Following in the steps of a founder/CEO of a young company comes with a unique set of challenges, says Hill Ferguson, CEO of telemedicine provider Doctor on Demand. Succeeding a founder, as Ferguson did in mid-2016, requires appreciation for the past as well as the future.
“There’s a balance in preserving what’s really great about a company, and also improving what needs to be improved,” Ferguson tells Venrock partner Bob Kocher. “It’s also about finding the right balance of existing talent and bringing new talent to a team.”
The former PayPal executive also notes that when you’re in the position of succeeding another leader, what you do and say in your first days on the job matters a great deal. “The first thing I did was a big all-hands fireside chat and shared as much as I could about why I was excited about the company,” Ferguson says about his start at Doctor on Demand. “Then I spent as much time as I could with individuals to understand what they thought was working, and what they thought could be improved — and I did that about 100 times in the first 30 days.”
Another factor in a successful leadership transition is clarity of vision, Ferguson adds. “A company with vision can overcome a lot of changes,” he says. “The main thing is that you continue to be true to the mission of the company. You take what the company was doing well, and do more of it — then focus all your energies on those areas you need to improve.”
Now several months into his role at Doctor on Demand, Ferguson is excited about the company’s potential to advance telemedicine. “Products that help humanity are the most interesting to me,” he says. “Helping really wealthy people get foie gras delivered to their house is a waste of time. There are so many problems in healthcare and education that are massive, and offer the opportunity to create economic value — all those things are what inspire me the most.”
Doctor on Demand treats common ailments like sinus infections or mental-health issues, but Ferguson says there are also many stories about people who access the app to connect with a doctor about life-threatening emergencies.
“It shows us that a lot of people are unsure what to do” [when their health is at risk], he says. “Maybe opening an app and talking to a doctor feels a lot less scary than jumping into a car and rushing to the emergency room. It impresses upon me the importance of medical triage, and being able to get an instant, fast, professional opinion on your condition.” For our doctors, having a good day means saving a life. It’s very inspiring to see these types of cases because we really are making a huge difference.”
