When a select few companies run the market and presumably have their own ways of doing things (which may not be efficient or has multiple layers of middle people getting some sort of cut), this type disruptive technology to the existing market is nothing short of a breath of fresh air.
Yes, on a larger scale such disruption may cost many people jobs, percentages of profits and what not but let’s step back and look at the original problem. It is about the people who need artificial limbs and helping them get a better quality of life. It is not about money or profits or business. Do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with making a profit – some times we get lost in commercialisation that we forget the basis of an issue. Especially in the health industry.
If a prosthetic limb to help an amputee shower (yes i call that a very basic human need – to feel clean) costs USD 499 compared to a proper “Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics” (a more than 150-year-old company based in Austin that was founded by a Civil War amputee) costs USD 23,000 – all the power to Jeff Huber. I hope he makes it and makes it big.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/09/yc-backs-standard-cyborg-a-startup-building-affordable-prosthetics/
We need more disruptive technologies and businesses like this.