Why Services-for-Equity Partnerships Are the Future of MedTech

Why Services-for-Equity Partnerships Are the Future of MedTech Manufacturing

Bringing a medical device from concept to clinic is one of the most challenging journeys in innovation. For companies tackling rare disease and complex illness, the stakes are even higher: patients and families are waiting, and every delay matters.

Traditionally, manufacturers have relied on fee-for-service models. It’s understandable — they have employees to pay, facilities to maintain, and investors to satisfy. But for early-stage medtech companies, large upfront costs can stall progress before it even begins.

There is another way.

Services-for-equity partnerships — structured around clear milestones and accountability — align the interests of both innovators and manufacturers. Instead of a transactional relationship, they create shared ownership in the success of the device. Every milestone achieved is not just a deliverable, but a step forward for both sides.

This isn’t about asking manufacturers to take on unsustainable risk. It’s about building flexible models:

• Hybrid agreements that blend modest fees with equity or warrants.

• Milestone-driven contracts that keep everyone honest and focused.

• Transparent conversations upfront, so startups know whether equity is truly on the table.

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And for young companies like ours, discipline matters. We have only so much equity to offer, and every decision we make affects our cap table, our advisors, and our ability to attract future investors. Services-for-equity must be fair to partners, but also sustainable for the company — otherwise, the very innovation we’re building risks being diluted before it has a chance to scale.

What slows innovation most isn’t the lack of ideas — it’s misaligned incentives. Too often, startups are led to believe equity is possible, only to discover after weeks of engagement and sharing proprietary materials that it isn’t. That kind of opacity wastes time, erodes trust, and ultimately delays solutions for patients.

The future of medtech depends on a new kind of partnership — one where manufacturers, investors, and innovators build together, not bill apart. Services-for-equity isn’t a shortcut; it’s a discipline. It ensures that the people making devices and the people building them are equally invested in the outcome: delivering dignity, usability, and hope to the patients and caregivers who need them most.

At 12 Brand, Inc. | MediXo By 12 Brand, this is the path we’re committed to. And we believe it’s the path forward for an industry that must do better — together.