Chad Andresen on Lunosa’s Injectable Neurostimulator and Lessons from Stimwave

In this episode, we sit down with Chad Andresen, Chief Business Officer of Lunosa, to explore a groundbreaking approach to treating obstructive sleep apnea. Lunosa is developing a self-expanding, injectable neurostimulator that aims to replace invasive facial surgeries with a minimally invasive, high-impact solution — tapping into a $10 billion market. Chad also reflects on his time at Stimwave, a pioneering neuromodulation company that saw both innovation and controversy. He shares insights from testifying against Stimwave’s former CEO, lessons learned from the company’s collapse, and how those experiences shape Lunosa’s vision and execution today.

This episode is sponsored by Black Swan IP – patent strategy and legal support for neurotech innovators. Learn more at www.blackswan-ip.com/

Top 3 Takeaways:

• User feedback can vary drastically by region — while patients in Mexico and Europe reported positive results, U.S. participants were far more critical and vocal, revealing major usability issues that had been previously overlooked.
• A major red flag in a startup is when experienced, well-tempered professionals leave quickly and repeatedly — it often signals deeper cultural or leadership issues that young founders may overlook until it's too late.
• Lunosa developed a novel “nerve net” implant that works like a fishing net—capturing multiple nerve branches responsible for tongue movement in sleep apnea—offering selective stimulation to activate helpful muscles while avoiding unwanted ones.

1:30 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did?

3:00 How did your career start?

5:15 How did the founding of StimWave look like?

7:15 How did that ramp up look like?

12:15 How did things go wrong?

17:15 What exactly was the issue that caused all the problems?

20:15 Sponsorship by blackswan-ip 

20:45 How did you find out that things had gone wrong?

26:15 What are some lessons learned from this process?

31:30 Do you want to talk about the misalignment of incentives often coming from VC funding?

35:30 Let's talk about LunOsa

44:00 What are some other exciting things coming from LunOsa?

47:00 Anything else that you wanted to mention?