Health Tech: Travis Rush On How Reperio’s Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness

An Interview With Luke Kervin

Put yourself in the shoes of your end user: What stresses are they experiencing at the moment? What keeps them up at night? What solutions would solve a major problem in their life? Asking yourself these questions can help you really get into the mindset of the person you want to help.

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Travis Rush.

Travis Rush is a serial entrepreneur who draws inspiration from everyday problems: He founded Reperio Health, his current venture, in 2020 after a frustrating experience as a patient trying to obtain affordable, convenient healthcare screening services. In 2014, he founded Sightbox, a subscription-based contact lens service, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in September 2017 for an undisclosed sum.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

Thanks for having me!

I grew up in the small town of Gold Beach, Oregon (on the Southern Oregon Coast) and one of my earliest memories was when I was 6 years old. My dad asked me what impression I wanted to leave on the world. At the time it sounded like a ridiculous question, but it has since become a part of every decision I make. It also drives my philosophy of life which is ‘Love what you do and have fun doing it.’ If you don’t, move on and find something else that you will. Life’s too short to wake up dreading the next 12 hours.

My dad (who is an optometrist) is also one of the inspirations behind Sightbox, a company I founded in 2014, which offered an all-inclusive subscription-based vision care solution for contact lens wearers. I sold that company in 2017 to Johnson & Johnson, and then I launched Reperio Health in 2020.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Three skills that have served me well as an entrepreneur and as a business leader are passion, discipline and perseverance.

I founded both SightBox and Reperio because I saw a widespread need for solutions that fill in the cracks of our fragmented healthcare system and built a business case around that.

But seeing problems manifest and fixing them are two totally different things — and without a passion for helping others and fixing the healthcare system, I wouldn’t be where I am today, working with technology developers or running the numbers to see if my ideas would actually work.

I’d also say having self-discipline is very important. Starting a company is hard. It can be lonely and financially scary. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner, you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to make your idea succeed. As an entrepreneur, you will likely encounter many obstacles, but if you have the self-discipline and dedication to your idea and team, you will be okay.

The third quality that has helped me the most is perseverance, which comes down to not letting your failures keep you from chasing success. Being willing to learn from your mistakes and being open to feedback and suggestions from others has been an essential quality for my personal and professional growth.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive impact on our wellness. To begin, which particular problems are you aiming to solve?

An estimated 133 million Americans live with one or more chronic diseases such as diabetes, which contribute to more than $3 trillion in annual healthcare costs. But many, if not most, of these diseases are preventable. If Americans underwent routine and recommended screenings, they’d live longer, happier, healthier lives.

As we saw during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the consequences of postponing care can be serious. For example: In March 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, appointments for cervix, colon and breast cancer screenings fell 86% and 94%. Because of these skipped screenings, we are unfortunately starting to see increases in late-stage cancer diagnoses.

That said, even in the absence of a global pandemic, making time for preventive care is not always easy. Millions of individuals live in rural parts of the country where there are very few accessible physicians who can render in-person care. Meanwhile, a growing number of U.S. residents face economic hardships that keep them from seeking care unless an urgent issue presents itself.

As a country, we’re also working harder than ever and there are more competing priorities for our time — work, family, bills, etc. So, if we feel relatively healthy, we put off seeing the doctor. All that considered, it’s not a surprise that nearly 25% of millennials don’t get regular physicals.

These problems aren’t going to solve themselves. We need solutions that address individuals’ needs for convenience and support, employers’ needs for healthy and productive workers, and health plans’ needs to improve member experience, access to care and outcomes.

How do you think your technology can address this?

The main goal of Reperio is to eliminate barriers to health screenings so that people can take a more proactive role in managing their own health. We all have busy lives and prioritizing health care when we “feel fine” today is very quickly put at the bottom of the to-do list — especially if there is any friction or barriers during that process. That’s not a criticism of people. I’m one of those people. It can be a hassle and, just like anyone else, I would rather spend my time with family and friends than at a lab, pharmacy or doctor’s office for a visit that, when I’m organizing my calendar, might seem like a waste of that valuable time.

Our first step in accomplishing this has been to develop our patent-pending, home-based screening kit that uses Bluetooth-connected medical devices to measure key health indicators like blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, and more from the comfort of the user’s home.

This allows the end user to get a snapshot of their health (in under 30 minutes), so they can better manage key health metrics and know if they need to schedule a follow up with their doctor. Our accompanying digital health app also helps individuals make sense of their test results and makes suggestions to lifestyle changes depending on their health outcome.

So, for example, if someone uses the Reperio kit and discovers they have elevated cholesterol, an above-average weight and slightly high blood-glucose levels — the app might suggest dietary modifications or nudge them to seek follow-up care with a primary-care physician or specialist who can do a more comprehensive screening.

By making preventive care and screening more convenient and engaging, we’re solving some of the challenges around time and motivation. Without this two-part approach, many individuals would go years — and their health would get worse — before they saw someone.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

As I entered my 40s, I’d heard about the mortality rates for colorectal cancer and knew about the importance of preventive screenings. Yet when I discovered that my health plan at the time wouldn’t cover colorectal cancer screening until I turned 50, I was taken aback: With the colorectal cancer mortality rate as high as 7% for individuals under age 50, why wouldn’t a health plan expand its coverage?

Sadly, the more research I did to try and answer this question, the more evidence emerged that the decision among payers to cover diagnostic/screening services — such as testing for colon cancer — is primarily math-based. It costs less to treat colon cancer for younger patients (those under age 50) than it does to cover the cost of a colonoscopy for all patients under age 50.

And by the way, the number of younger individuals with colorectal cancer is rising. Of the estimated 147,950 individuals newly diagnosed with CRC in the United States in 2020, 17,930 new cases of CRC (12%) occur in individuals younger than 50 years old.

Fortunately, things have changed since I founded Reperio — and most payers cover colon cancer screenings starting at age 45 (which the American Cancer Society now recommends). But that was one of the pivotal incidents that planted the seed for me to create Reperio Health.

How do you think this might change the world?

There are so many chronic diseases that impact peoples’ health and lives, and if we can raise awareness or help individuals see how their health is trending, we can potentially change their future outcomes.

Imagine if we could prevent just 10% of individuals from developing Type 2 Diabetes because they underwent regular screenings in the comfort of their own homes, were made aware of their health risk and were prompted to engage in self-improvement through dietary modifications, nutrition counseling, regular checkups and so on. Awareness is one of the biggest catalysts to change — both on a personal and industry level.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

One big drawback I can think of is relying on home-based testing to replace physician encounters. Screening at home with a sophisticated kit doesn’t replace seeing a physician in person. While testing can provide critical information, such as whether someone is at greater risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension or heart disease, our tests are only one aspect of improving patients’ collective health. Reperio’s health-screening solution is addressing the reality that individuals, especially those of working age, tend to avoid the doctor until they have an “urgent” issue. The kits are a great tool, but they don’t replace the need for having procedures like colonoscopies or mammograms.

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)

1. Put yourself in the shoes of your end user: What stresses are they experiencing at the moment? What keeps them up at night? What solutions would solve a major problem in their life? Asking yourself these questions can help you really get into the mindset of the person you want to help.

Asking these kinds of questions is the first step in identifying the problem. Then break that big problem down into smaller, more solvable pieces. Identify and rank priorities and start knocking them out one at a time — eventually you will get a well-rounded solution. It’s also critical during that time to make sure that you are getting feedback along the way. Don’t build things in a silo (which isn’t as uncommon as you might think). Pause periodically and get feedback from outside perspectives as you refine your product.

2. Have a mentor you like and trust. When I launched my first start-up, which was eventually acquired by Johnson & Johnson, I leaned on a friend and mentor who had done it before. He had started a previous startup and eventually benefited from a successful acquisition. Having him there, when I needed to make that phone call periodically and ask for advice, saved me a ton of time and frustration. He helped me morph the idea into a slide deck and strategy that eventually resonated with investors.

3. Consider timing. Both Reperio and Sightbox offered a solution to a pressing problem. Sightbox evolved as subscription businesses were just becoming a big thing — people were starting to become more comfortable with the idea of a monthly or annual subscription.

Around this time, I realized that eye care could benefit from a subscription model and solve some of the problems consumers were facing — ultimately creating an easier, more seamless, convenient experience.

Reperio came out of a similar realization. The healthcare space suffers from not being proactive. We treat illness more often than we prevent it. Patients suffer and the industry itself financially suffers by having to spend unnecessary time and money fixing people. We could save a lot of money and help a lot of people by preventing chronic problems before they develop.

Both experiences, with Sightbox and Reperio, are all about timing: Addressing immediate needs for convenient, accessible healthcare solutions. The good news is consumers are starting to accept personalized technology as a real enhancement of traditional health care.

4. Ensure the product is intuitive (ask yourself: Would I want to use this?). The most important part of developing a new process or tool is listening. If a mobile app or tech tool requires a complex instruction manual, consumers won’t use it. That includes requiring technical know-how. We put a lot of time and effort into removing the need to understand how to use the technical features of a mobile device or the medical devices used during the screening. All you do with Reperio is sign into our app, listen to the instructions from the virtual nurse practitioner and it handles everything else. At the end of the day, the most important part of any new technology is to listen to the people who will actually use it. My 80-year-old Mom was one of my big ease-of-use litmus testers. When she successfully completed a screening without any intervention from us, that’s when I knew it was ready. I don’t think we’re ever going to make healthcare fun. But ideally healthcare also isn’t something that people need to dread, hate or procrastinate. I think we can at least make it something engaging (and maybe even a little bit enjoyable) that consumers can handle with ease — well, at least that’s the goal we have at Reperio.

5. Be flexible. Situations and people change, as we saw with the first two years of Covid. Entrepreneurs must be ready to pivot, evolve, and adapt to new market realities and needs.

People are going to tell you what they think — getting your product out there and being ready to hear feedback (good or bad) is the most important part of the process. Sightbox evolved based on rounds of feedback. We pivoted multiple times in the way that we were providing the service. As we listened to complaints from people about the eyecare space, we kept molding and massaging our business to fill all those gaps. Reperio is already starting to do the same thing. What are the problems? Where are the bottlenecks? What can we do to improve the process and make this effortless for people? How do we remove the barriers and friction?

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

My dad used to ask me a question in kindergarten. And at the time, I was only 6 years old, so I thought it was the most ridiculous question in the world. But I remember driving to school one day and he said, “how do you want the world to talk about you? Do you want them to think: ‘Wow, that guy has a really cool car and amazing house,’ or do you want them to talk about the cool things that you did?”

Of all the things he lectured me about as a kid — as many parents do — that was one of the things that stuck with me the longest: “How do we do the right thing to make the world better?” I think that all the decisions that any companies are making today should start with that question.

It’s a little cliché but leaving the world in a better place than it was when I got here is what I aspire to do. At Reperio, one of our very top priorities and coincidentally is also the first core value on the wall of our headquarters, is that we are passionate about our customers. It’s the impact we leave on them and their lives that matters most. If you focus on making the world better, and people’s lives better, your business will evolve on its own. The rest will take care of itself.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can visit our website or follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.