Gavin Ferlic, TayCo Brace - Scaling a Notre Dame MedTech Spinout to NFL Sidelines

Gavin Ferlic, Co-Founder and CEO of TayCo Brace, joins host Andrew Petcash to discuss the origin, engineering, and commercialization of the TayCo Brace, an external ankle brace designed at the University of Notre Dame to fit outside the shoe rather than inside it.

Spurred by Notre Dame associate athletic trainer Mike Bean’s observations of paratrooper gear and medical insights from Gavin’s father (Dr. Fred Ferlic, a retired orthopedic surgeon), TayCo Brace addresses a core issue with traditional bracing: space restrictions inside athletic footwear. By bracing externally, the product anchors into the rigid structure of the shoe, utilizing an I-beam engineering principle that increases width to deliver 2.5 times the lateral stability of internal braces without restricting vertical range of motion or required foot clearance.

In this episode, Gavin breaks down the biomechanical mechanics of the brace, its application as a lighter alternative to rigid walking boots (the RecoverX line), its adoption across the NFL and NCAA, and the operational transition into direct-to-consumer healthcare sales to bypass health system purchasing friction.