Confidential | Newsletter
2025
Year in Review
Investor team,
As we close out the year, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it actually takes to build something that lasts. I was recently reminded of a lesson from Extreme Ownership—that you don’t get through Hell Week, or any truly hard season, with just one strength. It takes focus, endurance, innovation, discipline, communication, and trust in the people beside you. Looking back on this year at Native, that feels especially true.
This has been a year defined by momentum. Following our first FDA clearance, we moved quickly—but with intention—into commercialization. While many companies rush this phase, our team chose rigor alongside speed. Through the third quarter, we carefully evaluated, selected, and trained distribution partners across key strategic markets. Today, Native is represented by experienced sales professionals with deep surgeon and hospital relationships, carrying our story and our platform into operating rooms across the country.
This fall, we reached first surgeries at several leading orthopedic institutions. The response so far has been energizing. Surgeons are engaging with the system, early cases are underway, and the feedback has been both thoughtful and validating. Just ahead of Thanksgiving, we introduced the Soft Button cortical fixation option, along with our suture passer—two important additions that reflect our commitment to purposeful innovation and refined technique.
What’s made this year especially meaningful is how this progress has happened. My Co-founder Chris takes pride in the rigor behind every design decision. Brian has helped shape a brand that feels distinct, human, and grounded. Sam’s focus on innovation and operational strength continues to quietly power everything forward. The balance of our team is aligned to our mission and executing, and I’m proud of the pace at which this entire team has translated years of work into real-world clinical impact. Each of these strengths matter—culminating in what created this year.
Looking ahead, our focus remains steady: grow with discipline, earn trust one relationship at a time, and keep building tools that truly support the work surgeons do every day. Our work is not done. We recently submitted two additional 510(k) applications to the FDA to further expand the Native platform. If timing holds, we look forward to sharing more at AAOS in New Orleans in March 2026.
We know we’re still early in the story, but the direction is clear, the energy is real, and the momentum is shared. Thank you for your belief, your support, and for being part of what we’re building—methodically, thoughtfully, and with purpose. We are fulfilling the mission to make incredible products and they are being received very well by the surgeon community.
We truly appreciate you for being part of making our journey possible. Have a wonderful Holiday season!
Tom Gamache | CEO & Co-Founder
APRIL • REGULATORY MILESTONE
FDA 510(k) Clearence
Native Root system cleared, paving the way for commercialization.
Learn more →
JULY • NATIONAL RECOGNITION
AOSSM ACE Award
Voted Top Sports Medicine Technology of 2025.
Learn more →
AUGUST • FIRST CLINICAL USE
First Native Surgery
Dr. Benji Miller, Chattanooga, TN.
SEPTEMBER • PRODUCT LAUNCH
Spear Passer Launch
The final piece to our procedural solution.
OCTOBER • BRAND IDENTITY
Davey Awards Winner
Gold award for Native brand and web.
Learn more →
NOVEMBER • EXPANDING THE PLATFORM
Additional 510(k) Submissions
Broader Indications
DECEMBER • CAPABILITY MILESTONE
Native Soft-Button
1st use case | Dr. Kyle Borque, MD.
Learn more →
Interview at Ortho Summit 2025
Dr. Chris Anderson shares reflections on his professional journey, insights into the company’s evolution, and a forward-looking perspective on where Native Orthopaedics is headed.
Strategic Lab Day
In mid-November, the Native team convened in Nashville for a hands-on lab alongside leading strategic partners. The session featured insights and techniques from surgeon pioneers with direct clinical experience using Native Root.
There are so many more indications for this technology… It’s really exciting to see where else we can use it all over the body
- Lucas Wymore, MD
Fast Track to Mainstream Adoption
THE IMPACT OF THE ACE AWARD
Winning the AOSSM ACE Award unlocked Native’s access to the Early Adopter and Early Majority segments of the market. As a comparison, for most companies, this takes many years and millions of dollars.
Commercialization
Sales Channel Growth
Rapid adoption by top-tier distributors — including industry leaders and elite independents — with more joining every quarter. We will further penetrate additional geographies in 2026. Native’s offering provides our channel with the first opportunity to lead with our procedural solutions, and is converting business.
Sales Enablement
We partnered with GMLX, a best-in-class medical device 3PL and supply chain solutions provider, to ensure reliable fulfillment with zero missed cases. We designed and deployed Pelican case demo kits to enable hands-on surgeon experiences beyond the clinic, and rolled out virtual bundles to streamline access and onboarding. In parallel, we are exploring creative contracting.
Surgeon Advocacy
Dozens of surgeons have successfully adopted Native and converted it into routine use. With a strong clinical beachhead established, we continue to advance Value Analysis Committee approvals across dozens of additional institutions. Our pipeline remains robust, fueled by consistent surgeon engagement nationwide and building the next wave of adoption. Targeted, on-site cadaver labs have been instrumental in accelerating advocacy at leading centers including Ohio State, Duke, and Wake Forest.
Key Account Activation
We have targeted and accessed influential institutions, including leading academic centers, by partnering with surgeon innovators and early adopters to drive market penetration. Our team actively supports early cases to ensure exceptional surgical experiences. In parallel, we continue to elevate our clinical and commercial messaging by incorporating real-time feedback from surgeons and the sales field.
Business Development
Our new customer business development team, consisting of our sales leader Will Staggs with support from Zach Yates and Joe Lavin, serve as a dynamic conduit between the field and Native leadership, ensuring a continuous flow of communication, alignment, and execution.
DOWNSTREAM
The team focuses on distributor, surgeon, and account relations, driving sales, advancing education, and ensuring exceptional surgical cases. Working hands on with our sales partners, the growth team also streamlines onboarding, supports hospital contract and pricing approvals, and reinforces Native’s reputation as an easy company to do business with.
Customer Relations
Drive Sales
Training & Education
Ensure Flawless Cases
UPSTREAM
This team provides us with real time
field intelligence, market insights, and performance data that enable faster, more informed decisions. Zach and Joe’s comprehensive surgeon database enhances precision targeting and data driven engagement, creating a closed feedback loop between field activity and strategic planning.
Field Intel
Market Insights
Business Planning
Targeting Strategy
Will
Staggs
National New Business
Sales Director
In short, we are honored to have this highly experienced team keep Native growing, connecting vision to execution and ensuring excellence from first conversation to exceptional surgeries.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR NATIVE?
Present Momentum, Future Direction
We’re builders and problem-solvers focused on helping people with knee pain get back to living fully. But when the capes come off, we’re a close-knit team—curious, human, and happy to invite you into the stories, quirks, and insights that shape how we show up every day.
NATIVE TEAM SPOTLIGHTChris Ramsay
Chris Ramsay, Native’s lead design engineer, took on an extraordinary challenge this year — training for and completing the Marine Corps Marathon. But this race was about far more than endurance.
Through the marathon’s honor program, Chris was connected with the family of fallen soldier LCpl ‘Joey’ Jones (USMC), whose photo he carried with him on race day. Running in LCpl ‘Joey’ Jones’ (USMC) honor gave Chris a deeper sense of purpose and responsibility throughout every mile.
As the race wore on, knowing he carried that honor — and the story behind it — helped propel Chris forward and ultimately across the finish line. It was a powerful reminder that determination, when paired with meaning, can carry us farther than we ever expect.
Guess which one of us:
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Joe Lavin
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Will Staggs
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Tom Gamache
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Dan Vasconcellos