Gauss Surgical Opens Up Office in Los Altos

With two Super Bowl rings, six startups and a medical degree under his belt, Dr. Milton McColl is working on his latest business venture in Los Altos with fellow Stanford University graduate Siddarth Satish.

Last week, McColl moved Gauss Surgical out of Stanford's startup incubator and into its own space at 334 State Street in Los Altos.

The company is the brainchild of Satish, Gauss Surgical's Chairman and CTO, who wanted to develop better medical devices as a part of his graduate bioengineering studies at Stanford and UCSF.

Gauss’ first product, anticipated to be released in October of this year, is called Triton, and is used to estimate blood loss in real time, in order for physicians to reduce the number of blood transfusions done during surgeries. They say this is helpful in the operating room where tools for measuring blood lost during surgery isn’t very accurate. Triton is about 98 percent accurate.

“It’s not always best for the patient (to get a transfusion),” McColl said. “A huge trend in medical technology is the use of mobile technology in hospitals, since doctors need more apps.”

Future devices the company wants to launch include one that measures fluid balance in patients during surgery to make sure they have proper hydration. Triton is currently pre-revenue, but has cleared FDA approval and they've completed clinical trials.

The team currently has five full-time employees and about 12 consultants.

McColl, a Southern California native, attended Stanford for his undergraduate degree in biology. From 1981 to 1989, he was a linebacker for the San Francisco Forty-Niners when it dominated the NFL. Simultaneously, he was going through Stanford’s medical school, from which he graduated in 1988. He has over 25 years of experience, divided between time spent in the venture capital industry and medical device industry. He also served as president of the Neurovascular Division at Boston Scientific. 

He said that some of the venture capitalists from one of his early startups called Origin have also invested in Gauss Surgical.

The company began a year and a half ago when McColl and Satish landed space in the new medical technology sector of StartX, a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate the development of Stanford’s top entrepreneurs through experiential education.

McColl likes the youthful environment of StartX, and now serves on the board of directors. “They have a lot of energy and enthusiasm," McColl said. "StartX also has the resources, infrastructure and space needed for entrepreneurs.”

McColl said he personally enjoys starting businesses and companies, noting that it’s how America grows.

“It’s fun to feel like you’re doing something to help people, especially as a medical company in the startup space,” he said. 

McColl said there are many benefits for those looking to be entrepreneurs and added that building up work experience can make starting a business a little easier.

“Work hard and know there will be ups and downs,” he said. “Rewards can be great financially and it can be self-fulfilling. It does help to have experience before you do it too.”

For more information on Gauss Surgical, visit the website. They are currently looking to hire software developers and designers.