Medical science is advancing ceaselessly, conceiving new disciplines and industries. A prime example of this advancement is the medical aesthetics industry, rapidly expanding with the increasing interest of millennials and younger generations.
Through this edition, we bring you a list of successful firms that have achieved excellence in the medical aesthetics industry, and Cartessa Aesthetics in a prominent name among those.
In the following interview, Gabe Lubin, the Founder and CEO shares valuable insights into the company’s journey, how it is contributing to the medical aesthetics sector, and his vision for the future.
Please brief our audience about Cartessa Aesthetics, its mission, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the medical aesthetics niche.
Cartessa’s mission is to support physicians and aesthetic providers in choosing the right aesthetics devices to meet their patient needs and add new revenue streams to their practice.
Cartessa was founded in early 2017 as a new business model to support aesthetic providers and overcome shortcomings our founder was seeing in the industry – speed to market, lack of breakthrough technologies, costs to providers. At the time, large, energy-based device manufacturers dominated the space. These businesses carry significant overhead expenses, are often beholden to shareholders, and internal processes, and pressures can stand in the way of true innovation.
On the other hand, for global manufacturers with superior technology, the marketing and distribution cost to enter North America can be prohibitive. Cartessa was formed to eliminate these challenges – to establish relationships across global manufacturers and to hand-select devices that deliver the best clinical results, patient experiences and ROI. Cartessa’s model eliminates the costs that were driving up the price of technologies, increases response to trends and provides access to breakthroughs that otherwise would not be available to providers.
Cartessa’s impressive growth is evidence that the industry was prime for a new, transparent business model that puts the customer and their success at the center of its mission. Cartessa has exclusive relationships with the globes leading manufacturers like Quanta System, DEKA and ShenB. Their curated product portfolio includes breakthrough technologies across categories and capabilities so providers can find what works best with their business goals. Lastly, much more than a distributor, Cartessa offers end-to-end resources – from the industry leading marketing team to the internal service, clinical and practice development team.
Tell us more about your products which make your company stand out from the competition?
Every product in Cartessa’s portfolio meets the company’s three-point criteria: superior efficacy, better patient experience and proven ROI. Cartessa works to interrogate the benefits of these technologies and designs protocols and combination treatments that take results and revenues to the next level. Below are highlights of some of the key offerings:
VirtueRF Micro needling is the world’s first RF micro needling platform from ShenB, the leading RF micro needling manufacturer behind Vivace. VirtueRF offers more power and settings to optimize patient comfort without sacrificing efficacy plus the ability to add multiple handpieces.
PHYSIQ is the first multi-modality body treatment that consecutively delivers deep heat to tissue and EMS to muscle to target areas where diet and exercise are. The exclusive STEP (Sequential Thermal & Electrical Pulse) technology maximizes results, treatment time, and patient comfort.
Tetra CO2 by DEKA is reinvigorating demand for CO2 treatments because of the CoolPeel, a superficial CO2 laser treatment with minimal to no downtime introduced by Cartessa. Customers of all ages are loving the CO2-like results without the traditional downtime.
Cartessa recommends combining CoolPeel with the VirtueRF to give patients deep collagen stimulation and the benefits of skin resurfacing. Adding a CoolPeel takes only 10 minutes and could generate 50% more revenue for that visit. Cartessa branded it the Ultimate Duo and providers agree it is.
Subnovii Plasma technology is the only hand-held plasma device with LF+ technology – low-frequency plus a patented wavelength and power combination that allows for more precise applications and reduced healing time.
Motus AX & AY is the first high-speed alexandrite laser that makes it possible for light and dark skin types to benefit from the efficacy of the alexandrite wavelength. Laser hair removal is the #1 laser treatment in the US but can be a challenging business. Motus AX & AY has differentiated and increased practices’ laser hair removal revenue as treatments are pain-free and safe for more skin types.
Chrome launched in June 2021. Manufactured by Quanta System, Chrome is the ultimate expandable Lase Station. Chrome is engineered with reinvented Q-Switched technology. The 532nm and 1064nm Nd:YAG laser base can be expanded to include fractional options, long and short pulse technology, powerful IPL and Erbium 2940nm handpieces. Chrome can perform more than 50 aesthetic treatments as well as already branded treatments, the exclusive Skin Apps™.
What is your opinion on the impact of the current pandemic on the global healthcare sector, and what challenges did you face during the initial phase of the pandemic?
During the pandemic, we knew investing in new equipment may not be a priority, but our customers were looking for strategies to whether the market conditions and spending time brushing up on their training, organizing their practices etc.
Our team quickly pivoted to support our customers with valuable resources including virtual training sessions, webinars with aesthetic business experts and an IGTV series called ‘6 Minute Seminars’ on useful marketing and practice development topics. Our mission is to create value for our customers which guided our actions. Our business model also allows us to be very asset light. We did not have to lay anyone off which we were very happy about and even focused on hiring so we could come out strong once practices opened up.
As far as impact on the global healthcare sector, we’ve seen the aesthetic sector rally once the country opened up. The ‘Zoom Effect’ is real. People spent a lot of time looking at themselves and are more inclined to invest in something that makes them feel better about themselves. Demand for low-downtime aesthetic procedures continues to rise but there is also more willingness to have some downtime as people work remotely.
With continuous development in technologies such as AI and big data, what is your prediction about the future of the healthcare sector pertaining to the medical aesthetics vertical?
Big data can help us identify key market trends and gaps to meet aesthetic demand. We’ll be able to gain important insights into the best settings and protocols for specific patient populations and in-turn, provide better outcomes. Technologies have continued to get better over the last decade – breakthroughs have improved efficacy for more patient types without increasing downtime and discomfort. Advanced in AI and big data will just add to what’s possible.
As an established leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the medical aesthetics industry?
I love the aesthetics space so make sure it’s an industry that excites you. Second, surround yourself with people who share your same values. I’m lucky that I get to surround myself with those who are committed, that I respect and that I genuinely like. When starting Cartessa, I leveraged my relationships and squeezed my resource pool to bring on the best talent from inside and outside of aesthetics. This merging of experiences has allowed us to challenge industry norms and do thinks a little differently.
And lastly, your success will be predicated on the success of your customers. We wouldn’t be where we are today if the customer wasn’t central to our mission. At the end of the day, our business model allows us to offer the best-of the-best products at the right price point and with a strategy to be successful. If we do that right, then we all win.
How do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in 2021?
2021 will be about building on the success we have had thus far – continuing to introduce breakthrough devices and treatment protocols that allow our customers to thrive. We recently launched Chrome and are planning to roll out a new plasma device which has been highly success in South Korea. As we grow, we are adding more practice development, training and service resources across the US and Canada.
About the leader
Gabe had more than twelve years of aesthetic industry experience before starting Cartessa, working for the largest global provider of laser technology, Palomar and ultimately Cynosure. At Palomar Medical Technologies Gabe served as Regional Sales Director for the Northeast United States and Canada following six years of success as an Area Sales Manager in the Midwest.
In 2013, when Cynosure acquired Palomar, he played an integral role in advising upper management on company integration and product rationalization while managing 40 sales representatives. He served as Director of Sales and National Sales Manager for Palomar products at Cynosure Inc. Having worked for large laser manufacturers, Gabe felt there was a better way to serve physicians and patients by working with multiple manufacturers targeting technologies that offer the best overall value and capitalized on industry trends.
Gabe attributes Cartessa’s success to finding a ‘sweet spot’ of great technology plus providing a support strategy to be successful with the technology the provider is investing in. He also emphasizes the personal relationship inside and outside Cartessa that have been critical to the company’s growth. Employees and customers alike refer to Cartessa as a family – the company is personal to Gabe having been named after members of his family – and so it is part of the company culture.
Exhibiting Excellence
Cartessa – 2019 Aesthetic Everything, Top Breakout Company
Cartessa – 2019 Aesthetic Everything, Top Aesthetics Company
Luxea – the Aesthetics Awards 2019 Winner
Motus – 2019 Aesthetics Everything, Top Aesthetics Device