The Hard Truth About Partnerships

Key Learnings From Kirk's Experience

• As a CEO, understanding both technical and business aspects of your industry is essential. FDA approval backed by solid research builds credibility with physicians and strengthens reimbursement conversations. It’s also critical to choose distribution partners strategically. Meeting patients at their diagnosis point can prove to be more effective than pursuing broad deals with major corporations.

• Even with a proven solution, adoption takes time. Experts stick to what they know, especially in highly regulated fields like healthcare. Leverage credibility markers to expand adoption, as industry trust doesn’t come from claims alone. Regulatory approvals, endorsements from leading institutions, and real-world success stories from patients and physicians make it easier to gain traction.

• Secure the right funding for your stage. Private funding offers flexibility that public markets don’t. If possible, stay private until your business model is mature. Going public comes with investor expectations, quarterly scrutiny, and limited room for trial and error. It can create more stress than opportunity if you can’t accurately forecast revenue and show consistent growth.

“We can’t legally say that we cure anybody but we do make a huge difference,” says Kirk Huntsman, co-founder and CEO of Vivos, whose team is commercializing the world’s first solution to resolve obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). 

Kirk has a background in finance but has spent enough time in clinical research that he jokes about having earned an honorary medical degree. During the early ‘90s, he founded Dental One, pioneering one of the largest Dental Service Organizations in the U.S. — now a multi-million dollar industry. After exiting Dental One, he continued his entrepreneurial journey in dental care, where he spent most of his 40-year career, before moving to Vivos to tackle obstructive sleep apnea.

A common misconception about sleep apnea is that it only affects overweight middle-aged men. The truth is that over a billion people worldwide have it, including women, children, and even infants. “Some people live with this condition their entire life, and they don't know it because they sleep through it,” Kirk says.

This disorder occurs when the airway collapses, and a person stops breathing for at least 10 seconds or longer. Those with 30 or more apnea events per hour are classified as having severe sleep apnea. This is dangerous because the lack of oxygen affects hormones, brain function, heart health, energy levels, and overall well-being.

The standard treatment for sleep apnea is the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. However, it doesn’t cure the disorder — it just manages it by forcing air into the airway. It’s been the gold standard since the sleep disorder was first acknowledged, yet it's uncomfortable and bulky, so much so that many say it’s like sleeping in a "Darth Vader mask."

About 25 years ago, dentists realized they could treat sleep apnea by moving the lower jaw forward, which naturally opens the airway. This led to mandibular advancement devices, but they didn’t gain much traction due to the misalignment and lack of collaboration between physicians and dentists. The CPAP remained the dominant treatment. That’s where Kirk saw a gap.

The Vivos team developed an oral device that permanently reshapes the airway over the course of treatment, which can last between nine and 12 months. The device expands the upper and lower jaw and creates a bigger, more stable airway that doesn’t collapse during sleep. 

Vivos is poised to alleviate sleep apnea by giving sufferers a new option to breathe and sleep better — without relying on CPAP for life. With FDA approval in 2023, the device is already commercially available in the USA, Europe, Canada, Russia, South Africa, and Australia, and the team is actively expanding reimbursement coverage.