Navigating Disruption: Week 4
A Live Documentary of a Disruptor’s Disruption
We are “disruptors.” We are a healthcare technology start-up focused on eliminating waste in the healthcare system by disrupting traditional operating practices. But now COVID-19 has disrupted the disruptors. Throughout the pandemic, we will document the thoughts we have, the plans we make, the risks we take, and the choices we face. Here is our story, one week at a time.
Recap:
Week 0 — Flying High
Week 1 — The Crashing Lows
Week 1.5 — Our Ethos
Week 2 — Do the right thing
Week 3 — The Plan for Strategic Burn
Week 4: Recalibration
Our customers are either in the throes of battling the COVID outbreak or preparing for the anticipated battle. Their revenues are down as they cancel or postpone all but critical-care functions. That means no, or many fewer, elective surgeries — the lifeblood of many health systems. No surgeries, no revenue. No revenue…, well, you get it.
Unsettling may be the more appropriate word — or feeling — but I’m calling it how I feel. On the roller-coaster track of start-up emotions, it feels we are nearing the bottom of (what I hope is) a big loop. I will continue to believe it’s a loop, and we’ll come up again further down the track. Our focus is to remain relevant to our clients and ourselves.
Last week was a high point in VC and investor interest. We spoke with several firms each day, held numerous demos, and completed multiple NDA’s. It is a clear indication that VC analysts are watching the progress and proliferation of our Toolkits.
The interest from VCs is primarily from analysts reaching out to stay “plugged in.” The conversations are similar — formulaic, perhaps. We report past revenue, discuss projections, and explore potential mutual interests.
We also see a surge in what I call “innovation-aggregators.” These are companies that create innovation-channels for hospitals, akin to a clearinghouse for health systems to peruse. It requires little work on the aggregators and implies they are leaders in innovation. Incongruently, it feels our meetings serve to support them, rather than the other way around.
We have to significantly recalibrate and step away from the frantic toolkit development cycle and customer meetings to engage and answer the VC and innovation aggregator-clearing house calls. And I can’t help but feel irritated and disappointed to find them wanting traditional pitch decks and formulaic scripts. I am just not in the mind space to engage in plutonic conversations.
Recalibration
Over the last two decades, we have made plenty of contacts — colleagues inside and outside the healthcare business, within academia, other entrepreneurs, and friends. Fortunately, we had the foresight to create an Advisory Group from the trusted professionals mentioned above. Given my mindset, I needed a recalibration. I began reaching out to them, and something remarkable happened.
Every one of them returned my call and set up times to get on a call. This is no small affirmation of our work since most of the Advisors are clinically involved in COVID-19 patient care and management — people with very little time. Most of them work 18-hour days and speak with me late at night or on weekends.
And I got some very pointed advice. They asked me to
1. Get over myself
2. Focus on releasing toolkits
3. Be engaged — health systems will remember the contribution and help
4. While there might be “dry powder”, Venture Capital is still contingent on Pre-COVID strategies.
5. Pay attention to the Edgility team and keep them energized and safe
Though brutal, it certainly slapped me out of my emotional trough. I checked in with my team, and we reviewed the Toolkit version 3 and recalibrated on a couple of things.
We decided to be selective in our discussions with VC interest. We initiate a pre-screen protocol, become quick upfront about our revenue, funding status, customer base, and what we are looking for. It was clear to me that being selective is not just valuable for us; it is just as useful for the VCs.
Finally, although we inherently know our value we wanted confirmation nonetheless- that is to keep the company focused on our end-users: the care providers and their support staff.
