide range of people that don't even have arthritis, which is really cool because it helps to stretch, which is good for carpal tunnel, trigger finger - like half of my customers are sleeping in the glove.

Starting While Still a Student

Michael: Everybody knows somebody with arthritis, maybe they have arthritis or like you said, trigger finger or many, many things. What you all have done really has identified that problem and made something completely innovative. And you said you did this while you were a student.

Téa: Yeah, yeah. When I was studying mechanical engineering at Tennessee Tech University, me and my co-founders, Ashley and Sergio, had this idea, developed prototypes, and had the opportunity because Tennessee Tech has Eagle Works Pitch Competition, which is like Shark Tank for students.

And we went in, we worked really, really hard for months and months. We used resources like Jeff Brown at the Biz Foundry, you, of course, and Andrea Kruzka and just everyone - there was a whole community of people that were dedicated to helping us plan out this business, strategize it, and figure out if it would work.

Of course, my grandma had really bad arthritis. And so for me, it felt important, like something I was responsible for doing once we had the idea and realized that it was possible to make and we could really get it out there and help people.

Learn more about the Eagle Works Competition at Tennessee Tech

The Entrepreneurial Journey (2018-2024)

Michael: All of this really kind of came to fruition in 2018. Well, we're sitting here filming this six years later. I understand you've done some pitch competitions and all that, and you've won, you've done a really great job, but tell us a little bit about what has that entrepreneurial journey really been like from when you started back in 2018 to where you sit right now?

Téa: I'm going to start by saying everyone has a different journey. Mine was 2018 - well, really 2017, I started talking to my co-founders about it. 2018, we made prototypes, we created the plan, we brought it to life. And also in 2018, I graduated college and I graduated without any money and with a really great job offer.

So I worked as an engineer at Y-12 National Security Complex, which was fantastic. I loved that work that I was doing. It was so impactful and I felt good going to work every day. But I had this and I had a responsibility to bring it to people.

And so once I saved up, once I felt ready, three years after 2018 - in 2021, late 21 - I quit my job, started working on this full time, got it registered with the FDA, made efforts to get the right manufacturing on board. That took way longer than expected.

And it's just been an incredible journey and an incredibly difficult journey and also really rewarding. And finally, in 2023, after years and years and years of hard work, I got this on the market. I started with my website. I built my website. I did everything bootstrapped. And yeah, it's just been an incredible, incredible journey.

Learn more about Téa's journey and see customer testimonials at metaflexglove.com/pages/learn-more

Finding Motivation and Determination

Michael: So where do you think this sheer determination comes from? Is it personal? Is it business? Where does your motivation...

Téa: I watched my grandma scrape and innovate and make new things and find ways to make money to support her family. And I watched my dad make new things and innovate and invent things. I always felt like I was meant for something and I couldn't see what it was. And when I had the opportunity to create Metaflex, I realized like this is it. This is what I'm meant to do.

Community Resources and Support

Michael: So you clearly you've done so much on your own, right? You are a true entrepreneur. You're a startup. But, you know, luckily here in Upper Cumberland, we have so many resources. We're sitting in the Biz Foundry right now. You mentioned Biz Foundry, Center for Innovation, several others. How does the Biz Foundry help? And, you know, why as an entrepreneur did you decide to go with them?

Téa: The Biz Foundry started helping me in 2018 when Jeff Brown came to Tennessee Tech and started teaching people about business plans and all of the things that go into it. And I just bugged him constantly and he was always there to answer my questions.

This community wants to invest in its people and I'm just so lucky to be one of its people. And I've just found so many resources around here and so much support and everybody lifts me up and I try to lift others up.

It's a great place to start a business. I started my business here. I moved away. I got back into it and then I came back to Cookeville because of the community.

Choosing Rural Over Urban

Michael: You know, you've said community a lot and I love to hear that. And that's one of the reasons that we do the show too, is we have so many resources, such an uplifting community. You know, one thing that I usually like to ask, you could be in an urban environment and probably have more customers, but you choose to do it right here in rural Upper Cumberland.

Téa: This community has given me so much and I just want to give back to it. And I just love being here. And I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to be a Tennessee girl. And I'm from Shelbyville and we're not too far from where I grew up and was raised my whole life.

And then I was educated at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. And then my first engineering job was in Tullahoma, Tennessee. And then I got another one in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

And the community is thriving and we're all coming together and figuring out how to lift each other up. And it's just a beautiful place to be.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Michael: You know, people watching this show may be thinking about, you know, I'd like to start a business, but for whatever reason, they haven't crossed that fence yet. What would you specifically tell to somebody that's thinking about it, but just hasn't?

Téa: There are parts of it where it's like, this is amazing, I'm having a great time, I love setting my own schedule, all of this stuff, but it's hard, you get knocked down and it's ruthless.

So make sure that it's something that you love doing, something that's worth it. So don't just start any business to make money, you know, selling trinkets unless it's some trinket that you're making by hand and you love to make it and your passion is to create this beautiful thing.

Make sure it's something that you're passionate about because it's difficult and most businesses fail and there are a litany of reasons that most businesses fail. Finance, management, not being able to handle the stresses of it, but also just people giving up because they don't like what they're doing. So make sure it's something that you love doing every single day.

Lessons Learned

Michael: Thinking back to when it all started, 2018, to right now, what do you know now that you wish you knew then?

Téa: Nothing. Yeah. I love the process of learning and I feel like every choice I've made has led me in this direction and I've made the wrong choice over and over again. I wish I had started sooner on it, even though I love what I was doing when I wasn't focused on Metaflex too.

I knew what I was getting into and I tried to run from the responsibility a little bit and focus on being an engineer and making money and all of that stuff and then I felt the tug of the responsibility and I needed to do it.

There have been so many things that I have learned but I'm a lifelong learner and I love the process of trying and failing and then getting it right because it's really rewarding.

Looking to the Future

Michael: What does the future hold for ATS Innovation?

Téa: We're looking to help our military, to help our service people, to reduce hand injuries and come out of service with less injuries. We're already helping our VA medical centers, but next year we're also releasing two new versions of the Metaflex. I've got like six more in my notebook.

So it's just innovation, it's growth and just trying to help as many people as we can.

Michael: Well, I tell you, it looks like the future is nothing but bright for you. Your motivation is second to none. I've loved talking to you today. Thank you so much for coming.

Téa: Yeah, thanks for having me, Michael.

Visit MetaFlex to learn more about their innovative compression gloves and see press coverage at metaflexglove.com/pages/press-features

 

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Valuable Lessons from Téa Phillips