WEBVTT - Kristen Valdes, Founder of b.well: Giving Consumers Control of Their Health Care

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Made by Women, a new podcast by the

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<v Speaker 1>Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. At a

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<v Speaker 1>moment when businesses face some of the biggest challenges in

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<v Speaker 1>recent history, we bring you inspiring stories, practical insights, and

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<v Speaker 1>shared learnings to help you successfully navigate in today's environment.

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<v Speaker 1>Every Thursday, Made by Women will showcase the experiences of

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<v Speaker 1>legendary women, entrepreneurs, fierce up and comers, and everyday women

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<v Speaker 1>who found success their own way. Consider this your real

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<v Speaker 1>world MBA designed for the new Now. I'm Kim Azzarelli

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<v Speaker 1>and thanks so much for joining us today. Nothing is

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<v Speaker 1>more important than our health, but navigating today's medical and

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<v Speaker 1>insurance environment is challenging for most of us. It's hard

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<v Speaker 1>to find all the information we need in one place,

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<v Speaker 1>but Kristin Valdez is out to change that. Christian was

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<v Speaker 1>a health industry executive who thought she knew her way

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<v Speaker 1>around the system, but when her young daughter had a

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<v Speaker 1>health crisis, Kristen had a hard time getting her hands

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<v Speaker 1>on the data she needed to help her daughter. Christian's

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<v Speaker 1>daughter came through the emergency, but that was the impetus

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<v Speaker 1>for Christen to start be well. Be Well is a

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<v Speaker 1>B two B company that gives consumers access to their

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<v Speaker 1>healthcare data in a way they can understand and make

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<v Speaker 1>the best use of. B Well has been thriving ever

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<v Speaker 1>since Christen started it in two thousand fifteen. This year,

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<v Speaker 1>at a time when healthcare is on all of our minds,

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<v Speaker 1>Kristen was honored by Springboard Enterprises and a Centure as

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<v Speaker 1>one of the women who are transforming industries. Enjoy my

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<v Speaker 1>conversation with Kristin Valdez, founder and CEO of b Well.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much for joining me, Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>So I've heard your company being referred to as the

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<v Speaker 1>company we've all been waiting for, So tell us what

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<v Speaker 1>does be well do. Be Well is a connected health

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<v Speaker 1>platform that enables healthcare industry stakeholders like insurance companies or

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<v Speaker 1>providers to provide the populations that they serve with a

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<v Speaker 1>new front end to healthcare. And what that means is

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<v Speaker 1>that their individuals can now download the application and be

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<v Speaker 1>Well can get to work for them. So we collect

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<v Speaker 1>and aggregate all of their healthcare data and information in

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<v Speaker 1>one place. We go out and collect their insurance information,

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<v Speaker 1>there political information from their providers, labs pharmacies. We collect

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<v Speaker 1>information on things like social determinants and preferences and likelihoods

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<v Speaker 1>and risk profiles, and then we surface those two consumers

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<v Speaker 1>in a manner in which they can understand because most

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<v Speaker 1>health data and insurance data was not written for the

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<v Speaker 1>average human being to understand it um and so we

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<v Speaker 1>create trend lines, and we give useful educational information about

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<v Speaker 1>how to understand and interpret your own data. And then

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<v Speaker 1>we connect people to services, whether they are in person,

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<v Speaker 1>virtually UH provided or digital like the rise of the

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<v Speaker 1>new digital therapeutics, so that we can help bring care

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<v Speaker 1>based on a user's own data needs to them directly

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<v Speaker 1>in a manner that matches their lifestyle. Wow, well, now

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<v Speaker 1>I can see why this is the company we've all

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<v Speaker 1>been waiting for. So you started on this journey about

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<v Speaker 1>six years ago. How did you get into this? I've

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<v Speaker 1>had the great fortune of being a healthcare executive for

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<v Speaker 1>the last two decades, so healthcare was not new to me.

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<v Speaker 1>But when my own child was born with an autoimmune

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<v Speaker 1>condition and I could not successfully navigate the health care

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<v Speaker 1>delivery system even as an industry expert, I realized that

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<v Speaker 1>we were failing the average family, that we weren't giving

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<v Speaker 1>them the tools that they needed. To take care of, protect, diagnose,

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<v Speaker 1>and control the disease burden of their loved ones. UM

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<v Speaker 1>And so my daughter had a near fatal incident because

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<v Speaker 1>to electronic medical record systems, I two of her providers

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<v Speaker 1>systems could not communicate with one another UH And it

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<v Speaker 1>was just an average everyday occurrence of an antibiotic for

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<v Speaker 1>a sinus infection that happened to be contraindicated to a

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<v Speaker 1>disease that was sitting in a specialist system that her

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<v Speaker 1>primary care didn't know about, and her body killed off

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<v Speaker 1>all of its own blood platelets and she nearly led

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<v Speaker 1>to death. And at that point I realized that we

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<v Speaker 1>could do better, and that these weren't technology problems, but

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<v Speaker 1>they were business problems, and that we needed to focus

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<v Speaker 1>squarely on the consumer and give people the control and

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<v Speaker 1>the right to protect their loved ones by giving them

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<v Speaker 1>access to their own data, and by doing that, we

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<v Speaker 1>could create a truly curated, personalized experience for each individual.

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<v Speaker 1>In this country, it seems like a lot of times

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<v Speaker 1>when you want to do something that is disruptive is

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<v Speaker 1>what you're talking about, there's a lot of resistance. How

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<v Speaker 1>did you get started and what were the early days

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<v Speaker 1>like so the early days were full of a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of education. Um. You know, the team that at b

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<v Speaker 1>Well has been her in healthcare, I said for quite

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<v Speaker 1>some time, so we had a lot of credibility. We

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<v Speaker 1>weren't outsiders just coming into disrupt an industry. We were

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<v Speaker 1>insiders saying we have to do better and that you

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<v Speaker 1>can't really disrupt an industry. It's really about making incremental

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<v Speaker 1>change and doing things one step at a time, which

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<v Speaker 1>is how these big giant industries can um can actually

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<v Speaker 1>start to transform. So we did a lot of education,

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<v Speaker 1>We got involved with the regulatory and the policy side

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<v Speaker 1>of things, and we volunteer our time on the Karen Alliance,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a really great organization that is designed for

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<v Speaker 1>enambling and empowering consumers with their healthcare data, and we

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<v Speaker 1>helped to shape what is how healthcare data is being

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<v Speaker 1>transacted today through open API infrastructure, which did not exist

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<v Speaker 1>in the many decades that I was involved in healthcare

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<v Speaker 1>and data transmission. So for the first time in history,

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<v Speaker 1>we put a penalty on providers and payers if they

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<v Speaker 1>failed to share data um with consumers upon their request,

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<v Speaker 1>and we dictated the technology standard to be utilized to

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<v Speaker 1>do it, and by doing that, we're now giving consumers

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<v Speaker 1>the freedom to choose any application that they want to

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<v Speaker 1>that they feel provides value in their lives from healthcare perspective,

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<v Speaker 1>and can authorize those applications to get their data to

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<v Speaker 1>personalize the experience. So take me to the beginning. Tell

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<v Speaker 1>us about your first customer and how did you get started.

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<v Speaker 1>Our first customer was a health plan that was created

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<v Speaker 1>under the Affordable Care Act, and they were what is

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<v Speaker 1>known as a medical home model, and so we had

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<v Speaker 1>the opportunity to launch our product from a consumer experience

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<v Speaker 1>perspective with both an insurance company and a provider on

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<v Speaker 1>the other side, so that we were able to identify

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<v Speaker 1>risks and needs for individuals and their families and then

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<v Speaker 1>connect them seamlessly into the care that they needed in

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<v Speaker 1>a local manner to help make those appointments and scheduling easy.

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<v Speaker 1>And what was it like to create a consumer centric

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<v Speaker 1>experience in technology and how there's a lot that goes

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<v Speaker 1>into that. How did you think about that and how

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<v Speaker 1>did you put the consumer at the center of everything.

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<v Speaker 1>So one is that we're learning every day where it's

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<v Speaker 1>a constant journey for consumers because we're not all alike

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<v Speaker 1>and so we knew that we needed to gather a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of information around what the challenges were in accessing

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<v Speaker 1>the healthcare delivery system today and what the frustration points

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<v Speaker 1>were for consumers, and we architected a our first user

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<v Speaker 1>journeys and experiences around the things that are most frustrating

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<v Speaker 1>to users, which is, I never have all the information

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<v Speaker 1>to fill out that form when I go to the

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<v Speaker 1>doctor's office. If I can order a pizza and track

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<v Speaker 1>it to my home from a delivery perspective, why can't

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<v Speaker 1>I make a doctor's appointment online? We spent a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of time realizing that the frustrations were. They seemed like

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<v Speaker 1>such simple things, but healthcare is very complicated, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>very fragmented and siloed, and there's lots of different systems,

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<v Speaker 1>so there was no one size fits all and we

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<v Speaker 1>needed to And the reason that we went into being

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<v Speaker 1>a B two B business was because we could integrate

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<v Speaker 1>our solution with the existing workflows of an existing provider

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<v Speaker 1>or an existing pair, and we could transform the front

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<v Speaker 1>end so that it was the easy button. It was

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<v Speaker 1>simple for consumers, but we could do all the tough

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<v Speaker 1>integrations with all the different systems on the back end

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<v Speaker 1>and the consumer really never needed to see them. And

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<v Speaker 1>has it been difficult to convince healthcare systems or large

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<v Speaker 1>health organizations to take this route In the beginning, I

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<v Speaker 1>would say that there was a lot of learning and

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<v Speaker 1>education in the first couple of years, But in the

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<v Speaker 1>last twelve to twenty four months, it is it has

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<v Speaker 1>become the forefront of where health systems and insurance companies

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<v Speaker 1>are going realizing that we need to move from a

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<v Speaker 1>system centric health care system to one that is person centric,

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<v Speaker 1>and that we have the data and the technologies to

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<v Speaker 1>stop operating behind the curve in healthcare where you know

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<v Speaker 1>data comes in every month and instead moved to real

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<v Speaker 1>time streaming insights. And part of that is just the

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<v Speaker 1>evolution of technology sensors, the ability to track insights on

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<v Speaker 1>health on an individual in real time, and how we

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<v Speaker 1>now integrate that into the healthcare delivery model is at

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<v Speaker 1>the forefront of a lot of executive thinking and certainly

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<v Speaker 1>at the top of their budgets, because what consumers really

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<v Speaker 1>want is something that's personalized to their own experience and

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<v Speaker 1>that is helpful to them at the time that they needed.

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<v Speaker 1>So you mentioned the last twelve four months, how has

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<v Speaker 1>the last six months impacted your business. How has COVID

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<v Speaker 1>impacted things? COVID has accelerated the need for digital health

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<v Speaker 1>UM by what is more than probably ten years time

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<v Speaker 1>in a normal setting. And that's because for the first

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<v Speaker 1>time healthcare shut down, it wasn't recession proof. Um. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>hospital shut down, doctors shut down. People weren't able to

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<v Speaker 1>get care and the only way to get out to

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<v Speaker 1>somebody who was in need was to was virtually and

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<v Speaker 1>in their homes. And so the last six months have

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<v Speaker 1>proven that, you know, not only our hospitals financially impacted

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<v Speaker 1>when things like COVID hit, but that if they weren't

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<v Speaker 1>already set up with functions like telemedicine, and they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>have remote patient monitoring and they didn't have a way

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<v Speaker 1>to connect with their patient pace, that they were not

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<v Speaker 1>only losing a lot of revenues, but they couldn't reach

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<v Speaker 1>out and take care of the populations that they're committed

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<v Speaker 1>to taking care of because they had no good way

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<v Speaker 1>to reach them. So the adoption of you know, even

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<v Speaker 1>providers willing to use technology to reach out to patients

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<v Speaker 1>went from somewhere below to over out of necessity. And

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<v Speaker 1>what that meant was that not only are providers ready

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<v Speaker 1>and able to use these technologies, but now patients are

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<v Speaker 1>willing to receive them and finding that they are convenient

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<v Speaker 1>and that they don't have to spend a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>time waiting in a doctor's office or making appointments by phone.

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<v Speaker 1>That they can talk to their doctor virtually and still

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<v Speaker 1>get their medications in some cases, and they they like it.

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<v Speaker 1>And so the acceleration of technology from covid Um, I

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<v Speaker 1>would say, has really put this on fire in a

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<v Speaker 1>way that we've never seen before. It's incredible. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it's an interesting period in history because you see so

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<v Speaker 1>much difficulty and so much hardship on people, and at

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<v Speaker 1>the same time there's so much acceleration going on that

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of optimism that we could come out

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<v Speaker 1>of this in a better place. Um, despite the hardship

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<v Speaker 1>that we're all going through. We'll be back with Seneca's

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<v Speaker 1>Made by women after this short break. Now, I want

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<v Speaker 1>to just bring you back to what it's like to

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<v Speaker 1>run a company like this. You've had a lot of success,

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<v Speaker 1>UM and obviously an incredible product. You've really broken through.

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<v Speaker 1>You also were able to raise a lot of capital.

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<v Speaker 1>What was it like in the early days trying to

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<v Speaker 1>get funding and do you have any recommendations for other

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<v Speaker 1>entrepreneurs who are looking to do the same. The early

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<v Speaker 1>days are tough, and you know, the advice that I

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<v Speaker 1>would have is right now, especially in healthcare and in

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<v Speaker 1>digital health, is that it really does depend on where

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<v Speaker 1>you are in the country. UM. There early stage capital

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<v Speaker 1>tends to be localized, and we sit in Baltimore, which

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<v Speaker 1>has an emerging ecosystem of startups, but it's not one

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<v Speaker 1>that is mature. UM. So I ended up having to

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<v Speaker 1>travel across the country to other areas in order to

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<v Speaker 1>find the capital that we needed to you know, kind

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<v Speaker 1>of get off the starting block. UM. We were very

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<v Speaker 1>fortunate in that we came across Springboard very early UM

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<v Speaker 1>in our lifespan, and they were incredibly helpful to us

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<v Speaker 1>um as a network of you know, women mentors to

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<v Speaker 1>me personally, but also in getting us connected and helping

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<v Speaker 1>us to understand the landscape and making those introductions for us.

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<v Speaker 1>So I would definitely encourage any organization, especially if you're female, lead,

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<v Speaker 1>to work with organizations like a Springboard who can help

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<v Speaker 1>facilitate what you need at the time that you need

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<v Speaker 1>it because it's incredibly helpful instead of just trying to

0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.520
<v Speaker 1>look for your local angel groups. UM. Because at the

0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:14.839
<v Speaker 1>time we were raising in Baltimore, our angel group was

0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:20.439
<v Speaker 1>not very active, so and we only really had to

0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:23.320
<v Speaker 1>UM and so UM. You know, it was nice that

0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:25.319
<v Speaker 1>we could meet people all across the country who we

0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:29.080
<v Speaker 1>otherwise wouldn't have had exposure to. So early days, you

0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.600
<v Speaker 1>get some early investment capital and you've just done another

0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:35.480
<v Speaker 1>very significant raise, I understand. We did. Yeah, in February,

0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:39.400
<v Speaker 1>we completed a raise just over sixteen million dollars UM.

0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.040
<v Speaker 1>We were very excited about it because we were able

0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:47.680
<v Speaker 1>to raise from strategic companies representing pharmacies as well as

0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:51.360
<v Speaker 1>health systems. We've always focused all of our financing rounds

0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.760
<v Speaker 1>ensuring that we could include existing customers because we want

0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:56.520
<v Speaker 1>them to be on this journey with us, So we

0:13:56.520 --> 0:13:59.400
<v Speaker 1>were excited to be able to do that again. Congratulations,

0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:02.200
<v Speaker 1>that's a an accomplishment. How are you able to scale?

0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:05.439
<v Speaker 1>We are still scaling, UM, And it's always a balance

0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:07.959
<v Speaker 1>between the number of clients that you're bringing on in

0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.679
<v Speaker 1>the size of those clients along with bringing on and

0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.280
<v Speaker 1>finding top talent. UM. You know, I've always been a

0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:16.680
<v Speaker 1>big fan of waiting and finding the right person versus

0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:19.000
<v Speaker 1>just growing for the sake of growing. But we're also

0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:23.200
<v Speaker 1>in a very competitive marketplace because digital health is accelerating

0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:26.720
<v Speaker 1>across the world, and so there's a you know, digital

0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.320
<v Speaker 1>health has not been while it's been talked about for

0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.040
<v Speaker 1>many years, believe it or not, there are very few

0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.640
<v Speaker 1>healthcare institutions that are cloud based using AI and machine

0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:40.160
<v Speaker 1>learning and that have um these structure and the framework

0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.520
<v Speaker 1>to really adopt digital health. They're getting very serious about

0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.080
<v Speaker 1>it now, but because it's not something that's been mature,

0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:48.040
<v Speaker 1>there's not a lot of people with a ton of

0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.880
<v Speaker 1>experience in it. So it's a nice combination and growth

0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:54.160
<v Speaker 1>of bringing in people from outside industries that are very

0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:57.120
<v Speaker 1>good at this, like from the travel were financial industries,

0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.600
<v Speaker 1>and by bringing folks with the experience on the technology

0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:03.360
<v Speaker 1>side and marrying them up with the folks that have

0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:05.720
<v Speaker 1>been in healthcare for as long as they have, you

0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.440
<v Speaker 1>can really accelerate your growth and open up your recruiting

0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:13.480
<v Speaker 1>capabilities to really support that. But it is an interesting

0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:17.760
<v Speaker 1>dynamic growing when the technology is changing in an entire

0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:21.800
<v Speaker 1>ecosystem at the same time that you know, the people

0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:24.880
<v Speaker 1>with a lot of the deep knowledge have not utilized

0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:28.480
<v Speaker 1>the technologies needed to move into the true personalized digital landscape.

0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:33.360
<v Speaker 1>That's super interesting now in recruiting this talent. Obviously you

0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.360
<v Speaker 1>have a vision and it seems like the world is

0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:38.360
<v Speaker 1>sort of catching up with your vision. Where do you

0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.600
<v Speaker 1>see this going over the next five years and how

0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.240
<v Speaker 1>do you see it scaling over the next five years.

0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:48.600
<v Speaker 1>We anticipate UM further expanding on what we call be connected,

0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:53.480
<v Speaker 1>which is our healthcare marketplace. UM. We have the ability

0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:59.000
<v Speaker 1>as consumers to utilize products like Amazon and Walmart you

0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:01.520
<v Speaker 1>know that now are even beyond their own internal products

0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:05.000
<v Speaker 1>and have a marketplace as well. But in healthcare, there's

0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:09.080
<v Speaker 1>no centralized marketplace for people to go to. So when

0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:13.000
<v Speaker 1>healthcare happens to them, which is unfortunately the environment we

0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:15.240
<v Speaker 1>live in as we we are sick or a loved

0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.360
<v Speaker 1>one is sick, or a friend is sick, and then

0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:20.240
<v Speaker 1>we deal with that when it happens. We don't proactively say, hey,

0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:22.280
<v Speaker 1>I've got ten minutes free to google the Internet. I

0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.720
<v Speaker 1>wonder if I become a caregiver, if there's an app

0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:27.120
<v Speaker 1>for that that can help me. Right. We don't prepare.

0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:29.720
<v Speaker 1>We don't prepare for healthcare, and so there needs to

0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:32.920
<v Speaker 1>be a trusted place where people can go to understand

0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:37.040
<v Speaker 1>the great technologies that exist out there, because unfortunately, people

0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:41.480
<v Speaker 1>with chronic conditions or acute conditions, or who are suffering,

0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:43.960
<v Speaker 1>you know right now with anxiety and depression which is

0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:46.600
<v Speaker 1>through the roof with COVID across the world right now,

0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.320
<v Speaker 1>they need to know that there are great organizations out

0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.600
<v Speaker 1>there from a digital perspective as well as a virtual

0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.560
<v Speaker 1>perspective that can help them. And so we need we're

0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:58.760
<v Speaker 1>working right now to expand our marketplace to continue to

0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.840
<v Speaker 1>make those personalized matter just based on a user's preferences

0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.639
<v Speaker 1>and their likelihoods, so that they can easily find the

0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:07.320
<v Speaker 1>kind of care that fits into their lifestyle, whether it's

0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:10.920
<v Speaker 1>in person, virtual or digital. Well, that's that sounds pretty exciting.

0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:13.360
<v Speaker 1>So is there anything that you would tell an entrepreneur

0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:15.679
<v Speaker 1>in this moment, given what you've seen and given your

0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:18.159
<v Speaker 1>experience of the last six years. Obviously there's always a

0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:20.239
<v Speaker 1>lot of ups and downs, But is there anything in

0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:23.600
<v Speaker 1>particular that you face that you felt was really difficult

0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:27.440
<v Speaker 1>um and how did you overcome that? I think well, one,

0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:30.160
<v Speaker 1>in the health care space, it used to be very

0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:33.679
<v Speaker 1>difficult to break into this space. And so my advice

0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:36.840
<v Speaker 1>to an entrepreneur who's interested in fixing something that they

0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.320
<v Speaker 1>feel is nonsensical in healthcare, and trust me, there's a

0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.639
<v Speaker 1>lot of that that now is a really good time

0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.800
<v Speaker 1>to come in because there is more innovation happening and

0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:51.840
<v Speaker 1>you will be doing a lot less educating, but you

0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:54.159
<v Speaker 1>also have more of the tools available, like if you

0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.119
<v Speaker 1>can gather consumer trust and you can do things in

0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:01.399
<v Speaker 1>a secure, private manner, that you can break in UM

0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:04.679
<v Speaker 1>and have the consumers enable you because you're adding value

0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:06.960
<v Speaker 1>in their lives, and then that makes it easier to

0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.879
<v Speaker 1>go into kind of the larger health care stakeholders in

0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:13.040
<v Speaker 1>the country and break in. So my advice would be,

0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:15.360
<v Speaker 1>you know, when you see a problem you know that

0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:17.919
<v Speaker 1>you want to solve, don't be afraid of it because

0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.200
<v Speaker 1>health care has been so difficult in the past. Because

0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:22.080
<v Speaker 1>we do see that opening up and we want to

0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:27.600
<v Speaker 1>encourage and innovation growth mindset where digital health applications can

0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:31.280
<v Speaker 1>come onto the marketplace UM significantly in greater rates than

0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:35.280
<v Speaker 1>they have before in order to help to solve for

0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:38.480
<v Speaker 1>what is our current sick care system and really move

0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.359
<v Speaker 1>it into one that is personalized and that meets a

0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.919
<v Speaker 1>consumer need. Well, that's great advice. Talking to you is

0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:47.520
<v Speaker 1>making me optimistic about the future of my own personal

0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.800
<v Speaker 1>health and everyone's health. Is there something that's making you

0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:52.760
<v Speaker 1>optimistic in this moment. There's a lot of things making

0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:55.919
<v Speaker 1>me optimistic in this moment. I can tell you we

0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:59.359
<v Speaker 1>are uniquely positioned to see what's top of mind for

0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:03.760
<v Speaker 1>imp lawyers and for insurance companies, for retail pharmacies, for

0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:07.960
<v Speaker 1>health systems and providers. And what I'm most excited about

0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:12.560
<v Speaker 1>is we're seeing health systems rebrand themselves as population health companies.

0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:17.480
<v Speaker 1>We're seeing retail pharmacies invest in things like primary care

0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:22.440
<v Speaker 1>and connected health. We're seeing that everyone across the spectrum

0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:27.080
<v Speaker 1>is trying to do a better job at consumerism and

0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:29.480
<v Speaker 1>being able to put the consumer at the center, which

0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:32.040
<v Speaker 1>they've been talking about for a long time. So what

0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:34.640
<v Speaker 1>makes me optimistic is that new business models are emerging.

0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:39.480
<v Speaker 1>People are disrupting their own business models in order to

0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:43.359
<v Speaker 1>help make things more affordable and more convenient for consumers

0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:45.760
<v Speaker 1>across the board, and they want to do it quickly,

0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:48.160
<v Speaker 1>which is not something that I've seen in my two decades,

0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:51.600
<v Speaker 1>but is definitely on the here and now so Christian. Earlier,

0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:54.840
<v Speaker 1>you mentioned your participation in Springboard in the critical role

0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:57.920
<v Speaker 1>that Springboard Enterprises has has played in introducing you to

0:19:57.960 --> 0:19:59.920
<v Speaker 1>the right people at the right time, and you read

0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:03.119
<v Speaker 1>we were recognized as a Springboard honoree. Why is that

0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:05.400
<v Speaker 1>important to you and what does it meant to you? Well,

0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.200
<v Speaker 1>first of all, I'm extremely humbled and honored by that

0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:12.000
<v Speaker 1>because Springboard is made up of some of the brightest,

0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:15.760
<v Speaker 1>most motivated, talented women on the planet, and so to

0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:20.440
<v Speaker 1>be recognized by them as a woman transforming an industry,

0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:24.200
<v Speaker 1>it truly matters, UM and I and I take that

0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:28.280
<v Speaker 1>very seriously. Um. Springboard has been so instrumental, instrumental to

0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:32.560
<v Speaker 1>our overall success because there are global organization and the

0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:35.320
<v Speaker 1>connections and the networks that they have run so deep

0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:39.119
<v Speaker 1>that there if there's ever anything that I need, I

0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:41.520
<v Speaker 1>can reach out and probably have a hundred answers in

0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:44.040
<v Speaker 1>the same day and people willing to help. And that

0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:48.280
<v Speaker 1>really helps entrepreneurs to UM in the true sense of

0:20:48.280 --> 0:20:52.119
<v Speaker 1>the word, to springboard their ability to be successful. UM.

0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:54.520
<v Speaker 1>So it's just an incredible honor given the number of

0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:57.639
<v Speaker 1>amazing women that I've met in my journey with Springboard

0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:00.360
<v Speaker 1>over the last five years. Well, it's just so great

0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:03.800
<v Speaker 1>to talk to you, to learn about be well. Congratulations

0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.240
<v Speaker 1>on everything you're doing, and thank you for everything you're doing.

0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:09.199
<v Speaker 1>We look forward to seeing what comes next. Thanks for

0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:14.040
<v Speaker 1>having me. What a great perspective. We can all look

0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:17.680
<v Speaker 1>forward to a healthier future. Thanks to Kristin Valdez, you're

0:21:17.760 --> 0:21:21.560
<v Speaker 1>the top three takeaways I got from the conversation. First,

0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:26.200
<v Speaker 1>Christy reminds us that major disruptive change happens one step

0:21:26.200 --> 0:21:30.760
<v Speaker 1>at a time, and meaningful change requires flexibility, planning, and

0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:36.640
<v Speaker 1>constantly educating yourself. Second, when you're seeking capital, Christan suggests

0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:39.880
<v Speaker 1>looking beyond your immediate geographic area and look for more

0:21:39.920 --> 0:21:43.480
<v Speaker 1>than just funding. Kristan tells us how Springboard Enterprises was

0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:45.680
<v Speaker 1>able to connect her to a network of leaders who

0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:50.879
<v Speaker 1>provided her with invaluable advice and support. Finally, be willing

0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:53.240
<v Speaker 1>to disrupt your own business model in order to make

0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:57.159
<v Speaker 1>things more affordable and more convenient for consumers. There's always

0:21:57.240 --> 0:21:59.760
<v Speaker 1>room in the marketplace for a company that can do that.

0:22:02.200 --> 0:22:04.000
<v Speaker 1>Made by Women is brought to you by the Seneca

0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:07.040
<v Speaker 1>Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio, with support from

0:22:07.080 --> 0:22:08.320
<v Speaker 1>founding partner p and