Breaking Boundaries in HealthTech: Meet Tannis Sigurdson, Founder & CEO of Epic Heights
tl;dr
Tannis Sigurdson, Founder & CEO of Epic Heights, is transforming how healthcare innovations scale and succeed.
With over 20 years of experience at Philips, Idexx, and Alcon, she witnessed too many transformative ideas stall, inspiring her to build Epic Heights as a bridge between breakthrough science and real-world impact.
Known as both a strategist and a storyteller, Tannis bridges science and real-world impact, demonstrating that in healthcare, disruption is essential, not optional.
At the heart of every real breakthrough is not just a brilliant idea, but the fire to bring it into the world. Tannis Sigurdson has spent more than two decades doing just that: scaling startups, guiding innovation in Fortune 500 health companies, and now steering her own venture, Epic Heights, with a mission to save lives through smarter healthcare technologies.
From Corporate Leader to HealthTech Founder
Tannis’s story begins in the complex, high-stakes world of healthcare technology. With leadership roles across disruptive start-ups and major players like Philips, Idexx Laboratories, and Alcon, she helped bring to market medical devices and SaaS solutions in radiology, biotech, dental, and beyond.
But after years of witnessing both astonishing success and heartbreaking failure, she asked herself a crucial question: Why do so many innovations with deep potential never reach the patients who need them? It was a turning point. In 2022, she founded Epic Heights, channeling her experience to support health-tech startups and help them cross the finish line.
“My mission: bring visionary healthcare technologies to market and improve patient outcomes worldwide.”
“Disruption is not optional; it’s inevitable.”
The Spark Behind the Venture
Tannis’s motivation is both personal and systemic. She saw too many brilliant technologies stall, not because the science was flawed, but because commercialization in healthcare is fraught with obstacles. Regulatory hurdles, slow adoption, legacy systems, and a sometimes-clunky innovation ecosystem mean that great ideas can sit on the shelf.
By launching Epic Heights, Tannis created a bridge between innovation and impact. A place where startups get access to the right advice, networks, and real-world commercialization insight, not just theory.
At its core, the mission is simple: to make it easier for groundbreaking technologies to reach patients. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing those innovations in the hands of doctors who make a difference in patients' lives.
“Working with startups gives you more autonomy to make decisions quicker and pivot early if necessary. At the core, our mission is simple: make it easier for groundbreaking technologies to reach patients.”
Scaling with Strategy, Not Just Speed
How does Epic Heights scale? With clear tactical moves rooted in deep experience.
Industry expertise + AI-assisted strategy: Recognizing that speed matters, Tannis built a model that blends human insight (20+ years worth) with data-driven accelerators.
Strategic partnerships: From board-certified doctors to venture investors, Epic Heights curates networks so startups don’t have to build the wheel themselves.
Outcome-driven decisions: Every move is aligned with “Will this help a startup succeed in a real-world healthcare environment?” not just on paper.
“One of the biggest challenges is cutting through the noise. Healthcare is flooded with startups, but very few have truly disruptive potential. Another challenge is the pace of AI innovation versus regulation, the balance between moving quickly and navigating a complex system resistant to change.”
Looking Ahead: Global Reach, Deeper Impact
Epic Heights isn’t staying local. The next chapter involves global expansion, scaling the client base, deepening AI tools, and launching a knowledge platform to support more startups simultaneously.
A key part of the growth plan: partnering directly with VCs who are committed to advancing health-tech innovation. Epic Heights positions itself as the bridge between investor and founder, helping reduce risk and increase success.
Lessons Learned on the Founder Journey
Behind every external success lies an internal transformation. Tannis shares one of her major takeaways:
“Timing, testing, collaboration, and expertise matter more than anything else. “Brilliant ideas alone don’t scale, smart execution does.”
For female founders, this dual challenge is especially acute: not just building a business, but building the right business, with the right team, in the right ecosystem.
“Success comes from surrounding yourself with the right people who embrace change, ask the hard questions early, and are disciplined in your approach.”
Why Her Story Matters
Tannis’s journey is more than a founder story; it’s a masterclass in reinvention and resilience. She represents a growing wave of women redefining what leadership looks like in healthcare innovation: vision-driven, data-informed, and deeply human.
Her path from corporate boardrooms to startup trenches shows what’s possible when experience meets courage. She didn’t just spot what was broken; she built the bridge to fix it. Through Epic Heights, she’s helping others bring bold ideas to life, proving that disruption, when done with purpose, can change outcomes for millions of patients worldwide.
At Disruption Magazine, we celebrate founders like Tannis Sigurdson, innovators turning expertise into impact and conviction into progress. Her story is a reminder that when technology, leadership, and purpose align, real change happens.
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