Have you ever asked yourself the question, "How did I end up here?" I am the President/CEO of Integris Neuro; however, naturally that is not where life began for me professionally. My original dream was to be a physician of some kind with my preference being ophthalmology. The structure and function of the eye has always been intriguing to me and assisting others with retaining or restoring their vision would be particularly satisfying when contemplating the disabilities associated with loss of sight. My High School studies and college curriculum were all geared towards this endeavor; however, there were unforeseen forks in the road that would forever remove me from achieving that goal: organic chemistry and marriage. I married when I was 20 years old and still in college; however, the blessing of my first daughter took my spouse out of the workforce when finances were a struggle; so something had to give. I would now be trapped in a cycle of near bankruptcy for a period of 8 years as I worked multiple concurrent jobs and struggled to finish my college degree while only able to take a few hours per semester.
Back in the summer following my senior year of High School I had volunteered for a research study in modulating brainwave patterns through the use of micro-stimulation of the brain. The testing involved a series of EEGs, Evoked Potentials, Biofeedback, and all the associated tasks that had to be performed. If memory serves me correctly, I was paid $95 and given a free meal at the cafeteria. The battery of tests involved two visits lasting about 6 hours each time. When I finished my series of tests, I asked the lead investigator if I could volunteer on Saturdays during the summer so I could learn more about it. When his summer interns left, he offered me a job seeing that I had learned all the protocols and applied myself to reading all the books he had on the subject of EEG. This was my entry point and first interaction with the field of electroencephalography, and it was fascinating. We were using one of the earliest digital EEG systems made by NeuroScan. I leveraged my experience in the research we were doing to get an entry level clinical EEG position at a neurology clinic in southwest Houston. This is where I met Mary O'Connor and Dr. Harris Hauser who served as my mentors and teachers. I learned EEGs on both analog and digital equipment there and quickly advanced in achieving my R. EEGT, R. EDT., and R. PSGT. I passed the written exams for the R. EP T.; however, never completed the practical exam portion, even though I had attempted it once and failed. After 8 years of working in the clinical setting, I took a job to establish a sleep lab and EMU on the north side of Houston. This is where I met a man named, Bill Davies, who was our sales representative with a company called, Bio-logic Systems Corp. I was 28 years old at that time and had finally achieved for the first time in my life the ability to only work one job and support my family; however, I was steeped in debt and the course of my life was prescribed as I would forever be in debt if something did not change. Bill said there was an opening in South Texas for a sales representative and that I should apply for it. I told him I was not interested as my Dad told me that all salesmen were liars and crooks. Tom Keener, Bill's boss, called me and said that Bill had told him that I was the man for the job he had open. I told Tom the same thing as I told Bill. Tom called me again the next day and said he was not willing to accept "no" for an answer yet. I told him that I had no interest and I did not quite understand how he could misunderstand my answer. Tom asked me what my favorite food was, and I told him seafood. He said, "I will fly into Houston from Lexington, Kentucky this week and take you to the best seafood restaurant in Houston if you will meet with me for one hour. If after that meeting you decide to tell me you are not interested, you will never hear from me again. What do you have to lose?" I accepted his offer, and I also accepted my first sales position with Bio-logic Systems Corp. There is much to tell; however, suffice it to say, it was an incredible experience. I worked for Biologic systems Corp for 7 years and was Rookie of the Year, as well as the Top Salesperson for several years. The entire time I was working at Bio-logic I was saving money to be prepared to start my own company one day. I had a couple of small contract service businesses while working all of those concurrent jobs while going to college and had already dreamed of owning a successful business.
Natus Medical purchased Bio-Logic Systems Corp and I left Natus about a year later to start my first successful company with Gary Hale. We called it Global Neuro-Diagnostics.
I served as the COO for our business until we sold the company to Natus Medical back in 2015. Unfortunately my business partner, Gary, passed away that following year and it was a tough loss for me. I was restricted from doing anything in the neurology field for a period of 3 years. Natus had a shift in the direction of their business and decided to divest themselves of service related businesses in their portfolio and focus on hardware equipment sales exclusively. When February 2019 rolled around they closed Global Neuro-Diagnostics and I opened Integris Neuro with a friend of mine, Keith Arrants, who I had originally brought into the field years prior. We have been operating and growing Integris Neuro with the help of some extremely talented people joining our team.
My faith in God is still intact, as well as my marriage of 33 years to Christie. I have a great relationship with my two daughters and their families which include 5 grand-children now. It seems that my prayers have been answered, while the support from my family has been unwavering.
Every step of the way led me to where I am serving as the President/CEO of Integris Neuro, and I am grateful each day for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of all those who work at our company, and all those we serve whether clients or patients.
Oh yeah,...that's how I ended up here isn't it.
by Steven Estes, B.S., EEG T., R. NCS T., R PSGT.
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