Be an innovator: Although large medical device companies continue to have significant R&D budgets, early-stage companies can sometimes act as outsourced R&D laboratories on the leading edge of innovation. These smaller companies can bring new technologies to market quickly and often create disruptive technologies with high market potential that are appealing to traditional medical device players. Acquirers are willing to pay a premium for next-generation products that can disrupt the medtech market. If the story is compelling, acquirers will pay for the promise of what the product can deliver in the market, even if regulatory approval is still years away.