At the January Healthcare Entrepreneur Meetup hosted by Atlanta Ventures, A.T. Gimbel, Partner at Atlanta Ventures, and Berkley Baker, HealthTech Startup Catalyst Program Manager at ATDC, shared about how to start a HealthIT business in Atlanta.
This cold January morning didn’t stop Atlanta’s bright minds from coming together and making connections. The event was full of friendly conversation and meaningful discussion about customer discovery and the sales process. These events are part of an ongoing series of talks about Healthcare in Atlanta, with the goal to make Atlanta the premier place to start and grow a HealthIT business.
Solutions That Solve Problems
The Meetup kicked off with A.T. introducing the challenges of customer discovery in the HealthIT space. Often entrepreneurs want to jump right into sharing their solution before they truly understand the problem they are trying to solve. He recommended reading The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick. Important questions to ask yourself: Where does this problem rank on a priority list for your customers? How often does it happen? What do they do currently to solve it? Why are they frustrated with the current solutions? Work with the early customers that want to build with you — you will learn so much more with their feedback.
Observation
Berkley’s experience from the military shaped his view in many ways. He learned from Colonel Boyd that “The first step is always to observe.” You need to observe your customer’s pain points and challenges before you try to make your solution. Berkley described his experience working with medical robotics and how he would spend hours observing surgeries to find out what challenges the surgeons faced.
Niche Markets and Scaling
A great strategy in customer discovery is finding a niche market to succeed in, that has the potential to scale later. Berkley discussed how robotics in surgery were developed for the most complex market, cardiac. “If I do win in that market, it will allow me to scale and find success in other markets.”
Paid Pilot Programs
Another important part of growing in a niche market is finding those early adopters that want to give feedback and help you build the best product possible. A.T. stressed that these early customers should always be paying something for the product, even in its developing stages. Having money on the table gives them a commitment to give you the feedback and engagement you need.
Sales Process
Healthcare sales cycles can tend to be on the longer side. Yet, sometimes, it becomes longer because we make it longer. Berkley recommends focusing on CFOS2 Model (Clinical, Financial, Operational, Strategic, and Social) value propositions for your products and services to better position yourself to deliver customer value and make the sale.
HealthIT Companies in Atlanta
Atlanta is proving to be a fantastic place to start a HealthIT business. Check out some of Atlanta’s success stories: Sharecare, Cotivi, QGenda, Patientco.
Atlanta Resources
Be sure to check out a few of these resources in the Atlanta Healthcare Ecosystem:
- Incubators/spaces (Atlanta Tech Village, ATDC)
- Organizations (TAG Health; GAHIMSS; GABio; HealthNXT; Global Health ATL)
- Med Device (GCMI; Hatch Medical)
- Numerous Universities, Hospitals, Corporations, Government programs