Anna von Wendorff is the CEO and founder of Scopi Medical, a company advancing remote diagnostic tools to empower primary care physicians in early disease detection. Scopi’s first innovation, a smart nasal endoscope, enables early detection of sinonasal conditions. With its proprietary AI-driven platform and miniaturized camera technology, Scopi is poised to expand into other diagnostic areas. Anna founded the company as a fellow in Stanford’s “Design for Extreme Affordability” program, driven by a mission to use next-generation technology to bring accessible, life-saving diagnostics to underserved communities worldwide.
Was there a moment in your life when you knew you were going to be an entrepreneur founder or was it always something you knew you were going to do?
Oh no way! My parents and I moved to the US when I was a child. I was always very careful and conservative. I learned early that a better life meant financial security and predictability, among other things. I remember reading about famous entrepreneurs in technology and wondering how they knew if their idea was good enough. How did they deal with public failures and successes? How did they handle the stress?
What I’ve learned is that, while those questions are quite real for anyone leading a startup, they don’t prevent people from taking risks. Founders that I’ve met start companies because in their hearts they have an “unshakeable purpose,” and they see a way to build something to help fulfill that.
You left an excellent, stable position as a management consultant for a top consulting firm to start a medical device company. Was that driven by your own unshakeable purpose?
That was an incredibly hard decision to make. I had been chasing that one dream job for so long. I grew up in rural California. I remember hearing that the son of one of our neighbors got a consulting job that allowed him to travel and stay in nice hotels like the Marriott in Times Square. Being able to access those things had felt so out of reach.
It was an amazing opportunity for me. I learned so much about business strategies, deeply listening to clients’ concerns, and problem solving. I met so many different people and tackled new problems all the time.
That experience is what gave me the confidence to pursue what came next. I remember flying to Syria to see a client. It was my first time flying first class. They gave us a bowl of perfect strawberries and I remember thinking how few people had access to this incredible experience. That quickly mushroomed into thinking about how many people could benefit from access to innovations in healthcare and technology. That feeling became my unshakeable purpose and I felt it was time to go figure out how I could achieve that.
So, was it at Stanford’s Design for Extreme Affordability Program that you discovered that purpose? Why that fellowship versus the many other startup fellowships out there?
There’s a deeper backstory to this that I’ve just begun to fully understand as I’ve gone through the Ferolyn Fellowship. Growing up, we were taught to be extremely resourceful. We didn’t buy things that we could fix or make ourselves. We had chickens and horses – but not a TV! I remember coming home from school and telling my mom how cool it was that all the kids in our class had the iconic 64-color Crayola crayon box. I loved to draw and create things, and I was pretty excited when we got in the car that afternoon to head to Walmart to get some. Suddenly, Mom pulled over by the side of a big hill and said, “Okay let’s go get crayons!” What she actually meant was, let’s go dig the clay from the hillside and make our own crayons! Well, we dug more than enough clay to make 64 crayons, but they were all the same color! We also learned to make paper, candles, and lots of other things. Today, my mom jokes that she’s happy that our “hippie lifestyle” is part of my backstory!
I realized that’s why the concept of “extreme affordability” resonated so much with me. You have to think big and not see making something affordable as a limitation. You have to see it as an opportunity to really get super creative and resourceful—especially because you have the potential to make something that could benefit so many people.
How does your company, Scopi, fulfill your purpose and passion?
Our company really reflects our values—equity, curiosity, candor, simplicity, initiative, and joy. The Fellowship helped us name these and it is a huge privilege to get to tackle big, complex, meaningful problems alongside a great team. Our mission is to put smarter, real-world diagnostic tools into clinicians’ hands so that they can deliver the best possible care, no matter the setting. We’re doing this by translating advanced technology like AI and miniaturized cameras into tools that are reliable, accurate, and easy to use.
Our approach was recently validated when a branch of the U.S. military awarded us our first contract for our portable nasal endoscope. It’s a huge honor to help support the health of service members and see our scope in action in all kinds of conditions. They’d been searching for a tool like ours and hadn’t found anything like it. It solves a huge issue—nasal conditions are one of the top reasons for doctor visits, but they often require a trip to a specialist for an accurate diagnosis, which is a burden for patients, clinicians, and the system!
Enabling clinicians to look deeper into the nose with modern, easy-to-use tools allows them make an initial call on what’s causing breathing troubles or chronic stuffiness. It’s been a great way for us to show investors how our platform helps clinicians and health systems not just see problem areas, but make quick, reliable clinical decisions so patients get better faster.
What could we learn about you that might surprise us?
A few years ago, some friends and I rode our bicycles across the United States from California to Delaware. It took three months! I had never ridden a bike more than a few miles around campus. While I was awestruck by the natural beauty of our country, I was even more moved by the generosity of the people I met. It was really eye-opening to see how many values we shared, even though we were from different cultures, countries, experiences, and points of view! I have experienced the same generosity from the many patients and providers we speak with around the world. They share their stories about their lack of access not only to specialists, but to basic medical care. They remind and inspire all of us at Scopi to keep driving forward. We will be successful when we repay that generosity by helping patients feel better faster than is currently possible.
What’s an insight you’ve had about leadership and how are you currently exploring it in the Ferolyn Fellowship?
As a mechanical engineer and maker, I really thought my job was to build a great product and get it to people who need it. The Fellowship is helping me expand and realize my vision of myself as a leader who is creating an environment where talented, passionate, and kind individuals can respectfully challenge each other, be grateful for each other, and be inspired to provide new opportunities and options to communities and patients.
—In conversation with Claudia Carasso, host mentor and co-founder of The Ferolyn Fellowship