Rick Holecek walked into a quality nightmare: 27 open CAPAs from a botched audit report, a semi-paper-based system struggling to keep up with growth, and a small team stretched impossibly thin. As VP of Quality at Irrimax, a wound irrigation company that's grown from 30 to 76 employees in six years, Rick had to make fast decisions that would either save or sink the company's regulatory standing. 

In this episode, Rick shares the intense triage process that separated legitimate findings from recommendations disguised as audit failures, the lightning-fast implementation of a full electronic quality management system in just weeks, and the leadership philosophy that tears down walls between engineering and quality. Plus, Rick offers his vision for AI-powered predictive quality systems and why the old "quality as police" model is dead.

Timestamps: 

[00:00] Welcome and introduction to Irrimax 

[02:10] Current regulatory priorities and QMSR migration 

[03:00] The 27 CAPA crisis: what went wrong 

[05:30] Triaging and closing unnecessary CAPAs 

[06:30] Pivoting from paper to electronic QMS in weeks 

[08:00] Exploring AI-powered quality management systems 

[12:00] The magic wand: predictive AI for quality 

[13:20] Breaking down walls between engineering and quality 

[15:00] Building a quality culture from day one 

[17:00] A collaboration story that changed everything 

[20:00] Rapid fire: challenges, resources, and superpowers 

[23:40] What MedTech teams should stop doing today

Follow Melita and Rick: 

Connect with Melita: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-holecek-04b51b12/

Website: https://www.mbcaconsulting.com/about-us

Connect with Rick: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-holecek-04b51b12/

Website: https://www.irrisept.com/about/

In this episode of Mastering MedTech, host Melita Ball sits down with Marie Wesselhoft, President and Co-founder of ZelosDx, to discuss what it really takes to build and scale a medtech startup on the bleeding edge of innovation. With more than 35 years in healthcare innovation and diagnostics, Marie shares hard-won lessons on navigating pivots, understanding the true value of strategic partnerships, and staying laser-focused on the patient. You’ll hear how she turned a regulatory setback into a new product pathway, what she learned from launching her first product to Harvard, and why "fast, focused, and flexible" has become her mantra.

00:00 Introduction to Long-Term Partnerships

00:34 Welcome to Mastering Med Tech

00:55 Guest Introduction: Marie Russell Hoft

01:32 Marie’s Journey in Healthcare Innovation

02:44 Founding ZelosDX and the Quest for Brain Biomarkers

04:45 The Role of Incubators and Ecosystems

13:41 Challenges and Changes in the Startup Landscape

17:01 The Importance of Pivoting in Entrepreneurship

23:08 The Essence of Long-Term Consulting Partnerships

26:08 Evaluating and Choosing the Right Partners

27:30 The Importance of Early and Extensive Partnerships

29:02 Transitioning from Client to Board Member

30:47 Advice for Founders on Managing Partnerships

32:20 Balancing Vision and Control in Partnerships

35:02 Supporting Entrepreneurs through Ecosystems

37:29 Common Mistakes in Early-Stage Life Sciences Companies

39:18 Regulatory Strategy from Day One

43:26 Excitement for the Next Generation of Healthcare Innovators

47:12 Rapid Fire Questions and Final Takeaways

Follow Melita and Marie:

Connect with Melita: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melitaball/

Website: https://www.mbcaconsulting.com/

Connect with Marie: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-wesselhoft-9926731/

Website: https://zelosdx.com/

Bringing a medtech device to market is complex—but it doesn’t have to be chaotic. On Mastering MedTech, regulatory strategist and MBCA Consulting founder Melita Ball helps founders navigate the path from concept to clearance. This podcast demystifies the regulatory maze, offers proven startup frameworks, and unpacks real stories from founders, engineers, and compliance experts. Whether you’re building SaMD, diagnostics, or physical devices, each episode gives you the tools and clarity to avoid costly mistakes, meet compliance, and scale faster. If you’re ready to bring a breakthrough product to market smarter, faster, and fully compliant—this is your compass.