Editor’s Note: This October, we will celebrate our 30th class of 40 Under Forty honorees. Each week in 2022, The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia will highlight one of our 2021 40 Under Forty honorees leading up to the announcement of our milestone class this fall.
When it comes to Flow MedTech, a company co-founded by Arnab Chakraborty that started out as a design project at Georgia Tech, Chakraborty is caught playing the long game.
Medical trials and regulatory approval stand between Flow MedTech’s heart implant designed to reduce the risk of strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation and the marketplace. Chakraborty is hopeful the product will eventually help improve the lives of countless people, a desire that drives him in whatever he does.
“Growing up, my parents have always emphasized the importance of bringing positivity and serving others to make a better life for people,” Chakraborty said. “No matter what project I’m doing, that’s been my purpose.
“I just want to make sure I’m able to create something that helps people in one way or another. There’s no value you can put on one life changed. It’s priceless.”
With that in mind, Chakraborty has had no intention of sitting on the sidelines and waiting for his invention to make the slow journey from concept to reality. Instead, he has devoted his energy to helping as many people as he can in as many ways as he can.
Chakraborty was an original founder Startup Tri-Cities, which is now known as FoundersForge. In a letter of recommendation from fellow 40 Under Forty honoree David Nelson, Chakraborty’s willingness to serve others came shining through.
“By always offering mentorship, speaking to our youth as well as other entrepreneurs, and by providing value to others in everything he does, Arnab as become an incredible member of our society,” Nelson wrote.
Jennifer Dixon has worked with Chakraborty as a co-mentor for the GIVE grant through the First Tennessee Development District, and she echoes many of the same points Nelson made about Chakraborty’s commitment to helping those around him.
“One conversation with Arnab, and you know you are in rare company,” Dixon wrote in her letter of recommendation. “He is a brilliant and gifted thought-leader and business developer who is relatable and willing to reach back to the next generation.”
Dr. Timir K. Paul serves as the program director for the Cardiology Fellowship at Ascension Saint Thomas Heart for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Nashville. He recounted the role Chakraborty played in creating a potentially important connection between ETSU and a prominent academic medical center.
““This is a remarkable prospect, and I was appreciative for Arnab and Flow MedTech to bring this opportunity to the region,” Paul wrote.
Ultimately, the heart implant Flow MedTech created could prove to be Chakraborty’s lasting legacy, but for now, he’s going to continue his work of making the world a better place for one person at a time.
“It’s going to be a little while until we see the device in somebody working,” he said. “So being able to do some of these projects on the side, it helps me just keep going and keep my eye on the bigger picture.”
Next week we will profile local entrepreneur Will Clark, a director at Brown, Edwards & Company. If you would like to nominate someone for inclusion in the 2022 class of 40 Under Forty, visit 40under.com and follow the instructions.
