Reinventing the Band-Aid at 23
The humble Band-Aid hasn't fundamentally changed since it was invented in 1920. More than a century later, wound care is still largely based on the same principle: cover it up and hope for the best. Franco Kraiselburd thinks that's absurd — and at 23 years old, he's doing something about it.
As the CEO and co-founder of Asclepi, Franco is developing next-generation wound care technology that doesn't just cover wounds — it actively promotes healing. Using advanced biomaterials and a deep understanding of wound biology, Asclepi's products are designed to accelerate recovery, reduce scarring, and prevent infection in ways that traditional bandages simply can't.
"The Band-Aid is a 100-year-old technology. Think about that. Your phone is a supercomputer, your car drives itself, but when you get a wound, we still slap a piece of adhesive cotton on it. That disconnect is our opportunity."
The $3M Raise: Half VC, Half Grants
What makes Franco's fundraising story particularly instructive is his blended approach. Of the $3 million he raised, roughly half came from traditional venture capital and the other half from non-dilutive grants. This isn't a common split — and it's by design.
"In biotech, you need patient capital," Franco explains. "VC money comes with expectations — growth metrics, timelines, board seats. Grant money comes with milestones — scientific milestones. For a company like ours, where the science needs to be right before we can scale, grants are incredibly valuable because they fund the research without diluting our ownership."
Franco's strategy involved applying to every relevant grant program he could find — from government innovation funds to university research grants to industry-specific biotech programs. The application process was grueling, but the payoff was enormous: $1.5 million in funding with zero equity given up.
Becoming the World's Best at Wound Care Economics
One of Franco's most counterintuitive moves was becoming an expert not in wound care science, but in wound care economics. He realized early on that the people buying wound care products — hospitals, clinics, insurance companies — don't evaluate products primarily on clinical effectiveness. They evaluate them on cost.
"I spent six months doing nothing but studying wound care economics," he says. "How much does a chronic wound cost the healthcare system? What's the cost of infection? What's the cost of extended hospital stays? Once you can quantify the economic impact of better wound care, the sales conversation changes completely."
"Most biotech founders obsess over the science. I obsess over the economics. Because the best product in the world means nothing if the buyer can't justify the cost. My job is to make the economic case so compelling that saying 'no' to our product costs them more than saying 'yes.'"
Being 23 in a Room Full of 50-Year-Olds
Franco doesn't shy away from the elephant in the room: he's a 23-year-old CEO in an industry dominated by seasoned executives and PhD researchers who've spent decades in the field. Instead of hiding his age, he's learned to use it as a differentiator.
"My age is brought up in every meeting," he laughs. "At first, I saw it as a disadvantage. Now I see it as a filter. The investors and partners who dismiss me because of my age aren't the ones I want to work with anyway. The ones who see past it — who focus on the science and the business model — those are the relationships that matter."
Key Takeaways for Founders
1. Blend your funding sources. Don't default to VC as your only option. Non-dilutive grants can fund your research phase without giving up equity, giving you more leverage when you do raise venture capital.
2. Master the economics of your industry. Understanding the financial dynamics of your market — not just the technology — is what makes your pitch compelling to buyers and investors alike.
3. Your "disadvantage" is your filter. Being young, being an outsider, being unconventional — these things filter out the wrong partners and attract the right ones.
4. Challenge century-old assumptions. Some of the biggest opportunities are in industries that haven't innovated in decades. If the solution hasn't changed in 100 years, it's probably ripe for disruption.
