VILLAGEx 2023 Founder Friday: Kubanda Cryotherapy

Founder Fridays is a series that spotlights VILLAGEx founders and their startups

In 2020, Bailey Surtees and Clarisse Hu, bioengineers and researchers by trade, decided to courageously and relentlessly step into the startup world. Together, with their lab coats and proverbial bootstraps on, they founded Kubanda Cryo, a vet-tech startup that provides a minimally invasive and affordable cryotherapy treatment to heal pet tumors.

The team behind Kubanda Cyro began their research on cryotherapy technology for pets in 2016 during their studies at Johns Hopkins. Four years later, after developing and testing research, experiments, and technology design, they created an effective minimally invasive tool that helps treat pets' lumps, bumps, and cancers using extreme cold.

“Our team of bioengineers met while doing research at Johns Hopkins and quickly bonded over a passion for revolutionizing healthcare for underserved markets. We developed a novel cryotherapy system for pets with tumors that's effective and convenient for pet owners,” said Bailey.

The revolutionary aspect of this technology is that it is an alternative to surgical resections, can be performed by their local trusted vet, and is an accessible and affordable pet treatment.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cryotherapy involves “super-cooling” the specific areas to freeze and kill tissue for therapeutic purposes. It has been used in human medicine for decades treating: prostate, breast, liver, lung, and skin cancer, among others. The therapeutic use of cold water or temperatures dates back to the 19th century and was only ever considered a method of tumor treatment for humans, not animals. Thanks to Kubanda Cyro, humans are now not the only ones with the opportunity for minimally invasive treatment with cryotherapy, but pets too.

“By offering an alternative to traditional surgery, chemo, or radiation, we are improving the accessibility and efficacy of veterinary cancer care and ultimately improving the quality of life for pets and their families. As 50% of dogs over the age of 6 will develop a tumor, we have the opportunity to make a huge impact in pet healthcare, supporting veterinarians in making tumor treatment more accessible and compassionate,” said Bailey.

The Kubanda team is growing. The founding team of two already has five people on their team and are preparing to take on all manufacturing needs for production. “We're excited to be at the forefront of veterinary medicine and committed to improving pets' lives with our state-of-the-art technology,” says Bailey.

Q & A 

(Responses have been edited for clarity)

What have been some of the most significant learning curves in running your own business? How did you overcome them?
Bailey: “One of the most important things my co-founder and I have found is that it is critical that you get comfortable with doing totally new things for the first time, over and over again. While we are trained bioengineers and researchers, as founders we've also learned how to: hire, fire, run payroll, make sales calls, marketing materials, and navigate grants, investors, and how to utilize resources in our ecosystem to help us do all of this better and faster.'“

How do you hope you and your business evolve while in the VILLAGEx program?
Clarisse: “We're thrilled to be part of the accelerator program, where we'll refine our commercialization strategy and accelerate our growth to help even more pets and veterinarians with our innovative tumor treatment. We're also excited to fully immerse ourselves in the mission-driven New Orleans entrepreneurial community to gain valuable insights and connections, while supporting like-minded entrepreneurs in other industries."

What’s your best piece of startup advice for an entrepreneur in your industry?
Clarisse: “Take the time to first deeply understand both the patients and caregivers needs, and design solutions that address their unique challenges. Remember, our pets give us unconditional love, and it's our responsibility to ensure they receive the best care possible.”

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Kubanda Cryotherapy is revolutionizing veterinary tumor care with minimally invasive cryotherapy for lumps, bumps and cancers in pets.