On Wednesday October 5th, HealthIT folks joined us virtually for a conversation between A.T. Gimbel, Partner at Atlanta Ventures, and Jason Madsen of Ascend Medical. Jason, well experienced with the startup process, shared insight into patient acquisition, product-market fit, and more. Below are some of the highlights from the event.
These meetups are part of an ongoing series of talks about Healthcare in Atlanta, with an objective of making Atlanta the premier place to start and grow a HealthIT business. The goal of these meetups is to facilitate connections, hear from industry professionals, and truly dig deeper into Healthcare problems that Atlanta entrepreneurs can help solve.
About the Event
Jason started his journey in real estate and when he saw the potential in urgent care and healthcare business models, he got drawn in. He moved to Georgia to invest more time into starting his own healthcare organization, partnering to work on the business side of operations.
For many households, the biggest limitation to primary care is access. Limited hours, 5 days a week, can lead to months of wait time before access to a doctor. Many problems also go unnoticed, as health checks will fail to recognize deep rooted issues, such as connected behavioral health. Ascend Medical strives to fix these issues: starting with virtual care, and having mobile care teams come to you, bringing convenience and comfort to healthcare.
“We’re eternal optimists and that’s why we’re willing to jump in.”— Jason Madsen, CEO of Ascend Medical
Understanding Patient Experience
Jason used his understanding of real estate to emphasize the location of his centers. Similar to Starbucks and other business’ models, Jason focused on corner stores with easy access and parking, making the centers visible and accessible for all. He also used a combination of grassroots marketing and search. Adapting to what the population is looking for was paramount to him, and his success started when he simplified the model to make it as easy as possible for customers to talk to a doctor.
Realizing the Time Frame of Startups
One of the biggest lessons that new startup founders have to learn is that everything will take longer and cost more money than anticipated. There are many great ideas that have failed because they didn’t have the capital to go through the time and iterations to optimize.
“It’s care that comes to you… It’s the most convenient and phenomenal way to have care given to you.”— Jason Madsen, CEO of Ascend Medical
Balancing Control, Money, and Style
When starting up a business, partners are an amazing asset to have, and will help in many ways along the way. However, balancing the expectation of control they have—keeping true to your vision of the startup—can be challenging. Different investors and partners may also have different ideas. Balancing the relationship between them is important; these partners and investors are the people that believe in your dream and are there to help.
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