Latest / The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show / The Biggest Mistakes Healthcare Startup Founders Make | E204

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The Biggest Mistakes Healthcare Startup Founders Make | E204 · The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show

0:11
Hello and welcome back to the Advancing
0:13
Healthcare Innovation Show. I am your
0:15
host, Michael Stamatinos, and if you're
0:17
new to us, so good to have you here.
0:20
We're excited because we're bringing
0:21
some just phenomenal conversations with
0:23
real leaders
0:24
that are painstakingly reshaping the
0:27
future of healthcare. We're pretty
0:29
passionate about a few different things.
0:30
We're very focused on access and on
0:32
leadership and innovation and
0:34
transformation and the adoption of these
0:36
innovations. And if it's your first time
0:38
tuning in, let me just let me just kind
0:40
of pull back the onion a little bit and
0:41
give you a little bit more about what
0:42
we're trying to get done here. So,
0:44
the ethos of the show
0:47
is highlighting real people
0:49
that have real stories, real
0:50
experiences, not things that you're just
0:52
reading, but people that are in the
0:52
trenches innovating, transforming, and
0:56
leading this change in in our space and
0:59
giving them the opportunity to share
1:01
that with our community
1:02
and ultimately, you know, with the
1:04
world.
1:05
So, we've got an amazing action-packed
1:06
year. Wherever you are, if you're
1:08
watching this, if you're listening to
1:09
this, however you are consuming this,
1:11
please hit the subscribe button now so
1:13
that any new interviews come directly to
1:17
you.
1:18
So, every week on the show, I get to sit
1:20
down with a whole host of people,
1:22
founders, people that are building
1:24
remarkable companies, leaders that are
1:26
making change inside of health systems
1:27
and and health plans. And I think what
1:30
we don't talk about enough
1:33
are the people behind the scenes who
1:35
actually help those companies survive
1:37
long enough to actually really matter.
1:40
And because I think healthcare, it
1:41
doesn't necessarily have
1:44
um a shortage of great ideas. But
1:47
healthcare certainly has
1:49
a way of making great ideas disappear
1:52
uh for a whole host of reasons. And it's
1:53
not because the technology like wasn't
1:55
any good, but I think the path is like
1:57
super complicated. It's like getting
1:59
through
2:00
a gauntlet, you know, whether it's
2:02
regulation or quality or clinical
2:04
validation and even even just sort of
2:06
figuring out reimbursement in some
2:07
cases, but I think one wrong turn
2:10
a company that actually had real
2:13
potential never even reaches a single
2:15
patient.
2:16
And and this is why I'm looking forward
2:18
to this conversation because Megan Cain,
2:21
our next guest, she spends her days
2:25
helping founders navigate this path.
2:28
So she is the executive director at
2:31
Relia Health, where she works alongside
2:33
entrepreneurs and built this very
2:35
vibrant community that is focusing on
2:38
medical devices and digital health
2:39
companies and essentially helping them
2:41
make better decisions, you know, before
2:43
the stakes get even higher.
2:45
And I think
2:46
in knowing Megan and having, you know,
2:48
spoken with her a number of different
2:49
times, she's about connectivity, about
2:52
relationships, helping find the right
2:53
people in the right contacts in the
2:55
right way to to guide and move these
2:57
companies ahead and building a community
3:00
that essentially
3:01
where founders don't necessarily have to
3:03
figure things out all on their own.
3:05
And healthcare is a relationship sport,
3:07
whether you're the provider or whether
3:09
you're the innovator, you need to have
3:11
this type of community to be able to
3:13
flourish. So I'm looking forward to this
3:16
conversation. Megan, it's great to see
3:18
you. Welcome to the show.
3:20
>> Thank you so much, Michael. I'm so
3:22
excited to be here.
3:23
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I I want to start
3:25
like way back when because I think you
3:28
the person you are today is typically
3:30
shaped by experiences, historical
3:33
experiences. Like what was your
3:34
childhood like? Household you grew up
3:36
with How did you grow up? Give give me
3:38
give me a little bit of that context.
3:39
>> Oh, yeah, back all the way to childhood.
3:42
You know, I did grow up in a healthcare
3:43
family to sort of fit into that
3:45
stereotype of people that work in
3:47
healthcare were often exposed to that
3:49
quite young. My mom was a
3:51
Excuse me, was a nurse practitioner,
3:52
came from a long line of nurses. I And
3:55
so, you know, we grew up having dinner
3:56
table conversations about cases. You
3:59
know, you have the compliant, of course,
4:00
but you know, it was a a norm in our
4:02
family to talk about those sort of
4:04
things pretty openly and scientifically.
4:07
And I remember my mom bringing me to It
4:10
was bring your daughter to work day back
4:11
then it was called. So, she would bring
4:13
me into the hospital with her and take
4:15
me on some rounds and, you know, exposed
4:17
me to that really early.
4:19
Obviously, she wanted me to follow in
4:20
her footsteps and go into that field.
4:23
And I took a little bit of a different
4:24
path. I was thinking medical school
4:27
possibly. I studied biology.
4:30
And then sort of became disillusioned a
4:32
little bit with the lifestyle that that
4:34
would entail.
4:36
I sort of thought for a long time, you
4:37
know, I can be the exception and I'll be
4:39
the doctor who's really dedicated to my
4:41
career and also has time for my family
4:43
and my friends and my life outside of
4:45
work and
4:46
and all these things. And I think
4:48
there's probably a reason why that
4:49
stereotype is there. It's a very
4:50
difficult thing to find that balance.
4:53
So, moved instead into industry. Into I
4:56
started in pharmaceuticals, actually,
4:58
then moved into medical device.
5:01
>> Wow. So, when you think about as a kid,
5:03
were you more of hey, I like asking
5:06
questions or were you one that was like
5:08
trying to figure how things work or were
5:10
you like the builder?
5:12
>> I liked patterns and problems and
5:14
organized systems. So, I like things to
5:17
be
5:18
structured and solvable and logic-based.
5:22
I'd say I'm very different from like the
5:24
engineering brain, where they're happy
5:25
for a problem to be a little bit messy
5:27
and do that tinkering.
5:29
I prefer to make it look all clean and
5:30
neat and tidy. That's sort of how my
5:32
brain works.
5:34
>> Fascinating. So, take me then a little
5:36
bit fast forward cuz you I know you had
5:37
spent quite a bit of time on sort of the
5:39
regulatory side.
5:41
Did you feel like your superpowers at
5:43
that point in time were really well
5:45
suited in that type of environment given
5:47
the complexities, the high stake, and
5:49
it's like you can't be messy at that
5:51
point. Everything has to be neat and
5:53
tidy.
5:54
>> Absolutely. It started that way for
5:55
sure. That's what drew me to the
5:57
industry. I I started my first role as a
5:59
microbiologist using that sort of
6:01
biology background.
6:02
>> Yeah.
6:03
>> Worked in a lab and then naturally
6:05
gravitated towards quality first because
6:08
we were asked to follow these quality
6:09
procedures. We were undergoing FDA
6:11
inspections at the time. And I found it
6:14
interesting in this idea that there's
6:15
this framework that's sort of governing
6:17
how everything works across the
6:19
>> Yeah.
6:19
>> organization. I like frameworks. I like
6:21
systems. So, I just started being nosy
6:23
and asking the questions, you know, what
6:26
is this saying and why does this Where
6:27
does this come from? What Why do we have
6:29
these rules and who's setting them
6:31
ultimately?
6:32
And then from quality, that also
6:34
naturally sort of migrates into
6:35
regulatory because you start to get
6:37
into, you know, where do these rules
6:38
come from and how do they all work
6:40
together?
6:41
Uh but then I think I hit a point in my
6:43
career where maybe I've come around to
6:45
the other side and now I actually do sit
6:47
in the messy more often than I do the
6:50
structured because even though I'm still
6:52
doing a lot of regulatory work,
6:54
when you get more experienced at it, you
6:56
can start to really play in the gray and
6:58
that part I really enjoy.
7:00
Helping founders sort of fit in the
7:01
exceptions.
7:02
>> What is What is What is play in the gray
7:04
mean?
7:05
>> Uh so, I think a lot of people think of
7:07
regulatory as being very black and
7:08
white, right? You say you're either a
7:10
medical device or you're not a medical
7:11
device or this regulation applies to you
7:14
or it doesn't apply to you. And if it
7:16
applies to you, you have to follow every
7:17
single thing it says in there exactly as
7:19
it's written. But really I think there's
7:21
a lot more flexibility as long as you
7:24
can justify why you meet that
7:26
regulation, you can have a really
7:27
creative approach to how you meet it. It
7:29
doesn't have to look exactly as it's
7:31
written. Uh and if if you want to be in
7:34
the healthcare space, you can sometimes
7:36
start as a wellness product and then
7:38
maybe add some claims to later become a
7:41
medical device after you've already had
7:43
some revenue and some traction. So, I
7:45
like helping people think about that
7:47
more staged approach as like a life
7:49
cycle of their product portfolio rather
7:51
than you either fit in this bucket or
7:53
you don't.
7:55
>> Interesting that you mentioned that. So,
7:56
I mean then what are some of the other
7:57
myths that people have when it comes to
8:00
these the regulatory and dealing with
8:01
these regulatory bodies? What Where do
8:03
most people make
8:05
mistakes or false assumptions and what
8:07
are those?
8:08
>> Oh, there's so many. I'm so passionate
8:10
about this. I'm glad you asked.
8:12
I I hear so often that people are scared
8:15
of being regulated. They hear that
8:17
there's going to be oversight from FDA
8:19
or any other regulator and they try to
8:21
avoid it or they fear it or they think
8:23
of FDA as being this adversary that's
8:26
out to get you and catch you doing
8:27
something. And that has not been my
8:29
experience whatsoever. I find they're so
8:32
willing to work with you. They are
8:33
brilliant people there in the agencies
8:36
and they understand a lot about your
8:38
product and so they have a lot of
8:39
industry knowledge that can be really
8:40
helpful. And if you know how to work
8:43
with them correctly, it's a really
8:45
valuable relationship, not one that's
8:47
out to get you by any means.
8:49
>> So, how soon can someone start to
8:51
engage? Like what is what is sort of
8:52
best practice?
8:55
>> It differs depending on what is your
8:57
regulatory strategy. So, if you are a
9:00
more high-risk device, it would look
9:01
different than something as wellness. Uh
9:04
but I do think personally it's better to
9:06
sort of have a good understanding
9:08
internally of what your plan is before
9:11
you engage too much. I have seen a lot
9:13
of companies, especially when they're
9:14
smaller or they're just starting out,
9:17
they try to engage really early
9:19
uh and they're still unsure yet what
9:22
their ultimate go-to-market strategy is
9:24
going to be, what their claims are
9:25
really going to be, what the actual
9:27
indications for use of the actual like
9:29
clinical impact of their product could
9:31
be. And so, they end up just sort of
9:33
going in circles with FDA and that just
9:34
wastes everybody's time and frustrates
9:36
everybody.
9:37
>> Mhm.
9:38
So, when you were on this journey and
9:40
figuring this all these things out, when
9:42
did you realize that
9:44
there were others
9:46
externally outside of your organization
9:48
that were trying to do this, that needed
9:49
help and support? When did you start to
9:51
get curious? Like what what what did
9:53
that
9:54
I guess curiosity look like?
9:57
>> Yeah, that's a great question. I was
9:58
invited by a friend actually who worked
10:00
at another incubator. They were doing a
10:03
hackathon event and it was a
10:05
health-related hackathon and so they
10:07
wanted to judge and they wanted a you
10:09
know, variety of different backgrounds
10:10
from the judges. She knew my experience,
10:12
so she invited me in. I knew nothing
10:14
about the incubator world, knew nothing
10:16
about hackathons. Didn't really know
10:17
what to expect uh and just absolutely
10:20
caught the bug. I just loved the
10:22
environment where everybody there was
10:25
sharing their experience and all the
10:27
judges, all the advisors were offering
10:29
this these, you know, bits of their
10:31
expertise so freely.
10:33
And I could see what an impact that
10:36
would have. It would completely change
10:37
the trajectory of how that hackathon was
10:40
going to go, right? Like how that that
10:41
early startup was going to define
10:43
themselves. And I thought that was so
10:45
cool to see how quickly it was moving
10:47
and how open everybody was and
10:48
supportive everyone was. So, from there
10:50
it just exploded. I started reaching out
10:52
to other incubators and accelerators and
10:54
VCs and saying, "How can I help? What
10:56
can I be involved in?" And learned so
10:57
much from that.
10:58
>> And how much time was that in between
11:00
from when you had that moment to where
11:03
you decided that all right, there's
11:06
there is something that we can offer
11:07
here in terms of gaps in the market.
11:10
What was sort of the duration?
11:12
>> Uh I want to say it was only a few
11:15
months. It was much faster than I
11:17
anticipated. I started off with really a
11:20
beginner's mindset thing. This is a new
11:22
world to me. I come from corporate, you
11:24
know, working in the device industry for
11:26
my whole career.
11:27
This startup world is new. So, let me
11:29
just learn about it. Let me talk to
11:31
founders, see what they're struggling
11:32
with, talk to other mentors and
11:34
advisors, and see what they've
11:36
experienced from their perspective.
11:38
And what started off as just talking to
11:40
people to learn and and hear from them
11:43
quickly became them sort of demanding
11:45
from me, "We need this. Please make it
11:47
happen. This is a great idea. Let's like
11:49
build this together." And so, then I you
11:52
know, I became a little bit overwhelmed
11:53
with it.
11:54
>> Give me an example of how that how that
11:56
happens. Like talk me through that cuz
11:58
that's super cool when you're all of a
12:00
sudden just kind of going in curious and
12:01
all of a sudden people are like, "Build
12:02
this." What's that like?
12:04
>> Yeah, so I'll give one example. So, I
12:06
was talking with um
12:09
a person who runs a rural network of a
12:11
rural hospital communities across
12:13
Ontario. And again, just to understand
12:15
from her perspective of all the
12:16
interconnectivity of the different
12:18
clinical systems when they're so remote,
12:20
what is helpful for them when doing say
12:22
a startup pilot cuz I can imagine that
12:23
would be quite difficult for someone
12:25
trying to coordinate already it's
12:27
difficult and then you know, dealing
12:28
with a pilot. And then the next day
12:30
talked to a founder who happened to be a
12:32
telehealth founder just by coincidence
12:35
and was talking to him about the
12:37
difficulties in trying to find you know,
12:40
cross-border pilots. He came from one
12:42
country, I was talking to a person in
12:43
another country, and you know, they were
12:45
struggling to figure out where to meet
12:46
these people and and get the right
12:48
connections without paying an arm and a
12:49
leg. And I just said, "Well, I talked to
12:51
somebody yesterday. Let me connect you."
12:53
Made the connection and then they were
12:55
able to launch a pilot from that. And
12:57
that founder came back to me and said,
12:58
"No one else has been able to do this so
13:01
quickly and actually make an outcome
13:03
come out of it.
13:04
Not just talking about how difficult
13:07
pilots are and how hard it's going to be
13:08
and the fact that that is a challenge on
13:10
my journey, but actually hand me someone
13:13
who can start that pilot." And I
13:15
thought, "Well, that wasn't that hard."
13:16
You know, like let's keep doing that.
13:18
Let's see if we can continue that. And I
13:19
sort of kept making those introductions
13:21
and connections.
13:23
And then that grew into a network of
13:25
people who wanted to do that more both
13:27
from the mentor side, the advisor side,
13:29
and the founders themselves.
13:32
>> All right. So, then
13:33
then you start to think about, okay,
13:35
like I could I could really start to do
13:36
this full-time. Then then walk me into
13:40
how does Rellia come to fruition?
13:43
Who like what were the conversations
13:46
that were you were like, all right, now
13:47
now I'm really going to go after this?
13:49
Like
13:50
talk us through that.
13:52
>> I found myself, you know, I was working
13:54
still full-time in a regulatory role as
13:56
I was starting to make these
13:58
connections. It was very informal to
13:59
start with. It was more of just a
14:01
nebulous community of people. And then
14:04
that got very difficult to manage on top
14:06
of my own work because it was starting
14:08
to become more and more and more.
14:10
And I found myself wanting to gravitate
14:12
towards that more than my regulatory
14:15
So, for me that was a big sign of
14:18
there's something here that I'm really
14:19
passionate about. There's a some some
14:21
itch that needs to be scratched.
14:23
And so, you know, I just I don't know. I
14:26
I found myself kept thinking about how I
14:28
could do it better and how I could build
14:30
more and make this into something more
14:31
structured all while trying to focus on
14:33
my day job. That was for me a sign that
14:36
that's not, you know, normal for me.
14:38
So, I created this big plan for how I
14:41
would eventually go full-time into
14:43
Rellia. And I you know, I'm I'm a like I
14:45
said, I like systems. I like strategic
14:47
planning. So, I made this really
14:48
detailed transition plan for myself and
14:50
how I would, you know, offload my work
14:53
at my current job so they were still
14:54
taken care of and everything was okay
14:56
and you know, it would be a nice
14:57
migration into working for myself.
15:00
And then right after I made that plan,
15:02
my company went through mass layoffs.
15:04
And so, it sort of like pushed me out
15:06
the door and said I could either look
15:08
for another job while I do this
15:09
transition or just dive in full-time and
15:12
let's do it. And my heart was just there
15:15
for it. It wasn't in looking for another
15:17
regulatory role at the time. It was
15:19
let's go all in on this.
15:21
>> Yeah, sometimes the universe kind of
15:22
hands you uh
15:24
you know, something you're like, "Okay,
15:26
I guess this is sort of the direction
15:27
that we're going." So, now you've
15:29
you've been at this for a little while.
15:30
Talk to us about Relia. Talk to us
15:32
about, you know, some of the uniqueness
15:34
and the things that you and the team you
15:35
are doing. Like,
15:37
walk us through that.
15:38
>> Uh yeah, I mean, it's been, you know,
15:40
about a year since Relia first launched
15:42
and not quite a year yet since I've gone
15:44
full-time and we've done so much and
15:46
grown so much in that time. It's been
15:48
amazing to watch. We have so many
15:51
amazing founders now. We're at 81
15:53
founders and over 250 advisors in our
15:56
network. And we've grown beyond just
15:58
that introductions and making
16:00
connections. We've we've learned from
16:02
our founders that that is so helpful,
16:04
but what they really need is proof to
16:07
their investors that they're making
16:09
tangible progress on their milestones.
16:11
So, we thought about how can we actually
16:13
help them to get there? Not just talk
16:15
about the road map of what they're
16:17
supposed to do. Let's hold their hand
16:19
and get it done, right? So, we've
16:21
started building some programs to help
16:23
them actually be able to execute on that
16:25
with the experts there by their side.
16:28
So, for example, we built a program
16:29
around creating a QMS, a quality
16:31
management system.
16:32
>> Mhm.
16:32
>> And instead of just saying, you know,
16:34
here it needs to be compliant with these
16:35
standards and here's what it is and
16:37
here's the structure, we said, "None of
16:39
that. You don't care about that as a
16:41
founder. You just want a QMS that's done
16:44
and can be certified."
16:45
>> Yes.
16:45
>> leave that program with your set of
16:47
documents all the way done. You had a
16:49
QMS expert guide you through the whole
16:51
way in creating it and then at the end
16:53
of the program, it's a box that you can
16:54
check off for yourself.
16:56
>> That's nice. It's like people want to go
16:58
in somewhere and they don't just want to
16:59
listen. Like, they want to like it's a
17:00
workshop. Like, you you're working
17:02
strategically on the business.
17:05
Is that sort of the 2-mm shift that says
17:07
like, "Hey, when you come and you sit
17:09
through this work like we're actively
17:11
working on it with you." People have
17:13
done this. They're guiding you.
17:16
What else is differentiating? Because
17:18
there's a lot of noise
17:20
with
17:21
um on the innovation side when it comes
17:23
to incubators and accelerators. Where
17:26
where do you feel like you sit within
17:28
that ecosystem or is it an entirely
17:30
different one?
17:32
>> Yeah, for us there were sort of two
17:33
pillars that were really key. The first
17:35
is that it's healthcare specific always.
17:38
I've been a part of a lot of more
17:40
agnostic incubators where they maybe
17:41
have a health cohort or something, but
17:43
the advice you're getting from advisers
17:45
is tends to be broader and I think
17:48
there's enough of that that exists
17:49
already, but when it comes to really
17:50
finding healthcare experts who know
17:53
intimately how different this field is,
17:55
that was really essential for us.
17:58
Um also, you know, when you go to like
17:59
an investment pitch event, we host those
18:01
regularly,
18:03
it's not fair to pitch a medical device
18:06
>> or virtual?
18:07
>> Uh virtual. Yeah, all virtual.
18:10
>> Um
18:11
you know, somebody that has a clinical
18:12
trial and uh FDA submission as part of
18:15
their roadmap is never going to compete
18:18
against a B2B SaaS, you know,
18:20
direct-to-consumer type of product,
18:22
right? So,
18:23
>> Right.
18:24
>> it wasn't fair
18:25
>> of So, so, so, so, you're segmenting in
18:26
a sense to say, "Hey, this is specific
18:28
for this, this, and this because
18:30
>> Absolutely.
18:31
>> That makes total sense.
18:32
>> Yeah, and then the other side is that
18:34
sort of outcomes driven. So, like you
18:36
said, there's a lot of information out
18:37
there already today. Information is
18:39
everywhere on, you know, what to expect
18:41
from as a founder, what they need to get
18:43
done. They have a list a mile long of
18:45
to-do's that people are expecting of
18:47
them. And we said, "Let's stop adding to
18:49
founders' lists of to-do's and telling
18:51
them all the things they need to be
18:52
successful. Let's help them start away
18:54
at that list and get it done."
18:56
>> Is that sort of where your pattern
18:58
recognition, wanting to create
19:01
suddenness out of messiness sort of
19:03
starts to kick in?
19:04
>> Yeah, definitely, definitely. I mean,
19:06
that's that was a big part of my job
19:08
prior to Relia was coming into companies
19:10
that didn't have a quality management
19:12
system, didn't have an understanding of
19:14
regulations, and helping them sort of
19:16
make an order of it and then be able to
19:18
execute on that. So, I get to do that at
19:20
a larger scale with founders because
19:22
it's not just compliance with everything
19:24
they need all the time, really, really
19:26
quickly. It's a lot of fun.
19:28
>> Now, the interesting part is like you're
19:29
helping founders and at the same time
19:31
like you're in this journey yourself.
19:33
Are there any enlightening moments that
19:35
have really humbled you along the way
19:37
that are that are worthy of sharing?
19:39
>> Uh always. I mean, yeah, you're right.
19:42
I'm seeing just like founders are how we
19:44
have to be able to become experts in
19:46
every domain, regardless of the one that
19:48
we're originally trained or experienced
19:50
in. You know, I
19:51
will say marketing is not something I
19:53
ever thought of or did or had any any
19:55
desire to do, and it's something I have
19:57
to do a lot more of these days. So,
20:00
that's humbling for sure, trying to
20:01
create, you know, really basic marketing
20:04
strategies.
20:05
Um I mean, we yeah, there's just been so
20:07
much learning. There was a lot of you
20:09
know, searching really basic terms early
20:11
in the the start of Rellia, like just
20:13
trying to understand some of these
20:15
concepts.
20:16
So, yeah, very uh very back to a
20:17
beginner in a lot of ways.
20:20
>> The way that I think about it in terms
20:21
of what you're doing is like your
20:22
greatest assets are the stories that
20:24
you're able to tell,
20:26
the outcomes that you can share. You
20:28
mentioned 81 founders, like that's not a
20:30
small number.
20:31
And each of those 81 are on their own
20:33
unique journey. And
20:36
when they hit a milestone,
20:38
it would be amazing to be able to have
20:40
something that can share those
20:42
milestones out publicly, outwardly
20:45
facing, so that and I've mentioned this
20:47
before, but like there's this illusion
20:49
of busyness. And it's like you're on
20:51
this treadmill.
20:53
And it's like, "Hey, we're moving. We're
20:54
moving. Like we're on this treadmill."
20:55
It's like, "No, you're on a treadmill."
20:57
Don't mistake being busy for actually
20:59
making progress. And it sounds like your
21:01
capabilities within the ecosystem,
21:04
within your community, to get people to
21:06
make progress
21:07
is what makes it really attractive. And
21:10
the only way that you can share that is
21:13
showcasing people's stories about making
21:16
progress.
21:17
>> Mhm.
21:18
That's so true. And And the treadmill
21:20
analogy is a perfect example. I think a
21:23
lot of founders think they have only two
21:24
options. It's to try and do it
21:27
themselves and just white knuckle it,
21:28
figure it out, use odds to answer the
21:31
question, or outsource it to a
21:34
consultant or you know, a contract
21:36
manufacturer or whoever else that that
21:38
can take that on for them. And that's
21:39
quite expensive.
21:41
We've sort of offered a happy medium
21:43
from that. We said, "You don't have to
21:44
do it alone. You can have an expert
21:46
there doing it with you, but you're
21:48
still going to be involved and so that's
21:50
going to really help reduce a lot of the
21:51
costs for you." So, we've sort of found
21:53
that sort of compromise that I think is
21:55
much more effective for founders.
21:58
>> So, let's fast forward
22:01
a year from now and we're sitting here
22:03
and we're just we're just chit-chatting
22:04
again.
22:05
What needs to happen in order for you to
22:08
feel
22:10
really great about progress
22:13
for Relia Health? What does that look
22:16
like?
22:17
>> Right now, we are full steam ahead
22:20
launching programs that we have been
22:22
building and we're continuing to build
22:24
with our partners. And I hope that in a
22:26
year from now, we have a program for
22:29
every single step along the way. Because
22:31
to me, having come from industry where
22:33
I've seen that product launch cycle
22:36
happen so many times at so many
22:37
different types of companies, the road
22:39
map is so clear. I know what steps you
22:41
need to take from concept all the way to
22:43
launch.
22:45
And so, I want to be able to simplify
22:46
that for founders who maybe don't see
22:48
that as clearly yet and say, "We can
22:50
help you at wherever you happen to be in
22:53
that life cycle, we have a program
22:55
specifically for you." We've got it
22:56
crafted in our minds right now, but we
22:58
are still working to get them all
23:00
launched. So, that's our goal for the
23:01
next year.
23:02
>> That's brilliant. So, where where can
23:04
people
23:05
go to learn more to to to sort of dig
23:09
into Relia? Like, give us a little
23:12
commercial.
23:14
Floor is yours.
23:15
>> Yeah, absolutely. Our website's the best
23:17
place to start, so reliahealth.com.
23:20
Uh on there there's lots of contact
23:21
forms to reach out to us if you have
23:23
questions. There's a direct application
23:25
if you want to jump right in and join.
23:27
Uh but, I'm always happy to jump on a
23:29
call with anyone and chat to them and
23:31
understand what they're looking for and
23:33
see if it's the right fit. And if it's
23:34
not us, I probably know somebody that I
23:36
can point them to.
23:38
>> Mhm.
23:39
So, what are some patterns that you've
23:41
noticed? Because 81 founders there's
23:43
likely going to be some pattern
23:44
recognition in this. So, I want you to
23:48
maybe finish this sentence.
23:50
So, I'm going to start out by saying
23:52
great founders always
23:56
>> Ooh, that's a good one.
24:00
There's so many things. I have so many
24:01
thoughts.
24:03
I will say maybe one that people don't
24:05
hear as often is that great founders
24:08
always lift up other people.
24:11
>> Mhm.
24:12
>> In in being a founder, there's so much
24:15
on your plate. There's so much stress
24:16
and pressure. It can be really easy to
24:19
just focus on what you have to get done
24:21
and the people that are counting on you.
24:23
Um but, I mean you you you speak about
24:26
this all the time as well about how
24:27
important it is to be able to take the
24:29
time to support other people. And as
24:31
founders, you have to do a lot of asking
24:33
for favors and calling in that
24:35
generosity. So, it's a good thing to
24:37
remember that you also should make
24:39
capacity for yourself to find ways to do
24:41
that to others as well. And it can be
24:42
really simple as checking in with
24:44
another founder and say, "Hey, how you
24:46
doing? Can I help you with anything?"
24:47
Or, "Are you doing okay?" It's a tough
24:49
life out here as a founder.
24:51
>> Yeah. Yeah, I call it sort of how you
24:53
how are you contributing to the
24:54
ecosystem, right? You obviously can take
24:57
from it and you also have to feed it.
24:59
You got to feed it immeasurably more
25:01
than what you take from it so that it
25:03
can be sustainable.
25:05
So, how about on the flip side to that?
25:07
So, finish this one.
25:09
Um
25:10
Great leaders never
25:13
dot dot dot.
25:14
>> Ooh, great leaders never
25:19
Oh, great leaders never assume that they
25:23
know it all.
25:25
I think no one knows it all, right? Not
25:27
one single person knows it all and
25:29
there's pressure again for leaders,
25:31
regardless of whether it's for a startup
25:32
or for a larger corporation, there's
25:35
pressure to show that you know it all,
25:36
that you have it all together and you
25:37
have all the answers.
25:39
And I think the best leaders I've worked
25:40
with are the ones who are unafraid to
25:42
admit that they don't.
25:44
>> Yeah. Yeah, have there been I'm just
25:47
curious just because you happen to have
25:48
so many different conversations with
25:50
people at different times.
25:54
Is it tough for you to have hard
25:55
conversations where maybe things are
25:57
somewhere and they're not? Like how do
25:59
you how do you
26:01
wind through that?
26:03
>> For me, no, because, you know, I I have
26:05
a a baseline respect for founders. You
26:08
know, they all come with amazing
26:10
backgrounds and they want to do the
26:11
right thing and they're trying their
26:13
best. Truly, I've yet to meet a founder
26:14
that
26:15
doesn't feel like they have,
26:17
you know, an authentic reason for why
26:19
they're working this hard because it's
26:21
so hard. So, if you aren't driven by
26:23
something meaningful, then I don't know
26:25
how you would do it. So, even if they're
26:26
making a mistake or they don't see
26:28
something clearly yet, it's probably
26:30
just a case of they weren't aware, they
26:32
didn't realize, or, you know, they
26:34
didn't have that exposure at the right
26:35
time. So, it feels like a kindness to
26:38
tell them the truth, even if that could
26:40
be a hard conversation that, you know,
26:42
maybe your idea just isn't going to
26:43
work. Um but I think if you have that
26:46
respect for it's okay because you're
26:47
still brilliant and there's still a
26:49
million other things you you do and
26:50
you've learned so much from this
26:52
venture, then it's not that difficult of
26:54
a conversation.
26:56
>> Cool.
26:57
So, maybe last question, someone
26:59
stumbles upon this, maybe it's like a
27:01
decade from now, and they come across
27:03
our conversation, which I think I've had
27:05
I've had a lot of fun
27:07
doing this discussion. I guess what's
27:09
the one idea, the one thing that you'd
27:11
want them to walk away with, and that
27:14
they can actually take action on to
27:15
progress?
27:17
>> Uh I think the idea that, you know, a
27:19
lot of people say innovating in
27:21
healthcare is scary, and a lot of people
27:23
try to avoid it. I see a lot of really
27:25
smart founders try to find workarounds
27:28
or or, you know, go the wellness route
27:29
or whatever it may be.
27:31
And I just want to encourage people that
27:33
it isn't as scary as it seems. There's
27:36
tons of people in healthcare who are
27:38
very mission-driven, and so they want to
27:39
help and support. Even though it seems
27:41
like an intimidating industry, there's
27:43
so much generosity there. And we need
27:46
it. We need those founders to be making
27:48
bold changes in healthcare. We all know
27:50
every country's healthcare system needs
27:52
drastic improvements today. So, it's
27:54
such worthwhile work. So, I'd encourage
27:56
people, even a decade from now, not to
27:58
be scared of jumping into this field.
28:00
>> Yeah, I just think that there's certain
28:01
things that aren't going to be changing
28:03
anytime soon. Yeah, that's one of them.
28:06
So, there's
28:08
Thank you for today.
28:10
Uh kind of a cool first full circle
28:12
moment for those, you know, if you're
28:13
listening, you know, Megan reached out
28:16
to me a while ago, and we had a great
28:17
conversation.
28:19
And to see the action
28:21
that you've taken
28:22
and how you've progressed and continued
28:24
to move ahead is really encouraging. And
28:28
the fact that you're building an
28:30
ecosystem that also encourages others
28:32
along the way, a testament to having 81
28:34
founders
28:35
and counting and continuing to grow, and
28:37
that you're on your journey, it's really
28:38
lovely. And I don't believe that we
28:40
spend enough time
28:42
celebrating the people that are kind of
28:44
behind the scenes, that are quietly
28:46
making innovation possible the mentors
28:49
the connectors you know the the people
28:50
that are willing to ask like these
28:51
really
28:52
tough questions so that companies can
28:54
move ahead. So thank you for being one
28:56
of those people because we need there
28:58
needs to be more of us that are that are
29:01
out there and um
29:03
if there is someone if you're tuning in
29:04
you find this particular conversation to
29:06
be really captivating and fascinating
29:08
and you're encouraged by it then there
29:10
is one ask which is would you mind
29:12
sharing it or commenting on it and uh
29:15
maybe sending it to someone that you
29:16
think would really benefit greatly from
29:19
it. And if there is someone that you
29:21
feel would be a great uh person to have
29:23
on the show let us know drop a comment
29:25
we do read those we do uh examine those
29:28
we want to have great people coming on
29:29
to the show so that we can continuously
29:31
bolster the ecosystem.
29:33
Um this this isn't just about content it
29:36
is about an interactive community and um
29:39
we take that very seriously. So thank
29:41
you so much Megan for joining thanks for
29:43
listening keep building with purpose and
29:46
we will see you next time on the
29:48
Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show.