History
Our founder and CEO, John Daniel, tells the stories behind our story.
“Even after years of exploring new ideas and technologies, I never found something that had the 'four legs of the stool': the right idea, with the right people, at the right time, that was well capitalized.”
Like many, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. In school, I had trouble being limited to only one “right answer” to a problem. My mind enjoys the challenge of thinking outside the box to find a solution; subjects that are cut-and-dry in their systems just don’t resonate with me.
1990
As a graduate during the Gulf War, it felt natural for me to join the Marine Corps straight out of high school. I come from a long line of military service, dating back to World War I.
During my time in Parris Island, I developed an admiration for hard work and excelled through various challenges. These trials were a pivotal time that fostered my self-confidence and leadership skills.
After fulfilling my active duty, I went on reserve and began working on a beer truck. For most people, free beer would have been the incentive. Ironically, I don’t like beer at all, which sort of takes the glamour out of the experience.
It wasn’t long before I ended my beer truck days to give college a try. This approach to learning still did not resonate with me. I knew I was supposed to do something, but my mind was restless in the academic setting. I needed something that offered freedom to explore new ideas, where I could solve the type of problems that mattered to me.
1996
Grooms initiated the next phase of my career when he recruited me as a founding employee of his company, RTI Biologics. I took on this new chapter to gain hands-on experience with cutting edge technologies, coupling medical device with my knowledge of allografts. During this time, I was given more creative freedoms. This inspired me to keep pursuing unexplored solutions within regenerative medicine.
2002
Up to this point, I had gained experience in scaling production, processing techniques, research and development, and new regulatory requirements known as Good Tissue Practices. Channeling my industry experience and my inclination to think outside the box, I started a consulting business to help other companies solve problems.
I’ve done almost every job in the industry, and most of them twice. This gave me confidence to say “yes” when a key figure in the placental tissue industry–Eric Ziegler–reached out to me. He was in search of a new iteration of the current allografts. At the time, the configuration consisted of one amnion layer separated from the full membrane. For context, the native placental membrane consists of three layers: an amnion layer, an intermediate layer, and a chorion layer. In our opinion, the chorion layer by itself is not very stable; so, Randal Spencer–my longtime friend and future business partner–and I aimed at preserving both the amnion and the chorion layers. At the time, we could think of no other way to properly clean the tissue besides delaminating the two layers. Through this mechanical process, the spongey intermediatory layer was unsalvageable.
2012
I never retired from healthcare in a traditional sense. I spent a few years looking for the next project I was passionate about. Even after years of exploring new ideas and technologies, I never found something that had the "four legs of the stool": the right idea, with the right people, at the right time, that was well capitalized.
While searching for my next venture, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of product innovation and growth taking place in the placental space. A technology I had co-invented was still being utilized eight years later. Bothered by this, I began to build a team with the goal of developing a better processing technique, thus StimLabs was born.
1992
I’ll never forget the day I interviewed at CryoLife. The opportunity came by happenstance, introduced by a friend from Calculus. I can still feel my own nerves and the energy in the building. More than anything, I craved to work in this space. It was magnetic to me, with wide-ranging opportunities and ideas coming to life on a larger scale.
You guessed it; I got the job. I fell in love with the industry on day one and still love it to this day. Every person and body is unique, and regenerative medicine levels the playing field for effective healing. This mission aligns with my personal value of meaningful innovation that helps real people.
Before the end of my first year, I witnessed Cryolife go public. The company experienced tremendous growth leading up to this point, and the IPO process both intrigued me and offered significant experience in scaling production and operations. I was placed as a technician in the bone and connective tissue department, learning under the guidance of Jamie Grooms – a visionary that would inspire me throughout my career.
1998
Restless for knowledge, I left RTI to join Tutogen Medical with the aim of working on products with more complex regulatory structures. I began by leading the Gainesville operations and grew into the Executive Director role, overseeing all of U.S. operations. Tutogen grew recognition throughout the industry for building a soft tissue process still highly acclaimed to this day. At 28 years old, I still had a lot to learn, but I felt confident that I was on the right path towards meaningful innovation.
2006
This challenge led to the development of the Purion Process, and a dual layer allograft was created. With this new process, Spencer and I began our own placental tissue company called Surgical Biologics, where we eventually launched a number of clinical studies and expanded into the wound care and surgical space.
During the summer of 2010, the Purion technology caught the ear of a spine and ortho-focused company known as MiMedx. This was the beginning of many conversations over partnerships, licensing, and eventually led to an acquisition of Surgical Biologics in 2011. Less than a year later, I decided to leave MiMedx and switch gears. I returned to driving but traded beer trucks for motorcycles.
2015
StimLabs formally launched in 2015 with one focus in mind: offer patients the best possible care. With innovation, a better solution is always within reach.
Our founder and CEO, John Daniel, tells the stories behind our story.
“Even after years of exploring new ideas and technologies, I never found something that had the "four legs of the stool": the right idea, with the right people, at the right time, that was well capitalized.”
Like many, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. In school, I had trouble being limited to only one “right answer” to a problem. My mind enjoys the challenge of thinking outside the box to find a solution; subjects that are cut-and-dry in their systems just don’t resonate with me.
1990
As a graduate during the Gulf War, it felt natural for me to join the Marine Corps straight out of high school. I come from a long line of military service, dating back to World War I.
During my time in Parris Island, I developed an admiration for hard work and excelled through various challenges. These trials were a pivotal time that fostered my self-confidence and leadership skills.
After fulfilling my activity duty, I went on reserve and began working on a beer truck. For most people, free beer would have been the incentive. Ironically, I don’t like beer at all, which sort of takes the glamour out of the experience.
It wasn’t long before I ended my beer truck days to give college a second try. This approach to learning still did not resonate with me. I knew I was supposed to do something, but my mind was restless in the academic setting. I needed something that offered freedom to explore new ideas, where I could solve the type of problems that mattered to me.
1992
I’ll never forget the day I interviewed at CryoLife. The opportunity came by happenstance, introduced by a friend from Calculus. I can still feel my own nerves and the energy in the building. More than anything, I craved to work in this space. It was magnetic to me, with wide-ranging opportunities and ideas coming to life on a larger scale.
You guessed it; I got the job. I fell in love with the industry on day one and still love it to this day. Every person and body is unique, and regenerative medicine levels the playing field for effective healing. This mission aligns with my personal value of meaningful innovation that helps real people.
Before the end of my first year, I witnessed Cryolife go public. The company experienced tremendous growth leading up to this point, and the IPO process both intrigued me and offered significant experience in scaling production and operations. I was placed as a technician in the bone and connective tissue department, learning under the guidance of Jamie Grooms – a visionary that would inspire me throughout my career.
1996
Grooms initiated the next phase of my career when he recruited me as a founding employee of his company, RTI Biologics. I took on this new chapter to gain hands-on experience with cutting edge technologies, coupling medical device with my knowledge of allografts. During this time, I was given more creative freedoms. This inspired me to keep pursuing unexplored solutions within regenerative medicine.
1998
Restless for knowledge, I left RTI to join Tutogen Medical with the aim of working on products with more complex regulatory structures. I began by leading the Gainesville operations and grew into the Executive Director role, overseeing all of U.S. operations. Tutogen grew recognition throughout the industry for building a soft tissue process still highly acclaimed to this day. At 28 years old I still had a lot to learn, but I felt confident that I was on the right path towards meaningful innovation.
2002
Up to this point I had gained experience in scaling production, processing techniques, research and development, and new regulatory requirements known as Good Tissue Practices. Channeling my industry experience and my inclination to think outside the box, I started a consulting business to help other companies solve problems.
I’ve done almost every job in the industry, and most of them twice. This gave me confidence to say “yes” when a key figure in the placental tissue industry–Eric Ziegler–reached out to me. He was in search of a new iteration of the current allografts. At the time, the configuration consisted of one amnion layer separated from the full membrane. For context, the native placental membrane consists of three layers: an amnion layer, an intermediate layer, and a chorion layer. In our opinion, the chorion layer by itself is not very stable; so, Randal Spencer–my longtime friend and future business partner–and I aimed at preserving both the amnion and the chorion layers. At the time, we could think of no other way to properly clean the tissue besides delaminating the two layers. Through this mechanical process, the spongey intermediatory layer was unsalvageable.
2006
This challenge led to the development of the Purion Process, and a dual layer allograft was created. With this new process, Spencer and I began our own placental tissue company called Surgical Biologics where we eventually launched a number of clinical studies and expanded into the wound care and surgical space.
During the summer of 2010, the Purion technology caught the ear of a spine and ortho-focused company known as MiMedx. This was the beginning of many conversations over partnerships, licensing, and eventually led to an acquisition of Surgical Biologics in 2011. Less than a year later, I decided to leave MiMedx and switch gears. I returned to driving, but traded beer trucks for motorcycles.
2012
I never retired from healthcare in a traditional sense. I spent a few years looking for the next project I was passionate about. Even after years of exploring new ideas and technologies, I never found something that had the "four legs of the stool": the right idea, with the right people, at the right time, that was well capitalized.
While searching for my next venture, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of product innovation and growth taking place in the placental space. A technology I had co-invented was still being utilized eight years later. Bothered by this, I began to build a team with the goal of developing a better processing technique, thus StimLabs was born.
2015
StimLabs formally launched in 2015 with one focus in mind: offer patients the best possible care. With innovation, a better solution is always within reach.
