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How Do You Judge a Great Start-Up?
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How Do You Judge a Great Start-Up?

Some good advice please

Seriously, how do you judge one start up against the next? I ask because I seem to be neck deep in looking at and evaluating start-ups lately.

Over the last 10 months, I have been busy designing and getting funded a (soon-to-be-launched) Healthbox accelerator in Florida, acting as a mentor for Start-Up America, judging regional start-ups for an entrepreneurial 503(C), and awarding innovativeness for the World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress.

Start-ups come in many shapes and sizes. Some have had series A-B-C or angel funding, some are just a smart person with a great idea looking to get incubated. Some have proven their market space; some have yet to do so?

So how do you judge across such a spectrum of diversity and maturity? Some standard valuation points investors look at are as follows:

  • Value proposition – who perceives what you do as valuable and how is it offered?
  • Market size and potential – how many customers can you get?
  • Investors already on-board – who thinks it’s a good idea, enough to commit funding?
  • Pedigree of the leadership team – who is driving the idea to market?
  • Exit strategy – how can this idea be monetized, for the company and for investors?

All of these are important and I take no case with any. But since I spend most of my time looking at how to change the healthcare ecosystem for the better, I am going to offer some additional points for any start-up looking into the healthcare domain.

First, who pays?

Seems obvious, right? You would be surprised at how many ideas I have heard from very bright people that have no clue as to how revenue will actually be generated.  And if your answer is “the plan will pay for it” – let me know how that works out for you? The plans are being pushed beyond their limits to find efficiencies in a rush to meet the reform market. There is some money available – but not as much as you might think. More so, they are distracted. If you really think the plan will pay for it, you need a clear and present value proposition that cuts through the noise and makes the case why your additional cost will be justified against squeezed margins.

Second, what is the ability to make a lasting and meaningful change?

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and BusinessIf you are going to effect change, you must change behavior. Behavior change takes time. You cannot be the app de jour but rather a meaningful part of a person’s daily workflow. Since the axiom of no size fits all is relevant here, your great tool must be aligned to a specific user group – be specific and create meaning. Be general and users will not gain value from the interaction and lose interest. If users lose interest, their behavior does not change. See my point. For more on behavior change read The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg.

Personally, I also invest in companies that work in areas I love and understand. Here is a company I am proud to say I am invested in. I use their services as often as my wife will allow me to do so! Deneki Outdoors owns and operates fly fishing lodges in Alaska, British Columbia, and the Bahamas. Take a look at their tag line – we run fishing lodges! Pretty simple and very understandable.

Deneki Outdoors

If you want to ever talk more with me on this idea, or any of my ideas, please meet me down in the Bahamas at our Andros South lodge. I will be waiting for you with a drink in hand and fly rod in the other.

To your health,

The Team at imagine.GO

Health Care is Still Going Retail
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Health Care is Still Going Retail

The American Healthcare System Is Broken

Let’s first agree on that. Search Google and you will find plenty of experts who state that the answer to the health care dilemma lies in a shift towards a more retail type model. You will find just as many experts that prescribe a consumer-centric approach as the answer to our health system dilemmas. Few are talking about both of these in a synchronous manner.

As I mentioned in a previous POST, retail and consumerism are not the same thing. I want to speak more in-depth about both of these and then show how they must work in harmony to produce the desired effect. Even though the consumerism part should really come first, for arguments sake, let’s start with retail health.

Booz Health Care’s Retail SolutionMy favorite definition of retail health comes from whitepaper, by Booz entitled Health Care’s Retail Solution published in 2008.

“Retail health is where consumers find quality care in a variety of convenient forms and at competitive prices … Consumers are able to plan for the health care needs they anticipate and make informed decisions based on readily available information…  They can then “shop” competitively for products and services using a variety of channels, formats, and business models …  And for those that need help, they can turn to “navigators” who work with them to design the most suitable health care solutions for themselves and their families.”

Based on this definition, in my opinion, the retail health model should be those people, processes, and technology that help educate, navigate, plan, motivate and choose from suitable solutions for health care needs, anticipated and otherwise.
Much of health care today is delivered as fixed products available and marketed in a non-personalized, one-size-fits-all manner. This model, designed to gain operational efficiencies, in many ways has proven to be inefficient and costly.
Retail health, on the other hand, requires a clear value at the right price. Consumers vote with their “watches” and their “wallets.”  If they are not willing to give you their time, you have not demonstrated to them your value. If they are not willing to give you their money, you do not have the right price for the value they understand.

Retail is going to be a big part of saving health care in America. We are a consumer driven society. When consumers make the choice, they are in charge. And to compete for their business, insurers, doctors, hospitals and vendors of health related goods and services will need to:

  1. Personalize their products and messaging for each individual,
  2. Drive down their costs and price points, and
  3. Drive up their quality and feature set.

Retail is going to be a big part of saving health care in America. We are a consumer driven society. When consumers make the choice, they are in charge. And to compete for their business, insurers, doctors, hospitals and vendors of health related goods and services will need to:

  1. Personalize their products and messaging for each individual,
  2. Drive down their costs and price points, and
  3. Drive up their quality and feature set.

 

Final Words

My philosophy on health care (which I plan on writing about soon) is that consumers are increasingly confused about our their own health and desperately need help making sense of it all. Moreover, the market (our current American health care system) has made it too difficult a task to weed through the unlimited amount of information available and then effectively apply it in context to a current problem (or health-related job-to-be-done). Moreover, of this seemingly unlimited amount of information some is credible and some is not.

Ultimately, the winners in the retail health game will not focus on helping consumers navigate through the maze of options available, but instead focus on removing the maze altogether. As the maze is different for every individual, winners also must know who their customers are ahead of time. More on this topic for another day.

To your health,

The Team at imagine.GO

Play to Your Personal Strengths
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Play to Your Personal Strengths

Strive to know thyself!

I am a believer in the Gallup StrengthsFinder concept of self-recognition. The notion behind this bestselling book disassembles the myth that we need to be well-rounded in all aspects to be great leaders, successful business people, and happy humans. In summary, it states that we are all born with certain inherent talents, and instead of trying to improve in areas that are not natural to us, we should focus intently and intentionally on making our core talents become absolute strengths.

Of course, StrengthsFinder also states that you need to mitigate those behaviors that otherwise do not contribute to or are debilitating to your success – the equivalent of behaviorally not yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. But do not confuse something you do not do well (and some one else does) with a deficit or flaw.

Strengths Finder 2.0These are my talents, which I work every day to turn into strengths: Achiever, Strategic, Positivity, Connectedness, and Competition.

I can say unequivocally that these are me to a tee!

Here are my paraphrased definitions borrowed from Gallup’s StrengthsFinder 2.0:

  • Achiever – I have a great deal of stamina. I love to work hard and I take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.
  • Strategic – I create alternative ways to move something forward. When I am faced with any given situation, I can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues, and see a path from A to Z.
  • Positivity – My enthusiasm is contagious, and I can get others excited and rally around a common mission. Moreover, I thrive on it.
  • Connectedness – I have an abounding faith in the links between all things. I believe there are few coincidences and that through this connection every event happens for a reason.
  • Competition – I measure progress against the performance of some mark. I revel in contests and I love to win. I will push others to be part of that pursuit of victory.

 

Why is this important?

It is important because no person is an island. And in business you have to assemble a team of individuals that can focus on, and be committed to, a common purpose or deliverable. As a leader, if you know yourself and your strengths, you will look to find others that can bolster that strength – and contribute other strengths for the benefit of the larger purpose. This is part of the most important puzzle facing business leaders – “how do I build the most effective team?”

To explain, I’d like to use a simple analogy.

Well-rounded people are like marbles – smooth, no sharp points, and easily moved. However, they only way they can “fit” with others in close quarters is to have a rigid structure holding them in. Think of the jar that holds a child’s marbles in place – without the jar there is chaos. As a leader of well-rounded people, you have to be the jar. That is a lot of effort and meaningless to boot. If all of your time is spent keeping the marbles stacked, how are you moving forward?

High-performers are like triangles – a secure base and an obvious point of strength. The triangle is one of the strongest shapes in nature and used often in building construction. It keeps its shape, rests on a strong footing, and can act as a strong support to other triangles stacked together. Now think of stacking triangles. Think about what you can build with lots of well-placed (high performers) triangles. The pyramids have stood the test of time. Will your team?

Don't Be Well Rounded

Understand what functions each role on your team or in your company performs. Create your teams so that the role aligns and draws on the strengths (and mitigates the weaknesses) of your team members. This means you have to hire well. Fit is part experience and part strength alignment with the rest of the team. Start with the end result in mind and build to that vision. Most importantly, do not hire when there is not a real fit or when the individual’s strengths do not contribute to the overall team – no matter the deadlines. Teams are living entities. They are the sum of the individuals within it, magnified by the relationships they have with each other.

When those relationships are based on strengths, the results will be good and they will be long lasting.

To your health,

The Team at imagine.GO

Healthcare Must Care About Customers
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Healthcare Must Care About Customers

Customer Intimacy in Healthcare

Health care companies need to care more about just their consumers. As such, the time for health plans to make a commitment to the market discipline of Customer Intimacy is here.

Managing the commitment to consumerism remains the greatest challenge for insurance plans and providers as reform era health care changes the landscape from a wholesale orientation to a retail one.The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market

Keep in mind, that retail is NOT equivalent to consumerism. This point seems to get lost in the rush to the individual/exchange market.  Let me explain. Wikipedia defines retail as” the sale of goods and services from individuals or businesses to the end-user.” Therefore, insurance has been “sold” to the employer on behalf of the consumer, through an extended and inefficient value chain involving many “resellers” (read brokers and 3rd party agents).


On the other hand, customer intimacy (or consumerism) is defined best by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema in their seminal business book “The Discipline of Market Leaders.”  In it, they explain the need to have an ever-refining understanding of the consumer in order to place products and services within their value model.  So simply put, retail is positioning products in front of consumers; consumerism is understanding what is perceived as valuable before placing it in front of the consumer.

See the difference? Being retail without knowing your customer and understanding what they perceive as valuable is not a recipe for success. Just ask K-mart.

Do Health Insures Want to Be Intel or Dell?

Intel or DellSo how do health care companies, insurance plans and hospitals build health-related relationships with individual consumers? If other industries that have undergone a similar retail transition provide any insight, the competitive landscape of America’s health system will be reshaped dramatically over the next five years. There is one problem that stands out in my mind. In the health care consumer’s purview, when it comes to the insurer and the doctor, who gets to be Dell and who is Intel?

In my question, I use Dell as the consumer brand that creates the actual consumer-facing product. I use Intel as the tool that powers that consumer product and actually provides lift to the Dell brand.

So back to my question, does an insurance plan want to be Dell or Intel – meaning, do they want to be the reason for the “purchase” or do they want to power the purchase and boost the satisfaction with it? If insurers see themselves as the ones that consumers should turn to in order to solve their health care knowledge gap – we may see troubled times ahead as the care practitioner tries to do the same.

Plans likely face significant branding hurdles in their attempts to win the hearts and (premium) dollars of individual consumers. I say this based on consumers’ negative perceptions of insurance.

Instead, should the insurer focus on powering the provider conversations? This may better serve the consumer value model and fit within the competency of the plan.

However, will providers even take this mantle on? Something to think about for another day.

To your health,

The Team at imagine.GO

Customers Want What They Want – MVP Helps Get it to Them
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Customers Want What They Want – MVP Helps Get it to Them

Minimum Viable Product

Customers want what they want not what you want for them. As such, the discipline of Minimum Viable Product is one I hope you learn more about soon.  I think Eric Ries says it best, but I wanted to sum up my perspective for you.

MVP as a methodology enables designers to determine whether people want what they are building – in a manner that gauges acceptance and demand – yet preserves capital and time. This is accomplished by allowing designers to validate assumptions about their “product” in two important aspects: its value and the demand for it.

Customer

By definition, MVP is the version of a product that gets built through one cycle of a build, measure, learn loop – as fast as possible. Once the MVP is confirmed (keep in mind, it may take a few iterations), other lean methodologies can be employed to build upon it.

MVP = 3 things: value, use, & speed

Valuable – understand if your product is valued

Make an assumption about the value-exchange created by your product and test it thru iteration until it validated or dropped. Value is defined through the lens of the customer – not what you want for the customer. If no value is confirmed, no product should be created.

Usable – make your product usable and it will get used

MVP asks that you focus on delivering product experience – not on documentation or large feature sets. Usable is more broad a term than just usability. The real test is the usage of the product in the manner you anticipated, not necessarily its first pass at usability. Although you can’t get usage without usability, so be careful not to forsake usability for speed and minimum moving parts. Form and function must appear simultaneously – with minimum function allowing for a simpler form.

Speed – take your product to market quickly

By only building what is deemed most valuable in order of priority to the customer, and progressing through iterative builds, you ensure speed to market and successful releases. When you are wrong, you fail fast (and cheap). MVP assumes iterate until you find the ideal solution. Start small and add on based on customer need.

modelH - Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

So how can you best focus on your (MVP)?

Getting to MVP is actually fairly simple. I suggest this path.

  • Start with the features that allow the “app” to be deployed, and no more. Be disciplined here. Do not let your shovel makers and hole diggers get the better of you. Get to the orange juice quickly. You can work on other recipes soon enough.
  • Launch to your defined early adopters (they are forgiving) and get feedback. Oh yeah, it stands to reason to work with people who want to work with you. If you know people do not like the taste of orange, avoid them. Finds the ones that do and test your MVP with them first. If you cannot “sell” the vision to your early adopters how will you do it with anyone else?
  • Add what is relevant to extend value incrementally. OK, do not let the shovel makers and the hole diggers add a little bit at a time and test it. Make sure you are keeping true to the original “value” part of the app!
  • Now just keeping doing that!

This BLOG by Alexander Osterwalder is very useful for helping you get started.

By the way, you should not use MVP as a start if you are not committed to proceeding with other lean methodologies afterwards that allow for a continued iterative process – lest you lose the “value” in your product. More on this at another time.

 

To your health,

The Team at imagine.GO

Rice Ranked #4 in Entrepreneurship
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Rice Ranked #4 in Entrepreneurship

Rice #4 Best Entrepreneurship Program in U.S.

Rice continues its climb in the 2012 rankings by Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. I had to republish this message I just received from the Rice Alliance about by Alma Mater Rice University. I was the MBA class of 1996 with a focus in Entrepreneurship – way to go Rice!

– Kevin

 

Rice MBA

 

Rice University and the Jones Graduate School of Business is the No. 4 best graduate entrepreneurship program in the country, according to survey results released this week by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.

Rice has been ranked in the top ten for the past 4 years, one of only 4 universities to achieve this status. The new ranking as the #4 program is the highest ranking to-date. The 2012 ranking is based on a review of more than 2,000 U.S. undergraduate and graduate programs.

Unlike other graduate school rankings, the Princeton Review places an emphasis on providing students with real world education and for real-world entrepreneurship opportunities. The Princeton Review analyzes several factors including business plan competitions, mentoring programs, number of new businesses started by students and number of faculty that have business experience.

The Jones School’s entrepreneurship program includes nationally recognized entrepreneurship faculty led by Dr. Ed Williams and Dr. Al Napier and co-curricular experiential learning supported by the Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurs Organization and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship. The Jones School began teaching entrepreneurship in 1978.

The Rice Alliance was one of the first campus-wide entrepreneurship programs, initiated in 1999 as strategic alliance of three schools at Rice: the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business in collaboration with the Vice Provost of Research and Technology Transfer, and is host to the Rice Business Plan Competition.

Students have an opportunity to participate in the Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) which has grown to become the world’s richest and largest intercollegiate business plan competition. More than a competition, the RBPC has served as a launch pad for new startups. More than 128 student-based companies have successfully launched and are in business today, having raised more than $460 million in funding.

Students also participate the in the Rice Alliance Technology Venture Forums, a series of industry venture capital conferences. More than 1,030 startups have presented at these conferences and raised more than $2.1 billion in funding. These venture forums have attracted thousands of venture capital and angel investors, and startups from all over the world.

This award comes on the heels of Rice winning top honors at last fall’s Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Conference by winning the premier award, the NASDAQ OMX Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Also, in 2011, the Jones School at Rice was recognized as the “National Model MBA Program” by the United State Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

A recent survey showed that more than 22% of all Jones School alumni have started one or more entrepreneurial businesses, creating thousands of jobs and generating an economic impact of more than $1 billion.

To your Health,

The Team at imagine.GO

Creativity versus Best Practices
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Creativity versus Best Practices

Harness Creativity Through Best Practice

I just perused a presentation that one of my team members gave me from another business pundit that thinks that best practices are a bad idea. It reminds of a book I read called Be an Orange in B-school 15 years ago, and other books I have seen since.

They all expound on the need for us each to be “different” in all ways in how we approach our work. Imagine a company where everyone does everything different – chaos and unhappiness!

This premise that to be different requires avoiding anything in the realm of wisdom or best practices is bad advice. These books seem to be written by folks who while creative have limited understanding on how to lead others.

Keep in mind, at the fundamental level, it is people that get any great idea built and people who must operate a successful company.

creativity through lens of best practice

There are certain types who are better-suited work on the “new-new” and some who prefer absolute consistency. Both are required to run a company. When you find the former, keep and nurture them. But even the ability to thrive in the ambiguity of disruption (new markets and new systems) requires a basis of predictability and consistency in the approach to getting the work done.

In my opinion, these books are outright false, or at least in-genuine. Innovators should always strive for creativity, but leaders must constantly seek a means to simplify what we do through the pragmatism of process and best practice. This makes life easier for those who help us get our ideas to market.

Final Words

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things DoneBy the way, I went to Amazon to see if I could find that Orange book, and as I expected it was not there. Looks like the author has finally come around and has written a new book called The Simple Truth About Your Business: Why Focused and Steady Beats Business at the Speed of Light. I wondered what happened to all those oranges he made? If you want really good advice I suggest skipping the snake oil salesman and reading Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. These are innovators and leaders that are worth the listen.

To your health,

The Team at imagine.GO

Help GuideWell win JAXBoldest
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Help GuideWell win JAXBoldest

A Vote for GuideWell is a Vote for Health

I am CEO of a new retail health start-up called GuideWell. My company would like to announce that we have entered the JAX Boldest contest, which discovers and highlights the bold things created, started or expanded in 2011. As you know, GuideWell was launched in 2011, so we felt this contest would be a perfect one to enter.

GuideWell

JAX Boldest voting runs until midnight on April 7, 2012. The company with the most votes wins!

We would LOVE to win JAX Boldest, but we can’t do it alone so we’re asking for your help. Please visit HERE and press the ‘Vote’ button on the page. You’ll have to sign in with your email address and create a password — this ensures you can only vote for GuideWell once. It only takes a few seconds.

Thank you so much for your help and support!

To your health,

The Team at imagine.GO

 

jaxboldest