PHOENIX, Sept. 8, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bob Gottschalk believes that lightning can strike twice. In fact, with the launch of his new business venture – Renewal Technologies – he's betting on it.
Inspired by a career of business successes that spans several decades – and most notably, his sales leadership role in the development and marketing of the SilverSneakers Fitness Program® into a national brand – Gottschalk has no illusions as to what transforms a great idea into a viable, successful business. In the case of SilverSneakers, it was a clear and laser-sharp focus on its goal: helping seniors become more physically active, to improve their health and quality of life. With Renewal Technologies it is reaching the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic pain with a breakthrough product, the LaserTouchOne™ – the only evidence-based, FDA-cleared pain relief device available to consumers without a prescription.
The LaserTouchOne device combines two proven modalities – low-level laser, sometimes referred to as 'cold laser,' and micro-current electrical stimulation – and can point to demonstrated clinical results. Years of research and testing preceded the clinical study that secured FDA clearance. In that controlled environment, the LaserTouchOne was 93% effective in decreasing pain – and more effective than either a TENS Unit (electrical stimulation) or low-level laser devices alone. Research has shown that these two therapies promote the body's natural healing process at the cellular level.
What Gottschalk finds incredibly compelling – and what has fueled his Renewal Technologies venture – is that he could have a second chance to create a national brand with an even more encompassing scope and magnitude. This time, the target audience is the more than 75 million chronic pain sufferers in America (a group almost twice as large as the Medicare population) and the vehicle: the LaserTouchOne, an affordable, safe and effective hand-held pain relief device.
Renewal Technologies, an Arizona LLC with Gottschalk as its managing member, has secured exclusive worldwide rights to the LaserTouchOne device via a licensing agreement with the patent owners and will market and sell the LaserTouchOne product through a national network of locally focused distributors, via the establishment of strategic national partnerships that give the LaserTouchOne (LTO) broad market exposure to consumers in pain and via direct-to-consumer sales through the company's website.
Today, ten years after his initial involvement with SilverSneakers, that program is available to more than 5 million seniors and has grown its annual revenue from $10 million to more than $200 million for its current owner, Healthways, Inc.
"As I watched the LaserTouchOne technology and clinical study research unfold over the past few years I knew I was witnessing the making of a breakthrough product with a similar potential for life-changing impact. In introducing the LaserTouchOne we could serve a huge segment of our population… a group desperate for solutions for pain that was diminishing their quality of life," Gottschalk said. The American Academy of Pain Management reports that although the majority of the U.S. population looks healthy, statistics tell a different story: Approximately 1 in 3 Americans suffer from chronic pain. This pain could be related to an illness like cancer or rheumatoid arthritis, or a condition such as arthritis, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia or back pain from a car accident.
If lightening can indeed strike twice, those who know Gottschalk believe he's a man who can capitalize upon this opportunity to connect the millions of people in pain with the LaserTouchOne. "Bob has a gift for laser-sharp focus and for understanding how to implement a marketing strategy that will truly connect our product with the millions of consumers in pain," said Murray Goodman, one of the patent owners who licensed the marketing rights to Renewal Technologies.
Gottschalk has named Okky Oei, MD as Medical Director for Renewal Technologies. Dr. Oei, a physician who has dedicated his professional career to the assessment, research and treatment related to pain and pain management, was instrumental in the development of the LaserTouchOne device and will play a pivotal role in education, training and community outreach. He will be the face and voice related to the technology and efficacy of the LaserTouchOne.
According to Dr. Oei, "The LaserTouchOne is safe, portable and personal – delivering drug-free, pain-free relief – and is as easy to hold and use as an electric toothbrush."
"In many ways, the market launch of the LaserTouchOne is a 'perfect storm' of opportunity given the demographics and trends that shape our world," said Gottschalk, who brings experience in healthcare, wellness, fitness, franchising and pharmacy operations and sales to bear in launching Renewal Technologies. He continued, "We have the aging baby boomers, controversy over healthcare reform, the financial challenges that face entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, rising medical costs – all driving an increased interest on the parts of patients and payers to seek and try alternative remedies for health and wellness. Couple those facts with the breakthrough research and technology in treatment modalities that the LaserTouchOne represents… and you get a sense of the incredible window of opportunity that I see."
Gottschalk believes that a mission-driven company like Renewal Technologies will attract qualified and passionate individuals to its distributorship opportunity where they will showcase the power of the LaserTouchOne product in one-on-one and community outreach scenarios. Distributorships are currently available in select cities across the U.S.
As Gottschalk sees it, the potential of the business opportunity for distributors is massive: More Americans suffer from chronic or acute pain than from diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. The Renewal Technologies team is confident that they can tap into the $200 billion spent each year in pursuit of pain relief and deliver a solution that the masses of pain sufferers can use to regain active, healthy lifestyles and improve quality of life.
Vice Presidents of Sales for Renewal Technologies, Joel Rosenberg and Lance Hoeltke, are strategically based to support distributors and customers in east and west markets: Rosenberg in Los Angeles, California and Hoeltke in Louisville, Kentucky. The company's Arizona-based team includes Rita Gangi, Vice President of Operations; Kathy Gallivan, Vice President Distributor Relations; Ken Fellner, Vice President of contracts and compliance; and Amy Lieber, Project Manager.
Gottschalk is confident that – given the benefits of the LaserTouchOne, its FDA over-the-counter clearance, affordable price and the fact that it meets IRS requirements as a qualified medical expense – Renewal Technologies can achieve its mission of connecting the millions of people in pain with the LaserTouchOne and that he and his team will have the "opportunity of a lifetime," yet again, to positively affect the quality of life for millions of people.
About Renewal Technologies:
Renewal Technologies is a mission-driven company that delivers products direct to consumers that relieve pain and improve quality of life. In bringing its first product to market – the LaserTouchOne – Renewal Technologies has marshaled a team of dedicated professionals who bring more than 100 years of experience in training, communications, marketing and sales to this effort and is passionate about the mission of connecting the millions of people in pain with the LaserTouchOne.
About the LaserTouchOne:
Developed by a physician and expert in pain and pain relief treatments – and cleared by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for both prescription and over-the-counter consumer use – the LaserTouchOne is the only pain relief device on the market today that combines two proven therapies: a low-level laser and micro-current electrical stimulation. Research has shown that these two therapies promote the body's natural healing process at the cellular level.
The device is a safe alternative to medication or surgery and other invasive procedures and can eliminate the need for costly prescriptions. It's painless, easy to use and portable... so that pain relief is always in the palm of your hand.