Episode 88-The benefits of a customer and patient centric approach in women's health care innovation with Kerry Rupp of True Wealth Ventures

Terri talks with Kerry Rupp of True Wealth Ventures about how True Wealth Ventures views women’s health, the opportunities and challenges in the space, and how innovators need to have a more customer-centric approach earlier in the innovation cycle.

Who is Kerry Rupp?

Kerry Rupp is General Partner at True Wealth Ventures, an early-stage VC fund investing in women-led businesses in consumer health and sustainability. She teaches for the NSF I-Corps program, mentors startups, and consults on innovation and strategy. Kerry was previously CEO at DreamIt, a Top Ten US startup accelerator and VC fund. She founded Holiday Golightly, a group travel service for women.  Kerry holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Duke.
 

Show Highlights

·      Kerry shares why women’s health is interesting to her from an innovation and a funding perspective, her path into venture capital, and what True Wealth Ventures is all about

·      Kerry talks about True Wealth Venture’s focus on the broad definition of women’s health and how little research and emphasis has been on women and women’s bodies and brains

·      Kerry and Terri share the view that awareness, research and innovation in women’s health are critical right now

·      Kerry shares what she is excited about in women’s health and both Terri and Kerry talk about the difficulty in choosing the ones to invest in

·      Terri and Kerry talk about the gap between the startup innovation and the healthcare providers and how to bridge the gap

·      Kerry shares how to connect with her and Sara at True Wealth Ventures if you have a startup within their investment thesis

Terri’s Key Takeaway

We need to be doing more to bring together the healthcare providers and healthcare innovators earlier in the process. 

References in the Podcast

·      DreamIt Ventures:  https://www.dreamit.com

·      True Wealth Ventures: https://truewealthvc.com/

·      Sara Brand: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saratbrand/

·      Lisa Health:  https://www.lisahealth.com/

·      Genneve:  https://genneve.com/

·      Mighty Menopause: https://www.mighty-menopause.com/

·      Pandia: https://www.pandiahealth.com/

·      Lemonaid Health: https://www.lemonaidhealth.com/

·      Braincheck:  https://braincheck.com/

·      Katie McMillan:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-donohue-mcmillan-mph/

·      Springboard: https://sb.co/

Contact

Kerry can be reached through LinkedIn  www.linkedin.com/in/kerryrupp or her website www.kerryrupp.com.   

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 87-removing the stigma and normalizing the conversation for women around stress incontinence.

Terri talks Allison Conti of Watkins-Conti Products about her personal experience with stress incontinence that led to the creation of a medical device for women as an alternative to surgery and other uncomfortable and invasive solutions.

Who is Allison Conti?

Allison Conti is an Oklahoma-based entrepreneur who was raised in an entrepreneurial environment where she witnessed the formation and creation of sustainable businesses. The industries ranged from oil & gas exploration and development to retail, cattle ranching and commercial real estate. Allison began her professional career in print media marketing and advertising. She then transitioned to a successful career in the radio and television industry. Allison also owned and managed a small business in the construction trades.

In 2015, as a mother of three, she conceived a solution for involuntary urine leakage, an issue that affects over 498 million women, worldwide.  The passion and drive for this venture is based on personal experience. She designed, patented, engineered and manufactured this non-invasive, comfortable and easy to use solution that is entering the FDA approval process. 

Allison is dedicated to the innovation and development of affordable, effective solutions for common life-altering difficulties faced in today’s environment.  Recently named Top 20 under 40 in Business Times Magazine!

Show Highlights

·      Allison talks about what stress incontinence is, who it impacts, and why don’t women don’t want to talk about it, and why she is passionate about creating a better solution for women. 

·      Allison shares the other options available to women and why she developed YoniFit as another alternative for women.

·      Allison talks why women would be willing to participate in the clinical trial at NYU. 

·      Allison created LeakyLady.com to make the topic easier for investors to discuss and for women to share their stories to remove the stigma around stress incontinence.

·      Allison talks about the team bringing this product to market and surrounding herself with an experienced team.

·      Terri asks about Allison’s fundraising experience and the reactions from investors.    

·      Allison talks about protecting her technology through patents and trademarks and expanding into global markets. 

·      Allison shares her personal story around her condition, how many women are affected by this condition, and how it has changed her life and how she wants to change the lives of other women as well. 

Terri’s Key Takeaway

So much of how we have approached women’s health has been about what is wrong with our bodies and with shame and we need to start talking about the conditions affecting so many women to remove the stigmas, shame, and get to better solutions. 

References in the Podcast

·      Leaky Lady:  http://www.leakylady.com/

Contact

Allison can be reached via email at Allison@watkinscontiproducts.com.  You can follow on Instagram @YoniFit.  Read stories from other women and share your own at www.leakylady.com and sign up for email updates. 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 86-Improving healthcare solutions for women by pairing technology with Health

Terri talks Katie McMillan of Duke Health about why she is interested in women’s health, why we are seeing an explosion in women’s health solutions, and why she sees technology as the answer to some of our healthcare issues for women.

Who is Katie McMillan?

For 10 years, Katie D. McMillan, MPH has dedicated her career to imagining and building technology to improve healthcare for patients and providers. Her experience spans multi-national global health organizations, lean software start-up companies, and large academic medical centers. Katie’s latest venture is the creation of the Mobile App Gateway at Duke University Health System. Launched in the summer of 2017, the MAG serves as the hub for digital health at Duke and provides product consulting services to clinicians and researchers, monthly events and workshops, and content exploring the many facets of the health tech industry. Katie has been involved in the ideation and creation of over 75 apps. In her free time, Katie microblogs at her Well Made Health account on Instagram (@wellmadehealth exploring creativity, digital design, and Fem Tech.  
 

Show Highlights

·      Katie shares how she developed an interest in women’s health and FemTech

·      Katie talks about how she’s seen women’s health and technology change over the last 10 years

·      Katie shares why we are seeing an explosion in technology for women’s health and why she started micro-blogging under Well Made Health with #FemTechFriday

·      Terri asked Katie about evidence-based solutions for women’s health and talks about matching up FemTech companies with researchers to generate clinical device and inform the science around the solutions

·      Terri raises the issue of the price point and focus on middle class white woman for these solutions and the importance of making available to a broader group of women

·      Katie is highlighting Lemonaid Health this week on @WellMadeHealth for #FemTechFriday

Terri’s Key Takeaway

We women hold different roles in our lives and have different seasons in our lives which is very different from men and therefore our healthcare needs are very different as well. 

References in the Podcast

·      Atlantic article: The Doctor Doesn’t Listen to Her but the Media is Starting To: http://bit.ly/DoctorDoesntListen

·      PitchBook article: Why Women Investing in Women Matters: http://bit.ly/WomenInvestingInWomen

·      Duke Health: https://www.dukehealth.org/

·      Marketwatch article:  http://bit.ly/WomensHealthTherapeuticMarket

·      Genneve: https://genneve.com/

·      Willow Pump:  https://shop.willowpump.com/

·      Hello Jessie:  https://www.hellojessie.com/

·      Qurasense: https://qurasense.com/#/site/home

·      Pumpspotting: https://www.pumpspotting.com/

·      Mahmee:  https://www.mahmee.com/

·      Maven Clinic Blog:  Back to Work:  The Billion Dollar Opportunity for Companies:  http://bit.ly/MavenClinicBillionDollarOpportunity

·      Tara Health Foundation: https://tarahealthfoundation.org/

·      Lemonaid Health: https://www.lemonaidhealth.com/

·      Icon Undies:  https://www.iconundies.com/

·      Thinx: https://www.shethinx.com/

Contact

Katie can be reached via email at wellmadehealth@gmail.com , on Twitter @KatieDMcMillan  @Wellmadehealth and DukeMobileApps  and on Instagram @Wellmadehealth.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 78-Moving from startup to growth stage -a conversation with founder Mary Ray of MyHealthTeams, the social network for people with chronic illness

Terri talks to Mary Ray of MyHealthTeams about the shift from startup to growth-stage and the importance of listening to your customers. Mary Ray started her entrepreneurial journey in second grade selling Pac Man trading cards which eventually led to founding MyHealthTeams with her co-founder Eric Peacock to provide social networks for people with chronic illnesses.

Who is Mary Ray?  

Mary Ray, cofounder and COO of MyHealthTeams, has a deep understanding of consumer behavior and social networking, which drives unmatched engagement among MyHealthTeams’ more than 1.6 million members across 29 communities serving people living with chronic conditions. Her innovative vision for people-first digital health solutions and laser focus on user experience, authentic connections and scalable platforms has helped the company quickly address 90% of the chronic condition population since its launch in 2012.  

Drawing from her personal experience with friends and family members living with chronic conditions, she is passionate about building communities that empower individuals, families and caregivers to share experiences, resources and lifehacks that help them actively manage health and wellness while living with a chronic condition. Previously, Mary has held executive positions with established leaders such as IAC and Sony as well as with innovative startups across the mobile, digital media and consumer technology landscape.  

Mary is a graduate of the College of William & Mary School of Business and George Mason University. A serial entrepreneur, Mary is an advocate for women in technology and has served as a SXSW mentor for up-and-coming female leaders. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and son.  

Show Highlights 

• Mary takes us through her background and her entrepreneurial journey into being the co-founder/COO of MyHealthTeams.  This journey started in 2nd grade selling Pac Man trading cards.   

• Mary talks about meeting her co-founder Eric Peacock and how they decided to start MyHealthTeams as a spin-out from Insider Pages. 

• MyHealthTeams is no longer a startup and is now in the growth stage.  Mary talks about where they are today and the plans to go deeper in their segments and provide greater benefits to their members.   

• Terri asks about their strategy for creating new social networks and why they don’t roll out for lots of conditions at the same time.  Mary answers and shares some of their biggest surprises in the MyHealthTeams social network rollout and usage.  

• Mary’s favorite founder resources include connecting with others through LinkedIn groups, female founder groups, and Harvard Business Review. 

• If Mary could wave a magic want, she would change it so that people sincerely understand each other and act accordingly.   

Terri’s Key Takeaway 

Listen to your customers to learn about ways to improve your product in unexpected ways.   

References in the Podcast 

• MyHealthTeams: https://www.myhealthteams.com/ 

• Insider Pages:  http://www.insiderpages.com/ 

• Ning:  https://www.ning.com/ 

• Hidden Brain: https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain 

• Hidden Brain:  Nature, Nurture and Your Politics:  https://www.npr.org/2018/10/03/654127241/nature-nurture-and-your-politics  

• How We Judge the Mistakes of Male vs Female Leaders:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/how-we-judge-the-mistakes-of-male-vs-female-leaders/2012/09/24/71e3ada0-066d-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_story.html?utm_term=.fae92b904ff3 

Contact 

Mary can be reached by via email  mary@myhealthteams.com, Twitter @marycray and LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryray/ 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Episode 73 - How To Survive The Turbulence As A Founder Of A Small Company In A Big Market

Terri talks to Laura Fleet about how a personal experience gave her the idea and inspiration to start SendaRide and that she is both loving the roller coaster ride of entrepreneurship and challenged every day.   

Who is Laura Fleet?  

Laura Fleet is a leading expert in health care and regulatory law, having represented health insurers, providers and hospital systems for more than twenty years. Her professional career as legal counsel, lobbyist and Executive Director for numerous non-profit Associations in the health care sector has given her a unique perspective into our health care delivery system. Having successfully identified an opportunity to bridge one of the many gaps, she launched and Co-Founded SendaRide. 
 
During her career she has continually been at the frontline of our ever-evolving healthcare delivery system, shaping and interpreting the laws that providers, insurers and hospitals operate within. She is identified as an industry expert and thrives on solving the many problems the healthcare industry faces – whether regulatory, legal, legislative or implementation.  

Show Highlights 

• Laura talks about her company, SendaRide, and why she started the company.   

• Laura continues to talk about being a smaller player in a bigger market, her go to market strategy and differentiating factors.  

• Laura has become very comfortable with the word ‘pivot’ and being uncomfortable.   SendaRide started as a B2C LLC and is now a B2B Delaware Corp.  

• Laura has become comfortable with being the face and brand of SendaRide.   

• Laura’s favorite founder resource is her network of female founders who have gone before her, and investor resources who are willing to make introductions and be available to answer questions and bounce around ideas.   

• Laura was accepted into Springboard and shared what she is looking to get out of the time with her advisory group.   

• Laura has been surprised by how much she is enjoying being a founder of a startup and the variety of skillsets she has developed over her time as CEO.   

•  If Laura had a magic wand, she would make chocolate and champagne have no calories and carbs.  She would also have people stop in their tracks and not make judgments and not look at stereotypes when they make decisions.   

Terri’s Key Takeaway 

Don’t become a founder because it’s cool; you have to be 100% committed.   

References in the Podcast 

• SendaRide: https://sendaride.com/ 

• Women’s Startup Lab:  https://womenstartuplab.com/ 

• Springboard:  https://sb.co/ 

 Contact 

Laura can be reached through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-brookins-fleet-49aa9a54/ and via email at Laura.Fleet@SendaRide.com.   

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.