Health Innovators - SoundSage

View Details

If you’re an innovator with a startup, you’ve got one goal in mind: Growth. How do you grow and scale your business the right way?

It could all be based on the business model you choose or in the way you seek funding - but no matter how you choose to commercialize, growth and scale are a priority.

We sat down with Joe Baffone, co-founder and CEO of Annexus Health, a company that’s grown exponentially over the last few years to get his input on what he’s done right - and what he might have done differently.

What did we find out? We found out that choosing the right time and the right path has many factors at play.

But, once you know what you’re ultimate end goal is, you can find the right path to commercialization and growth.

So grab a chair and join us for this week’s deep dive into platforms, commercialization and managing equity appropriately while growing your company!

Here are the show highlights:

Alternative payment options (6:37)
How financial toxicity disrupts lives (8:33)
Determining your platform for commercialization (12:05)
Unit economics of business models (16:48)
The challenges of raising capital (19:26)
Managing equity appropriately (21:04)

Guest Bio

Joe Baffone is Co-Founder and CEO of Annexus Health, the leading healthcare technology company revolutionizing the patient access journey.

Joe believes delivering innovative solutions that reduce financial and administrative burdens can and will improve access, speed, and adherence to critical care.

With over two decades of experience in life sciences including seven years as a principal at onPoint Oncology, Joe’s passion for empowering others and breaking down barriers to patient care is on full display in the business development, strategy, and culture he’s built at Annexus Health.

If you want more information about Annexus Health or Joe’s work, you can reach out to him on LinkedIn at @JoeBaffone.

View Details

Healthcare innovation is on the rise and getting a lot of attention, but is it getting the RIGHT attention? The kind it not only deserves, but needs?

Coming up with solutions that fit existing problems and drive adoption has always been a difficult process for innovators, but when we don’t talk to the right people during that process, it gets even harder.

Sometimes finding the right people can be tricky, but the real shocker is this: Sometimes they’re already present, right under our noses - we just don’t see their value.

Rebecca Love has built her career and reputation around empowering nurses to lend their voices in an attempt to build stronger communities that can transform healthcare.

She believes that solving problems and scaling solutions so they work for the greater good is the whole point of healthcare. And we have all the parts needed to accomplish this feat, we just need to put them in the right order.

So, join us as Rebecca gets into the details around how she’s pushing to forge a bolder, more innovative path to better healthcare by empowering nurses and giving them a voice (and seat) at the innovation table!

Here are the show highlights:

This is how to achieve the best problem-solution fit (9:30)
Solving problems and scaling that solution to work for many (11:12)
Is there a nursing shortage on the horizon? (14:33)
Transforming reimbursement models (22:36)
The fundamental need for healthcare innovation (25:33)
Optimizing healthcare workforces (27:58)

Guest Bio

Rebecca Love is Chief Clinical Officer at Intelycare, an AI-based healthcare workforce management platform.

Her extensive nursing experience earned her the recognition as the first nurse featured on Ted.com, and as one of Modern Healthcare’s most influential people in healthcare in 2022.

Rebecca is passionate about empowering nurses and creating communities that can transform healthcare.

Rebecca holds a M.S. in Nursing from Northeastern University, B.A. in International Relations/Spanish from Boston University.

If you want more information about Intelycare or Rebecca Love’s work, you can reach out to her on LinkedIn at @RebeccaLove.

View Details

Getting the sale is one thing - getting your innovation adopted into the larger market is another.

Innovators are always looking to get their innovations successfully adopted - and there are many things you need to know that can help you reach that goal.

Narrowing down where you can get the most bang for your buck is the hard part.

Make no mistake, whether it’s building relationships or understanding your market culture - you have some work ahead of you.

That’s where Karen Seagraves comes to the rescue. Her exposure to both the clinical and entrepreneurial sides of solution adoption can help make rolling your sleeves up and getting to work on your innovation more strategic.

If landing the sale is easy for you, but achieving adoption is elusive, come hear what Karen has to say on this week’s episode!

Here are the show highlights:

You’re only as good as your end user’s understanding (6:03)
Feedback is good, but the right feedback is critical (9:18)
The importance of boots on the ground implementation (13:32)
Why you need a fly on the wall (14:39)
Is your solution doing something for the right reasons? (16:30)
How to become more successful with the adoption of my solution? (21:48)

Guest Bio

Karen Seagraves is the Healthcare Advisor and Consultant at The Firework Factor.

Her progressive, 25-year career built on challenging the status quo in healthcare has allowed her to pave the road to innovative idea generation, optimization and problem-solving in the healthcare sector.

Karen received her PhD in Nursing and her Master of Science in Nursing from Georgia State University as well as her BA, BSN, MPH in Registered Nursing from Emory University.

If you want more information about The Firework Factor or Karen Seagrave’s work, you can reach out to her on LinkedIn at @Karen B Seagraves.

View Details

Personalized healthcare is all the rage.

But make no mistake - it’s not not always personalized, especially when it comes to technology.

Technology in healthcare is a game-changer, but personalizing technology can be tricky - especially since most of healthcare is geared toward an “average” patient and then adjusted on an as needed basis.

These types of models make true personalization and health equity harder to reach - but not impossible.

In this week’s panel, I invited Danika Kelly of My Normative, Dr. Katherine Saunders of Intellihealth, and Swathi Arulguppe from BetterMeal.AI to talk about their experiences with underserved populations, the lack of health equity, and the creative paths they’ve forged to better leverage personalized care.

The future of healthcare may depend on personalization so, if you’re a startup entrepreneur, a corporate innovator, or simply someone trying to decide if your idea is a keeper, come have a listen to this week’s episode!

Here are the show highlights:* Health Equity as a focus (10:12) * Identifying gaps in personalized care (10:50) * There’s no one size fits all approach to health (14:09) * Using technology to scale in a hard to scale business model (16:06) * Solving problems customers want to exchange money for (20:39) * Overcoming obstacles to health equity (25:55)

Guest BiosDanika Kelly is CEO and co-founder of My Normative, a female-focused health platform driving innovation in the health sciences through clinically validated data collection, data management, and analytical processes.

If you’d like to get in touch with Danika after the show or learn more about My Normative you can go to their website MyNormative.ca , or reach out to her on linked in at @Danika Kelly.

Dr. Katherine Saunders is the co-founder of Intellihealth, an organization that is fighting the global obesity epidemic one patient – and one personalized treatment plan – at a time

If you’d like to get in touch with Dr. Saunders after the show, or learn more about Intellihealth, you can go to their website at Intellihealth.co, or reach out to her on LinkedIn at @Katherine Saunders.

Swathi Arulguppe is the founder and CEO of BetterMeal.AI, a data company utilizing technology to provide nutritional treatments for chronic food related health issues and working to identify the hidden biomarkers that can impact health.

If you’d like to get in touch with Swathi after the show, or learn more about BetterMeal.AI, you can go to their website at BetterMeal.AI, or reach out to her on LinkedIn at @Swathi A.

View Details

You may think that how someone lands an airplane has nothing in common with successful commercialization, but you’d be wrong.

Just like successfully landing a plane requires the alignment of many factors, everything in your messaging has to be in proper alignment to!

Whether you’re targeting the early market or the mainstream market, your message alignment will be key to your commercialization success.

Warren Schirtzinger knows all about ‘landing’ a successful commercialization, and he’s got a few insights and strategies on messaging that can help innovators when they go to market.

So, if you’re wondering if your approach should be revolutionary or incremental, if your message resonates with the right market, or you’re just ‘plane’ curious to learn what landing a plan and commercialization has to offer, you’re going to want to tune into this week’s episode!

If you like this episode, check out Warren’s first interview here and be sure to look into these additional resources from Warren:

Market Relations Guide: A Framework for Ensuring Long-Term Market Leadership
Innovation-Adoption Experience, Expertise, and Word-of-Mouth Optimization

Here are the show highlights:

The similarities between aviation and commercialization (2:55)
Alignment and the need for reinvention (9:52)
Merging your feedback with the right audience (19:29)
Sometimes you need to buck the trend (22:45)
Revolutionary vs. Incremental innovations (25:06)
How the right alignment helps deliver value (35:03)

Guest Bio

Warren Schirtzinger likes to refer to himself as the “luckiest business person alive” - and he very well may be!

Currently the Managing Partner at High Tech Strategies, he has also built a long and successful career as a strategic advisor, VP of Sales and Marketing. Warren has also made significant contributions to emerging high-tech companies: Apple, Adobe, Harman International, Intermec, and many others.

Warren has also built a successful customer alignment process and experience that helps entrepreneurs, CEOs and product leaders align their business activities with people who are motivated to buy.

If you’d like to learn more about Warren and his system, or reach out to him, visit hightechstrategies.com or find him on LinkedIn at @Warren Schirtzinger.

View Details

If you’re getting ready to commercialize your solution you have some options: you can go after that easy, low hanging fruit, or you can roll up your sleeves and collaborate with others.

Now to be fair, that low hanging fruit might generate immediate, albeit limited, success, but in the long run, you’re going to find that collaboration with others in your market will produce the strongest strategies that will stand the test of time.

After all, no one will buy something they don’t want.

Adam Amitai knows all about trying to push commercialization of a product that no one wants, and that experience has taught him the importance of collaborating your way to results.

If you’re having difficulties successfully bringing your product to market, you should really take a moment to listen to our latest podcast and what Adam has to say about collaborating to create something better.

Here are the show highlights:

The Biggest Gap in Solving Preventative Care (7:45)
3 Differentiations in Prevention Engines (12:08)
Collaborating to Create Something Better (14:22)
Why the low hanging fruit isn’t always the sweetest (15:49)
How to successfully invest your commercialization resources (18:43)
The hype around Precision Care (31:59)

Guest Bio

Adam Amitai is co-founder and CEO of Lavaa Health, a digital health company that specializes in preventive care and reduction of undetected chronic, oncologic, and mental health diseases.

Adam began his career as an officer in the Israeli Defense Force’s cyber intelligence unit.

After he left the Army, he branched out into multiple fields ranging from cyber intelligence, to high frequency Algo trading, AI for critical infrastructure, and digital health.

Adam received his Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science from the Richmond University.

If you want more information about Lavaa Health or Adam Amitai’s work, you can reach out to him on LinkedIn at @Adam Amitai, or via email at Adam@lavaa.health.

View Details

Successful commercialization can be difficult, and that difficulty can grow if you’re building a platform based business.

Build a platform based business in healthcare and, well, you’re just begging for the challenges to come fast and furiously..

Kyle Kiser knows all about building a healthcare centered platform business - it’s driven, and challenged, him throughout his career.

Whether it’s point of care connectivity, pharmaceutical pricing, or the interoperability of data gathering, he’s got some words of wisdom he’s sharing with listeners on this week’s show.

So, if a platform business is giving you commercialization challenges - or if you’re just one of those folks who like to figure out how systems work together to benefit the whole, pull up a chair - this one’s for you!

Here are the show highlights:

The point of Point of Care connectivity (2:38)
The two sides of pharmaceutical pricing (6:34)
Obsessing about the value chain (12:28)
Optimizing patient benefit alternatives (20:47)
Challenges with the interoperability of data (24:18)
Balancing supply and demand in a platform business (26:04)

Guest Bio

Kyle Kiser is CEO of Arrive Health, a company working to improve the value of healthcare through more informed decision-making.

Kyle got his start immersed in the health insurance business side of healthcare and from there built up his expertise in driving sales in health and wellness markets over the past two decades.

Kyle received his Bachelor’s of Science in Business from Guilford College in 2006.

If you want more information about Arrive Health or Kyle Kiser’s work, you can reach out to him on LinkedIn at @Kyle Kiser, or visit ArriveHealth.com.

View Details

Launching a successful healthcare startup can be difficult on its best day, but when you have all the right tools and resources, that process can be made so much easier.

When it comes to marketing, many startups are missing a huge opportunity and, instead, try to leapfrog their way to success.

In fact, the all-too-familiar assumption that marketing can wait, is the root cause of many industry failures.

Matt McBride is here to talk about why that ‘popular’ assumption isn’t the best practice if you want to build a successful healthcare solution.

If you’re looking to make a difference in healthcare communication and patient engagement, you need to understand the power of a robust and strategic marketing foundation, and Matt is here to explain precisely what that might look like.

Here are the show highlights:

Everyone is, or will be, a patient (2:46)
Know your market size and your problem (3:08)
Pivoting toward future opportunities (6:34)
The Google secret to to finding product market fit (14:00)
How assumptions can sabotage your startup (22:52)
Digital experience and the communication model (29:02)

Guest Bio

Matt McBride is President & CEO of Mend - an integrated patient engagement and telehealth platform.

He took his career in project management and ed tech a step further by applying his expertise to the healthcare industry in order to provide a better patient experience.

Matt earned his BBA in MIS and Business Management and his MBA from the University of Michigan - Dearborn.

If you want more information about Mend or Matt McBride’s work, visit Mend.com website or, you can find him on LinkedIn @Matt McBride

View Details

Question: What do you do when you have a solution that helps unlock the largest possible target market in the country?

If you answered, dig my heels in and keep going, you’d be right. But when that target market has been historically undervalued and overlooked, you might have your work cut out for you.

Hard work didn’t scare Danika Kelly. She saw value in women’s health where others saw nothing but complications.

And then she rolled up her sleeves and got down to business.

If you’ve been curious about fem tech, or just looking to push social innovation, drive business development, or simply be successful while doing some good in the world, we have you covered in this week’s episode!

Here are the show highlights:* Inclusion criteria and its effect on health tech (2:47) * Fem tech as a stepping stone in female health (4:07) * Social innovation and driving business development (7:13) * Being successful and doing “good” (8:26) * Target markets are fundamental to success (11:20) * The dichotomy and ethics of women’s issues (15:22)

Guest BioDanika Kelly is CEO and co-founder of My Normative. She is also a health and wellness professional and trained socio-cultural scholar in issues surrounding female health and representation.

For the past 14 years she’s worked globally focusing on health advancement and knowledge translation in developing economies.

Her strong history of leadership excellence in the social innovation space has earned her awards and recognition from Telus and The Future of Good, FemTech Analytics, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs and more.

If you want more information about Danika Kelly and her work, visit the MyNormative.ca website or, you can find her on LinkedIn @Danika Kelly

View Details

You’ve heard me talk about commercialization a million times - all those tried and true methods to commercialization and funding aren’t new and, we know they work.

But one thing you can always count on happening, whenever you get comfortable with a process, is a new idea coming along to shake things up a bit.

What if I told you there’s a way to fund an early stage innovation in 4 pitches or less? I bet that got your attention.

And there’s even more out of the box thinking to examine and consider.

Touching on everything from commercial models, validation, patents and investments, Daniel O’connor brings his process on commercialization and pitching to the table for discussion.

So, if you’re ready to take a deep dive into an exciting new concept on commercial models and successfully launching your product, pull up a seat and grab some coffee!

Here are the show highlights:

The real value is in the model (1:46)
Understanding the Commercial Model (9:21)
How to validate a Commercial Model (11:25)
Patents and intellectual property (14:18)
Investments with four pitches or less (19:18)
Understanding leverages (27:26)

Guest Bio

Daniel O’Connor is the Consultant and Principal for Kickstart Plus. A Management Consultant and Business Coach with 38 years of experience in innovation, he has been Company Director of a number of companies, private and public, listed and unlisted, in Australia and overseas.

Daniel specializes in intellectual property portfolio management and commercialization, including an online global coaching and mentoring program.

The Australian member of the UN Task Force on Innovation and Competitiveness, Daniel works with business and government leaders around the World on transferring suitable innovation to developing countries.

Learn more about @Kickstart Plus on their LinkedIn page or if you’d like to reach Daniel directly, you can also find him on LinkedIn @Daniel O'Connor.

View Details

When most folks think of psychology, they’re miles away from thinking about digital health commercialization - and that’s a shame.

A key ingredient in successful commercialization, of any kind, is understanding human behavior. Because if you understand past behaviors, you can better predict future behavior.

And when your digital health solution is sitting at the convergence of behavioral economics, science, psychology, and medicine, there’s no one better equipped to point you in the right direction than this week’s guest, Dr. Talya Miron-Shatz.

Dr. Miron-Shatz is an expert when it comes to understanding why people react, act, and behave as they do toward digital health, and she’s brought receipts.

If you’ve ever wondered how, or why, the power of the situation might influence your target market’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors toward your product, you need to listen in!

Here are the show highlights:* 3 key elements to the commercialization process (3:28) * Put a little sci-fi into your medication adherence (5:01) * Can psychological marketing segmentation fuel commercialization? (7:13) * One-size-fits-all messaging (and why it doesn’t work) (13:26) * Why psychology is crucial for successful digital health tech (17:51) * How to operationalize a personalized experience (32:03)

Guest BioDr.Talya Miron-Shatz is a leader at the intersection of behavioral economics, psychology, and medicine and the CEO of CureMyWay, an international consulting firm in the health sector.

A post-doctoral fellow of Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman at Princeton University, Dr. Miron-Shatz has taught consumer behavior at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She brings her vast knowledge to her industry work, as a consultant and speaker.

With over 60 publications in top academic journals, her recent book, Your Life Depends on It: What You Can Do to Make Better Choices About Your Health, is a deep dive into how patients and healthcare professionals think, with crucial lessons for the healthcare industry.

If you want more information about Dr. Miron-Shatz and her work, visit their website at TalyaMironShatz.com or, you can find her on LinkedIn @Talya Miron-Shatz, PhD

View Details

Healthcare has always been slow to change, and adoption of digital health solutions has been no different.

When it comes to advances in technology and digital solutions, we sometimes tend to put the cart before the horse - that is, we go in with a solution, without first asking the questions.

A digital health solution can phel drive adoption, support, guide or even act as a network. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Dr. Lloyd Hymphreys is an expert on digital health, and he’s here to explain why digital health is not a one-size-fits-all solution and how, when we make assumptions, we end up trying to solve problems that don’t exist. And that can be a big problem when commercializing.

Assumptions are like windows - if we don’t scrub them off every once in a while, the sun will never come in - and Dr. Humphreys is here to put his expertise to work and help clean those windows.

Here are the show highlights:* Things to do (or not do) when commercializing (1:31) * Key differences in Quality Initiatives (6:09) * Are you trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist? (10:10) * When looking at the opportunities with digital health, don’t forget the risks (13:15) * Digital health is not a “one-size-fits-all” solution (18:56) * Digital health should not be treated as a separate healthcare pathway (24:50)

Guest BioDr. Lloyd Humphreys is the Managing Director at ORCHA, a company that assesses and distributes quality assured digital health solutions.

A proven, highly regarded business and sector leader in digital health, Dr. Humphreys has a passion for helping others scale their digital health solutions.

In addition to being a trained clinical psychologist, Dr. Humphreys also completed an Executive MBA at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin.

If you want more information about ORCHA, visit their website at ORCHAHealth.com, or if you wish to reach out to Dr. Humphreys, you can find him on LinkedIn @Dr Lloyd Humphreys

View Details

Whether you’re looking to break into AI, streamline your commercialization journey, or bring the next big disruptive innovation to market - you need to know how to scale.

Steve Ardire knows a thing or two about scaling a business and the key decisions that go hand in hand with doing so, faster and better.

Let’s face it, startups face a lot of challenges. We tend to fall into “friendly” traps and sometimes hyper-focus on landing those big-name deals.

Steve is here to give our listeners some tips on how to avoid those pitfalls, while serving up some tried and true strategies to help you stay focused on your end goals.

So, if you built a startup, your next move is to scale it - smarter, faster, and better. You’re going to want to watch this episode!

Here are the show highlights:* The biggest challenge to startups (6:05) * The fundamental flaws of “friendlies” (9:25) * Key decisions that help in the commercialization journey (24:36) * How to shape serendipity by connecting and illuminating the dots (25:29) * The next disruptive innovation (31:04) * What to look for when choosing AI technologies (33:20)

Guest BioSteve Ardire is an AI Startup Advisor and “Force Multiplier” who shapes serendipity by connecting and illuminating dots that matter.

Steve has built his AI career by leveraging deep relationship capital with recognized personal brands.

A life-long ”intentional learner,” Steve treats every experience as an opportunity to learn with curiosity and a growth mindset.

If you’d like to reach out to Steve, you can find him on LinkedIn at Steve Ardire or on Twitter at @forcemultstevea.

View Details

Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that they had a plan from the start - it was all figured out and they just followed their path to success! Did they really?

When you’re at the pinnacle it’s often easy to forget the trials and challenges it took to get to that lofty spot - and rightly so because it’s a lot of grueling work. You earned a break.

But that’s just exactly the thing: it’s work. Very few people begin commercialization of a solution with a plan they follow to the letter. Things happen - changes come along - adaptation is necessary.

Then there’s folks like Shawn Zimmerman who showed up to the party without much of a plan at all. He just had a good idea that he knew one organization needed.

It took some hustling on his end to craft a solution that he, at first, thought was niche - only to find out that every hospital organization needed what he was building. And he was off to the races.

Whether you’re having a difficult time trusting your instincts or just second guessing yourself out of a successful commercialization run, you need to give yourself a break and listen to Shawn’s story - then get back to the hard work of reaching your pinnacle!

Here are the show highlights:* If you can build it and deploy it: COMMERCIALIZE IT (6:41) * How to transition from a side hustle to a viable business (8:01) * So, you’re building a business….what happens next? (13:38) * Sometimes successful plans aren’t planned at all - they just happen (17:56) * Success doesn’t always look like a billion dollar IPO (22:59) * Why it’s smart to never undervalue your solution (31:37)

Guest BioShawn Zimmerman is the Vice President of Product Development at AccuReg, a healthcare industry software designer.

Over the last two decades, Shawn has held many positions in the healthcare industry, allowing him to gain unique and real insights into the daily challenges of health institutions.

His hands-on approach has earned him a wide range of skills in the healthcare industry, where he leverages his experience in order to provide innovative software solutions.

If you’d like to talk to Shawn about AccuReg’s work, or simply wish to reach out to him, you can find him on LinkedIn @Shawn Zimmerman

View Details

I see it a lot: an innovator has a solution to a problem - a solution that could change healthcare for the better… only to find out that problem isn’t even on healthcare’s priority roadmap.

You might think that’s the end of it, right? Maybe you need to go back and find a different issue to address? Not so fast.

Sometimes the answer to getting your solution into the market is to become the provider for that solution.

That’s precisely what Dr. Katherine Saunders did with her company, Intellihealth. When the healthcare companies said, “Not right now,” she said, “Watch me.”

From understanding ‘person first’ language to tying healthcare, wellness, and lifestyle together, Dr. Saunders shows us how she successfully took an idea to market - even when her main audience hadn’t yet taken interest.

Here are the show highlights:

This is what a successful ‘pandemic pivot’ looks like (5:14)
What is ‘Person first’ language and how do you use it? (12:10)
Different pathways for different people (14:40)
How ‘Next level’ decisions could be a new sub specialty (17:24)
Women’s health trends and where they’re heading (21:39)
How conversations and shared experiences can put you on the right track (25:22)

Guest Bio

Dr. Katherine Saunders is the co-founder at Intellihealth and Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Specializing in obesity and weight-related medical complications, her areas of expertise include advanced medical approaches to obesity and strategies to counteract medication-induced weight gain.

Dr. Saunders received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College.

If you’d like more information on Intellihealth, or wish to reach Dr. Saunders, she can be found on LinkedIn at Katherine Saunders.

View Details

You can find a wearable on just about any wrist these days - or finger, or even a shirt. The point is: Wearables are evolving.

No longer the simple step trackers of the early 2000s, wearable technology has reached out into the world of heart rate monitors and even O2 sensors.

But with that evolution comes a boatload of data. How that data is disseminated and handled could be the key to wearables revolutionizing healthcare across the board.

João Bocas knows a lot about wearables - he’s often referred to as the #1 digital health influencer. And in this week’s episode, he joins us as we take a deep dive into the world of wearable technology.

From understanding which wearable might work for you, how much is too much data, and how AI is poised to take data analysis to a whole new level, we’ve got your answers!

Here are the show highlights:* Taking a ‘step’ beyond trackers - how wearables have evolved (5:24) * The trajectory of wearables toward better health (6:14) * How to make wearables work for you (10:19) * Breaking down barriers to wearable tech (19:45) * What you need to know about AI and wearable tech (20:45) * What entrepreneurs need to do to break down barriers to human health (25:05)

Guest BioJoão Bocas is billed as the #1 digital health influencer. A wearables expert and current CEO at Digital Salutem, João has spent his career focused on transforming digital health.

João uses his podcast, “Digital Health & Wearables,” to influence social media and attract and energize audiences across the globe.

If you’d like to reach out João, he can be found on Twitter at @wearablesexpert or on LinkedIn @Joao Bocas

View Details

When it comes to our target audience, we think we know exactly what they want - but do we really? Or are we making assumptions based on past behavior?

This may seem like a simple fix but the habit can be hard to break. And when 95% of all innovations fail, that leaves very little room for error.

Warren Schirtzinger has been able to break that habit - and he’s dishing out some major strategies on how to increase your chances of having your innovation adopted!

Warren talks about assumptions and past behavior, understanding who the adopters (and innovators) are in the adoption cycle, and even the balance of benefit/cost.

There’s a lot to unpack in this episode. And we’re planning on more with Warren, so get in on the first show and get ready to shore up your innovation adoption strategies so you can increase your chances of success.

Here are the show highlights:* Adoption of innovation and risk evaluation (6:31) * This is why 95% of all innovations fail (8:40) * Electric vehicles vs. COVID vaccinations - don’t make assumptions (17:09) * Understanding who the innovators and adopters are (20:09) * Identifying the magic in word-of-mouth (28:42) * For every benefit an innovation brings, there’s a cost (33:00)

Guest BioWarren Schirtzinger likes to refer to himself as the “luckiest business person alive” - and he very well may be!

Warren has also built a successful customer alignment process and experience that helps entrepreneurs, CEOs and product leaders align their business activities with people who are motivated to buy.

If you’d like to learn more about Warren and his system, or reach out to him, visit hightechstrategies.com or find him on LinkedIn at Warren Schirtzinger.

View Details

Careers are a funny thing. We build them and nurture them and then, for some of us, we switch gears and chase our dream to build a unicorn startup.

It can be a scary place for most folks. But when you have an established career in the healthcare space, you’ve got a lot of leverage that you might not know you can capitalize on.

This week, we sit down with John Figueroa, Founder and CEO of Carepath Rx. He shares some of the strategies he used to do just that: chase the dream of a unicorn startup that changes healthcare - for the better.

Touching on everything from how to leverage relationships you’ve built over the years to understanding the criteria and framework for a true unicorn business, John brings it all to the table for listeners.

Maybe you’ve been thinking about how you need a change, or want to make a difference, or would really like to put your idea to the test. Whatever your reasons, if you’re considering a change in perspective for your career, you’re going to want to tune in!

Here are the show highlights: * Switching gears from an established career to a startup (7:11) * How to leverage your experience (and relationships) to open doors (11:28) * Why service innovation is a form of product innovation (14:01) * How digital technology can make America healthier (17:39) * A breakdown of the unicorn criteria (18:36) * Healthcare trends to watch for (23:55)

Guest Bio John Figueroa is the Chairman and CEO of CarepathRx, a company providing innovative pharmacy solutions to hospital health systems.

In his 30-year career in the healthcare industry, John has served as CEO of Genoa Health, Chairman and CEO of Apria Healthcare Group and Coram LLC, CEO and Board Member of Omnicare, Inc. and President of McKesson Corporation’s U.S. Pharmaceutical Group.

Honored with the Distinguished Alumnus and Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Inspired Leadership Award, he went on to receive the Supply Chain Executive of the Decade award from the Global Supply Chain Leaders Group (GSCLG) and served as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Army as well as serving with the 12th Special Forces Group.

John received his Bachelor’s degrees in both English Literature and Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles, and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

If you’d like to know more about John and CarepathRx, visit their website at carepathrxllc.com.

View Details

Healthcare is notoriously slow to move or change. That’s not news, it’s fact. And sometimes we have ‘solutions’ that might not be ideal, or even utilized because, well, they’re not all that effective.

But what if you could reimagine that solution? Or take a different approach to getting the solution out to those who need it? That could be exactly what the “doctor ordered.”

While enduring a health crisis of her own, Marina Borukhovich recognized a need in the healthcare market with a current solution that wasn’t very effective.

Marina and her husband Eugene were able to reimagine a traditional - and often underutilized health coaching solution and, with the help of an unplanned pandemic, bring it into the 21st century.

I was thrilled when Marina and Eugene agreed to sit down and talk about what steps they took, and challenges they faced, while trying to solve an unmet need in healthcare - and succeeding.

Here are the show highlights:

When (and how) to take advantage of shifting mindsets (9:47)
Understanding that your role is valuable (14:49)
It pays to pay attention to the ‘Oh, CRAP!’ moments (12:34)
Building a (virtual) company culture (22:16)
Nurturing a “gig” economy (26:58)
The best advice is filtered advice (34:52)

Guest Bio

Marina Borukhovich is founder and CEO at YourCoach Health.

She began her career as a developer at Lockheed Martin, followed by several entrepreneurial ventures.

After moving to Amsterdam, Marina was diagnosed with cancer. That battle helped fuel a passion for helping others.

If you’d like to get in touch with Marina, you can reach out to her @YourCoachHealth on all social platforms or via email at Marina@yourcoachhealth.com.

Eugene Borukhovich is co-founder and COO at YourCoach Health and founder of Initium Impact Ventures.

He’s a career intra and entrepreneur, executive, venture builder, and speaker & board advisor focused on digital health.

If you’d like to reach out to Eugene, you can reach him @YourCoachHealth on all social platforms, via email at Eugene@yourcoachhealth.com, or on twitter at @HealthEugene.

View Details

The digital health space is changing so fast, it can sometimes feel like your head is going to spin right off trying to keep track of what’s coming and going.

And with all those moving parts, if you’re not paying attention - and I mean close attention - you could miss out on some huge opportunities, or fall into some epic traps.

Dr. Joseph Kvedar has had his finger on the pulse of digital health and telehealth for over 30 years - so, when it comes to hyper shifting technology and business models, or even stalled out progress, he’s the man you want on your team.

That’s why I was thrilled when he agreed to come onto the show, again, and share his expertise and thoughts on all those moving parts.

Only this time, instead of discussing the possible changes to digital health and telehealth, we’re going to pick apart the massive shifts caused by COVID, and what those shifts may mean to the future of healthcare.

Here are the show highlights: * Looking at digital healthcare through the eyes of patients or caregivers. (9:52) * Who’s at risk of being the next Kodak? (12:45) * Successful healthcare disruptors will want to do this (15:39) * Which healthcare innovations are further along than others (22:04) * The risks and rewards of AI (24:25) * The fastest growing trend of entrepreneurship (33:31)

Guest Bio Joseph C. Kvedar, MD is a practicing dermatologist, Chairman of the Board at the ATA, Editor at the npj Digital Medicine, a senior advisor at Harvard Medical School and an advisor to many healthcare startups, and the author of two books, The Internet of Healthy Things and The New Mobile Age: How Technology Will Extend the Healthspan and Optimize the Lifespan.

If you have additional questions or insights you’d like to discuss with Dr. Kvedar, you can reach out to him on LinkedIn at Joe Kvedar, Twitter at @jkvedar, or by visiting joekvedar.com.

View Details

The world of funding can be a bit intimidating. Where do you start? How do you increase your chances of receiving an award?

The truth is, the process is highly specific. But if you take the time to really understand your proposal and what you’re hoping to prove, you’ve already got a leg up.

Christine E.B. Howard has spent her entire career in the funding space - and when she says you need to do A, B, or C, you can bet you’re getting the right advice at the right time.

On this week’s show, Christine helps dispel some of the myths around writing and submitting proposals while also providing strategic insights on how small startups can increase their chances with securing funds.

Funding is definitely a hurdle every company will have to clear. But this episode is sure to give you the training you need to sail over that bar and increase your chances at winning an award and moving your startup into the next phase toward success.

Here are the show highlights:

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants and innovation (3:20)
Why writing for clarity is key when submitting funding proposals (5:13)
This is why you need a rock solid R&D methodology (15:09)
You’re going to want to work out your customer discovery and value prop (16:09)
Is funding customer discovery a “chicken or the egg” phenomenon? (18:02)
What grant writers should (and should not) do (21:07)

Guest Bio

Christine E.B. Howard is the Founder and CEO of E.B. Howard Consulting, specializing in non-dilutive SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) funding that helps develop, fund, and implement innovative STEM-based solutions.

Christine is a mentor at the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps and has served as president and on the board of directors for the National Association of Women’s Business Owners.

If you’d like to reach out to Christine, or want more information about E.B. Howard Consulting’s platforms or their grant writing services, you can find her and additional information on EBHoward.com.

View Details

Change can be scary, or it can be exhilarating - it’s all a matter of perception. That said, one thing is for sure: the only way to make sense of change is to embrace it.

And, in healthcare, change has been happening at a rapid pace, even before COVID hit the scene. But the tempo has certainly picked up.

Mauro Guillen understands how trends work and the implications of their effect on the trajectory of innovation in the future.

Which is why we’re thrilled he’s sitting down with our viewers and listeners to shed some light on where we are now - and where we’re headed in the next decade.

A lot of us are concerned about the future and where we’ll be in 5, 10, even 20 years. If you count yourself as an entrepreneur who’s got one foot in the now and the other searching for a foothold on the next trend, we’re here to spot you!

Here are the show highlights:

Two big trends affecting healthcare today - and in the future (1:49)
The digitization of medical records, and the new wave of telemedicine (3:23)
New initiatives among smaller to mid-sized companies in healthcare (6:24)
What you need to do when so many things are changing (8:27)
Four myths of the ‘gray’ population (14:02)
This is the only possible response to the changes happening around you (26:43)

Guest Bio

Mauro Guillen is the author of over 40 scholarly articles and 10 books, including the bestselling "2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything."

A former Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellow, Mauro is currently serving as the Dean of Cambridge Judge Business School.

Frequently appearing on networks such as NPR, Bloomberg TV, CCTV (China News), CNN en español, and other broadcast media, he continues to write, consult, and collaborate regularly with organizations including Accenture, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, RAND Corporation, and AFI.

You can purchase Mauro’s book, 2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything, on Amazon and other retailers. If you’d like to reach out to Mauro, you can connect with him on LinkedIn at Mauro Guillen.

View Details

Even though the world of healthcare is slow to implement changes to tried-and-true systems, the world of healthcare technology rockets right along.

For many entrepreneurs who build startups in the healthcare space, we’re expecting that quick pace, we brace for it and match it - even when slowing down might be our best option.

Harsh Vathsangam is the Co-Founder and CEO of Moving Analytics and he’s here to remind us that sometimes (okay, more often than not), slowing the pace and really listening can be the key to success.

When we move too fast, we can miss small details that pack a big punch - and when our company picks up on those details and puts them into play, we put our solutions at the head of the pack.

On this week’s episode, learn how strategy can be both quick and thoughtful, if we simply take the time necessary to really listen to what our market, and customers, are telling us.

Here are the show highlights:

Two things to do when you’re thinking of forming a startup (5:47)
Should you be fundraising, or gathering analyses? (10:00)
How landing your first customer can break down barriers (22:22)
You never know where that lead is going to come from (23:44)
How listening can be your winning strategy (29:56)
Crossing the chasm between early the adopter market and mainstream market (31:27)

Guest Bio

Harsh Vathsangam, PHD, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Moving Analytics, a digital health company out to conquer heart disease through digital prevention.

His personal mission is to take technological solutions and apply them in ways that benefit people's lives.

Harsh brings a broad range of expertise to the startup community, from working at the intersection of big data and mobile health all the way to technological and social innovation.

If you’d like more info on Moving Analytics, you can email them at Hello@MovingAnalytics.com or contact them on Twitter at @movinganalytics. If you’d like to reach out to Harsh, you can message him via LinkedIn at Harsh Vathsangam.

View Details

Over the years, we’ve had leaders, consultants, advisors - just about every manner of representation in the healthcare leadership ecosystem - but never one that had them all covered!

And then there was Patrick Tarnowski, founder of PTx2 Healthcare Consulting - a healthcare ecosystem veteran with over 30 years exposure to healthcare and innovation.

With more than half our listeners and viewers trying to sell to a provider market, hospital system, or a health plan, there’s been many challenges we’ve faced and opportunities missed.

Patrick sits down with us this week to share his insights and experiences in bringing successful healthcare solutions to market - from every side of the coin, and without trying to boil the ocean.

It doesn’t matter who your target market is for this one, because there’s something for everyone.

Here are the show highlights:

This is how to successfully navigate long sales cycles (8:10)
Understanding your solution is as important as understanding your technology (15:13)
Is it a sale or is it a discovery? (20:55)
Why you shouldn’t try to boil the ocean (27:30)
Seek market understanding over product validation (30:06)
Don’t bypass the healthcare ecosystem hooplah! (38:03)

Guest Bio

Patrick is the founder of PTx2 Healthcare Consulting – a firm that specializes in helping small/early-stage companies understand and successfully navigate the healthcare ecosystem.

Over 30 years in healthcare leadership roles has culminated in a passion for helping innovators and founders navigate the complexities of the healthcare ecosystem.

Pat has successfully launched and scaled care delivery companies, digital solutions that included health and wellbeing, disease management and virtual care and worked with providers to achieve success in value-based payment models.

If you’d like more information about PTx2 Healthcare Consulting, you can contact Pat directly on LinkedIn at Patrick Tarnowski.

View Details

“If you build it, they will come” only works in baseball. The truth is if you build it and they don’t know about it, you’ll never be seen.

Eric Dai from Bio Launch at the University of Pennsylvania knows a few things about establishing problem and solution awareness - and how that works with product-market fit

One of the keys to being “seen” is by helping people first. You’ll never make money if you’re not providing a product or service that fills a need or solves a problem.

Intrigued? We were. So we invited Eric to come on the show and talk to us about the enormous impact transparency, positivity, and balanced relationships have on problem-solution awareness.

If you’re a budding entrepreneur, this episode has your name written all over it!

Here are the show highlights:

Why we need to do the right things for the right reasons (10:30)
The positive effects of purpose-driven organizations (12:30)
How value propositions and building relationships affect funding (18:52)
The importance of knowing your value proposition’s sweet spot (22:17)
Do you have problem-solution awareness? (26:55)
This HUGE company killed it on co-creation (29:04)

Guest Bio

Eric Dai is a venture associate at Pillar VC/Petri and co-founder and Managing Director for Bio Launch, the University of Pennsylvania’s first student-run biotech accelerator.

He’s also co-founder and host of Behind Biotech, a podcast that shares the stories of the innovative science and leaders behind biotech to educate and inspire future leaders in the life sciences.

Eric uses his experience and expertise in technical problem-solving to fuel his passion for bringing people together. He’s out to change the world for the better.

If you’d like more information about Bio Launch, you can contact Eric directly at eric@petri.bio or you can find him on LinkedIn at Eric Dai.

View Details

The first rule of successful commercialization is mapping out your path. The second rule is understanding when you have to adjust direction.

Where to start; where to go; whether your product caters to consumers, providers, payers, or all three can change over the course of your commercialization journey.

Dr. Elizabeth Ruzzo knows this first hand and she’s bringing us the scoop on how her startup was able to not only meet a need, but make that solution enticing to both customers and payers alike.

Dishing on everything from out-of-this-world-crazy statistics to successfully weighing the pros and cons that line your commercialization path, Dr. Ruzzo delivers on key insights and strategies we know you’re looking for.

If you’re trying to figure out which commercialization journey is right for you, you’re not going to want to miss this episode!

Here are the show highlights:

The crazy research statistic you haven’t heard about (1:56)
Understanding where to start your commercialization journey (8:25)
How to empower consumers with consumer-first healthcare (12:39)
Weighing the pros and cons on your commercialization path (15:18)
Data’s influence on audience message mapping (23:10)
Influencer marketing - will it work for you? (25:01)

Guest Bio

Dr. Elizabeth Ruzzo is Founder and CEO of adyn, a company focused on bridging the medical research gap and making scientific discovery more inclusive.

After more than a decade immersed in the study of human genomics and medical genetics, Dr. Ruzzo began noticing large knowledge gaps in medical research and information. It was then that she decided to build a new standard of care and work to close gaps caused by historic inequity in medical research.

The recipient of many awards including the Charles J. Epstein Trainee Awardee for Excellence in Human Genetics Research, and the Jo Rae Wright Fellowship for Outstanding Women in Science, Dr. Ruzzo completed her graduate work at Duke University and postdoctoral research at UCLA.

If you’d like to contact Dr. Ruzzo directly, you can email her at hello@adyn.com, or find her on LinkedIn at Elizabeth Ruzzo, PhD. If you’d like more information about adyn, visit their website at adyn.com.

View Details

Having a mission and vision are par for the course with healthcare entrepreneurs. We all want to change the face of healthcare in a positive way.

Staying focused on your mission while growing and scaling your startup, though, that’s where it can get tricky. It’s good to have a few tools in our toolboxes, like how to leverage sales functions in your startup.

Mayur Saxena can tell us all a thing or two about leveraging sales and growing a scalable startup - he’s done just that with his company Droice Labs.

In our latest episode, Mayur talks about key strategies he put into place that helped him bring 50 healthcare systems on board. And, come on, 50? That’s amazing for a healthcare innovation!

Come hear Mayur tell his story and dish a few insights - then take a trick or two back with you to add to your toolbox.

Here are the show highlights:

Finding a path to better care programs (6:53)
It’s okay to be mission-driven and disruptive (12:07)
How being mission-focused can affect funding (19:43)
Why you should stay mission-focused but reality based(22:42)
The first function for startups is sales (29:54)
Dig deeper and find the value in negative conversations (31:33)

Guest Bio

Mayur Saxena is CEO of Droice Labs, a company that is dedicated to enabling personalized medicine at scale.

As both entrepreneur and scientist, Mayur spends his career concentrating on advancing medicine using high-noise/big data analysis.

In addition to occupying key roles in several startups, including co-founding a biotech firm in the diabetes space, Mayur earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University, focusing on the computational physics of disease.

If you’d like to contact Mayur directly, you can email him at mayur@droicelabs.com, or find him on LinkedIn at Mayur Saxena. If you’d like more information about Droice Labs, visit their website at DroiceLabs.com.

View Details

All data is not created equal. In fact, there is data out there that’s incredibly valuable, but not being used.

Understanding how data shapes strategies and business models can be one of the most important keys to success that a healthcare entrepreneur can access.

On our latest Executive Briefing, we talk to a new panel featuring Francesco Lucarelli, Chief Commercial Officer and Partner at HCB Health, Chuck Hazzard, VP of Wearables and Integrations at Heads Up Health, and Sara Badahman, CEO and Founder of HIPAAtrek. We discussed everything from interoperability to health information exchange (HIEs) to help identify data that can build strategies and tactics which any innovator can deploy in their commercialization process.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a startup entrepreneur or a corporate innovator, there’s gold here - and you just might uncover a bit of wisdom and insight that gives you the edge you need to push your innovation forward. Come and listen to this week’s episode!

Here are the show highlights:

What you need to do in order to find success (2:34)
Why you should never “go it alone” (5:52)
This is why we identify the need before jumping to technology(7:58)
Is it a “you” problem or an industry problem? (9:02)
Data validation of business models (16:48)
Healthcare and the rule of three (28:59)

Guest Bios

Francesco Lucarelli is Chief Commercial Officer and Partner at HCB Health, a full-service marketing agency focused on giving life-changing medicines a voice.

If you’d like to get in touch with Francesco after the show or learn more about HCB Health you can go to their website HCBHealth.com, email him at francesco.lucarelli@hcbhealth.com, or find him on linked in at Francesco Lucarelli.

Chuck Hazzard is VP of Wearables and Integrations at Heads Up Health, a health data analytics company that aggregates lifestyle data to enable healthcare clinics to generate presentations and graphs that increase patient engagement and trust while growing top-line revenue.

If you’d like to get in touch with Chuck after the show, or learn more about Heads Up Health, you can go to their website at HeadsUpHealth.com, email him at chuck@headsuphealth.com, or find him on LinkedIn at Chuck Hazzard.

Sarah Badahman is the CEO and Founder of HIPAAtrek, a one-stop-shop cloud-based platform that streamlines an organization's compliance program and allows it to create, manage and maintain its compliance processes from start to finish.

If you’d like to get in touch with Sarah after the show, or learn more about HIPAAtrek, you can go to their website at HIPAAtrek.com, email her at at sarah@hipaatrek.com, or find her on LinkedIn at Sarah Badahman, CHPSE.

View Details

Proving efficacy in a healthcare setting can be hard - try to do so with a pediatric solution and you can have your work cut out for you.

But when it comes to commercialization challenges, Heather Underwood, CEO of EvoEndo, sees each one as an opportunity.

With a career that reaches across continents, she’s learned a thing or two (or a thousand) about how to be creative when commercializing her solutions - and be successful while doing it.

We all know healthcare is its own animal, there are a lot of moving parts - but if you’re one of those entrepreneurs who likes a challenge, yet still struggles with commercialization, we hear you.

Shut your office door, grab a chair and turn up your volume because this week’s guest just might help you find your opportunity hidden inside a challenge!

Here are the show highlights:

Commercial success starts with identifying need (7:53)
How to find the flexibility and freedom to adjust your business model (9:52)
Winning at creative commercialization (11:03)
Getting through the limbo period of raising capital (13:17)
Successful assembly-line fundraising (18:56)
Identifying what makes a great team or partner (21:02)

Guest Bio

Dr. Heather Underwood joined EvoEndo as CEO in 2019, after completing the Stanford Biodesign Fellowship for medical device innovation.

Her work has taken her from the lecture halls of the University of Colorado Boulder's ATLAS program all the way to implementing clinical decision support systems for midwives and nurses in Kenya.

For the last 10 years, Heather’s career has focused on founding and leading medical device startups, non-profit life science organizations, and innovative academic initiatives including co-founding Inworks at CU Denver.

If you’d like to reach Heather directly, you can email her at Heather@evoendo.com, reach out to her on evoendo.com, or you can find her on LinkedIn at Heather Underwood.

View Details

Commercialization can be tricky. Try to commercialize across different business spaces and it gets a bit trickier - but it sure isn’t impossible.

Just ask Bettina Hein, our latest guest and “shark” from the Swiss version of Shark Tank (“Höhle der Löwen Schweiz”).

She’s successfully commercialized companies in the automotive and video marketing spaces, and has recently started another venture in the healthcare space - and is successful at doing it all!

If commercialization is proving more difficult than you expected, then you’re going to want to tune in to this episode.

Come hear this multi-market and multi-country success outline some of her winning tips and strategies on how to successfully tell your story and commercialize your solution!

Here are the show highlights:

Applying lessons learned outside healthcare in the healthcare setting (6:41)
The importance of value proving your product (13:23)
Find and utilize the verticals across marketing and sales (20:13)
Why you really need to use video (25:12)
This is how you open the doorway to conversations (29:16)
How to keep your edge while piloting your solution (39:02)

Guest Bio

Bettina Hein is the CEO and Founder of digital health startup juli Health.

A serial software entrepreneur, she has built technology companies in both Europe and the United States including Boston based Pixability, and co-founded SVOX, a Swiss-based speech technology company which was acquired by Nuance Communications.

The recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, Bettina holds two software patents, is the co-author of “Video Marketing for Dummies” and is a “shark” on the Swiss version of Shark Tank called “Höhle der Löwen Schweiz.”

She also likes to “pay it forward” so, if you’d like to reach out to her, you can contact Bettina on her website at Juli.co, via email at B@Juli.co, on LinkedIn at Bettina Hein or you can book some time to speak with her at calendly.com/BettinaHein.

View Details

John Keane considers himself a commercial strategy kind of guy - and with 35 product launches under his belt, we’re inclined to agree.

To reach that level of commercialization success, it takes a lot of expertise and an enviable ability to listen to stakeholders at every stage.

But he did it - and when he agreed to come on our show and talk to us about his experiences and insights around the med-tech and healthcare market, we were nothing short of thrilled.

Want to know why ego has no place in commercialization? Or how to avoid being the HIPPO in the room? Or why it’s never a failure if you’re learning something?

Pull up a seat and join us for John’s story!

Here are the show highlights:

Talking to your customers makes the conversation easier (3:07)
Beware the HIPPO in the room (4:21)
Seek some input from outside the “box” (6:07)
It’s not failure, it’s learning (11:40)
How to navigate the tangled web of the healthcare market (30:05)
Why you need to leave your ego at the door when decision-making (39:58)

Guest Bio

John Keane is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of MindRhythm, a med-tech company focused on reducing stroke treatment times in the prehospital setting.

A medical device executive with three decades of experience developing and commercializing emerging medical technologies, John has been involved in more than 30 product launches.

His position in the healthcare community as a strategic leader and advisor to multiple companies helps drive his success in defining visions and positioning companies for dynamic gains.

If you’d like to reach John directly, you can find him on LinkedIn at John Keane, or you can email him at john.keane@mindrhythm.com.

View Details

Data is - and always will be - a chaotic neutral (meaning sometimes, it can be incredibly valuable, and at other times, simply noise).

Understanding which healthcare data collected has value and which is noise? That’s where the real work begins.

On this week’s segment, Jeffrey Carlisle, CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation; Howard Rosen, CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE; and Brent Wright, Associate Dean for Rural Health Innovation at the University of Louisville, join me for a discussion that centers on the data biome and understanding how data value works in healthcare.

From interoperability of centralized data to who should have ownership over healthcare data, there’s a lot to unpack here - and all of it is valuable. Come and listen to this week’s episode!

Here are the show highlights: Data: is yours valuable or is it just noise? (0:05)

The power of data in post-market surveillance (6:01)

Interoperability and centralized data: what the future might hold (9:58)

Patient data biome - how far are we from that reality? (17:37)

Who should have ownership of patient data and how it’s integrated (25:55)

The role data plays in a patient’s healthcare (31:55 )

Guest Bios Jeffrey Carlisle is CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation. He earned his ScB in Applied Math/Biology from Brown University.

If you’d like to get in touch with Jeffrey after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Jeffrey Carlisle or via email at JeffreyCarlisle@me.com.

Howard Rosen is CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE Group. He earned his HBBA in Economics and Marketing and MBA in International Finance/Marketing from York University, Schulich School of business.

If you’d like to get in touch with Howard after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Howard Rosen or via email at HRosen@LifeWiregroup.com.

Brent Wright is the Associate Dean for Rural Health Innovation at the University of Louisville. He earned his BS in Human Studies from the University of Kentucky and his Masters in Medical Management from the University of Southern California

If you’d like to get in touch with Brent after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Brent Wright or via email at R.Wright@louisville.edu.

View Details

If creating value is foundational to a successful business, creating value for everyone in the value chain is the Holy Grail.

Dave Dolan, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of MultiFunctional Imaging, knows what it means to create value - he’s one of those rare entrepreneurs who achieved the “Holy Grail.”

In this episode, Dave discusses business models and roadmaps that can help entrepreneurs “cross the chasm” to success.

If you’re looking to build and cultivate KOL (key opinion leader) relationships, blaze your path across the chasm, or simply want to be better at co-creating with your customers, you’re going to want to listen.

Come hear Dave’s story!

Here are the show highlights: This is why it’s important to “play well in the sandbox” (4:19)

Is your business model missing key components to your story? (9:27)

How to find your way across the chasm (11:09)

Nurturing and cultivating KOL relationships (17:26)

Strong KOL partnerships are the engines that drive you (23:21)

How to win at co-creation (30:19)

Guest Bio Dave Dolan is the Executive Chairman and Co-founder of MultiFunctional Imaging.

His career has been built on successes centering around the commercialization and customer adoption of innovative MedTech products/services.

From Fortune 500 corporations through startups, he has built medical device innovations into record growth, elevated market shares, and attractive market valuations.

A trusted business leader, Dave employs an analytical and data-driven approach to identify and capitalize on opportunities that will advance an organization’s strategic vision.

To learn more about what Dave does, go to his website at multifunctionalimaging.com. If you’d like to reach Dave directly, you can find him on LinkedIn at Dave Dolan, or you can email him at dave.dolan@mfimage.com.

View Details

Being familiar with gaps in healthcare, especially around access to convenient and cost-effective care, can be motivating.

And it is precisely that familiarity with the lack of social equity in access to care that has motivated Dr. Angela Fusaro’s entry into the healthcare solution market.

It’s often difficult to see what’s right in front of you - but, sometimes, life hands you a pre-existing framework on which to build that’s so obvious, you have to act - and act fast.

Leveraging a career in emergency medicine and a passion for education, Dr. Fusaro identified a need and built an answer within the existing community pharmacy network.

From pivoting to iterating your sales strategy to seeking out a mentor who fits your current phase of commercialization, our viewers will find her insights both timely and actionable.

Come hear what Dr. Fusaro has to say about finding, and following, your North Star.

Here are the show highlights: Virtual care and what’s happening in community pharmacies (1:44)

Iterating and adapting sales strategies (4:42)

Why it’s important to find - and follow - your North Star (10:04)

The importance of balancing passion for what you do with the flexibility (11:42)

Product roadmaps are important, even if they’re only inspirational (14:02)

There’s enormous value that can be found in customer feedback (19:33)

Guest Bio Dr. Angela Fusaro is an emergency medicine physician and Co-Founder and CEO of Physician 360™, a company that is building a virtual urgent care system that helps decrease unnecessary in-person visits to the doctor.

A pioneer in healthcare innovation, Dr. Fusaro designed and implemented two entrepreneurship courses for medical students and led a national workshop that helped physicians develop insights necessary to improve the quality of patients' lives.

Her extensive leadership experience in organized medicine helped drive business development for EMRA, the second-largest Emergency Medicine organization in the world.

Dr. Fusaro received her Doctorate of Medicine from New York University, a BS in Neuroscience Behavioral Bio from Emory University, her MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and was a 2017 Poets & Quants recipient.

If you’d like to reach out to Dr. Fusaro, you can find her on LinkedIn at Angela Fusaro or reach out to her via the contact page on her website at physician360.co

View Details

Building a successful business can sometimes feel like climbing Mount Everest - daunting at best and impossible without the right gear.

Understanding the steps and strategies to build a successful business is a bit like following a trail. Sure, it takes skill, but it’s not rocket science - so long as we don’t get lost in the weeds.

Jeffrey Carlisle, CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation; Howard Rosen, CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE; and Brent Wright, Associate Dean for Rural Health Innovation at the University of Louisville, join me again for another roundtable discussion on how we can cultivate the right gear necessary for getting back on track and building more successful businesses.

From cardboard magnates to mega-stars, we discuss how to recognize opportunities and capitalize on them while sticking to the basics - and still coming out on top (or better). So, come join us!

Here are the show highlights: * Is it innovation, creativity, or simply basic improvements? (1:00) * The language of innovation (8:11) * Are you an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur? (9:59) * 3 key steps to innovation (15:35) * The trench warfare of innovation (23:20) * Back to basics - the best practices around building a business (51:38)

Guest Bios

Jeffrey Carlisle is CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation. He earned his ScB in Applied Math/Biology from Brown University.

If you’d like to get in touch with Jeffrey after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Jeffrey Carlisle or via email at JeffreyCarlisle@me.com.

Howard Rosen is CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE Group. He earned his HBBA in Economics and Marketing and MBA in International Finance/Marketing from York University, Schulich School of business.

If you’d like to get in touch with Howard after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Howard Rosen or via email at HRosen@LifeWiregroup.com.

Brent Wright is the Associate Dean for Rural Health Innovation at the University of Louisville. He earned his BS in Human Studies from the University of Kentucky and his Masters in Medical Management from the University of Southern California

If you’d like to get in touch with Brent after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Brent Wright or via email at R.Wright@louisville.edu.

View Details

How did Joe turn March 2020, his worst sales month ever, into April 2020, his best sales month ever - despite the pandemic?

Well, building a successful business during a pandemic takes a little bit of luck, a whole lot of creativity, and the skill to see the potential in every situation.

From hiring the right teams to pivoting during times of uncertainty, every decision you make is a “make-or-break” decision - especially when the market is in turmoil.

This has been Joe Brown’s life for the past 3 years and, during the pandemic, when other startups were shutting down, he built a “faster horse.”

Communication, asking questions - of your customers and yourself - and understanding the value of social proof in today’s digital healthcare solutions are just the beginning.

Tune in for Joe’s incredible story.

Here are the show highlights: * What startups need to know about building an amazing team (7:37) * Ask yourself the right questions (15:00) * How to build social proof into a “faster horse” (23:19) * Build a solution that can evolve or cross-over (25:48) * How to address HIPAA and PHI in your healthcare solution (29:42) * Why social proof is incredibly important (31:39)

Guest Bio

Joe Brown is Founder and CEO of DearDoc, an artificial intelligence solution that engages patients on healthcare websites.

After being approached by a family member who needed some advice on how to drive business, Joe parlayed his expertise into a vision that is changing patient/doctor communications.

Joe received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing/Global Business from the University of Arizona - Eller College of Management.

If you’d like to reach out to Joe, you can find him on LinkedIn at Joe Brown. If you’re interested in learning more about DearDoc, visit their site today at GetDearDoc.com.

View Details

There are many trends out there that play key roles in how healthcare consumerism might experience growth or restraint.

Understanding how they all work together is a bit of a challenge, but it’s one we’re talking through in this week’s panel discussion.

Jeffrey Carlisle, CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation; Howard Rosen, CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE; and Brent Wright, Associate Dean for Rural Health Innovation at the University of Louisville join me again for another roundtable discussion of all things innovation.

Have you ever wondered how factors such as inequality, access, the FDA — or even our own understanding of the solutions we bring to market — might hamper progress or push digital health and innovation forward? If so, buckle up: this ride’s for you.

Here are the show highlights: * How to navigate entry into digital healthcare (0:40) * Understanding healthcare access and inequities (8:32) * Customer discovery: where’s the logic and rationality? (14:49) * The FDA’s role in regulations and consumerization (18:10) * 4 companies that make consumerism look easy (26:27) * What we, as consumers, can do to grow healthcare consumerism (34:51)

Guest Bios

Jeffrey Carlisle is CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation. He earned his ScB in Applied Math/Biology from Brown University.

If you’d like to get in touch with Jeffrey after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Jeffrey Carlisle or via email at JeffreyCarlisle@me.com.

Howard Rosen is CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE Group. He earned his HBBA in Economics and Marketing and an MBA in International Finance/Marketing from York University, Schulich School of business.

If you’d like to get in touch with Howard after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Howard Rosen or via email at HRosen@LifeWiregroup.com.

If you’d like to get in touch with Brent after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Brent Wright or via email at R.Wright@louisville.edu.

View Details

You have an idea, a solution, a vision! And you know exactly how, when, and where that vision will fit in the market and make a difference.

Until you don’t.

You could have the most pivotal and impactful solution to come to market in decades - but if your market fit isn’t right, or is off - even just a little - that could mean failure.

Conversations with your customers can be the key to making sure your solution hits the market exactly where it needs to be for your target audience to utilize it.

Dr. Josh Oppenheimer can tell you a story or two about the importance of those conversations. (Hint: because if you have 99 of them, the 100th could reveal your ‘aha’ moment!)

Come hear how Josh and his company built a culture around conversations, and why those conversations - internally and externally - can make all the difference in finding success.

Here are the show highlights: * 4 lessons to keep in mind when trying to secure a healthcare champion (13:04) * What cross-country structuring looks like for a company (17:42) * This is how you increase your chances to secure funding (21:19) * The regulatory differences between SAMD and traditional medical devices (22:32) * Successfully pivot your business model (24:54) * Humility, transparency, and collaboration: building the right company culture (28:48)

Guest Bio

Dr. Josh Oppenheimer is an emergency medicine physician and the co-founder and CEO of Transformative, an AI-based predictive patient monitoring software company.

From the start of his career, Dr. Oppenheimer knew he wanted to be more than a physician - he wanted to make a difference and have a positive impact on the healthcare industry.

Josh immersed himself in the world of business academia and he further pushed the boundaries of the knowledge he could gain by attending business school in the UK.

He earned his AB from Princeton University, his M.D. from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and his MBA from Cambridge Judge Business School.

If you’d like to reach out to Dr. Oppenheimer, you can use the contact form on his website at transformative.ai, or you can find him on LinkedIn at Josh Oppenheimer, MD, MBA.

View Details

The process is well known: before you learn to run, you learn to walk. And before you learn to walk, you learn to crawl.

So why do so many entrepreneurs start at the end and develop a technology first, only to then be challenged with finding a problem and forcing them to fit?

When it comes to healthcare technology, Timothy Kelley, CEO of TeleRay, has some experience in this process.

There's a lot of innovation out there that's technically advanced, and could be very powerful - but it's not user-friendly or practical, and that means it’s not used as intended.

And while it may sound like a paradox, crawling first, though slower than running, will get you where you need to be faster: in a better position for market adoption.

Tune in and discover why innovation is great, but if that innovation is not also useful, used, and practical, it’s going to have a much harder time with market adoption.

Here are the show highlights: * This is the real definition of innovation (4:49) * A 3-step commercialization strategy (10:59) * The distinction between gaining customers versus growing your network (14:25) * How patient engagement impacts businesses forward trajectory (19:12) * The ‘PayPal’ of healthcare (22:28) * Marketing: word of mouth and the influence on customer advocacy (25:47)

Guest Bio

Timothy Kelley is CEO of TeleRay, the telehealth radiology technology leader for the management and distribution of medical images and patient information.

His experience in business planning, marketing pharmacy benefit management, pharmaceutical sales, and medical equipment distribution, helped set the stage for TeleRay.

As CEO of TeleRay, Tim continues to develop the company's vision of becoming the de facto standard of communications in healthcare.

Tim has studied psychology and executive communications and growth at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management.

If you’d like to reach out, you can find him on LinkedIn at Timothy Kelley, on his webpage at teleray.com, or email him at tim@teleray.com.

View Details

Whether you’re looking to dive deep into customer discovery, uncover (track or change) valuable KPIs, or pitch an investor, there are many strategies you can utilize based on the path you take.

And, knowing when, who, how, and why you’re making decisions when commercializing your company is only half your goal - you need to know how to use the data you’re collecting.

When it comes to data and scientific research, Aaron Enten knows enough to know he doesn’t know it all - and he’s here to explain why that is and how you can move your company forward.

Building a successful startup is the holy grail for today’s entrepreneurs - and we’ve gathered strategies and insights that will help even the greenest among us.

Why not grab a chair and tune in? Listen to how Aaron navigated a complicated entrepreneurial space using creativity and determination - and came out whole on the other side.

Here are the show highlights: * What you think you know - and what you really don’t (6:11) * This is the secret to customer discovery (9:16) * When to reexamine pre-existing beliefs about your commercialization strategy (12:40) * The #1 way to do customer discovery WRONG (19:34) * When and why to revisit your business model canvas (21:53) * How to determine what your KPIs and measurable outcomes should be (33:12)

Guest Bio

Aaron Enten is CEO and Co-Founder of Insight Optics, an organization working to increase compliance rates by bringing trained ophthalmologists to the point of primary care.

An experienced CEO and CTO in the medical device industry, Aaron has built an enviable reputation in Medical Device Innovation, Technology Commercialization, Scientific Research, and Financier Relations.

Aaron earned his Ph.D. in Bioengineering and his MBA in Innovation Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

If you’d like to reach out to Aaron, you can find him on LinkedIn at Aaron Enten, PhD on his webpage at io.care, or email him at aaron@iocare.

View Details

Bringing about game-changing solutions in the healthcare and pharmaceutical space can be a daunting and difficult endeavor.

It takes patience, drive, determination, and the canny ability to play chess with marketing - you really need to look at the long game.

Robert Niichel is a master at playing three steps ahead and, on this week’s show, he sits down to discuss what it’s like to play that game with a product you know is going to change the market.

From development to commercialization to marketing, Robert has the scoop on timing and focus that could be the game-changing combination other entrepreneurs are looking for.

So, stay awhile and listen as he touches on many key steps in the commercialization process that could help your company successfully bring a solution to market.

Here are the show highlights: * Why it’s the patient that drives the market (2:22) * This is how patient co-creation can keep you on track (4:47) * Ways COVID acted as a catalyst for changes in how we co-create (7:33) * Invest early and often - an education in marketing (10:43) * Need to get the word out? Podcasting is where it’s at (14:22) * When raising capital, be sure to fund for the long haul (19:22)

Guest Bio

Robert Niichel is CEO and Founder of SmartTab, a digital medicine company developing wireless ingestible drug delivery technologies to dramatically improve patient outcomes.

Both a healthcare entrepreneur and visionary, Robert is the host of the digital health innovation podcast “Who Would Have Thought”.

In addition, he has leveraged over 20 years of experience in leadership and management of Pharmaceutical R&D to acquire numerous pharma/delivery system patents.

Robert earned his MS in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and his BS in Finance Economics from Iowa State University.

If you’d like to reach out to Robert, you can find him on LinkedIn at Robert Niichel, on his webpage at SmartTab.co, or email him at Robert.Niichel@smarttab.co

View Details

When it comes to innovative technology, the healthcare space has always been notoriously slow, making them the proverbial “old dog.”

But when you have a “new trick” with data backing up its efficacy, sometimes that old dog sits up and takes notice. Just ask Peter Bianco, Founder & Chairman at OsteoApp.ai.

Peter’s company took a non-AI proven screening product and enhanced it with artificial intelligence, filling a long-neglected need in the orthopedic space.

The solution proved to be a more convenient and effective option for both the healthcare industry and patients at risk for osteoporosis.

Peter takes the time to highlight his commercialization journey - one that utilized serendipity, strategic steps, and innovative vision on its way to disproving that old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Here are the show highlights: * The power of collaboration (5:58) * Navigating the gap between pilots (10:16) * How to price revolutionary innovations (15:29) * When small steps are better (17:53) * Education’s role in commercialization (22:47) * The benefit of a strategic lead investor (29:08)

Guest Bio

Peter T. Bianco is Founder & Chairman at OsteoApp.ai, a company that provides a novel, cost-effective screening method for early detection of osteoporosis, intervention and fracture prevention.

A serial entrepreneur with nearly 30 years of experience in research and product development, sales, and marketing in the healthcare field, Peter started as a product development engineer and worked his way up to senior marketing director with Johnson & Johnson Orthopedics.

From there, he became CEO of a groundbreaking Venture-backed internet-based eHealth company that was acquired by Medtronic.

Peter is a member of the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) and holds four U.S. and European patents relating to orthopedic joint reconstruction devices.

He earned an MBA from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts and a bachelor's degree in human physiology from the University of Minnesota.

If you’d like to reach out to Peter, you can find him on LinkedIn at Peter T. Bianco, reach out to the OsteoApp LinkedIn page at Osteoapp.ai, or email him at PTBianco@osteo app.ai.

View Details

Consumer behavior can be fickle, change on a whim, or be influenced by unseen stressors that most folks on the outside may not ever consider.

That makes it difficult to get to the heart of what really drives those behaviors - that is, unless you know how to weigh and measure stressors and trends and reach your customers.

When it comes to nailing down consumer health behavior and driving more positive choices, Kathleen Ellmore knows the deal.

In a world where marketing and “knowing” your customer has taken a backseat to driving sales, she’s tapped into A/B testing and taken it to a whole new level.

Driving engagement and commercialization can be a tricky business for sure, but when you’ve got all the data at your fingertips - and strive to take it personal - you’re going to go further, faster.

Using real world examples and serving them up in common settings, Kathleen shows our listeners and viewers how to truly drive customer engagement.

Here are the show highlights: * 3 best practices to increase adoption & engagement (4:25) * Common challenges to an omni-channel approach (7:12) * The digital transformation that’s taking place in healthcare (12:03) * Two key ways SMS is a fantastic channel (14:13) * Do this to stand out in an omni-channel approach (17:08) * Getting personal with digital health (18:02)

Guest Bio

Kathleen Ellmore is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Engagys, a company that leverages behavioral economics with evidence based communications to increase consumer engagement.

A pioneer in bringing the best of consumer marketing and data-driven methodologies to healthcare, Kathleen’s focus is to motivate and drive better consumer health decisions.

Kathleen has an undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern.

If you’d like to reach out to Kathleen, you can find her on LinkedIn at Kathleen Ellmore.

View Details

The world of startups and entrepreneurship has a historically high failure rate - and this can be a daunting statistic for many would-be market entrants.

But, what if there were a way to turn the many crises an entrepreneur faces into a catalyst for success?

Understanding where and when to stop, breathe, and analyze a crisis is difficult when you’re in the thick of it.

But it’s key skill entrepreneurs need to develop if they’re going to grow the thicker skin needed to weather the ups and downs of running a startup.

Charly and Richard Jaffe, a father-daughter team, have co-authored Turning Crisis into Success: A Serial Entrepreneur’s Lessons on Overcoming Challenge While Keeping Your Sht Together* - a book that does just what the title states: shows you how to leverage crises.

Charming, informational, and packed full of insights and inspiration, Charly and Richard discuss their book and light a path through some of the darker moments of running a startup.

Here are the show highlights: * The most important thing to remember when your company is in crisis (10:21) * Why it’s so important for an entrepreneur to become a customer expert (12:24) * You can swim in your own lane and still help out others (20:09) * When times get a bit dark, this is how you turn the lights back on (21:09) * Solving tomorrow’s problems today can set you up for success (28:59 ) * Beware of making decisions without realizing it (34:51)

Guest Bio

Charly Jaffe is many things: an advocate and adventurer, executive and emotional fitness expert, teacher, and academic.

She received her Master’s degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Columbia University and co-authored Turning Crisis into Success, a best-selling book on emotional fitness, with her dad, Richard Jaffe.

Richard Jaffee is a serial entrepreneur who has experienced every level of success - and challenge - an entrepreneur can encounter.

Richard received his BS in Industrial and Labor relations from Cornell University.

If you’d like to reach out to Charly or Richard, you can reach them via their website at crisisintosuccess.com. If you’d like to pick up their book, it’s available on Amazon or their website.

View Details

Historically risk-averse entrepreneurs are the unicorns of start-ups: myths, legends, and, well, really hard to find!

Finding one who not only made the leap but made it successfully? Yeah, we’re talking Holy Grail material now.

Kevin Dillard is one such unicorn. Throwing risk to the wind, he left his job as in-house counsel for the American Association of Orthodontists to launch Clear Blue Smiles.

Knowing he could make a positive difference for both orthodontists and patients was his foundation - and a keen nose for strategic marketing was his ace in the hole.

With over 18 years in the industries he served, Kevin hit the market late - but with all the right strategies in place, and he is making his mark in a big way.

If you want to hear about Kevin’s journey - and how he found unintentional marketing research gold inside a podcast channel - you’re going to want to tune into this episode!

Here are the show highlights: * How a normally risk-averse entrepreneur makes the leap (10:03) * This is how powerful an emotionally appealing story can be (14:54) * Podcasts can get you seen and heard for a minimal investment (17:26) * How to do marketing research without even trying (21:50) * What does the future of virtual communications/healthcare look like? (27:24) * If it sounds too good to be true - stop right there, sometimes it ISN’T (30:20)

Guest Bio

Kevin Dillard is CEO and Co-Founder of Clear Blue Smiles, a company that’s bringing the most comprehensive ortho-monitored remote treatment alignment options mainstream.

Kevin is an orthodontic industry thought leader and legal expert with nearly 18 years experience as an executive at the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO).

He was also the founder and co-host of the AAO’s Business of Orthodontics podcast series, which focused on legal risk management and business advice for orthodontists.

Kevin received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) before obtaining his law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law.

If you’d like to reach out to Kevin, you can email him at Kevin@clearbluesmiles.com or reach out to him on his website at clearbluesmiles.com

View Details

Building a company that someone wants to buy, instead of the one you want to sell, can be tricky - but it’s almost always necessary if you want your startup to succeed.

Knowing who your customer is, what problems they need to be solved, and whether the problem is big enough to build a successful business model is the price of admission to “product-market fit.”

David Fishbach, Founder and Principal at Excel Executive Business Advisors knows a thing or two about how a startup can increase its chances for success.

Using his extensive experience in the technology, life science, and healthcare fields, he walks our listeners and viewers through the ways a customer’s experience drives success.

Entrepreneurs and startups who are looking for a strong market entry - and exit strategy - for their innovation should take note: it’s not about you, it never was. It’s all about your customer.

Here are the show highlights: * Why you need to build a company someone wants to buy, not one you want to sell (3:04) * The most compelling founders solve problems they, themselves, have experienced (5:59) * Is the problem you’re solving pervasive enough to create a viable business model? (8:22) * Understanding the importance of the user’s journey (12:34) * Two sustainable competitive advantages to aid in achieving product-market fit (14:09) * This is why even the greatest athletes, musicians, and performers have trainers (23:33)

Guest Bio

David Fishbach is the Founder and Principal of Excel Executive Business Advisors, an organization offering corporate strategy, operations, and leadership development in the technology, life sciences, and healthcare space.

His decades of experience in operational, executive, and consultative roles helped him lead teams in the delivery of software, services, and support for clinical trials, and throughout the life cycle of pharmaceutical development and commercialization

David holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and a Certificate in Business Strategy from Cornell University.

If you’d like to reach out to David, you can find him on LinkedIn at David Fishbach, or email him at david@excel-advisors.com.

View Details

Product-market fit can sometimes seem like an exotic term that no one can really define with any level of simplicity - until now.

When asked for his take on the subject, Dave Whelan, CEO of BioscienceLA brought a “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” approach to the table.

Using a simple lemonade stand as a metaphor for startups, Dave breaks down product-market fit using target markets, pricing, and product solutions in an easily digestible example.

His decades-long experience in many branches of the healthcare industry has helped him hone his unique and effective understanding of how product-market fit and commercialization work.

And on this week’s episode, he’s bringing that expertise to our viewers.

If you’re an entrepreneur and product-market fit has eluded or confused you - or you’re just not sure how to begin commercializing your innovation - this is your episode!

Here are the show highlights: * Why product-market fit is mission-critical (15:05) * Are you wasting time or money doing this? (23:15) * Myths, barriers, or pitfalls of commercialization (24:13) * How to run a successful “lemonade stand” (31:54) * This is what product-market fit looks like (36:37) * Next-level marketing strategy (37:53)

Guest Bio David Whelan is CEO of BioscienceLA, a company with a passion for nurturing a vibrant ecosystem that will create new opportunities for all stakeholders.

A seasoned strategy, business development, and general management executive, Dave inspires entrepreneurs at the intersection of technology, health, and wellness.

His experience spans genomics, wearables, digital health, consumer health, wellness and nutrition, enterprise health services, and healthcare providers, among other areas.

Dave earned an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School, a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University, and has studied at London Business School and Carnegie Mellon University.

If you’d like to reach out to Dave, you can find him on LinkedIn at Dave Whelan, on Twitter at @djwhelan, or visit biosciencela.org

View Details

If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s aging. No matter how hard we try, we cannot stop the march of time - but there are ways to slow it down.

Martin Pazzani, Chairman and Founder of Act!vate Brain and Body and author of “Secrets of Aging Well: GET OUTSIDE” literally wrote the book on the link between mental and physical aging.

Decades-long experience in health improvement, and a personal passion for entrepreneurship and exercise, has helped Martin illustrate the link between activity and success.

The value of exercise and reforming social connections isn’t hard to understand - but recognizing how those actions impact the success of an entrepreneur can be challenging.

So, if you’re one of the many entrepreneurs who thinks working longer and harder is the key to success, your mind, body, and company need you to watch this episode!

Here are the show highlights: * This is how you rediscover the joy in entrepreneurship (4:56) * A mountain of metaphors - connecting the dots between health and success (7:58) * Do this if you want to build healthy health innovators (18:06) * Investing in health is just as important as investing in tech (20:26} * Why we can’t all be Goliaths - and why it might be good to be a David! (26:30) * Sometimes the small fish are the ones with the big advantages (40:14)

Guest Bio Martin Pazzani is Chairman and Founder of Act!vate Brain and Body, whose mission is to improve the trajectory of aging and operationalize what we know about creating brain health.

Martin is also the author of “Secrets of Aging Well: GET OUTSIDE”, a book that helps people be healthier, recharge their brain, prevent burnout, and find more joy.

Four decades of A-list corporate experience including Bally Total Fitness, Crunch, and 24Hour Fitness, has allowed him to pair his two passions and form Act!vate Brain and Body

He received his BA in Psychology, BS in Marketing, and MBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Connecticut. If you’d like to get in touch with Martin after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Martin Pazzani, on Instagram at Martin_Pazzani, or on Facebook.

View Details

The middle of a downturned economy can be a scary place to launch a business - but when you have an idea that just won’t wait, sometimes you need to dive right in.

But diving in, doesn’t always make it easy, in fact it can be downright shocking, especially if you’ve never been on the entrepreneurial end of things!

Derrick Miles, CEO and President of CourMed left corporate America on the edge of one of the shakiest markets in recent memory, and turned a turkey of circumstances into a golden goose.

He created a business model that encourages leadership, positivity, and understands the long-term value of investing in strategic marketing tactics.

So, if you’re into a true underdog story and want to hear about how one entrepreneur successfully launched his company into the stratosphere, have we got an episode for you!

Here are the show highlights: How being unique can help you win big (8:04)

Why it’s smart to avoid the ‘me too’ mindset and think outside the box (10:33)

If there’s one way to find success, investing in the right marketing is it! (13:14)

An 18th century historical figure uses influencer marketing (17:34)

Why you shouldn’t avoid failure, it’s all part of the success journey (27:38)

This is how you stay encouraged (36:22)

Guest Bio Derrick Miles is President and CEO at CourMed, a company utilizing enterprise software to facilitate the innovative concierge delivery of healthcare products.

In addition, Derrick is also the Chairman and Founder of TMB Equity Partners, a boutique firm focused on investing in and developing innovative healthcare solutions.

A lifelong learner, he received an MSHA and MBA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a BS in Medical Technology from Bethune-Cookman University, and is pursuing certifications in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

If you’d like to get in touch with Derrick after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Derrick Miles.

View Details

Innovation in healthcare goes far beyond brick-and-mortar interactions - we’re in the digital age, and that means digital solutions are carving out their space.

And when you pair the intelligence of digital technology with a human touch, the opportunity to revolutionize how your consumers interact with your product skyrockets.

Lydia Zeller, CEO at Kiio, pursued the idea of being a true partner with their B2B members and then doubled down on gathering hard ROI and delivering tangible outcomes.

From product design and development to funding and all the way through commercialization, Kiio has perfected their secret sauce - and are ready to revolutionize musculoskeletal care.

In this episode, Lydia shares some of the strategies and insights her company is using to turn the world of digital innovation on its side - you don’t want to miss this one!

Here are the show highlights: This simple understanding can yield big success (7:02)

Capabilities that are critical to driving engagement (9:10)

Hard ROI and how it creates a competitive advantage (15:10)

Why it’s important to know your next move when exploring contracts (22:58)

Whether you’re funding evidence or development, this investment is necessary (24:12)

Turn customers into fanatics to successfully build, grow, and scale your business (31:42)

Guest Bio Lydia Zeller is CEO at Kiio, a digital therapeutic company focused on changing the approach to musculoskeletal (MSK) care.

A champion for driving healthcare innovation, Lydia has been involved in every facet of Kiio’s product and business development.

Her passion for delivering impactful results helped lead the charge for the company’s pivot into the digital musculoskeletal therapeutic market.

Lydia received her BA and Executive MBA specializing in Strategic Management from the University of Wisconsin - Madison

If you’d like to get in touch with Lydia after the show, feel free to reach out to her via her website Kiio.com or emai l her at lzeller@kiio.com.

View Details

Sometimes we like to shake it up a little - okay, a lot, like in this week’s episode when we go completely loose-cannon and host a panel discussion on a variety of topics.

If you’re struggling with the status quo, facing an uphill battle against industry incumbents, or simply trying to navigate your way through consolidation, this is where you want to be!

Jeffrey Carlisle, CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation, Howard Rosen, CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE, and Brent Wright, Associate Dean for Rural Health Innovation at University of Louisville join us this week for a roundtable discussion of all things innovation.

So, grab a chair (and possibly a drink) and hang out with us a while as we discuss ideas, tricks of the trade, strategies and outlooks that could put you on the path to success.

Here are the show highlights: What if the controversial word is “innovation”? (6:29)

Customer obsessed or product obsessed - your innovation needs to meet a need (11:58)

When to disrupt the status quo, and when to let things ride (14:13)

Building out a commercialization strategy when your customers are risk-averse (16:40)

What is a healthcare consumer really willing to pay for? (20:16)

Breaking into the EMR space, can you really dethrone an incumbent? (29:58)

Guest Bios Jeffrey Carlisle is CEO at Pneuma Systems Corporation. He earned his ScB in Applied Math/Biology from Brown University.

If you’d like to get in touch with Jeffrey after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Jeffrey Carlisle or via email at J effreyCarlisle@me.com.

Howard Rosen is CEO and Founder of LifeWIRE Group. He earned his HBBA in Economics and Marketing and an MBA in International Finance/Marketing from York University, Schulich School of business.

If you’d like to get in touch with Howard after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Howard Rosen or via email at HRosen@LifeWiregroup.com.

Brent Wright is the Associate Dean for Rural Health Innovation at the University of Louisville. He earned his BS in Human Studies from the University of Kentucky and his Masters in Medical Management from the University of Southern California

If you’d like to get in touch with Brent after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at Brent Wright or via email at R.Wright@louisville.edu.

View Details

When it comes to strategies, there are many different types you can utilize when commercializing an innovation.

But what happens when the market throws a curveball you, nor your investors, were expecting?

George Makhoul, CEO and CCO of Biom’up says that with a bit of grit, drive, and belief you can creatively - and successfully - commercialize a product, even during a pandemic.

Whether driving adoption or securing a champion, George explains how, when it all comes down to it, investors simply invest - it’s up to the innovator to work on the commercialization.

Join us on this journey with George as he delivers some tricks and tips his organization has used to continue working toward a successful commercialization in an unpredictable market.

Here are the show highlights: Three characteristics you need to drive a successful commercialization strategy (2:01)

How you can successfully leverage unexpected setbacks (5:14)

How a hybrid approach to relationship building works in a digital environment (10:30)

Why it’s up to you, not investors, to commercialize for what you want (13:53)

Not being able to drive adoption could be the best problem to have! (21:24)

From concept to commercialization: know your audience (27:19)

Guest Bio George Makhoul is CEO and CCO of Biom’up, a specialist in collagen-based absorbable medical devices who is committed to making life easier for surgeons and better for patients.

George has taken an over 20 year career in healthcare fields and parlayed it into driving revenue in the Medical Devices, Biologics, and pharmaceutical industries.

His diverse experience in everything from sales leadership to launch execution has been applied to developing new markets and maximizing the success of mature brands.

George earned his BA in Management, Business, Economics, Chemistry, Biosciences and Biology from Monrovia University.

If you’d like to get in touch with George after the show, feel free to reach out to him via LinkedIn at George Makhoul.

View Details

One of the most critical components of a successful startup is the startup’s understanding of their customer - but what happens if you’ve got a tech-centered origin?

Making the investment in customer discovery is hard enough, but it gets even tougher when the data you dig up warns that you might be on the wrong path - and need to pivot your focus.

Steve Sapot, Perimeter Medical Imaging AI’s Chief Commercial Officer, used customer discovery strategies to quickly reveal his organization’s need to shift its focus.

Armed with the strong leadership necessary for such a challenge, the Perimeter team rolled up their sleeves and began the work of pivoting their strategy, and are now primed for success.

In this episode, Steve talks openly and candidly about strong leadership, the value to be found in a good customer discovery strategy, and what it takes to have both.

Here are the show highlights: How to shift an organization to a customer-focus (1:35)

Why it’s necessary to “get” uncomfortable (8:39)

How COVID re-humanized the workforce (10:03)

The right kind of decision making to target early adopters (18:39)

This is how you know you’re a true leader (22:59)

How your company looks today may differ in 90 days - and why that's okay (28:47)

Guest Bio Steve Sapot is the Chief Commercial Officer at Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, an organization working to improve the lives and surgical experience of breast cancer patients.

A keen sales executive, Steve has a passion for stacking organizations with top talent and then empowering those teams.

Specializing in turning a strategic vision into strong commercial teams, Steve has consistently brought successful plans to the table, resulting in outperformance of organizational goals.

Steve BA in communications from the University of Arizona and has built a solid and respected career in medical technology.

If you’d like to get in touch with Steve after the show, feel free to reach out to him via email at info@perimetermed.com or on his company’s website at perimetermed.com.

View Details

When there’s a 95% failure rate for go-to-market innovations in the US, you have to wonder: what is actually happening?

Resources, tools, templates, and an abundance of accelerator programs should equal a stronger success rate, right? No, actually it doesn’t.

In fact, the flood of resources might be exactly what holds the success rate down for innovators trying to bring solutions to the market.

Jason Mellad of Start Codon, a UK-based accelerator, has experience both inside and outside of the US markets — and he brings those insights to the table this week for our viewers.

If you’ve ever wondered what the best approach to take with a potential investor is — what attitude, knowledge, position you need to bring to the table to secure funding — here’s your show!

Intelligent and passionate about delivering solid solutions and improved patient outcomes, Jason gets down to the real business of building a successful startup.

Here are the show highlights: * The difference between the UK and US accelerator markets (1:29) * What startups need to understand when mapping out solutions (5:34) * How to avoid bias that can lead your startup down the wrong path (11:48) * Why it’s so important to embrace constructive criticism (16:29) * This is how you convince your investors to invest in research (20:52) * Three qualities innovators need to show investors, NOT tell them (29:31)

Guest Bio Jason Mellad is the CEO, Co-Founder, and Managing Partner of Start Codon, a healthcare and life sciences accelerator helping startup businesses build to succeed on a global scale.

Focused on innovative technologies and solutions that provide better patient outcomes, Start Codon is the result of Jason’s love of science and passion for entrepreneurship.

Jason earned his BSc in Molecular Biology and Chemistry from Tulane College in 2004, and his Ph.D. in Medicine from the University of Cambridge in 2009.

If you’d like to get in touch with Jason after the show, feel free to reach out to him via email at Jason@StartCodon.co, on Twitter at @J Mellad , or on LinkedIn at Jason Mellad.

View Details

Technology: you know it’s a good thing, but it changes so fast - sometimes you just need someone who can break it down, parcel it out, and help make sense of it all.

Steve Anderson’s interest in technology was so compelling, he left his career in insurance to build his own business helping other companies do just that: make sense of all that technology.

After discovering early shareholder letters penned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, he began making the connections between cutting-edge technology, customer obsession, and Amazon’s success.

“The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles to Grow Your Business Like Amazon” is the result of those letters and Steve’s research on the guiding principles that helped build a trillion-dollar company.

Humble, funny, and incredibly insightful, Steve delivers insights and knowledge you do not want to miss out on. If you want to run your business like Bezos, you want to watch this show!

So, grab a notebook and a pen because you’re going to want to take notes.

Here are the show highlights: * What successful failure is and why it’s a thing (9:22) * How to practice dynamic invention and innovation (14:52) * The importance of having every employee think like an owner (17:42) * The key practice that is a sure path to profit (22:16) * What customer obsession really looks like (28:31) * Why technology is a big value add for customers (37:05)

Guest Bio Steve Anderson parlayed his early days in the insurance industry into a career as a speaker and consultant on technology and risk.

Steve is a firm believer that we can all impact our world and make our marks for the better through a risk and growth mindset.

So sure, in fact, that he authored the best-selling book: “The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles to Grow Your Business like Amazon.”

Steve earned his BS in Business Administration and Economics from Taylor University and his Masters in Legal Studies and Insurance Law from the University of the District of Columbia.

Check out “The Bezos Letters” at TheBezosLetters.com or, if you’d like to reach out to Steve, you can connect with him on LinkedIn at Steve Anderson.

View Details

Sometimes, being an entrepreneur can keep you so busy, you wake up one day and wonder just how the heck you got where you are.

But when you build an organization with a culture steeped in customer discovery and research, you start to see the patterns.

Nicola Brown, founder of Kokoro, explains to our viewers how patterns, research, and customer discovery are vital components to her company’s philosophy around healthcare and wellbeing.

Refreshing and candid, Nicola’s animated discussion about the drops and gains she’s experienced over the last three years is sure to resonate with health innovators worldwide.

Whether it’s debunking assumptions, finding the right support system, or just finding five minutes to breathe, we’re sure you’ll find a tip (or two) you can take with you!

Here are the show highlights: * Why validating your market will help avoid pitfalls (and drops!) (3:15) * Conducting continuous research is key to debunking costly assumptions (7:35) * You don’t always have to be first to market - sometimes it’s better to be second (14:44) * Why the right support and guidance is critical to your product launch (20:36) * Try a different approach to your differentiation strategy (30:18) * Why you need to take a 5-minute personal reset, every day (33:27)

Guest Bio Nicola Brown is the Founder of Kokoro, an integrative health data management company and practice community serving all levels of business leadership.

She leverages her community development career in government, universities, and nonprofits to explore new ways of tackling complex challenges facing marginalized communities around the world.

Nicola has earned a Masters of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Georgia and a BS in Family, Youth & Community Sciences from the University of Florida.

If you’d like to reach out to Nicola, you can reach her through the contact page on her website at www.joinkokoro.com or on LinkedIn at Nicola Brown.

If you contact Nicola on her website, mention you heard her on Dr. Roxie’s show and Kokoro will do a free assessment for you.

View Details

The pandemic has changed the way we all do business - our tried and true methods have been tested and found to be lacking in this new digital environment.

But what’s a company to do? How are you supposed to be able to commercialize or sell your product when you can’t even meet with your prospects?

It’s enough to send your blood pressure soaring and the muscles in your neck twitching - if you don’t know the secret sauce.

So, take a deep breath and give a listen to what Gunter Wessels, Co-founder of LiquidSmarts, has to say about value-based selling, marketing, and communication in a digital environment.

Gunter uses humor and candor to dive into the psychology of value-based digital business management, and then shows our viewers exactly how it’s done.

Here are the show highlights: * Why you don’t have to conduct in-person business to make an impact (3:44) * Building relationships in a digital environment (6:03) * Understanding the essence of value-based selling (10:04) * Technology may be implicit, but it’s not the whole story (12:59) * How adoption of an innovation is only constrained by the relevance of your communication (18:23) * It’s more valuable to be a customer expert instead of a product expert (32:43)

Guest Bio Gunter Wessels is the Co-Founder and Practice General Manager of LiquidSmarts, a company that reduces miscommunication, misalignment of resources, and dis-coordination of action to increase engagement and sales volume.

His decades-long career in sales and business diagnostics and innovation has evolved into a strategy that uses the latest micro-learning approaches to value-based business solutions.

Gunter received his BS in Biology and MBA in Marketing Management from the University of California, Riverside, and Ph.D. in Management from the University of Arizona.

If you’d like to reach out to Gunter, you can email him at gunter@liquidsmarts.com or reach out to him on his website at www.liquidsmarts.com.

View Details

When it comes to building a startup, paying attention to the culture you build isn’t the first thing on your mind - but it should be.

There is a lot of work that goes into what entrepreneurs do - and a startup is only going to be as good - and healthy - as its employees. Build a positive culture and you’ll have positive outcomes.

Just ask Erik Osland of EvolveMd! He built a successful business using core values that include support, self-care, training, and creating a culture that benefits both customers and employees.

Come learn more about this win-win as Erik discusses this and much more in his recent episode on the Health Innovators Podcast.

Grab a friend (or a coworker) and hang out with us for a few minutes of healthy conversation.

Here are the show highlights: * How system disruptors can present entrepreneurs with opportunities for expansion or growth (6:16) * Focusing on quality employee relationships can boost positive patient outcomes (8:22) * Recognize the learning power of your mistakes (13:10) * You can create first, tweak later, and still come out on top (16:06) * Never say never - when a pivot opportunity presents itself, a learning opportunity is not far behind (20:40) * Self-care: Taking care of you will also benefit your company and those you serve (26:11)

Guest Bio Erik Osland is the managing partner for EvolvedMD, a comprehensive behavioral health integration platform focused on program development, management, and implementation.

His education at the University of Arizona helped develop his background in leadership, management, and strategic planning.

Erik utilized that background to develop a process that delivers the best patient care and outcomes possible in behavioral health, while also minimizing barriers often found when trying to access those settings.

If you’d like to reach out to Erik, you can email him at erik@evolvedmd.com, find him on LinkedIn at Erik Osland, or reach out to him on his website at EvolvedMD.com.

View Details

Having 30+ years in the business can give you more insights than a person has a right to - but it won’t give you all the answers.

And when you’re trying to reshape the future of healthcare with a product that harnesses the power of machine learning and puts data back into the customer’s hands, you’re pushing limits.

Limits can be unforgiving, but humility and tenacity can win the day, hands down.

On this week’s episode, come hear how Frank Ricotta, CEO of BurstIQ, is changing the world - one data set at a time.

Frank’s honesty and candidness while speaking about the ups and downs of running a startup are enough to keep all of us inspired and ready to push our own limits.

Get comfortable, Health Innovators, because Frank is packing all the receipts on our latest episode!

Here are the show highlights: * Knowing when it’s time to take back the wheel and change direction (1:03) * Making big decisions and taking risks (2:34) * Recognizing that all feedback is important, even if it isn’t always correct (5:20) * Why staying grounded and balanced is so important for entrepreneurs (25:10) * You’ll learn more from your failures than you ever will from your successes (31:17) * You don’t need to know everything - transparency and vulnerability deepens trust (34:36)

Guest Bio Frank Ricotta is the CEO of BurstIQ, a platform that combines the power of blockchain, big data, and machine intelligence and uses it to build a platform for a person-centric health economy.

With 30+ years immersed in empowering people and creating innovative solutions, he credits his professional success to three guidelines: Make a difference, have fun, and make money.

Frank earned his BS in Computer Science from the United States Air Force Academy, and his MBA in International Finance from St. Mary’s University.

If you’d like to reach out to Frank, you can find him on LinkedIn at Frank Ricotta, on Twitter at @FRicotta, or find him on BurstIQ.com.

View Details

When you’re an entrepreneur, sometimes, it’s harder to see the forest for the trees, especially when you’re a tree in the very forest you’re examining.

And make no mistake, this is true no matter what field or vertical you’re in - you’re going to see someone else's strategic failures or faults before you see your own.

Now for the good news: it’s normal and it’s fixable - so long as you’re willing to do the hard, honest work it will take to identify problems and make the changes necessary to fix them.

On this week’s episode, we shook things up a bit and interviewed our own Dr. Roxie Mooney on her decision to change the name of her podcast from COIQ with Dr. Roxie to The Health Innovators Show.

Dr. Roxie gives us the backstory on COIQ and why a name change “just made sense.”

Here are the show highlights: * What COIQ Means (0:55) * The “Dr. Phil” of Commercializing Innovation (2:44) * Knowing when to take your own advice (4:01) * How Commercialization of Innovation helps in a volatile market (6:13) * Why taking an honest look at your business strategy can be a game changer (8:42) * On the wrong path? Change directions! (10:41)

Guest Bio Dr. Roxie Mooney is the CEO and Founder of Legacy DNA Marketing Group, a strategic marketing firm, and author of the international best selling book How Health Innovators Maximize Market Success.

In addition to her career as a strategist and author, she is also the host of “The Health Innovators Show”, a podcast where guests share their stories, struggles, and strategies to help encourage and empower other innovators currently in the trenches.

Dr. Mooney earned her DBA from Walden University and her MS in Organizational Leadership from Palm Beach Atlantic University.

If you’d like to reach out to Dr. Mooney, you can find her on LinkedIn at Roxie Mooney , on Twitter at @roxiemooney, or on her website at www.Legacy-DNA.com.

View Details

If you’re an innovator in the digital healthcare space who is having trouble commercializing your solution, this might be the episode you’ve been waiting for.

This week, Michael Bidu, a digital health innovation Renaissance man, is giving our listeners the nuts and bolts on accelerators and incubators.

If you were ever curious about how the accelerator or incubator side of innovation works, you don’t want to miss it!

Want to launch an innovation globally? Unsure of the current state of the market? Wondering if you have a disruptive or sustainable innovation? Michael touches on it.

If you’re an entrepreneur in the digital health space, come grab some insights into what an accelerator looks for when considering an innovation!

Here are the show highlights:

Are you an entrepreneur in training, or an Olympic level player? (9:15)
Digital health innovation: Are you really ready for the massive competition? (12:55)
What you should know if you’re thinking of launching a product outside the US (15:53)
How accelerators and the incubators evolved during the pandemic (19:30)
What’s the difference between disruptive and sustainable innovation? (25:57)
This might be keeping you from successfully commercializing your innovation (37:08)

Guest Bio

Michael Bidu is Co-Founder and CEO of INTERFACE Health Society, a not-for-profit virtual digital health technology accelerator.

He’s also Co-Founder and CEO of MYND Therapeutics Inc., a digital health company that is developing socially engaging digital therapies.

Michael is a proven digital health Renaissance man, having expertise in the entire spectrum of innovation - from accelerators and financing to marketing, development, and advertising.

Having earned his MBA from the Academia de Studii Economice in Bucharest, Michael continued his education at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Vancouver, B.C.

If you’d like to reach out to Michael you can find him on LinkedIn at Michael Mircea Bidu, on his company’s website at InterfaceHealth.com, or on social media using @InterfaceHealth.

View Details

When working in the world of digital health innovations has been your lifelong career, you tend to get some pretty good insights.

Being exposed to both the entrepreneurial and startup side as well as the mentoring and coaching side? That sends those insights into the stratosphere.

Lee Greene has spent his entire professional career on either side of the digital health innovation landscape and he’s dishing some great advice for us in this episode.

Come find out how emotion can act as a blinder to success, why it’s important to follow the flow of money, and how collaboration could be the key to reshaping healthcare on a global scale.

In this episode, Lee shares his knowledge on everything from success to the future of healthcare and beyond.

If you’re thinking of starting a startup or entering the entrepreneurial field of digital health - or are already there feeling the pressure, you need to see this show! Strap in and enjoy the ride!

Here are the show highlights:

This is why some health innovations succeed, and some fail (6:07)
Why it’s okay to be “all about the money” (7:46)
The difference between being the advisor - and running your own startup (12:33)
Understanding co-creation, taking advice and figuring out what to believe (15:18)
Coaching tip: know what moves to make (18:52)
The impact of collaboration and how it might change the future of healthcare (27:55)

Guest Bio

Lee Greene is the Co-Founder of Stuward, an award-winning digital health company offering a personalized eHealth platform with the ability to match family caregivers to expert coaches.

Lee is also the Managing Director for HealthInc, a 12-week full-time accelerator program that connects entrepreneurs and startups to a network of health and business professionals.

Lee is a self-proclaimed “serial health entrepreneur” and has dedicated his professional career to coaching and mentoring entrepreneurial minds and startup ventures.

If you’d like to reach out to Lee you can email him at lee.greene.@healthinc.io, follow him on LinkedIn at Lee Green, or visit his website at healthinc.io.

View Details

Stepping out of a 30-year career in the world’s leading medical device company takes more than guts - it takes a solid solution and a plan to bring that solution to market.

After building a three-decades-long career at Medtronics, Lonny Stormo took a chance. He parlayed his diverse experience into action and started a new journey as a startup CEO.

But going from a large company with near-limitless resources to a small company was no cakewalk. Add in a saturated market and things get even more sticky.

But Lonny and his co-founders believed in their idea, so they applied some solid co-creation fundamentals and did not skimp when it came to messaging and branding.

The result? Five years of planning and building translated into differentiator status for his startup and partnerships in the making. Not a bad turnabout.

In this episode, Lonny shares the story of how his company of engineers got a crash course in marketing that turned the tide in their favor.

If you’re trying to break into the market, these insights and tips might be exactly what you need to help break away from the crowd!

Here are the show highlights:

The importance of focus groups and customer discovery (1:30)
Why it might not be a bad idea to bring in a 3rd party for co-creation (4:34)
How to guard against infused bias (6:51)
Why your product should be more beneficial than a burden (8:08)
Saturated markets and how to stand out in them (11:59)
Your product won’t sell itself: the importance of branding and messaging (14:15)
A good story can be a game-changer for your solution (17:06)

Guest Bio

Lonny Stormo is Co-Founder and CEO of POPS! Diabetes Care, Inc., a leader in the democratization of healthcare via an AI-driven virtual coach that helps users self-manage diabetes.

After 30 years at Medtronics, Lonny left in pursuit of a vision that would set healthcare on its head - that vision is POPS!

Lonny earned his BA in Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and his MBA from Arizona State University

If you’d like to reach out to Lonny, you can reach him on Twitter @LonnyStormo, on LinkedIn at Lonny Stormo, or on his website at Popsdiabetes.com.

View Details

Creating a whole new market and getting CMS, Medicare, and Medicaid to issue reimbursement codes isn’t easy. In fact, you’d have to be a little crazy to try. Crazy or brilliant.

3X entrepreneur Larry Jasinski definitely isn’t crazy. He knew his company ReWalk was on to something big - and had the data to prove it.

From humble beginnings at Boston Scientific to international entrepreneur, Larry knows his stuff - and is opening up to our listeners and viewers on this week’s episode!

If you’re struggling to break into the market or commercialize your product, you really need to listen to what Larry has to say.

In this episode, he shares the story on how he commercialized his product overseas, brought it to the US, and then compiled the data to support the issuance of a reimbursement code.

Amazed? We were too! So get ready for some insights and tips that just might help you weather the commercialization process along the way!

Here are the show highlights:

What it’s like to create a whole new market (1:11)
The biggest limiter to bringing disruptive or incremental innovation to market (3:56)
From idea to commercially viable - which path do you take? (5:31)
The current perspective on the investment community (8:03)
What innovators should do when pitching investors (10:09)
How to approach commercializing a product internationally (15:06)
Why having cross-discipline exposure can be key to success (22:27)

Guest Bio

Larry Jasinski is CEO of ReWalk Robotics, a company that produces structural exoskeletons that give paralyzed people the ability to walk again.

From his beginnings at Boston Scientific, Larry attributes cross-disciplinary experience to his successful ventures across the globe - from Germany to Israel to the United States.

Larry earned his BS and MBA from Providence College, University of Bridgeport.

If you’d like to reach out to Larry, you can follow him on LinkedIn at Larry Jasinsky or on his website at www.rewalk.com.

View Details

When you’re a new-to-the-scene founder and you’re out to prove yourself, you need to be scrappy and creative.

Success in the digital healthcare space is always difficult - finding funding and generating sales in a market with heightened volatility is nearly impossible - especially for a newcomer.

Nearly. But not quite.

Enter Richard Lin and his experience with a healthcare problem and his “gut” feeling that planted the seed of an idea that grew into his company, Thryve.

No one wants to be the company that builds a beautiful piece of tech that nobody wants to buy - and Richard shows our listeners and viewers just how to avoid that trap.

So, get ready because, in our latest episode, Richard dives into topics from commercialization to funding to discovery and beyond, while putting a unique, humble, and creative spin on each!

Here are the show highlights:

This is one way to enjoy a B2C commercialization win (3:38)
How commercialization in the B2C space difference from B2B (5:57)
First-time founders can try this to increase their chances with investors (7:06)
How VC funding has changed from then to now (9:44)
Try this 4-step sequence to improve your lead indicator metrics (21:12)
This is how you implement and improve on customer discovery (32:21)

Guest Bio

Richard Lin is CEO and Co-Founder of Thryveinside, a venture focused on microbiome genomic testing and personalized probiotic therapeutics.

Leveraging his background and education, Richard labored to develop what he terms the “23andMe for the microbiome” - a direct-to-consumer DNA solution centered on gut health.

Richard earned his BA in Economics and Communication from the University of California, Davis.

If you’d like more information about Thryve, or just wish to reach out to Richard, you can reach him directly at richard@thryveinside.com, follow him on LinkedIn at Richard Lin or, for more information about Thryve, you can follow them on Facebook or Twitter at @ThryveInside.

View Details

When COVID-19 flew into the scene, the way we conduct business was changed - virtually overnight in most cases.

Successfully launching a product was already an uphill battle, now companies had to figure out how, or even if, they could consider launching their innovation.

But can a startup company approach a pilot program from a virtual position, and do so in a way that not only gets them noticed but fuels forward momentum?

According to Jorge Sanchez of Sentinel Healthcare, it’s not only possible to conduct a virtual pilot, but with the right mindset, it can open the door to even more opportunity.

In our latest episode, Jorge gives listeners and viewers first-hand, real-world examples of how to approach virtual pilots and virtual teams in times of crisis - and do so with winning results!

Here are the show highlights:

The importance of data validation (1:50)
How actionable, meaningful data can help drive innovation (3:56)
Yes, you can conduct a virtual pilot during the time of COVID (5:49)
Crisis as an impediment - or an accelerator (10:49)
Be the signal, not the rubber stamp, when piloting your product (13:55)
Don’t let your company’s end goal get lost in the weeds (17:27)
Empowerment is the key to successfully running a virtual team (23:32)

Guest Bio

Jorge Sanchez is Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer for Sentinel Healthcare.

Sentinel is a digital healthcare company that partners with other healthcare companies to remotely monitor and deliver clinical recommendations to patients with high blood pressure.

Jorge earned his MD at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School in 2003.

If you’d like to reach out to Jorge you can email him at Jorge@sentinel.healthcare, follow him on LinkedIn at Jorge Sanchez MD or, for more information about Sentinel Healthcare and their digital solutions, visit their website at Sentinel.Healthcare.

View Details

We can’t always choose where we come from, but we sure can drive the bus to our chosen destination!

Personal experience with a product or solution that your startup is addressing is a bonus - but as Yossuf Albanawi explains, it’s not always enough.

Personal experience paired with customer discovery, however, can be the key to not only creating a viable product but also uncovering your competitive advantage.

It might be tempting to take a shortcut to avoid paying a toll, but in the long run, the quickest route between where you are now and where you want to be is a straight line.

So, don’t skip customer discovery!

In this episode, Yossuf sheds all pretense to bring our listeners a candid and engaging episode that highlights the power of the human spirit - and the passion that drives success.

Here are the show highlights:

How firsthand experience can be the fuel that drives your startup forward. (1:53)
Why product-market fit and customer discovery work hand-in-hand. (4:14)
When customer discovery can open up the path to a more viable product. (6:20)
Beware the pitfalls of taking shortcuts! (8:20)
4 steps to help you discover your competitive advantage. (12:17)
Sometimes gut feelings and intuition have a lot to say - are you listening? (14:42)
Finding the hidden value in hardship (18:40)

Guest Bio

Yossuf Albanawi is CEO and Co-Founder of Pilleve, a digital health company focused on improving medication safety.

Personal experience drives Yossuf’s passion to find solutions for real-world problems, specifically in the areas of mental health and reducing the risk of addiction.

Yossuf earned a Bachelor’s Degree and certification in Project Management from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

If you’d like to reach out to Yossuf you can follow him on LinkedIn at Yossuf Albanawi or, for more information on Pilleve and their mission, visit their website at Pilleve.com

View Details

Startups can be challenging. And, with an abundance of ambiguous tips and strategies available, and it’s almost impossible to distill it down to actionable steps toward success.

Almost.

Daniel Levitt has spent an entire career in the world of startups, learning the ropes by taking on roles tied to sales and marketing - critical components of any successful venture.

Self-branded a serial BIO/IT entrepreneur, Daniel pulls back the curtain and gives our listeners a rare glimpse into the strategies he used that helped him sell one company to Microsoft.

In this episode, our viewers are treated to a sincere and thoughtful interview that takes the mystery out of why some companies succeed where others might struggle.

Grab a drink, turn up the volume and get ready to take notes. You’re not going to want to miss this one!

Here are the show highlights:

How staying humble can build your expertise and bring more experience to your next venture (2:13)
The difference between - and importance of - technical founders and operational founders (6:42)
Why the method in which your startup raises money is critically important (9:20)
This scientific evidence can be a gamechanger for building a successful startup (24:19)
What investors want to see when they’re considering backing a startup (25:59)
The critically important reason to include customers in every stage of your ideation processes (30:26)
How to navigate success without sacrificing viability (33:10)

Guest Bio

Daniel Levitt is CEO and Founder at Bioz, a comprehensive AI search engine that empowers scientists to accelerate research toward cutting edge discoveries and technologies.

With a career dedicated to IT and life sciences, Daniel has successfully built and sold companies to such notables as Microsoft.

A self-professed serial Bio/IT entrepreneur, Daniel earned his BA in economics from the University of Berkeley in California and his M.Sc. in management from Boston University.

If you’d like to reach out to Daniel, or are looking for more information about Bioz, you can reach him by email at daniel@bioz.com, on LinkedIn at Daniel Levitt, or visit his website at Bioz.com.

View Details

When building a digital health company from the ground up, the road will, at times, arduous and challenging.

Entrepreneurs have to constantly examine their goals, their approaches, and - perhaps most importantly, their failures in order to stay on task and motivated.

Not an easy task, but when you’re passionate about your solution, it’s a path you’re willing to take and a process you’re willing to submit to.

In this episode, Eran Kabakov speaks candidly about his company’s nearly two-decade evolution, some mistakes he’s made along the way, and how the COVID-19 crisis helped open doors.

Eran gives our listeners an honest look at the often unglamorous - but most often rewarding - rollercoaster ride of building a digital health company.

Here are the show highlights:

How building something from nothing versus working in an existing, established infrastructure is like night and day (3:46)
Product market fit and how it can evolve and change over time(7:34)
Recognizing when you’ve reached product-market fit and how that can be different for every entrepreneur (13:44)
How a crisis can reveal opportunities, even if doors closed in the past (17:01)
Sometimes the market has to catch up to the entrepreneur’s vision (22:57)
Why keeping your eye on your end goals can help you stay on track and inspired (28:42)

Guest Bio

Eran Kabakov is CEO and Founder of Docola, a digital health tool that enables providers to quickly share information with patients, tracks progress, assesses comprehension, and provides utilization reports, all on a HIPAA/GDPR compliant platform.

Eran has been a clinician for over 30 years, has earned his BS in Physical Therapy from the University of Buffalo, and is a volunteer at the Aurora Project and the Society for Participatory Medicine.

If you’d like to reach out to Eran, or are looking for additional information on Docola, you can find him on LinkedIn at Eran Kabakov or visit their website at doco.la .

View Details

When momentum is interrupted by a global crisis, it can take the wind out of even a big corporation’s sails, never mind a startup’s.

Sometimes, the trick to keeping momentum going, or at the very least moving in the right direction, could be as simple as a shift in focus.

Staying open to opportunities that build on a process or product you’ve already developed can be key to unlocking doors that might be closing to other innovators.

In this episode, Varun Goyal talks about his company’s pre-pandemic momentum and changes in focus and target markets that helped see Illuminate Health through the pandemic crisis.

Varun gives our listeners a glimpse into his startup’s strategies and challenges as they actively avoided pilot purgatory in an unpredictable market.

Here are the show highlights:

How a formal pilot and patient information can help you expand your solution (3:12)
Why shifting use case focus can help keep momentum going during market disruptions (9:53)
One of the most challenging pieces to the commercialization process (13:05)
Ways to avoid pilot purgatory (14:52)
When a crisis can both slow down momentum - or speed things up (21:27)
Add-on solutions - can this be a way in the door when the door is closing? (29:09)
What’s important when looking for an advisor (32:13)

Guest Bio

Varun Goyal is CEO and Co-Founder of Illuminate Health, a digital care assistant for individuals and families that helps simplify healthcare management.

An engineer by background, Varun spent a lot of his career at Oracle in various consulting roles before getting passionate about consumer health.

Varun earned his BS in computer engineering from Illinois State University, MS in computer science from University of Chicago, and his MBA in marketing, management and strategy, and healthcare from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.

If you’d like to reach out to Varun or are looking for additional information on Illuminate Health, you can find him on LinkedIn at Varun Goyal, email at vg@illuminate.health, at his company’s website Illuminate.Health.

View Details

Launching a successful startup is hard. It’s even harder when there’s a global pandemic affecting every aspect of the market.

Market shakeups aren’t new, but when you’re new to the market, your ideas could be the shakeup that’s needed!

Fresh eyes, fresh ideas, fresh approaches can be a breath of fresh air in a stalled market. And Evan Ehrenberg and his company threw open the window with their millennial mindsets.

In this episode, come hear how Evan and his team at Clara Health used a unique mix of traditional and unorthodox approaches to building a successful startup out of a college project.

Evan’s candor, transparency, and vulnerability, quickly pull our listeners in as he recounts the struggles and triumphs, and unique approaches, millennial companies face during COVID-19.

Here are the show highlights:

The path from idea, to a minimum viable product, to scalable product (3:58)
What success can look for a startup (8:34)
What it’s like to be a millennial innovator (11:22)
How transparency and vulnerability in conversations can spark ideas (17:36)
Combatting discrimination and ageism in the company and when pitching (18:54)
Steps to take that can help battle burnout and increase productivity (24:48)
Using conversations to help build stronger trust and credibility (31:48)

Guest Bio

Evan Ehrenberg is Co-founder and CEO of Clara Health, a company that exists to help patients obtain better access to breakthrough clinical trials.

Before founding Clara Health, Evan managed AI research at MIT, Pal, and Palantir.

He is a USERN (Universal Scientific Education and Research Network) Ambassador and a recipient of the Forbes 30 under 30 award.

Having received his Bachelor’s in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley at the age of 16, Evan went on to become the youngest Ph.D. candidate at MIT.

If you’d like to reach out to Evan, or simply want more information about Clara Health, you can follow him on Twitter at @EvanEhrenberg or @ClaraHealth, on LinkedIn at Evan Ehrenberg or reach out on their website at ClaraHealth.com.

View Details

The healthcare space has become more dynamic over the past few months - and is showing no sign of slowing down.

So, how do you navigate the obstacles and challenges of such a dynamic space, and continue to remain relevant and possibly manifest a product for launch?

It is possible to not only identify opportunity but also leverage it - if you keep your focus on who you’re engaging with.

In today’s episode, Dr. Roxie speaks with Kent Dicks, CEO and Founder of Life365, and gets his input on how to increase the chance for market success in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Kent shares his strategies for opening up partnerships and relationships, and how to stay on task while also being agile and remaining relevant beyond the COVID economy.

Here are the show highlights:

Explore friction points in healthcare during COVID-19 (2:23)
Turning challenges and obstacles into opportunity (5:14)
Opening up partnerships, relationships, and paths to success (9:50)
Dissecting what opportunity in a crisis looks like (12:28)
How commercialization strategies are changing during crises (15:37)
Telehealth adoption and the future of telemedicine (21:00)
Strategies for staying agile and relevant in a post-pandemic market (26:30)

Guest Bio

Kent Dicks, the Founder and CEO of Life365, has 35+ years experience providing dynamic and strategic leadership in new and emerging markets.

His dedication to improving telehealth systems and establishing efficacy in patient-centered mobile health solutions secured his place as a trusted thought leader in the Mobile and Digital Health space.

Kent received his Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University and holds an Associate’s Degree in Business from Phoenix College.

If you’d like to follow up with Kent, or simply want more information about Inference Analytics or Plug and Play Health you can get a hold of him via email at kdicks@life365.health, his website at Life365.health or on LinkedIn at Kent Dicks.

View Details

Crises impact health innovators in all forms and fashion - including shifting nuances that have a very definite impact on pre and post-crisis strategies.

Weathering the impact of a crisis sometimes requires creative long-term or short-term solutions to strategic approaches.

And, sometimes, entrepreneurs can focus so heavily on one strategic course, they may miss an emergent strategy or opportunity that could help them scale and get to market faster.

In today’s episode, Farrukh Khan, CEO and Founder of Inference Analytics, talks about his company’s use case pivot during the pandemic.

Using a platform they already had in place, Inference Analytics was able to expand their long-term solution while also offering a near-term solution for patients and healthcare providers.

Farrukh shares his strategies, insights, and advice on how to stay agile while pivoting and the importance of not letting core value proposition get too far out of sight.

Here are the show highlights:

Examples of long-term and near-term crisis impacts and solutions (6:13)
How to avoid “shelfware” solutions (8:13)
Learning how to recognize when to stay the course and when to pivot down a different path (16:13)
What is a “Camel Startup” and how do they function? (18:46)
How important is your support system as an entrepreneur? (24:51)
Two key reasons to pivot or enter a new market (29:39)

Guest Bio

Farrukh Khan is the founder and CEO of Inference Analytics, Inc. With over 20 years of experience in product management, strategy, and general management in the analytics space, he has held leadership roles in everything from early-stage startups to large fortune 500 enterprises - including Netezza and IBM.

Farrukh earned his Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University and his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University.

If you’d like to follow up with Farrukh, or simply want more information about Inference Analytics, you can reach out to him at Farrukh@inferenceanalytics.com, on his website at inferenceanalytics.com, or via LinkedIn at Farrukh Khan

View Details

Timing can be crucial to any startup - enter the market at the wrong time and it’s an uphill battle, enter it at the right time and things can really take off.

But even the best timing can’t protect a fledgling business from incorrect product assumptions that can cost valuable resources.

Two key factors that improve a startup’s survival rate are great industry advisors and a passion for getting to know the end-user.

In today’s episode, Katherine Jin, CTO, and Co-Founder of Kinnos, speaks openly about her startup’s challenges.

She shares her take on how good timing helps, but the support of key industry opinion leaders and a willingness to co-create with end-users, are equally critical to success.

Tune in and get Katherine’s insights on what it means to be a young entrepreneur managing a startup during a pandemic - and see how they’re making it work.

Here are the show highlights:

The ups and downs of taking a college idea into the world of startups (7:38)
Key opinion leaders: The difference between getting a ‘no’ or a ‘yes’ when pitching for funding (10:49)
Why proof and efficacy are not interchangeable (13:12)
Getting to know your end users can pay off in big ways (15:57)
Co-creation can put assumptions to rest and give rise to better solutions (18:18)
Awards and accolades are great for startups, but, the real prize is the connections that you make (24:57)
Good timing can drive big success, but patience and the ability to pivot in times of crisis is critical for startups (28:40)
The pluses and minuses of supply chain issues (33:38)

Guest Bio

Katherine Jin is CTO and Co-founder of Kinnos, a New York-based company that is pioneering color technology to revolutionize how the world uses disinfectants.

Their first product, won several awards, is used by the New York Fire Department and has been field-tested by NGOs and healthcare workers in Liberia, Guinea, Haiti, DR Congo, and Uganda.

Katherine earned her BA in Computer Science and Biology from Columbia University in New York City, has several academic publications to her name.

She is also a recipient of the Forbes 30 under 30 in Healthcare award

If you’d like more information about Kinnos or the Highlight solution, you can touch base with Katherine at Katherin@kinnos.us, visit their website at Kinnos.us, or find them on LinkedIn at Kinnos.

View Details

Healthcare continues to operate on the same backend delivery models that take everyone into consideration except the direct beneficiaries of care: the patient.

It takes ingenuity, a strong understanding of commercialization, and a clearly defined value proposition to successfully disrupt such an established market.

But if you’re not careful, you might find your disruptive innovation hijacked, pushing you out of that innovation space and turning your product into just another option out of many.

A self-described serial entrepreneur, CEO, and Co-Founder of Solve.Care, Pradeep Goel knows a thing or two about commercialization and staying on task.

Tune in to hear his tricks and insights on how to take your innovation through the commercialization process and successfully to market without losing sight of your vision or losing grasp of your value proposition.

Here are the show highlights:

3 key friction points to consider during healthcare co-creation (4:23)
Cornerstones of building or commercializing a successful innovation (13:06)
Are you on the path to the early market or mainstream market? (19:29)
Is what you’re doing fundamentally aligned with your value proposition? (26:37)
Why staying true to your value proposition is critical (26:37)
3 questions to ask yourself about your customers’ alignment with your vision (28:08)
How to differentiate what process stage your solution is in (30:06)
Do you want to be first to market or first to profit? (33:01)

Guest Bio

With over 25 years of executive experience touching every level of the healthcare industry from insurance to public programs, Pradeep Goel is the Co-Founder and CEO of Solve.Care - a platform based health care solution that combines decentralization with synchronization in order to connect stakeholders with each other.

Determined to redefine care, cost, and convenience for everyone, Solve.Care is poised to disrupt the healthcare industry with their revolutionary concepts on healthcare delivery, care coordination, and benefits administration.

Pradeep earned his BE in Systems Engineering from Panjab University and has parlayed his education into a laser-defined focus on improving the administration, coordination, quality, and efficiency of healthcare.

If you’d like to reach out to Pradeep for more information, you can email him at info@solve.care or visit their website at Solve.Care or on LinkedIn at Solve.Care

View Details

Compared to more established organizations, healthcare start-ups experienced some of the bigger challenges during recent market crises.

With less clout, doors close faster, and the word ‘no’ can be discouraging - but not every ‘no’ is the wrong type of ‘no’. Not every ‘no’ is the same.

Learning how to power through the let-down of rejection and find your way to the prized bit of guidance hidden beneath, can be key to surviving and thriving in a volatile market.

Today, CEO and Co-Founder of Pangea Medical, Ariel Efergan, talks candidly about his start-up’s experiences during the recent international pandemic and their take on the importance of the customer discovery process.

Here are the show highlights:

These are some of the biggest challenges a startup can face during a crisis (2:18)
This is one of the most important aspects of the validation (proof of concept) process (4:49)
Having belief in your solution is essential, but so is the ability to take feedback (6:32)
Ways the buying environment has changed during the pandemic (8:57)
Nothing prepares an entrepreneur for evaluating a pivot process more than an international crisis (11:03)
A pivot away from your current strategy might uncover your ‘Eureka!’ moment (15:15)
Hearing ‘No’ sucks - but that doesn’t mean it’s not the ‘right’ no! (16:06)
3 important lessons learned from guiding a start-up through a pandemic (21:48)

Guest Bio

Ariel Efergan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Pangea Medical, a healthcare start-up that aims data-driven actions to work with payers and providers in order to better understand patients and deliver more accurate and cost-effective care.

Ariel received his education from The University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business and had devoted his career to understanding the intricacies of how business, financing, and positive customer experiences work together to form a successful venture.

If you’d like to reach out to Ariel with questions, or for additional information about his company, he can be reached via email at info@pangeamedicalcare.com, on their website at PangeaMedicalCare.com, or you can follow them on LinkedIn at Pangea Medical.

View Details

When you’re a healthcare innovations startup poised to take that next step, nothing can throw you more of a curveball than a global pandemic.

Right now, the market has slowed and is proceeding with caution, but ‘slow’ doesn’t mean ‘stop.’

Funding may be hard, but it’s not impossible - and there are actions every company can take that will help keep them relevant and active in the industry.

In today’s episode, Surefhir Co-Founder and CEO, Ana Gomez del Campo gets candid with our listeners as she recounts how her company has weathered the impact of the go-stop-crawl process of the last few months.

Ana shares her thoughts on being open to collaboration, willing to pivot, why it’s so important to know who you’re targeting when going to market.

Here are the show highlights:

When crises slow an innovation’s forward trajectory, these actions can keep you relevant and active in your industry (4:03)
A strong argument for collaboration and customer discovery (9:19)
Why funding may be difficult, but certainly not impossible, during a pandemic (14:50)
A quick dive into the psychology around why Angel Investors invest (17:41)
How a partial pivot to innovation can yield surprising results (19:09)
Why right now might be the time to open discussion about how your innovation may work for other potential target markets (22:03)
How getting “lost in the fog” can sabotage your success (23:45)
When listening to stakeholder advice produces that ah-ha moment (26:01)
Recognizing the different value propositions between patient, provider, and those who write the checks are critical to innovation success (31:18)

Guest Bio

Ana Gomez del Campo is CEO and Co-Founder of Surefhir, a healthcare digital solution that aims to boost patient satisfaction and discharge efficiency with tools that keep patients, loved ones, and care teams all on the same page and up-to-date on a patient’s care journey.

A recipient of several entrepreneurial and neuroscience grants and prizes, Ana graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with her BS in Biomedical and Medical Engineering.

If you want to reach out to Ana, she can be reached via email at ana@surefhir.co, on LinkedIn at Ana Gomez del Campo, or for more information about the Surefhir solution, visit their website at surefhir.co

View Details

For healthcare innovators, getting a head start on your competition can seem like a tall order - especially when we’re in an unpredictable market.

Things have slowed, doors are closing, and you already poured all your available resources into your product. So, how are you going to keep your solution relevant and on the minds of your customers?

Take a deep breath, relax, and get ready for the inside scoop on how to use relationship building and collaboration to build those key business relationships that are critical to your success.

In today’s episode, Twiage CEO and co-founder, John Hui, dishes out his first-hand experience with a looming pandemic. He tells us how he pivoted his solution to meet a changing need, allowing his company to stay one step ahead of its competition.

John shares his thoughts on being agile and nimble in this rapidly-evolving market. And get his secret recipe that can sustain even the most frantic among us: a combination of flexibility and openness to collaborate with clients.

Here are the show highlights:

How getting ahead of a problem can keep you ahead of the game (1:02)
Start with a problem, apply co-creation, and create powerful solutions (8:12)
This is what a successful collaboration/co-creation process might look like (10:23)
When sales strategies need to take a backseat to building relationships (13:36)
Sales strategies that can get you in front of the customer (17:38)
Underinvesting in these tools can do your innovation a disservice (23:45)
Ways to stay agile and nimble with relationship building as you move ahead in a post-COVID market (26:56)

Guest Bio

John Hui is the Co-Founder and CEO of Twiage — award-winning healthcare IT startup that provides a novel mobile communication and workflow technology that enables hospitals and ambulances to accelerate life-saving emergency care.

With over 20 years in the healthcare innovation and development industry, John’s career has taken him to both China and the US and has touched on nearly every corner of the digital health and healthcare industry.

John received his MBA from Cornell University and has attended Columbia Business School and the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. John is also an active mentor for graduate and undergraduate students through the Executive on Campus Program at Baruch College, where he is President of the International Business Association.

If you want to reach out to John to learn more about Twiage, or to simply ask questions, he is active on LinkedIn at John Hui or you can visit twiagmed.com

View Details

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected how healthcare business is done.

But there are constants that never change: a patient (person) who needs care and the whole healthcare system that is (hopefully) designed to take care of the patient in the best fashion.

Pre-pandemic healthcare saw quite a bit of disruption from outsiders who saw opportunities to disrupt the system, as-is, and technologies looking to bring in new efficiencies.

Opportunities might arise, and pivots might be necessary - and lucrative - if you keep an open mind and remain pragmatic.

In today’s episode, Ruchin Kansal shares his thoughts on the changing dynamics of how healthcare does business in a post-COVID landscape.

Ruchin brings his experience with pivots - both personal and professional - to life for our listeners. He pairs his knowledge with humor and an abundance of tips and insights on the changing face of healthcare and the opportunities these changes bring to the table.

Here are the show highlights:

This is how the pandemic is affecting innovation and healthcare (2:50)
The COVID crisis has disrupted the status-quo way of thinking about how healthcare is done in the United States (4:55)
Breaking long-standing barriers in telemedicine (5:05)
The CEOs of today are the kings of the past: Why leadership might be the key to making changes stick (5:38)
This is the new normal in healthcare (6:52)
Do you have to pivot your whole business? Heck no! (8:48)
Don’t be afraid to leave what was - but do your due diligence (12:50)
Not every pivot is a bad pivot (and you don’t need to pivot everything!) (15:55)
The “Unicorn Business” and adjusting commercial models (16:49)

Guest Bio

Ruchin Kansal is the Founder of Kansal & Company, a consulting firm that coaches transformative leaders and companies in the art of how to find new markets and co-create with investors and entrepreneurs so they can build a better future of healthcare.

Finding “new markets” is old school for Ruchin who is an airforce pilot turned architect turned MBA - he is no stranger to the term “pivot.”

Ruchin earned his MBA in Finance and Information Systems from the NYU Stern School of Business and is using his experience and expertise to help others in the business world reach their full potential.

In addition to his decades-long career in the industry and his work with Kansal & Company, Ruchin is also co-author of the book Redefining Innovation: Embracing the 80-80 Rule to Ignite Growth in the Biopharmaceutical Industry, which examines the evolution of the biopharmaceutical industry and defines a potential pathway for transforming the industry’s business model via the 80-80 Rule - "Being 80% confident that you will only be 80% right the first time should feel normal."

If you want to reach out to Ruchin to learn more about how Kansal & Company might help you, or to simply ask questions, you can reach him at ruchin@kansal3c.com, on the Kansal & Company website at kansal3c.com or on linked in at Ruchin Kansal.

Redefining Innovation: Embracing the 80-80 Rule to Ignite Growth in the Biopharmaceutical Industry

View Details

Many healthcare innovators view the act of pivoting to be a failure in their solution, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, pivoting, the ability to pivot, or the act of remaining open to a pivot while bringing a product to market is pretty much par for the course.

And, time and time again, a pivot has meant the difference between success and failure when market demands shift.

In today’s episode, Fereydoun Taslimi shares his experience with pivoting a hardware solution into a software homerun in the 1980s.

His decision, action, and ultimate success speaks to the importance of remaining flexible and seizing the moment when the market demands change — like they are today with COVID-19.

Here are the show highlights:

3 key qualities entrepreneurs need to cultivate in order to successfully identify and navigate opportunities (3:30)
Why the ability to pivot can be critical to your success (6:11)
How pandemics and other healthcare related events are shaping the future of healthcare innovation (13:20)
Why it’s important to review and update your messaging (17:23)
Discussing the challenges healthcare and healthcare innovators face now, and in the future (20:45)
Why taking time out to think about all the pivot scenarios to determine a path forward can be critical to success (22:18)
How maintaining a strong, optimistic outlook is a valuable asset for all entrepreneurs (28:42)

Guest Bio

Fereydoun Taslimi is Founder and CEO of SensorsCall, developer of CareAlert — a non-intrusive AI device that extends senior independence while giving caregivers peace of mind.

A seasoned industry figure, Fereydoun has worked in technology fields ranging from computer development in the 1970s, hardware and software in the 1980s, interactive voice response and voice recognition, right up to AI driven IOT healthcare devices used in today’s market.

Fereydoun received his bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of London King’s College and his Masters in computer science from Georgia Tech.

If you want to reach out to Fereydoun to learn more about SensorsCall or CareAlert, or to simply ask questions, you can reach him at www.sensorscall.com, or via email at fereydoun@sensorscall.com.‍

View Details

There’s never an easy answer when it comes to product adoption, finances, or navigating a disrupted market.

But when the market’s as volatile as it has been lately, it can be downright scary. One of our core beliefs is that the more knowledge you have, the better decisions you will make.

David Huizenga has seen a lot. He’s worked in just about every industry that healthcare innovation touches, from biochemistry to financial backing to patents and solutions.

His unique experience and insight is a guiding light in the face of a growing storm.

In this episode, David speaks openly and candidly about the role COVID-19 has played in Moterum Technologies’ product launch, roll-out calendar, and how the company has had to conduct business over the past two months.

Here are the show highlights:

The #1 most important thing you can say to lead and motivate your team during uncertain times (14:01)
Use this trick to instantly “recharge” yourself when you’re feeling tired and unmotivated (14:27)
Why now is the worst time to scale your healthcare business and what to do instead (23:15)
If your business doesn’t demonstrate this, it might not make it into the post-pandemic world (25:33)
Why trying to make reactive changes in your healthcare business backfires on you (26:37)
How to prevent your business from being one of the many that will have to close its doors forever (27:37)
3 key trends about what the post-pandemic healthcare system will look like (29:00)
The “Prohibition Brewery” tactics that will help your business survive and thrive after the pandemic (33:04)

I've spoken with dozens of health innovators, and nearly everyone is trying to figure out their best pivot strategy. But they don't know what to change, how to pivot, or if their new pivot strategy is the right move.

So I went into overdrive putting together a clear, actionable 5-step worksheet that will help you quickly define your most viable and profitable pivot path through the COVID crisis. And I’m giving it to you for FREE — no strings attached at https://www.Legacy-DNA.com/Pivot

Guest Bio

David Huizenga is the founder and CEO of Moterum Technologies Inc., a medical device company in stroke rehabilitation. He is an expert in translating groundbreaking science into realistic commercial opportunities. Over the last 5 years, he has focused his efforts on the unique needs of the neural rehabilitation patient.

Previously, David was CEO and cofounder of Tao Life Sciences LLC, an early stage life sciences technology development and investment company, which successfully monetized over half of its portfolio. David has been on the founding team of numerous life science companies, and has involvement in successful acquisitions and exits. Mr. Huizenga serves on numerous corporate and non-profit boards.

‍If you’d like to learn more about Moterum Technologies and the solutions David and his team have developed, you can reach out to him via email at dehuizenga@moterumtechnologies.com or on their website at moterum.com/.

View Details

It’s taken a global pandemic to jumpstart the telehealth industry and showcase the value, convenience, and importance of bringing strong, viable, and scalable technology solutions to the market. And now that the spotlight’s been cast, there’s no going backwards.

One might not think of disease detection and quantitative science as services that can be deployed via telehealth and a customer/member focused concierge solution, but Jo Bhakdi of Quantgene would argue that with you.

His company built a product around advanced cancer detection using deep genomics and AI technologies and delivers that product in a package that bypasses the traditional healthcare payer system and offers a more affordable solution directly to the customer. And, when COVID-19 hit, Jo’s team was able to envision how a COVID-based solution could be offered to its members in a seamless pivot.

In this episode, come hear Jo Bhakdi’s thoughts on the future of telehealth and concierge medicine, how to approach a successful market pivot, and the importance for health innovators to understand the “investor’s triangle” when bringing healthcare innovations to market.

Here are the show highlights:

5 crucial ingredients you must have to develop effective and disruptive healthcare technology (17:33)
This causes more healthcare innovations to die than anything else… (18:39)
The case for healthcare innovators to be ruthlessly selfish (20:05)
Why shrinking your addressable market can prevent your healthcare innovation from a premature death (25:24)
The “Investor’s Triangle” method for pitching investors that skyrockets your chances of getting investments (29:46)
Here’s how you can easily gain the upper hand when talking to potential investors (33:20)
Why you should celebrate the chaos of the current crisis (49:40)

Guest Bio

Jo Bhakdi is the founder and CEO of Quantgene. Launched in 2015, Quantgene works on the theory that most diseases can be detected far earlier by employing quantitative science and a new level of precision into medical practice.

Jo holds a Masters in Economics and Psychology from Tubingen University, one of Germany’s leading academic institutions, with a focus on financial theory and statistics. Prior to Quantgene, Jo began his career at WPP and Omnicom, where he held Strategy and Executive Director positions.

‍If you’d like to learn more about Quantgene and the solutions Jo and his team have developed, you can reach out to him on Twitter at @jobhakdi, email at jb@quantgene.com, or on quantgene.com and chooseserenity.com.

View Details

Hila Goldman-Aslan and her partners entered the start-up arena in an environment that encouraged healthcare innovation, actively sought out young minds and fresh ideas, and then deepened their support with funding. The result: a fully functional AI imagining analysis solution that’s currently being used on the frontlines of today’s pandemic.

In an industry that sees a nearly 95% failure rate for adoption, DiA Imaging Analysis may have had a supportive boost, but it took ingenuity, tenacity, and an understanding of the importance of relationship building to confidently present their solution to some of the biggest players in the healthcare technology industry - and then successfully bring it to market.

In today’s episode, Hila recounts her company’s path to adoption, and the pivot they made to adjust for the COVID-19 pandemic. Our listeners will enjoy her candor and passion for healthcare innovation.

Here are the show highlights:

The trick for partnering with big corporations like IBM and GE (6:01)
Why it’s foolish to think your product needs to be polished and perfect before pitching it to investors (9:04)
How to save millions of dollars on features and functionality that nobody wants (11:46)
Why it’s easier than you think to get in front of the right people at any company (14:30)
Tweaking this one little thing will help your product sell like hotcakes (20:15)
How the pandemic will make unusual ideas like AI more palatable (23:28)
The reason physicians should celebrate AI instead of fearing it (26:15)
Why aggressively trying to sell backfires on you and what to do instead (33:58)

Guest Bio:

Hila Goldman-Aslan is CEO and Co-Founder of DiA Imaging Analysis, a company that uses AI-based technology to help make ultrasound analysis smarter and more accessible to everyone in the healthcare field.

Holding a Master of Law (LLM) from Tel Aviv University, specializing in Commercial Law and a dual bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) and Business Administration (BBA), Hila knows how to get things done. Her determination and passion has served her well on her journey through the med-tech landscape and helped fuel DiA’s successful launch into the AI market.

If you’d like to discuss the application possibilities of AI in imaging, or have additional questions or insights you’d like to discuss with Hila, you can reach at hila@DiA-Analysis.com or by visiting DiA Imaging Analysis at DiA-Analysis.com.

View Details

Being able to identify a need or problem in the healthcare industry takes creativity and knowledge. A career on the clinical side helps. And an advanced business degree will send you into a whole new world of insights.

But how do those insights help a health innovator navigate today’s disruptive COVID-economy and what might the future hold for an industry that’s stuck on pause?

In this episode, we talk with David Pearlstone, CEO of DICOM Director, about his involvement on both sides of the healthcare innovation equation: from the operating room to the boardroom. David speaks with candor and experience as he regales our listeners with insights, tips, and personal anecdotes.

Here are the show highlights:

How unsatisfied clinicians can regain control of the hospitals and healthcare industry (5:17)
The case for using the profit motive to inspire better healthcare solutions (8:54)
How telehealth will eliminate up to 40% of doctor visits in the post-pandemic world (10:19)
The exact moment when you should leave the healthcare industry to help more people (20:03)
Why this economy is nothing like the economies of 2008 or 1929 (27:30)
The real (and slightly nefarious) reason doctors won’t refill prescriptions over the phone (32:59)

Guest Bio:

David Pearlston is a surgical oncologist and CEO of DICOM Director, offering advanced solutions in medical imaging using full-3D holographic CT scan imaging in augmented and virtual reality, secure cloud storage for imaging, and quick, simple image sharing.

As a lifelong learner, David stepped outside of his comfort zone as a physician, earned his business degree, and entered the world entrepreneurial startup ecosystem and he has not looked back.

His unique insights into the clinical and business sides of healthcare brought him to DICOM Director and fuels his charge toward the future of healthcare innovation.

If you’d like to reach out to David to learn more about DICOM, you can contact him at David.pearlstone@dicomdirector.com, on LinkedIn at DICOM Director, Facebook at DICOM Director, or on their website at dicomdirector.com.

View Details

As the pandemic continues, we’re finding out, more and more, how deep the roots of disruption from shelter-in-place orders and the upheaval of the national (and international) marketplace go. Innovators are now struggling to ask the hard questions: When do I scale back? When do I scale up? How can I ensure my company survives this turbulent and unpredictable market? All valid concerns and, unfortunately, there are no one-size-fits all answers.

But what if you could pick the brain of an innovator whose company is poised to not only weather the disruption, but hit the ground running once it all quiets down to a “new normal?” What if you could access his decades of innovation experience in fields that cross the service continuum, including telecommunications and healthcare? You would. And you can.

On this week’s episode, we have Eran Sofir, an innovation powerhouse who brings his experience in telecommunications, utilities, retail, and healthcare innovation. He speaks openly and candidly about current market conditions, while also offering his take on what the future might hold.

Here are the show highlights:

The counterintuitive secret that the smartest investors don’t want you to know about investing (9:46)
How the pandemic has forced healthcare providers to finally take telehealth seriously (15:07)
Why smaller nursing home facilities gain a bigger advantage from telehealth than larger facilities (15:43)
How the pandemic will shift the financial trends in healthcare more than anything else in the last decade (17:21)
The biggest advantage healthcare innovators have right now thanks to the pandemic (18:15)
Here’s how to ease the adoption for your innovation after the crisis ends (26:08)
The biggest opportunity you have right now that sets you up for easy sales when the crisis ends (31:34)
Why customer feedback is even more important today than before the pandemic hit (39:26)
The trick for hiring the top experts for product development without blowing through your burn rate (40:24)
How to create a loyal and rabid following in the midst of the pandemic (42:04)

Guest Bio

Eran Ofir is the CEO and Founder of Somatix, a provider of wearable-enabled RPM (remote patient monitoring) software for healthcare. Eran has a proven history of success in driving business growth and innovation, and building strong business relationships. His expertise working in industries from telecommunications to retail to healthcare gives him a unique perspective on what does and does not work when delivering technology-based solutions and providing customers with the value-driven services they’re looking for.

Eran holds an MBA in finance and marketing and a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering from Tel Aviv University.

If you want to reach out to Eran to learn more about Somatix’s solution, or to simply ask questions, you can reach him at www.somatix.com, or via email at info@somatix.com or erano@somatix.com.‍

View Details

Healthcare innovators are used to challenges when it comes to securing the funding necessary to bringing their solutions to market — but in today’s COVID-economy, those challenges have grown exponentially.

Innovators have questions: What are their options for funding? Should they pivot their messaging? How can they stay relevant? Can going lean carry them through the crisis? In an economy full of unknowns, Kelli Murray brings her expertise and voice of reason to the table in a candid talk about today’s outlook and the future of healthcare innovation in the country.

In this episode, Kelli touches on her experience on the funding side of healthcare innovation and offers our listeners her tips, insights and expertise.

Here are the show highlights:

How the pandemic reveals if you actually have a product-market fit or not (5:14)
The “G-word” that you need to practice during the crisis to ensure your business thrives after the crisis ends (7:21)
Developing this during the pandemic is way more valuable to the long-term health of your business than making sales (7:52)
Does your business rely on face-to-face communication? Here’s how to “mimic” that interaction during quarantine… (13:15)
The trick to build a loyal and rabid following while helping people without blowing through your entire budget (16:08)
The easy way to create a massive impact in people’s lives doing nothing more than pressing “dial” on your phone (18:56)
How to continue to raise money when the economy crashes and the future is uncertain (22:11)
Tough questions you must ask yourself about your business in the midst of the pandemic (37:26)

Guest Bio:

Kelli Murray is the Founder and CEO of MedSpeaks.com, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Health Innovators, and Managing Partner of Other Streets Advisors.

Kelli has dedicated her career to helping those in the healthcare community improve performance and strengthen their bottom lines. Kelli has leveraged her expertise in the healthcare field to assist startups and health innovators with understanding how to navigate the complex and high-touch industry and provide a bridge to private investment and collaboration in public and private sectors.

If you would like to reach out to Kelli you can reach her by email at kelly@otherstreets.com or by visiting LinkedIn at MedSpeaks or MedSpeaks.com.

View Details

What happens when you launch a product just weeks before a pandemic hits? You learn to pivot, and pivot well, or you risk getting lost in the noise of COVID-19.

Innovators who are used to in-person interactions with clients and prospects face a new challenge in the new COVID economy: being unable to utilize tried-and-true outreach. This poses many problems. Not only do you have to rethink how to get your message out, but now you have to get creative in order to get your message heard while trying to navigate digital options you might not be familiar with.

However, what may seem insurmountable at first glance, becomes navigable with a little creativity and a bit of priority-shifting.

In this episode, MedRock founder and CEO Tony Rocklin tells us about his experience launching a product at the dawn of COVID-19 and how he’s using creative solutions to get his message heard and place his company in a stronger position when the post-COVID shift occurs.

Here are the show highlights:

Why unplanned marketing tactics trump planned marketing tactics (9:57)
The trick for spending more time with your family, engaging your audience, and growing your business at the same time (10:27)
How to not have your business crumble before your feet when the pandemic takes you from 50 clients per day to 4 clients per day (13:27)
Bootstrapped hacks for raising money without giving up equity in your business (16:44)
2 reality-altering changes that will happen as we move into a post-pandemic world (20:44)
How to position yourself as a leader in your field — especially if it makes you queasy with discomfort (26:32)
The “journal method” for creating content that instantly eliminates your natural insecurities (27:57)

Guest Bio

Tony Rocklin is the CEO of MedRock, a company that designs and manufactures medical devices and sports medicine products that “get people moving and keep people moving.” Leveraging his 21 years experience as an orthopedic and sports physical therapist, Tony recognized an opportunity to fill a physical therapy need and designed HipTrac and HotRock, just two of the products developed by MedRock for use in rehabilitation sports performance-enhancement and personal well-being.

In addition to his credentials as a CEO and physical therapist, Tony is also the father of two and a husband who’s learning to balance work life and home life with healthy, positive approaches.

For more information, reach out to Tony on Medrock.com

View Details

Being a pulmonologist and critical care physician gives Dr. Sandeep Jain unique insight into how our healthcare system works — and where some of its failings may be lurking.

After nearly 25 years working in a healthcare setting, Dr. Jain recognized a need for a better, less distracting way to facilitate quality communication between teams of doctors. That’s when he developed his ListenMD app. And it was the pandemic crisis that alerted him to additional patient needs that could be met by making adjustments and additions to his innovative solution.

In this episode, Dr. Jain explains the process of development he’s gone through to bring ListenMD to fruition, how the pandemic inspired him to pivot and make adjustments to his solution, and the future of healthcare in a post-COVID culture.

Here are the show highlights:

How the pandemic has forever changed medicine (17:41)
A surprising way the pandemic has improved healthcare (5:51)
The easy way to manage 40+ patients and their doctors without endless distractions (9:40)
How to capitalize on all the silver linings from the pandemic (16:49)
Why inferior products trump superior products and how to reverse that (13:31)
The sneaky way insurance companies sabotage the doctor-patient relationship with telemedicine (21:32)
Why telemedicine isn’t as effective as it could be and how to improve it (20:50)
How to “tweak” your product to make it more effective for the pandemic (10:33)
Biggest challenges facing doctors and health innovators after the pandemic (32:52)

Guest Bio

Dr. Sandeep Jain is the CEO and Founder of ListenMD, a HIPAA compliant messaging app that intelligently delays a message per sender’s request, enabling efficient, less intrusive communication among doctors.

He’s also a Pulmonologist and Critical Care doctor, which puts him on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Jain has practiced in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area since 1996 and splits his time between working in Intensive Care units and in Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine.

If you would like to reach out to Dr. Jain to learn more about his app or to get involved, you can do so by visiting Listenmd.com or downloading the application ListenMD Doctor, which is physician facing, or ListenMD, which is patient facing. Both applications are free of charge during the current pandemic crisis.

View Details

Many (if not most) innovators have pivoting on their mind right now. They’re asking themselves: what role can I play in helping fight the COVID crisis, while still making sure that it’s the right move for my business?

Of course, this will look different for every innovator. And since nobody can see the future, it’s critical to be as strategic as possible as you’re planning and executing on what’s next for your company. But one big opportunity you shouldn’t overlook is how to find the right partners to co-create something awesome.

In this episode, we chat with Stacie Ruth, CEO of AireHealth. She shared with us her brilliant and thoughtful co-creation pivot strategy to make sure that her respiratory care device and app can help more people, faster — while still making sure that her company can continue to stay relevant and flourish in the long run.

Here are the show highlights:

How to ask other businesses for help without letting them hijack your business (20:04)
Why innovators thrive during chaotic times (27:54)
How to promote your healthcare solutions during a pandemic so you don’t erode trust between you and your customers (5:00)
How to easily transform your current healthcare products to better help during the crisis (6:01)
Make sure you have this critical piece in place before you pivot to help with the pandemic or your business won’t last (15:05)
Neglect this when collaborating with other businesses and you’ll pay for it years after the crisis (17:56)
Mr. Rogers’ secret for helping more people that works especially well during a pandemic (7:17)
The “September check” method for pivoting that ensures your business survives after the crisis (24:26)

Guest Bio:

Stacie is a Connected Health Entrepreneur and the CEO of AireHealth, a respiratory care health company. Go to https://www.aire.health/ for more information, and to get in touch, email stacie.ruth@aire.health.

View Details

After nearly 30 years of chasing a dream to connect technology and healthcare, when COVID-19 invaded our everyday lives, Dr. Joseph Kvedar witnessed more movement in his field of expertise over the last month than he has in years. But what does that really mean for the telemedicine industry?

Whether you’re an innovator new to the field or an established player in the telemedicine industry, you’re going to want to hear Dr. Kvedar’s take on how today’s pandemic has thrust telemedicine into the spotlight and how that momentum may play out as we inevitably move into a post-COVID economy.

In this episode, Dr. Kvedar discusses the impacts, implications, and possible outcomes healthcare and health innovator industries may experience due to covid, and offers his own insights and tips on:

Why telemedicine is taking hold right now and how the technology that enables telemedicine can reach further into our everyday lives via education, finance, and other industries
The past obstacles to the telemedicine industry and why/how that has changed within the COVID-19 economy
The challenges telemedicine may face post-covid and the importance of advocating for processes within the telemedicine industry that are being proven as beneficial
Opportunities and challenges health innovators may face due to COVID-19
Tips and insights for telemedicine and health innovators as we move forward - and beyond - the current pandemic crisis

Guest Bio

Joseph C. Kvedar, MD is a professor of dermatology, Co-Chair on digital reimbursement for the AMA, incoming President of the American Telemedicine Association, and Editor in Chief for npj Digital Medicine.

A 27-year believer in the idea that there could be a better model of health care delivery with the ability to provide care outside of a hospital or physician setting, Dr. Kvedar has had the privilege of leading the advance toward a more connected health experience while working at Partners Health.

If you have additional questions or insights you’d like to discuss with Dr. Kvedar, you can reach out to him on LinkedIn at Joe Kvedar, Twitter at @jkvedar, by email at jkvedar@partners.org, or by visiting joekvedar.com.

View Details

When you’re an established, comprehensive company bringing products to market in a vertical industry such as healthcare, there’s a certain amount of expectation that runs alongside your everyday processes. That is, of course, until a pandemic comes knocking on your door.

So what happens when an industry hemmed in by HIPAA guidelines and government regulations is given the proverbial green-light to act quickly? They pivot — and they pivot with lightning speed.

In this episode, Sheila Loy discusses how HID Global took a proven, tested product and reworked parts of the platform to meet the need for infectious disease tracking that’s necessary not only in today’s COVID-19 economy, but for future disease-specific crises as well. Sheila gives us insights into:

The importance of having a strong understanding of your market and how that can help uncover an unmet need
Staying on track with expectations in a fast moving pivot when your company has historically long go-to-market procedures
How to know when you have a product that is relevant in the current market — and when you need to add to, or scale back, that product to give clients the most useful end-product for their needs
Timing and relevance and how they represent half the battle when bringing a product to market
Why communication and internal education is key to a successful pivot — when everyone is on the same page, it’s easier to make the necessary adjustments and keep your company’s momentum moving forward

Guest Bio

Sheila Loy is the Director of Vertical Segmentation of Strategy at HID Global, a worldwide leader in providing trusted security solutions in the identity and access management space. Sheila manages the framework strategies and how HID goes to market as a comprehensive company in a vertical industry such as healthcare.

You can reach Sheila at sheila.loy@HIDGlobal.com. You can also visit HID Global’s website to learn about their contact tracing and surge response solutions.

View Details

Being a health innovator during the COVID-19 Pandemic can be difficult — dwindling funding, shifting priorities, and challenges with getting your message to resonate with the right audience can make it seem darn near impossible.

But what if it isn’t? Running a lean, nimble, and focused path during any crisis, from financial to biological, can help startups remain in the game while also providing a chance to pivot their product to fulfill a current need. Or sometimes, more importantly, a future need.

In this episode, Emrah Gultekin, CEO of Chooch.AI discusses how his company was able to reteach its AI to read radiology scans and provide a much needed, quicker diagnostic tool to the healthcare industry during the COVID-19 crisis. Emrah’s insights include:

How crises can fuel innovation
How the move towards human to technology interaction forced by COVID can help accelerate the adoption of technology-based innovations
The importance of positioning your business horizontally so it can have options for growth, and be able to better navigate an unpredictable future
How rapid cycle innovation can test innovation’s boundaries in positive ways
Why staying lean and nimble can better position your company to survive some aspects of a crisis situation
How the concept of “present bias” can hinder or help an innovator in times of uncertainty

Guest Bio

Emrah Gultekin is an entrepreneur, innovator and the co-founder and CEO of Chooch.AI. Chooch is a Silicon Valley start-up and visual AI solution that provides fast, accurate facial authentication and object recognition for the media, advertising, banking, medical and security industries.

For those who want to learn more about Chooch.AI and how they may be able to help your company, you can reach out to them at www.chooch.ai, or email them at hello@chooch.ai.

View Details

Most often, people, businesses, and economies are shaped and changed over time through a gradual process of cause and effect. And sometimes, things like COVID-19 happen — which throws everything we know about early adoption, selling, and marketing out the window. Instead, it demands we adjust, adapt, and pivot, or get out of the way of those who can.

In this episode, Bryan Graven, CEO of HiLite Health, throws his company’s window wide open and allows us to take a glimpse into their positioning when COVID-19 hit.

He speaks candidly about adjusting marketing and selling processes during the chaos of a pandemic. Bryan also speaks about the importance of recognizing the opportunities your company may be able to capitalize on and what health innovation, sales, and marketing might look in a post-COVID economy.

Bryan touches on:

The effectiveness of video in digital outreach and its ability to build trust and credibility, all while offering clients convenience and better comprehension of the messages you’re communicating
The challenges of running a start-up business and how that plays into the COVID economy
When the time is right to sell your innovation vs. building relationships
Positioning your company to be in the right place when the chaos calms down
And the hidden opportunities this pandemic has created to:
- Build and strengthen business relationships
- Enhance and fine tune your innovation
- Tighten your brand messaging, and
- Pivot into a stronger position to hit the ground running when the dust settles

Guest Bio

Bryan Graven is CEO of HiLite Health, a company that creates tailored digital solutions platforms for the medical community. He spent 20 years in the healthcare IT arena, including 10 years as CEO of National Physician Services, before turning his energy and passion into developing Hilite Health and its digital health platform HiliteMD.

Driven to seek out solutions through innovation, Bryan leveraged those two decades of IT expertise to develop and deliver the best possible solutions and resources and empower the healthcare community to offer better business and patient experiences.

To learn more about Bryan, HiLite Health, or HiLiteMD, visit HiLiteHealth.com or email him at bryan@hilitehealth.com

View Details

We’re living in unprecedented times. COVID-19 has closed borders and shuttered businesses. And for many startups, cancelled events means vanished opportunities to build critical networking relationships, showcase their innovations, and secure funding they need for their next steps.

That’s why it’s so important for businesses to be able to take a step back, re-evaluate where they are and where they’re going, and try to figure out how they can fit into the new COVID economy.

On today’s episode, we talk with Adeel Malik, CEO of Clearstep. He was able to create an extension of his care routing tool, helping health systems with their urgent need to quickly and effectively triage COVID-19 patients and ensure that scarce resources are spent wisely. He shares:

How his team quickly pivoted Clearstep’s messaging to cater to their audience’s new, urgent needs — and how they had a record-breaking 8-day sales cycle with a new health system customer
Why it’s critical to reassess how your business can fit in with today’s new market needs, while still making sure that you don’t lose sight of your core product in the long-term
How you can raise capital in a time where it’s more important than ever to prove your relevance, usefulness, and longevity to investors
The importance of having the right team — and the best team — to weather the storm and grow together

Guest Bio

Adeel Malik is the CEO of Clearstep, a care routing tool that aims to create the new consumer experience for accessing healthcare. The tool “consumerizes” the healthcare experience, giving patients all the data they need to make informed choices about their care.

Adeel came to Clearstep after spending several years working in healthcare consulting. Before that, he was a medical researcher for Johns Hopkins.

To learn more about Adeel and Clearstep, check out the company’s feature on TechCrunch or visit www.clearstep.health. To chat with Adeel, fill out the website’s contact form and mention that you’d like to connect with him.

View Details

Many innovators looking to launch a technology-rich product may come into the game with glamorous visions of tech giants and gurus snapping up their innovations and immediate market adoption. But the path to success is less often glamorous and more often long and arduous. It requires a foresight of challenges and the flexibility to pivot when necessary, which is becoming increasingly apparent in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To maximize a product’s chance at success, it’s imperative for an innovator to have a solid understanding of what they can expect when first embarking on their path to product launch. They also need to plan for outliers and the unexpected.

On today’s episode, Electronic Caregiver Founder and CEO Anthony Dohrmann tells us about his experiences on the path to product launch. He offers insights and strategies on what it’s like to have a radical innovation idea, and the work that goes into seeing it come to fruition.

Anthony shares:

His take on the importance of coordinating input between providers, patients, caregivers, and families
That even if you have thousands of people telling you that your product is just what the industry needs, a focus group comprised of those who will use your product every day will give you more comprehensive feedback — and help you avoid costly mistakes
How having a solid understanding of how to secure capital — and how capital requirements may shift as you develop your product — is an often mis-assessed key to the launch process
How to recognize the silver linings and opportunities presenting themselves as COVID-19 pushes a rapid evolution of the country’s healthcare landscape

Guest Bio

Anthony Dohrmann is the CEO and Founder of Electronic Caregiver, a company that uses advanced technology and artificial intelligence to create a voice-based virtual caregiver to serve clients based on their needs and resources.

Pushed to pursue his innovative nature through circumstances, Anthony has successfully leveraged his love of technology and drive to change the healthcare landscape into a truly innovative product — and its introduction into the market couldn’t have been better timed.

To learn more about Electronic Caregiver, visit ElectronicCaregiver.com or call 833-ECG-LIFE.

View Details

One of the biggest hurdles an innovator faces is the quest to prove you have a solid product-market fit. (Especially because many innovators fall prey to their own assumptions that their innovation will be loved by the masses, without pausing to get the masses’ thoughts first.)

This quest is closely tied to another huge hurdle: getting traction in the early stages. In the vast majority of cases, the early adopters, or first users of your innovation, will be quite different than your mainstream users down the road.

And it’s absolutely critical to address this as early as possible.

On today’s episode, CarePredict Founder and CEO Satish Movva tells us about his savvy early adoption strategy. It’s clear that this early strategy led to the success of his multi-award-winning wearable device, which he developed to help care for his elderly parents. Satish shares:

His early adoption strategy of testing his device in the smaller, more controllable environments of senior living centers vs. trying to scale too quickly with a commercial model
That a B2B early adoption strategy doesn’t mean you can’t go B2C later — but it will help give you invaluable insights to iterate your innovation before your mainstream launch
How the mindset of jumping straight to the B2C market is one of the biggest reasons that innovators never get off the ground
Some of the key game-changers and differentiators of his device, like being the first wearable on the market to be able to track arm gestures

Guest Bio

Satish Movva is the Founder and CEO of CarePredict, a wearable device that helps to predict serious health issues in seniors before they happen. CarePredict has earned several awards and accolades, including earning a spot in the Digital Health 150 and being named as an Honoree for Wearable Technology Developed Just for Seniors at the CES 2020 Innovation Awards.

Satish has spent nearly three decades working in healthcare tech, holding positions with companies ranging from large provider and physician corporations to household names like IBM.

To learn more, visit www.carepredict.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.

View Details

The more I work with health innovators, the more evidence I have that many healthcare entities are hesitant to innovate. Between all the red tape and risks, many find it hard to see the value. And when they do, the industry generally has much longer acquisition cycles for buying and adopting new solutions.

But refreshingly, not everyone is resistant to change.

On today’s episode, we’re joined by Pothik Chatterjee, Executive Director of Innovation & Research at LifeBridge Health. LifeBridge is an example of a health system that’s truly on the forefront of innovation, and it’s incredible to hear about.

Pothik tells us about his role at LifeBridge, specifically as it relates to his work with startups and health innovators. We discuss topics like:

The challenges that new innovators face when it comes to finding the right decision-makers and advocates to pitch and “sell” their innovations to
What he looks for in potential innovation partners, like a compelling narrative, a diverse team, solid experience, and the ability to really prove ROI
The general process of evaluating potential partners and finding the right way to work together, from designing the pilot to transitioning after the sale
The differences and considerations LifeBridge looks at when evaluating innovations that are radically vs. incrementally disruptive to the system’s current M.O.

Guest Bio

Pothik Chatterjee is the Executive Director of Innovation & Research at LifeBridge Health, a Baltimore-based community health system. Pothik’s department acts as the “front door” for health tech startups that are looking to enter a clinical setting and find the right partner to do so.

Pothik has worked with hospitals for more than five years, with a high involvement in innovation and operations. Even in his earlier work in financial services, healthcare has always been a theme in his career, leading to his conscious switch into the hospital side. He’s dedicated to better understanding the needs and challenges of patients and providers, so he can better connect them with solutions in the market.

To learn more about Pothik’s work, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org/innovation. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

View Details

It’s no secret that innovating in healthcare is a completely different beast than other industries. That’s why it’s so important for innovators to work inside a framework, making sure they’re covering the most important considerations on their path.

And inside that framework lies a series of checkpoints and critical needs that innovators can’t afford to ignore.

On this episode, we’re joined by Jon Warner, CEO of Silver Moonshots and author of 40 books, most recently “SLAM: Build your startup idea or early stage business with the Startup Launch Assistance Map.” We cover some huge topics for innovators, including:

How to make sure you’re accounting for upstream and downstream issues, instead of creating a single-point solution that’s never adopted
Having a deep understanding of your market so that you can hyper-target the people whose “hair is on fire” — the ones who really need your solution the most
The critical need to get as much traction and velocity as possible so that you can rise above the noise

Guest Bio

Jon Warner is the CEO of virtual startup accelerator Silver Moonshots. Silver Moonshots works with entrepreneurs who are focused on solving for older adult issues, allowing Jon to focus on his passion of making life better for the 50-and-older population.

As a serial entrepreneur, he has several other roles, including Co-Founder of BetterLife Remedies and Adjunct Professor and Mentor in Entrepreneurship at the University of Redlands.

Jon has been in the healthcare industry for more than 30 years, where he started his career on the business side, helping healthcare organizations build more efficient systems and processes.

To learn more about SLAM and buy your own copy, check out his website www.slamprocess.com. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

View Details

A core foundation for market success is making sure that you’re laser-focused on the needs of your customers. Does your solution truly solve the clinical problem? Do you have validation to prove that it does, and it’s not just an assumption you’re making?

In this episode, Dr. Kimon Angelides, CEO and Founder of Vivante Health, shares insights into how he’s been able to continuously beat the odds and find huge success with several businesses he’s built. We talk about:

The critical need to solve a clinical problem that the “traditional” healthcare system recognizes and appreciates
How passion can look a lot being crazy — and how that craziness is a backbone of the most successful innovators
How to design a strategy that caters to your market, and how to pivot that strategy in the face of market changes like a big competitor
Mistakes he’s made, like treating all customer accounts as equal (spoiler alert: they’re not, and it almost sank them)

Guest Bio

Dr. Kimon Angelides is the CEO and Founder of Vivante Health, a pioneer in using digital medicine to manage digestive health. Prior to Vivante, he founded Livongo Health, a consumer digital health company with a focus on diabetes management.

But he wasn’t always in the business of improving population health through technology. He started his career as a biophysicist, spending more than two decades in academia. Later, he and his wife, a pediatric endocrinologist, launched Diabetes America, a network that eventually grew to nearly 50 centers in the southwest US.

To learn more, visit https://vivantehealth.com/. You can also connect with Dr. Angelides on LinkedIn or email him at kangelides@vivantehealth.com.

View Details

Many innovators find themselves wearing blinders on either the business side or the clinical side, without catering to the overlaps between the two. But this often results in big issues, like spending unnecessary resources — or worse, building an innovation that clinicians don’t actually need or want.

In this episode, independent healthcare consultant Dr. Erkan Hassan explains 3 critical challenges that innovators need to balance:

The business challenge of making sure you’re a commercial success
Ensuring that you have clinical validation to prove that your innovation does what you say it does (without biting off more than you can chew)
After the sale, making sure that you adapt to the health system’s workflows for long-term success

We talk about staying solution-focused vs. product-focused, the massive importance of using a patient context lens to present your clinical outcomes, how to make sure you have just the right amount of evidence, and more.

Guest Bio

As an independent healthcare consultant, Dr. Erkan Hassan couples clinical expertise and business skills to help health systems and startups. He works to identify the clinical challenges these companies face, then use evidence-based clinical data to create innovative, intelligent solutions that drive patient-centered quality outcomes.

Formally trained as clinical pharmacist, Dr. Hassan spent the first half of his career working in academic medical centers to help manage drug therapy for ICU patients. After taking the academic route and working as an associate professor, he switched gears to become the Director of Clinical affairs for an ICU telemedicine startup.

To learn more about Dr. Hassan, visit his personal website at https://www.erkanhassan.com/, where you can read and subscribe to his monthly blog. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

View Details

There are record amounts of investment into healthcare and provider-based services – but to get your slice of the market, you’ve got to be better, faster, and smarter than the big, traditional players.
Successful innovators are zeroing in on the weaknesses of today’s healthcare industry and making them better. And by “better,” we mean working toward a model that caters to the demands of the changing landscape: better outcomes at a good value to all stakeholders, with a strong focus on the customer experience.
In this episode, 4Sight Health CEO and author of The Customer Revolution in Healthcare: Delivering Kinder, Smarter, Affordable Care for All, David Johnson shares his insights on: * How the market is shifting toward risk-based models that demand better value * How new innovators are adapting to the shift and changing the game * Tips for startups (and bootstrapped upstarts) to stay competitive, including a strong early adoption strategy

Guest Bio-

David Johnson is a speaker, writer and CEO of 4Sight Health. He is the author of The Customer Revolution in Healthcare: Delivering Kinder, Smarter, Affordable Care for All.

For more information, visit https://www.4sighthealth.com/ , and buy the book here.

The Customer Revolution in Healthcare: Delivering Kinder, Smarter, Affordable Care for All

View Details

Splitting equity can be a hard and emotional subject for innovators, and the models used for these splits can be unfair for the parties involved.

What is the Slicing Pie model and how does it solve many of these equity issues? How does this model help entrepreneurs work through the emotional aspects of giving up equity share? What are the different types of contributors in a startup and how do they get compensated differently?

In this episode, Managing Director at Fair and Square Ventures and creator of Slicing Pie, Mike Moyer talks about this new model, and how it helps innovators.

Guest Bio-

Mike Moyer is an entrepreneur, author, educator, Managing Director at Fair and Square Ventures and creator of Slicing Pie, an equity model for early stage bootstrapped startups.

Mike is an entrepreneur who has founded numerous companies including Bananagraphics, a product development and merchandising company; Moondog, an outdoor clothing manufacturing company; Vicarious Communication, Inc, a marketing technology company for the medical industry; Cappex.com, a site that helps students find the right college; and College Peas, LLC which provides publications and consulting on a variety of topics including, college admissions, trade shows and job search.

In addition to his experience as an entrepreneur he has held a number of senior-level marketing positions with companies that sell everything from vacuum cleaners to financial data services to motor home chassis to luxury wine.

Mike teaches Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

For more information, visit https://slicingpie.com/.

View Details

Successful healthcare organizations build a successful structure and culture early on, and lay the right foundation from the onset. This is something many upcoming innovators can learn and implement early in their operations.

How do we come up with compelling and powerful foundational messaging? What are the most pivotal decisions our guest’s team made that are paying off significantly now? How do we uphold the strength of our value proposition?

On this episode, Chief Commercial Officer at Holon Solutions, Julie Mann, shares what has contributed to their success and the key lessons they’ve learned along the way.

Guest Bio-

Julie Mann is the Chief Commercial Officer at Holon Solutions. She leads commercial operations for Holon Solutions. Holon empowers their value-based care clients with patented, first-to-market, sensor-based solutions to surface contextual insights into the workflow.

Holon liberates the data to liberate the care. Julie is passionate about solving the challenges in healthcare through innovation, collaboration, and partnership. For more information, visit https://www.holonsolutions.com/ or connect with Julia on LinkedIn.

View Details

The results many innovators gain in the early market phase, don’t necessarily translate into main market success. In order to cross that gap, we have to look to adopt different ongoing models and frameworks. How do we take a fundamental breakthrough solution and bring it to market successfully? What does it take to deploy and instill what’s required to complete the solution for the buyer? On this episode, Chasm Institute Managing Director Michael Eckhardt, shares on the framework for increasing the chance of commercialization success, and how innovators can adopt it into their business practices.

3 Things We Learned

Inability to close the chasm accounts for many commercialization failures.

The chasm is the period between early market and mainstream adoption. This gap exists between the early, enthusiastic, visionary risk-taking customers (who represent 5-8% of the market) and the mainstream market, which includes the pragmatists, conservatives, and regulatory groups. The excitement of the early market may not be enough to fuel adoption of customers in the mainstream, and innovators need to be aware of that.

Not everything in innovation is disruptive.

Disruptive innovation is defined by having 2 or more of the following conventions - a change in behavior for the customer in that market sector, a change in skill, and a change in process of workflow.

9 criteria and factors for failure and success in crossing the chasm.

The primary indicators of success or failure when we go to the market are target market focus, a compelling reason to buy, and a whole product solution. Additional factors are strategic partnerships, sales channels, pricing models, competition, positioning and messaging and how to move into other segments.

Guest Bio-

Michael Ekhardt is a keynote speaker, Senior Workshop Leader, strategy advisor and the Managing Director at the Chasm Institute. He is a veteran of Price Waterhouse (PwC), Harbridge Consulting, Hewlett-Packard, and Pepsico. An MBA graduate of Harvard Business School and a Wall Street Journal Award winner, Eckhardt is a recognized expert in leading 1-day and 2-day Market Strategy workshops aimed at one specific client outcome: accelerating growth for their technology-based products and services in the next 12-24 months.

Visit http://www.chasminstitute.com/ for more information and connect with Michael on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeleckhardt.

View Details

Many health innovators target large health systems as investors or buyers of their solutions. However, it can be challenging to know what innovations appeal to this customer group, whether they are open for collaboration, and who within the organization is most likely to buy or champion your innovation.

As a start-up, what is the minimum viable product you need to have already developed to pitch to a large health system? How do we get in front of the right key decision-makers? How do large health organizations build a culture of innovation? On this episode, we’re joined by Hackensack Meridian Health VP of Life Science & Innovation, Sandra Powell-Elliott. We discuss how their health system finds strategic partnerships and collaborations, gains adoption, and how they take a diverse approach to innovation.

3 Things We Learned

Networks are interested in strategic, goal-driven innovations

Innovation can take many different forms, but the field is now gravitating towards goal-oriented or purpose-oriented innovation. Innovation is now currently focused on improving metric-oriented outcomes, and putting a provider at the forefront of healthcare in a measurable way.

Replacement cost is a minimum requirement for large health networks

At the very minimum, health networks are looking to invest in innovations that have a low replacement cost. If that replacement cost is low, that can translate into a net neutral and then from there we can move toward a more profit-driven economic model.

Target key decision-makers in large health systems

If an organization has an innovation department, those are the people to contact first. If they don’t have people who specifically deal with innovation, go to the CFO or COO, or the Chief Safety Officer. Talk to high-level executives who are making the decisions. Department directors or division directors may have the ability to highlight you but they aren’t the key decision-makers.

Guest Bio-

Sandra Powell-Elliott is the Vice President of Life Sciences and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health. To get in touch with her, go to sandra.elliot@meridianhealth.org.

View Details

The healthcare system we have is incredibly complex, cumbersome and expensive, and that makes it extremely difficult to innovate within it. What are some of the barriers that innovators are running up against, and how can we mitigate them? How do we take consumer expectations and behavior into account? How does the healthcare model contribute to a lack of innovation within the system?

On this episode, I’m joined by HealthEco CEO and Co-Founder, Roger Jansen. We talk about how to overcome the execution, adoption and implementation issues in innovation.

3 Things We Learned

Human adoption plays a huge role in successful commercialization

The barrier to the adoption of healthcare often isn’t whether the product is a better innovation. It’s actually more about people being willing to emotionally process change to do something differently. The consumer will be slow on the emotional side and won’t want to change to a new innovation easily, especially when it’s a transformative product, not just an enhancement of an existing solution.

The payment model of healthcare separates it from other consumer products

Free market principles don’t necessarily apply to healthcare, and a lot of it has to do with the payer model. Because the consumer pays only a very small portion for the services they receive, people don’t shop the way they do for other consumer products.

Don’t talk about features, talk outcomes

Frame up the problem as clearly as you can, don’t sell your innovation on the features. Sell very effectively on how the innovation makes life easier and better, not on how cool the technology is.

The healthcare sector has been harmed by a culture that doesn’t support new approaches, and it doesn’t even hire with a transformative intention. This has impeded innovation and made it impossible for change to come from within the system. All disruption in our industry comes from outside the system, but those innovators run into the same barriers and challenges. In order to succeed as innovators, we have to be focused on the problem we solve, not the features of our innovations. We have to think about the adoption of our solution, both on the consumer side, and from a health system perspective.

View Details

One of the side effects of a broken healthcare system is that there isn't enough fertile ground for innovation. How can innovators choose the most viable business models and go-to-market strategies? Where can we optimize and accelerate within the system in order to create growth? How can we rise above all the noise in the market?

On this episode, healthcare entrepreneur, influencer, and Health Rosetta co-founder, Dave Chase shares how to solve the key issues that hinder successful commercialization.

3 Things We Learned

The healthcare system can lead innovations to the zombie graveyard.

The optics of landing a big health system seems like the golden ring, but it too often ends up being a boat anchor for most innovators. Everything that encompasses the essence of a health system is the polar opposite of what it takes to successfully bring an innovation to market. Proof of this is a zombie graveyard littered with promising healthcare innovations that failed to materialize. Why? One reason is that we have to be incredibly smart about picking our customers.

Benefits brokers are an overlooked linchpin to solving healthcare.

The relationship between employers and benefits brokers is the tip of the spear when solving problems in healthcare. Benefits brokers are the single most underestimated role in healthcare and the economy. For better or for worse, they make the decisions that most companies defer to and that’s what drives the state of healthcare.

Think beyond your own innovation.

Don’t solely focus on promoting your own products. One of the best ways to accelerate the adoption of your innovation and create a highly defensible market position is to create a new product category and establish a leadership position in it. We should seek to be the voice in our sphere of influence for the category. Be a thought leader. By taking this approach, great outcomes will inevitably come your way.

View Details

When it comes to healthcare and innovation, the dysfunction of the system can seem hard to overcome without the right strategies. Why is it hard for some innovations to succeed? What are the key things you need to do in order to ensure your success? What are some of the biggest shifts in care delivery and benefits redesign?

On this episode, primary care physician and Envision Genomics CEO, Dr. Grace Terrell shares on her perspective on innovation as an early adopter of value-based care.

3 Things We Learned

Innovators face a commercialization dilemma

Many innovators find themselves at a crossroads as they try to commercialize. First, they can circumvent the current system and go direct-to-consumer, which means coming up with creative cash and subscription models, while handling the costs of educating the consumer market. On the other hand, they can go into the healthcare system, which means dealing with longer budget cycles and outdated payment models. This is a critical choice any healthcare innovator must make, and the decision affects every element of the business.

Why many innovations fail

It’s tempting to focus on one part of the commercialization process - the product itself. Other key details must be considered; whether the product really meets the needs of the target market, how the product scales and who pays for it.

The importance of being agile in innovation

Don’t become too fixated on one market segment or approach, be flexible enough to pivot when shifts are necessary. Many things in healthcare can change, especially in terms of policy and all healthcare innovators need to be in a position to move quickly.

One of the biggest barriers to commercialization is how innovations are created. Healthcare innovators leave the industry to escape the dysfunction of the market, but end up creating products to sell back into that dysfunctional system. The problem is, it’s difficult to change healthcare outside of the system, or without involving many different people in the process. It takes a village to build a successful innovation and business, from investors, partners, willing payers and patients.

View Details

The digital health movement has spawned so many solutions, which makes the process of innovating in the space more chaotic than ever before. How do we rise above the noise to create awareness and demand for our innovations? How do we make ourselves more appealing to venture capital? What are the biggest healthcare myths innovators should stop buying into?

On this episode, healthcare industry consultant, and venture capital partner, Lisa Suennen shares on how innovators can overcome or work around the challenges that come with commercialization.

3 Things We Learned

Regulation and information are a huge barrier to successful commercialization

There’s an imperfect marketplace and a disequilibrium in the sharing of information in healthcare. The patient has no information, the providers have less than they need, and the payers have the wrong kind. Additionally, healthcare is heavily regulated, and regulatory expertise, which many innovators don’t have, is critical.

Focus on numbers to appeal to VCs

Venture capitalists would be more willing to invest in people who really know their numbers. It’s less about telling them a story about the innovation, and more about showing its financial viability. But don’t jump into venture capital too quickly. If we get too far ahead with raising money but we haven’t done enough to validate our concept, we will waste money and give up ownership too early.

Understand how compensation works in healthcare

One of the biggest mistakes innovators make is not appreciating how payment moves through the system, and how many hands an innovation passes before it gets to the patient. Going direct-to-consumer is almost impossible. It’s hard to get a patient to pay out-of-pocket for something they expect to be covered by insurance.

There is a noise in healthcare right now, and while there are opportunities for big companies to work with, invest in and partner with innovators, there’s also more chaos. If innovators want to succeed, it’s important to understand how the system is set up. Financially, the incentives of the various players are not aligned in healthcare. Patients, providers and payers are financially at odds. On the regulatory side, innovators have to become knowledgeable about the rules that govern innovation, and buying cycles are long so we need to be patient. To succeed we have to be clear on who is going to pay for our innovation and why. We have to come into healthcare innovation with the mindset of a coalition builder, because it’s impossible to succeed going in it alone.

View Details

For many healthcare innovators, one of the biggest challenges is managing everything that’s required in the commercialization process. There are so many factors competing for priority. it can be extremely daunting and distracting. How do we develop an innovation to solve a problem the right way? What kind of structures and methodologies need to be put in place? What are the most important things to focus on?

In this episode, Aire Health CEO Stacie Ruth shares her transition from commercializing innovations in the corporate world to leading a healthcare startup. She shares insights into how innovators can increase the chances of market success.

3 Things We Learned

The problem we’re solving is key to successful commercialization

One of the challenges innovators face is getting caught up in solving the problem without really considering if that problem is something the care community is seeking to solve. If the problem is not a priority for your target market, it can be a huge stumbling block even if we have a great solution.

Successful commercialization is about product and execution

Health innovators can’t solely focus on the product and expect to succeed. Commercial success is more strategy development and execution and less about the product. We have to focus on developing clarity around the problem we’re solving, the identity of our brand, the implementation team executing the commercialization, and stakeholder buy-in.

Invest in opportunities for exposure and stakeholder interactions

It’s important to take time to get involved in innovations and events that increase exposure for our innovations. If we have a clear vision of our ideal business, and we can articulate that vision with a story, we need to start sharing that story. We’ll start getting enough feedback to iterate our strategy and better understand how we can solve the problems in healthcare.

Successful commercialization starts with identifying the problem we’re solving and prioritizing the allocation of resources and capabilities. We can’t try to do everything. Once we have the problem clearly identified and we validate market fit, it’s about building the right implementation team and executing well. We have to align goals, people, resources and the greater market in which we’re playing. To hear more on Stacie Ruth’s perspective on successful commercialization, check out the podcast episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or get the full interview video on our website!

View Details

Many innovators lead with their technology in their creation process, and in the process they leave behind the other important building blocks of a strong business. How do we avoid building a business with a singular muscle? How can we deal with the biggest barrier to successful commercialization? How can we get physicians involved in the ideation process, and what difference can that make?

On this episode, we’re joined by the CEO and Chief Medical Officer of 98point6, Robbie Cape and Brad Younggren, who share their journey to commercialization and lessons learned.

3 Things We Learned

The biggest mistake innovators make

Many innovators lead with a technology and end up with that as the singular muscle behind the business. One of the things 98point6 got right is that they developed 4 core muscles in the business: the medical, technology, regulatory & compliance, and commercial muscle.

How to build relationships with physicians

When it comes to building strong relationships with physicians, we must look at doctors as a separate audience segment, understanding the problems they have and delivering a strong value prop to them as we would with any customer.

How to get into healthcare and win the favor of stakeholders

There’s a huge difference between coming into the healthcare industry as a competitor, and coming into the industry with the intention to find the right stakeholders and people and support their vision and goal. It’s more powerful to sit alongside the primary care community so that you’re not treated as a competitor.

Innovators often focus mostly on raising money and building the technology. They think the vision, mission, values, culture and employee engagement are things that can be built-in down the road. The problem is, they miss the benefits of building these things into the system early on. In order to successfully commercialize, it helps to be deeply integrated with the people who will eventually become your customers and pay for your service. You do that by thinking beyond the technology and considering the greater ecosystem and stakeholders who are critical to your business.

View Details

Healthcare innovators are usually in such a rush to get to market that they don’t take the time to create the correct framework for decision making and develop the right strategies. Usually, they employ a waterfall strategy, which makes them susceptible to failure.

How can we implement incrementally, instead of taking a static approach? Why is it a huge mistake to lock down our strategy without making it flexible, iterative, and data-centric? How do we connect the insights between the disparate parts of the commercialization process?

On this episode, we talk about why the waterfall strategy doesn’t suit the healthcare commercialization process, and why a “set-and-forget” approach is a costly mistake.

Success in healthcare commercialization starts with slowing down to wrestle with our assumptions. -Dr. Roxie Mooney

3 Takeaways

The strategy for successful innovation is not meant to be static. We need an agile, iterative methodology that keeps up with the dynamic nature of healthcare.
The waterfall method is not flexible enough. Consumer needs, market trends, and competitors aren’t fixed. Our strategies have to account for that level of constant change.
Set a strategy that leaves options open. Just like Napoleon, one of the greatest strategists in history, we should be setting strategies that give us options and maneuverability. There’s no sense in sticking with a strategy even in the face of conflicting data.

The decisions we make in healthcare don’t function in a vacuum. Because of this, healthcare innovators are up against a lot of challenges that can affect the commercialization process. The first step healthcare innovators can take to beat the odds is to have a framework for those commercialization decisions, from concept to launch and beyond.

Our strategy needs to reflect the dynamic and complex nature of the healthcare industry; and if we make decisions in the right sequence, we will avoid market failure, use our organizational resources well, and increase the profits of our innovations.

View Details

Many healthcare innovators underestimate what it takes for their innovations to achieve market success. What are the three lenses of innovation that health innovators must get right to increase their chances of success? How do these factors influence commercialization?

On this episode, we talk about the three things innovators need to consider when bringing healthcare innovations to market.

Just because your innovation solves a real problem or is technically and functionally superior to competing solutions, doesn’t mean it will automatically reach commercial success. -Dr. Roxie Mooney

3 Takeaways

Desirability: innovators should ask themselves if the problem the product is trying to solve is a priority for the healthcare system.
In order to find out if your innovation is viable, ask yourself if the product is worth it, and if you have realistic estimates of sales and revenue. Just because there’s a market for a solution, doesn’t mean it will be viable for the business.
To determine if an innovation has feasibility, you need to have the resources and capabilities to build a competitive advantage and differentiation in the market.
If we can validate the desirability, viability, and feasibility of our innovation, we will be able to confirm product-solution fit and product-market fit. When we accomplish those two things, we will be able to move towards commercial success.

To learn about the Product Co-Creation Workshop at the Connected Health Conference, go to https://www.connectedhealthconf.org/boston/2019.

View Details

Are you targeting a health system for your innovation? Then don’t miss this episode!

How does innovation affect the payer landscape and how do payer systems prioritize innovations and their resources? We got the inside track on how payers look at and engage healthcare innovators and how these priorities impact all stakeholders in the continuum of care.

On this episode of CoIQ with Dr. Roxie, we’re tackling the question of internal development and overdevelopment of innovation versus external innovation solutions in the payer landscape.

Dr. Robert Groves, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Banner-Aetna will guide us through the pathways of proof points, case validations, the willingness to accept risk, and the knowledge of the path to “yes” that can transform innovations into active healthcare solutions.

Dr. Groves is a career critical care doctor who has seen it all— from start-ups to established clinical protocols. Through his experiences, he has developed a special focus on which payer products and services require internal development and which are best supported through external innovations, like yours.

You’ll be blown away on the answers and how to get there.

Tune in to discover strategic insights on how to increase adoption among health systems and maximize commercial success.

View Details

Healthcare innovators have to make a lot decisions in the commercialization process and each choice can determine the success or failure of the innovation. What are some of the pitfalls of bringing an innovation to market? What needs to change in healthcare to make innovation easier? Why is proof of efficacy and value so important to gain adoption?

On this episode, I’m joined by the founder of The Health Care Blog and SMACK.health, Matthew Holt, who shares his point of view on why some innovations succeed, why some fail, and where the market is going.

3 Things We Learned

The two main types of innovation
One of the biggest issues in healthcare
Why healthcare innovations get stuck before implementation

One of the main reasons why healthcare innovations fail to reach any level of customer acceptance and profitability is because the industry is a very unique beast to deal with. Healthcare innovators must consider the experience of the clinicians who will use the new solution. It’s also important for innovators and investors to expect and plan for the long sales cycles in healthcare. You also must know how your solution fits into the larger healthcare ecosystem. Ultimately, there are a lot of things that have to go right to reach commercial success and there are no short cuts to developing a winning commercialization strategy.

View Details

There are four times as many nurses as doctors in the healthcare field. However, input from nurses is often overlooked or ignored in the innovation process. How is leaving nurses, a valuable stakeholder group, out of the equation doing a disservice to the whole industry? What valuable skills and information do nurses bring to product development and commercialization? How can including nurses' insights optimize the product co-creation process?

On this episode, I’m joined by nurse-led innovation thought leader, author, and international speaker, Dr. Bonnie Clipper, who shares on the importance of including nurses in innovation and how to build innovations that succeed.

3 Things We Learned

Nurse insights are more critical than you realize at all levels of innovation
The viewpoints of physicians and surgical nurses are different from care nurses
How nurses can help health innovators develop more commercially viable solutions

Nurses play a huge role in the healthcare system, and that’s why it’s so important to weave their input into every stage of the innovation process from concept to product development to commercialization. Nurses can’t be excluded if we truly want to transform healthcare and improve patients' lives. Technology is just one part of the solution — human input is also necessary. Their input can be the difference between the market success or failure.

View Details

Healthcare innovations play within a multi-sided market which adds a layer of complexity and difficulty a lot of other industries don’t have. What are some of the unique features of healthcare that innovators have to navigate? How do entrepreneurs balance between enthusiastic optimism and the realism of how the market works? What strategies can you use to beat the odds and maximize your ROI?

On this episode, I’m joined by the founder and CEO Health Innovation Partners, Paulo Machado who shares on his multiple level experience with commercialization and how to decrease the 95% failure rate of healthcare innovation.

3 Things We Learned

Healthcare innovators often have tunnel vision on their creation which is a mistake
It’s so important to have the ability to pivot
The difference between decision making in consumer and healthcare products

A successful healthcare innovation has to work within the massive healthcare system that exists. Innovators tend to oversimplify the problems and facets of healthcare, and come up with specific point solutions as a result. But if you neglect the larger ecosystem, your innovation won’t be good enough, even if it’s really amazing. Remember, healthcare products aren’t a normal good and you don’t just sell to one consumer. You sell to multiple stakeholders, who aren’t always aligned in their goals. Always design your innovation with the whole system in mind.

View Details

When it comes to commercializing breakthrough innovations, how you position yourself in the category and the ability to find the right partners are key. How can you fund new innovations and overcome physician adoption challenges? How do you get the top healthcare leaders to support the innovation? What are some of the elements that can become barriers to market success?

On this episode, I’m joined by health tech investor, digital health innovator, and health systems operator, Sarah Sossong. She is one of Fierce Health’s “influential women reshaping health IT”, and she pioneered large-scale innovations from concept to mass adoption and national recognition. On this show, Sarah shares her insights and advice to healthcare innovators.

3 Things We Learned

Language and messaging are key in the mass adoption of innovations
Focusing more on the technology and not the problem you’re trying to solve affects your innovation
How to make it easier for a physician to adopt your innovation

There are many barriers to the adoption of innovation, and many of them can be mitigated by laying the right groundwork, and taking the right steps. Leadership buy-in, leveraging internal champions, and starting with a problem not a technology are some of the ways you can ensure the success of your innovation. Whatever you do, think long-term. Don’t just think about what you’re doing right now, think about the parts of the innovation that are the most scalable beyond the present moment or the pilot phase.

View Details

In an age of digitized healthcare, some of the biggest issues and challenges for innovators are privacy, how patient information is collected and protected, and how legislation impacts the landscape of innovation. How can health innovators uphold regulations in their business models and operations? How can privacy influence the success and failure of an innovation?

On this episode Lucia Savage, Chief Privacy and Regulatory Officer at Omada Health, shares on why healthcare innovators needs to uphold and embrace privacy, how to make it part of their business model, and the biggest myths about HIPAA.

3 Things We Learned

New HHS announcements and how they impact innovators
The two classes of digital health innovation
How healthcare innovators should be thinking about privacy

The success of digital health companies is immensely dependent on how well they handle the sensitive issue of personal patient/customer data. Even if a digital innovation is only regulated by the FTC and not HIPAA, the impact of data breaches or mishandled information can do real damage to the patient, so the same level of care and cautiousness should be applied, regardless of who’s regulating the innovation. Innovators do well when they leverage privacy as part of their business model positioning strategy. Ultimately, by embracing the well-founded rules and building innovations on practices that protect the rights of patients, the product is more likely to succeed long-term.

View Details

Physician turned entrepreneur. Working within the healthcare ecosystem can definitely be an advantage. It's important to understand how healthcare thinks and being a physician-entrepreneur can offer credibility for knowing what it's like to be on the frontline. On the flip side, doctors are trained to think about problems in a linear way, which can sometimes get in the way of innovation.

Just because you've identified a real problem in healthcare and developed an innovation that is superior to competing solutions on the market, doesn't guarantee commercial success. How can we make healthcare innovation easier? How can we become more focused on outputs instead of inputs? How can taking a sabbatical help entrepreneurs come back to the game with new clarity, energy, and passion?

On this episode, I’m joined by global health innovator and ScalaMed CEO, Dr. Tal Rapke, MD, who shares his formula for healthcare innovation success.

3 Things You'll Learn

Four questions to use as a lens for creating value
The difference between having a solution that solves a healthcare problem and having rigorous evidence to support your claims
The power of curiosity: Why it's important to stay curious enough to keep asking "why"

In order to create an innovation that truly solves a problem on a large scale, we need to think of how we can reduce the workload and friction for patients and clinicians. We need to bring patients on the journey, think more about outcomes than inputs, and consider the entire flow of the whole system.

View Details

The process of commercializing an innovation in a completely new category requires an approach that is entirely different to incremental innovations. When you’re trying to innovate in such a space, how do you get the messaging and positioning right? Why do you have to put a lot of time and effort into your sales strategy? What core capabilities does an innovator need to have in order to succeed?

On this episode, I’m joined by healthcare rewards pioneer, IncentOne and The Lonely Entrepreneur founder, Michael Dermer who talks about building the first healthcare rewards company, and his insights for innovators.

3 Things You'll Learn

How to move a market that’s slow to change
How to rise above the noise
Why focusing on product isn’t good enough

Influencing a slow and clunky industry like healthcare can be an immense challenge because you’re trying to turn a huge tide. A lot can be learned from the story of IncentOne, and how they were able to succeed at a time most healthcare organizations find the idea of rewarding people offensive. The secret is positioning and messaging, and more specifically coming up with a central theme that people can connect to, and playing in an area where only you can win, a space where no one else is. You have to marry the clarity of your vision with what it takes to actually get business.

View Details

Commercializing an innovation in healthcare is complex and hard. But, there are challenges and opportunities that lie within the artistic economics of healthcare.

Traditionally, medicine is practiced based on how insurance will pay for that medicine to be practiced. The lack of consumer empowerment and choice not only affects how medicine is practiced, but how difficult it is for entrepreneurs to commercialize their innovations.

What are some of the barriers to commercialization and how have they been changed recently? How does being intentional about the culture your are developing from the beginning affect your success? How can we remove the fear of risk to fail fast and fail up?

On this episode, I’m joined by founder and CEO of CaptureProof, Meghan Conroy, who shares her candid commercialization experiences and what it’s really like to ride the “roller coaster” of healthcare innovation.

3 Things You'll Learn

Reimbursement alignment for commercialization success
Running like a lean startup while you're starting and growing
Reoccurring revenue business models

Changing something as integrated as healthcare isn’t easy, but we shouldn’t use the challenges as an excuse not to do something. We have to make innovation easier in healthcare so we can really move the ball forward. The only way you can beat the odds is "don't give up."

View Details

Health systems have inherent challenges when adopting technology because of how they are structured. How does this impact the ability to commercialize innovations? Why is collaboration such a key ingredient to finding success when selling innovations to hospital systems? What challenges are innovators facing and what can they do to solve them?

On this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Ashish Atreja, the Chief Innovation Officer of Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, co-founder of Rx.Health, and co-founder of Node.Health. He shares his experience with commercializing innovations within a health system and as an entrepreneur.

3 Things You'll Learn

How to find success selling to a hospital system
Why financial success or ROI is a must-have for effective messaging
How getting doctors to prescribe your mobile health app is critical for consumer adoption

To successfully commercialize your innovation, there are three key things every innovator needs to consider: how to create unique value, how technology can improve efficiency in the health system, and how to find partners who can extend the value nationally and globally.

Never underestimate what partnering with the right people can do. There are many scalable innovations in the market, but they don’t go anywhere because they don’t find meaningful partnerships to collaborate with. The greatest thing about healthcare is, if you’re bent on creating efficiency, there are so many ways to do it. You just need to have the right people and messaging in your corner to achieve it.

View Details

Thousands of apps, devices, and wearables are brought to market with good intentions of solving real problems, but they just don’t get any adoption. Part of the problem is a disconnect between the innovation and the patient’s needs. What are patient leaders, and why is it so important for innovators to engage with them? How can involving a patient in the co-creation process help uncover hidden insights? What are some of the problems that can arise in these engagements?

On this episode chief strategy officer of WegoHealth, David Goldsmith, and I dig into why product co-creation is so critical in order to successfully bring an innovation to market.

3 Things We Learned

How patient leaders benefit your marketing

Working with the patients helps get the word out about your product to other patients. The information will have a far greater impact with other patients coming from them than if that same message is being delivered by the company creating the innovation.

How to get the most valuable contribution from patient leaders

When it comes to patient leaders, most innovators don’t know where to find the right people to put into the room. They struggle to know who to draw in and what their contribution will be. Start with something along the lines of a patient advisory board. By creating a board that includes the very same people you want to reach, you boost the commercialization potential of your innovation.

What can go wrong with patient leader engagements

The one thing that many companies get wrong is engaging with patient leaders and then choosing to ignore or dismiss what was put forth. You could get backlash, and this might really affect your reputation in the market.

The landscape of failed products and solutions targeting patients in healthcare is vast and highly documented. For a lot of innovators, the first mistake they make is in what they fail to do, and that’s bringing in the right voices and influencers from the market they are trying to serve. A lot of things get overlooked when you don’t involve the right stakeholders in your commercialization process. By choosing to co-create with the people your innovation is going to serve, you increase your chances of success significantly.

Guest Bio-

David is the Chief Strategy Officer at WEGO Health. WegoHealth is the world’s largest network of patient leaders to help health innovators access patient experiences and expertise in the designs, development, and promotion of products and services. Connect with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsgoldsmith/.

View Details

Many healthcare innovators build amazing technology but struggle with adoption and engagement. What can healthcare entrepreneurs learn from academia to solve this problem? Why is it so important to understand the business models in healthcare innovation?

On today’s show, we’re talking to Dr. Kate Wolin, the CEO and co-founder of ScaleDown, the one-of-a-kind digital behavioral health innovation that successfully eliminated the “graveyard” drawer of digital fitness devices, attracted around 145,000 users to the platform, and was acquired by Anthem Health - Blue Shield in November 2018.

Dr. Wolin shares the lessons she’s learned while switching lanes from academia to entrepreneurship, and the power of starting with an underserved demographic.

3 Things We Learned

How to cut through the noise and competition in healthcare innovation

The best way to rise above all the noise and competition in healthcare innovation is evidence and published work. This de-risks the investment for potential partners which makes it easier to go to market.

The unique strategy Dr. Wolin and her team implemented

ScaleDown managed to reach people no one else was reaching and people who hadn’t had success with existing models. Nothing makes a stronger business case than starting from the underserved, hard-to-reach markets. It helps the idea of going to the easy-to-reach markets make more sense to investors and partners.

The value of building relationships with academics

As a healthcare innovator, you don’t have to become a world-class scientist, you just need to find one and work with them. Invest in building relationships with academics. They can offer the insight and evidence you need to make commercialization easier.

95% of innovations brought to market fail to reach an adequate level of customer acceptance and profitability, but there are steps innovators can take to increase the chances of success. Working with scientists to build evidence for your innovation is key, along with paying attention to the innovations that have found success in academic science, and understanding the business model and product-market fit in healthcare. Ultimately, it’s all about reducing risk for investors and perfecting the user experience around ease of use.

Guest Bio-

Dr. Kate Wolin is a behavioral scientist, epidemiologist, and entrepreneur. She is the CEO and co-founder of Scale Down, a digital behavioral health innovation. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-wolin/ to connect with her and follow @DrKateWolin on Twitter.

View Details

Running a business can feel a lot like raising a child: anything can happen. What are some of the key decisions we can make in order to be more adaptable to shifts and changes? Why is saving money in the early stage of a company so important? How can rapid cycle innovation influence our success?

On this episode, Deerwalk CEO Jeff Gasser shares how he turned his health innovation into what Amazon health considers one of the best life science companies in the country.

He’ll walk us through his key entrepreneurial do’s and don’ts, the need for a minimum viable product, and capital-raising myths. He also shares on building lifelong business and customer relationships and how each innovation you commercialize is building the legacy for your next one.

3 Things You'll Learn

How to be efficient with product strategies
Why critical customers are actually a good thing
The importance of finding early adopters

Running a business comes with many phases and challenges, and you need to be ready to pivot and shift accordingly. Having an ego and being too focused on your specific plan gets in the way of your success. The important thing is creating what people actually want and care about, and understanding how you’re going to distribute the product.

Instead of over-developing a product, focus on very small, incremental and agile product roll-outs. That way, your company moves fast and can react to market forces more readily.

View Details

Many healthcare innovators fail to get any traction because they don’t take the time to learn the unwritten rules and principles of the industry. What are the rules and languages that govern healthcare, and how do we become better skilled at using them to guide our approach? How can you cross the chasm from pilot to mainstream?

On this episode, I’m joined by President of Health Strategy at V3, Dr. Paul Markham, who talks about the mistakes innovators are making and how we can correct them.

3 Things You'll Learn

Why some healthcare innovations fail and others succeed
The unwritten rules of successful commercialization
Three most important unspoken languages in healthcare: data, doctors, and dollars

The truth about healthcare is: if there’s no financial benefit or forcing factor, there’ll be no reason for an innovation to happen. This means that as we sell our innovations, we have to tell the right story and get buy-in from the right people. Understand how data, doctors and dollars play into it, and tailor your approach to get the messages through to different people.

If our innovations can generate revenue and change the business of healthcare, we’ll have incredible clinical outcomes, and the quality metrics will go through the roof.

View Details

“Death by pilot” is a phenomenon that happens far too often for healthcare innovators, and it can take them out of business before they even start selling anything. What is the root of this problem, and what are the initial mistakes innovators make? What are the things you need to nail down before you launch a pilot so that it doesn’t mark the end of your business?

On this episode, I talk about how to have a pilot that actually leads to sales and avoids “pilot purgatory”.

3 Things You'll Learn

Many innovators get so excited that someone was interested in their project they accept everything during the negotiation process. This is how they end up with unfavorable terms.
If you don’t negotiate any sales terms for the end of the pilot, you can be left holding the bag.
You want to have a pilot of early adopters because they are the people with a higher likelihood to buy your innovation after the pilot.

When health innovators have to launch a pilot in order to establish medical validation or clinical evidence, they can end up in pilot purgatory and go out of business before making any sales. In order to get a good outcome from the pilot, you have to know what it’s actually for. The pilot is the pathway to demonstrating safety and efficacy. You still need sales afterwards for it to be viable. Your negotiations, goals, and KPIs should be going in that direction.

View Details

Healthcare is a complex industry, and a lot of innovators and founders underestimate the process of bringing an innovation through the regulatory process to commercialization. How can you avoid “death by pilot”? What are the biggest potential failure points to be prepared for in the commercialization process? Why is it so important to include real patients in the development process, and what are the potential pitfalls you might deal with?

On this episode, we're joined by John Sharp, the senior manager of PCHA, the Personal Connected Health Alliance of HIMSS. We talk about why some healthcare innovations fail to commercialize while others succeed. John shares what’s unique about commercializing an innovation in healthcare versus other industries. And, he reveals three vital tactics that every health innovator needs to include in their commercialization plan.

3 Things You'll Learn

The difference between the healthcare industry and the innovation of startups
How to avoid "death by pilot"
Why you need healthcare organization partnership

Healthcare innovators have a lot of passion for the problem they are trying to solve, but that passion won’t compensate for a lack of understanding the industry and how it actually functions. Healthcare and startups are industries with fundamental differences, and unless innovators are prepared for that, they are doomed to fail.

You have to make sure your funding is able last through the process of regulation and the education of healthcare professionals. Involve real patients in your development. You must understand the complexity of the healthcare system and know what your niche will be in that system.

View Details

People often use the terms “launch”, “go-to-market”, and “commercialization” interchangeably, but it’s important to separate them. What are the core differences between a launch strategy and a commercialization strategy? What are some of the considerations made in commercialization that aren’t included in a launch strategy? On this episode, we talk about the key factors that make a difference in commercialization and launch.

3 Things You'll Learn

The key differences between launching and commercializing a healthcare innovation lie within the company's goals and when to engage your strategy team.
The goal of a launch is to maximize awareness, while the goal of commercialization is to maximize profit.
There’s a lot of strategic decisions that are part of the commercialization process that are not typically considered in a launch strategy. For example, timing strategies.

The distinction between launching and commercializing an innovation in healthcare is very important. Commercialization is the most critical stage of the innovation process. The strategic and tactical decisions involved in the commercialization process are deeply connected in ways that often go unnoticed and the effects of these decisions heavily shape and influence market success.

For example, timing strategies are often not included in a launch plan. Many health innovators just launch their new product when it's complete without any strategic consideration about the advantages and disadvantage of being first to market, a fast follower, or late follower.

A commercialization strategy defines a clear path to maximizing ROI of the innovation and the strategy development process starts a lot earlier than launch.

Many healthcare innovations will launch, few will commercialize.

View Details

The commercialization process in healthcare is very complex, and it’s impacted by a multitude of factors and circumstances. Why is commercialization so much harder in the healthcare industry? What are the biggest mistakes innovators are making, and how do these mistakes make growth impossible? What do we need to be mindful of when trying to get into a delivery network or hospital system?

On this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Joseph Kvedar, VP of Connected Health with Partners HealthCare. Dr. Kvedar is a pioneer, early adopter, and influencer in the field of connected health. We talk about overcoming the commercialization difficulties in healthcare that so many innovators face.

3 Things We Learned

What makes it so challenging to commercialize an innovation in healthcare
Why having the most advanced/superior innovation is meaningless
How to successfully get into a delivery network or health hospital system

When healthcare innovations are still small, just starting to garner entry level interest, is when they are most vulnerable to facing issues that impede commercialization. Whether it’s losing a key team member, or encountering changes in the market, that randomness is inherent in bringing innovations to market. There are ways to mitigate this, however.

It’s critical to settle the “people issues” early on and understand your product-market fit. Raise only the right amount of money, and spend it thoughtfully. Line everything up to present the best business case possible.

View Details

There’s technological inertia and cultural inertia in healthcare innovation, and a lot of hard work is required for us to overcome it. What are some of the biggest challenges innovators are experiencing because of this? What would be a powerful pivot or pathway that would enable the successful commercialization of clinical blockchain? How do we break down the silo walls in healthcare?

On this episode, Ed Bukstel, CEO at Clinical Blockchain, shares on how he successfully commercialized one of his first innovations, and how he’s working on commercializing his latest healthcare business venture.

3 Things We Learned

How Ed took a bottom-up approach for marketing his innovation

Doctors and clinicians are part of the equation, they should always be involved in the decision making loop. Instead of approaching the labs with his EHR software product, Ed Bukstel approached the people who really had use for his service and that was cardiologists, infectious disease physicians and other clinicians.

Why be cautious with strategic partner funding

You’re looking for money but you also have to pay attention to the kind of money you take. Most innovators aim for strategic partner money, but we have to be cautious. It can completely swallow up your culture and the pace of growth of your business.

Why healthcare data is so important right now

33 million people suffer from rare diseases, and every bit of medical data they can get is vital to their health. When you have people who are really involved in their healthcare, it becomes critical to supply them with that data and work collaboratively with them. If patients don’t get that, they will move to a provider who can.

Even though there’s an explosion of innovation taking place in healthcare, innovators are still struggling, whether it’s with their reimbursement models, competing for the attention of CIOs or raising capital. A huge part of what drives that struggle is the inertia which has set in from the legacy of the old model. The culture of that inertia will always trump any piece of technology or innovation, so it is critical for us to break down those walls, address the fear of the unknown and usher in a new age.

Guest Bio-

Ed is founder and CEO at Clinical Blockchain. Go to http://www.clinicalblockchain.com for more information.

Health Innovators: Recent Episodes

Dr. Roxie Mooney