Elyse Dickerson
If there is such a thing, Eosera has graduated summa cum laude. (Or whatever the highest distinction in graduations, as this writer wouldn’t know from experience.)
But whatever the case, the biotechnology company specializing in innovative ear care products, co-founded in 2015 by CEO Elyse Dickerson and Joe Griffin, a Ph.D. and the company’s chief scientific officer, has graduated from TechFW's programming.
In a corollary announcement, Dickerson has accepted an invitation to join the TechFW’s board of directors.
TechFW is a nonprofit that helps innovators launch and grow emerging technology companies, and operates programs — a non-seed accelerator, business incubator and angel investor network — that build, educate and support tech entrepreneurs and startups in an effort to take their proprietary innovations to market.
“We have the honor and pleasure of working with founders from idea-to-scale and Eosera is a prime example of that value proposition, having been with TechFW from its beginning to where it is today, close to moving into a 40,000-square-foot facility,” says TechFW Executive Director Hayden Blackburn. “The milestones across their journey are plentiful and the experience and knowledge gained is tremendous. We are beyond excited for Elyse to join the TechFW Board of Directors, the first alumni of our programs to do so. The Board will benefit from her strategic mind and entrepreneurial perspective to our vision.”
Eosera partnered with TechFW and after testing solutions in a lab for nine months, it completed development of its clinically proven flagship product, EARWAX MD, which clears clogged ears in as little as 15 minutes.
Blackburn and Darlene Boudreaux, former TechFW executive director and CFO of Eosera, recalled a few milestones while working with Eosera.
- Winning the Comerica Pitch Competition and $50,000 in 2015.
- Starting its manufacturing and scaling out of TechFW's building.
- Landing its first product in CVS (8,000+ stores) and fulfilling a huge surge of orders.
- Making the Inc. magazine 5000 fastest growing list in 2021.
- Scaling operations and the team to nearly 40,000 square feet of warehouse space this year and approximately 30 employees.
- Customer discovery activities that led to new product development and launches. The development of EARWAX PET came about after a large order from a vet in Houston
In March, Eosera was selected the winner of TechFW's Impact Award.
"Elyse and Joe are the best example I’ve seen yet of customer discovery," Boudreaux says. "They just started talking to doctors and asking what were the biggest problems they faced. They didn’t start out with a product, trying to see if anyone needed that. They found a problem and then worked on a solution to that problem.
JILL JOHNSON
Joe Griffin
"Most of their new products are because a customer like CVS came to them and said, 'Could you make something that does ‘X?’ If so, we’ll sell it.’ It’s important to remind people that Elyse is the CEO, but she doesn't make important decisions without Joe. The importance and value of co-founders is represented in Eosera’s journey.”
During 2022, Eosera plans to move to a bigger facility, hire more people and triple sales. "Elyse is a natural leader and now she has a real team to lead. She is my definition of a successful entrepreneur," Boudreaux says. "She’ll be a great board member for TechFW."
Elyse joins nine other members of the board and is “already diving into the strategy of the organization and has shared her passion for TechFW to become a center of entrepreneurial excellence,” Blackburn says. “This includes continuing to build on the organization’s impact the past 24 years by tapping into the abundant potential and unlocking more value for those we serve.”