From Capstone to Startup: How Georgia Tech BME Alum Dev Mandavia Is Building the Future of Accessible Imaging
When you ask Dev Mandavia about his path to entrepreneurship, he’ll tell you it started almost by accident. A proud BME Yellow Jacket, Mandavia originally planned to follow his parents’ dream of becoming a doctor, or perhaps to pursue research through an MD/PhD. But everything changed once he experienced the hands-on, problem-driven world of Georgia Tech’s BME design courses.
Mandavia quickly understood that engineers cannot design in a vacuum. In Mandavia’s words, “You need to do customer discovery to truly understand the underlying problem. Talk to the customers, the users, the patients.”
That realization took root early—first in BME’s sophomore design course, where his team developed a retractable cautery pen to improve surgical safety after he witnessed a patient catch fire during a procedure. What started as a simple class project grew into something much more: Mandavia’s team entered Create-X’s Idea to Prototype program, then the InVenture Prize, and ultimately launched their first startup before they even graduated.
Mandavia didn’t stop there. Over the years, he’s taken part in nearly every step of Georgia Tech’s innovation pipeline—Startup Lab, three rounds of Create-X Launch across two startups, and a multidisciplinary Capstone project with the Mayo Clinic. Each experience reinforced the same core lesson: success in innovation isn’t about luck, it’s about people, persistence, and purpose.
“The thing that kills startups the fastest isn’t the technology, it’s founder misalignment” Mandavia explained. It is key to remember that great technology starts with great teamwork. Technical challenges can be solved with time and skill, but sometimes the real test of a startup lies in managing people, alignment, and vision. Mandavia emphasizes that everyone should be clear about their commitment, expectations, and vision from day one.
To any Capstone students that may want to pursue companies of their own, Mandavia’s advice is both candid and inspiring:
Ask yourself why you want to pursue entrepreneurship. If it’s for the hype that you see in the media, you’ll burn out fast, but if you’re genuinely driven to solve a real problem and you can commit fully, then go all in. Don’t divide your focus—commit fully to the path you choose. Treat your Capstone project like it’s your own startup from the start. That mindset will open doors and teach skills that translate to success in any industry.
Building OXOS Medical
Mandavia now serves as the VP of Strategy and Corporate Development at OXOS Medical, an Atlanta-based startup developing the MC2 handheld X-ray system, making radiologic imaging faster, more portable, and more accessible worldwide.
OXOS’s mission reflects the same spirit that fuels Georgia Tech Capstone: taking complex medical challenges and solving them through multidisciplinary collaboration and bold design thinking. The company is deeply rooted in Georgia Tech’s innovation ecosystem, both founders and many current team members are Yellow Jackets. As Mandavia puts it, “Everyone here probably has at least one Georgia Tech degree.”
To Georgia Tech students:
OXOS is growing and always eager to meet driven Georgia Tech graduates and problem-solvers passionate about transforming healthcare. If their mission resonates with you, don’t hesitate to connect—you might just find your next big opportunity there. [Click here to apply]
To future sponsors and partners:
Dev Mandavia’s journey is a testament to how Georgia Tech’s Capstone program shapes innovators who go on to found startups, raise funding, and bring life-changing medical technologies to patients. Supporting Capstone means investing in the next generation of engineers who turn ideas into impact.
