They may not produce ooze, but
Primordial Soup (Psoup for short) has plenty of creative juices flowing.
The St. Paul-based medical device design firm got launched in 2008, by three founding partners who "quit their normal jobs just as the economy was becoming so awesome," says co-founder Chris Trifilio, with a laugh. The trio had worked as consultants and often crossed paths, and eventually, they began talking about joining forces.
"One of the main reasons we formed Psoup is that when you work as a consultant, you can't help but feel the excitement of entrepreneurism," Trifilio says. "So we formed to be able to make our own products, instead of consulting on other people's products."
Although the economy was already grim when they launched, he believes that the recession was an advantage as much as a challenge. "When we started, everything was so terrible," he notes. "Because of that, we're lean and focused, with not a lot of overhead. We're super efficient."
The work done at Psoup is distinctive, combining a spare elegance of form to match very specific medical functions. For example, a hip screw implant is not only less invasive to the body, but it's also sleek, with a kind of minimalism that's nearly artistic.
The firm has produced medical device work that was in two
Minnesota Cup entries, for
Circle Biologics and
QuickCheck Health (a runner-up in its division).
Although there's a strong focus on surgical tools and implants, Psoup also takes on consumer electronics for companies like Best Buy, says Trifilio. One major change in the past year in particular, he adds, is that the firm used to work mainly with very large companies like Medtronic. Now, all of their business is for small companies and startups, which Trifilio sees as a compelling change in the industry.
The opportunity is there for plenty of growth, yet the lean-and-focused team is hesitant to expand too quickly, and Trifilio's not sure they even want to go beyond hiring a few more people for their six-person team.
"Our mission is different," he says. "We don't want to be a 50-person firm. We want to keep going down the path we're on, because it's fun and we love it. Right now, our pipeline is full and I expect that will keep going."
Source: Chris Trifilio
Writer: Elizabeth Millard