Subscribe on: | | | | |
Video:
In this episode of the 草莓社区 Podcast, Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO at 草莓社区, and marketing colleague, Alan Sardana, discuss the key lessons and learnings from building a healthcare technology company. See the full show notes below for details.
Guest(s): Dr. Joshua Liu (), Co-founder & CEO at 草莓社区
Episode 4 鈥 Show notes:
[1:15] Dr. Liu鈥檚 thoughts on 鈥渟hould I get an MBA before starting a company?鈥;
[3:40] Dr. Liu on the importance of mentors and why it鈥檚 important to weigh feedback differently based on who鈥檚 providing the feedback;
[5:15] What makes a great mentor vs. a bad mentor;
[6:50] Why it鈥檚 important to have and follow core values in a company + 草莓社区鈥檚 core values (speed, simplicity, customer-centricity);
[8:05] Why concise communication (e.g. short emails) are important especially when communicating with healthcare providers;
[10:00] Why making things simple reduces friction for your prospect/customer;
[11:35] The main differences between building a business in healthcare vs. other industries;
[13:00] The importance of identifying early adopters and internal champions for the buying process;
[14:55] MYTH: You should let your champions solo pitch your product internally. REALITY: Your champions, with limited knowledge of the solution, are not equipped to effectively pitch the solution or address questions/objections on their own. It鈥檚 best to co-present the solution internally.
[17:35] MYTH: Just because you have strong clinical evidence, the decision-maker will buy your solution. REALITY: The metrics the decision-maker (e.g. hospital executive) cares about may not match the metrics the front line providers care about. You need to ensure you are also achieving the decision maker鈥檚 goals.
[20:00] MYTH: Free pilots reduce the friction to get a sale, therefore it is best to offer your product for free. REALITY: Free pilots mean much less skin in the game for customers and less accountability in making their best effort to be successful with the solution. When a customer spends money, they will invest in being successful with your solution because they don鈥檛 want to show the decision-maker that they made their best effort - otherwise, they may not get funding in the future.
[23:45] How Dr. Liu views the role of a CEO and why leaders (and everyone) should embrace sales - from clinicians to community leaders.
[26:30] Why 草莓社区 focuses on educating the market over sales;
[27:30] How 草莓社区 operates as if the customer is always in the room;
[28:10] The fine balance for digital patient engagement companies between being customer-centric and patient-centric;
[29:20] What it means to hire the best talent and how to foster the right culture for your company;
[29:45] The two main traits Dr. Liu looks for in employees;
[32:20] Why companies fail;
[33:35] How execution is more important than your idea;
[34:50] Why it鈥檚 vitally important to have diverse perspectives on your team;
[36:10] Why seeking the truth is one of the most important value for a company;
[38:20] How defining 鈥榳hat a readmission is鈥 kept Dr. Liu up at night;
[39:40] How new challenges always arise and the answer to 鈥榳hat is keeping you up at night鈥 changes overtime;
[41:30] Why it鈥檚 more important to share your idea with others than to keep it a secret;
[44:15] Dr. Liu鈥檚 advise to find the low-hanging fruit;
[47:00] How payer incentives influence innovation;
[51:00] Dr. Liu鈥檚 鈥渘apkin鈥 advice to anyone wanting to start a healthcare tech company; and
[51:51] Why it鈥檚 more important to focus on solving a problem as opposed to creating a business;