She got FDA clearance for a transparent surgical mask in March 2020. Two months later, ClearMask was shipping worldwide — and her four co-founders still had day jobs.

Elyse Heob is the founder behind two healthcare exits: a corporate wellness company acquired in 2016, and ClearMask, which she grew from zero to $45M without ever taking outside investment (19 million masks worldwide). Now she coaches early-stage founders on the parts of the job nobody puts on the highlight reel.

In this Ops or Die conversation with Katie Whitcraft and Maria Pienaar, Elyse breaks down how founders keep underpricing time when they buy tools, why a regulated-industry mindset is what separates founders who cross $1M to $10M from ones who stall, and how "Swiss Army knife" hires kept ClearMask agile at a fraction of its peer headcount. She and the hosts also dig into founder blindness (why you cannot see your own product), business continuity during fundraising, and why titles should bend to fit the people you have.

If you have been telling yourself you'll fix ops later, this is the episode that will change your mind.

Key topics: startup operations, healthcare startups, FDA regulatory strategy, non-dilutive fundraising, accelerators, hiring for aptitude, business continuity, founder resilience, fractional COO, SmartOps

Guest: Elyse Heob — Founder, ClearMask

Hosts: Katie Whitcraft and Maria Pienaar

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