Entrepreneurship Zone: 14 January 2020: Startups Ignored This 5 Million Person Market Until This Healthtech Entrepreneur Built a Simple Solution

Tue Jan 14 01:21:21 CAT 2020

 <http://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

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Entrepreneurs solve problems. Many will spend their entire careers looking for a problem to solve. But when recent Stanford Business School grad Karin Underwood noticed entrepreneurs actively ignoring a glaring problem in the American healthcare system, she became fixated on a simple solution. Health coaching is a proven intervention for those suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes or heart disease. Until recently, health coaching delivered conveniently through your phone was a perk of the privileged. This is a problem that can and should be solved. That’s why Karin founded the tech nonprofit CoachMe Health, an SMS-based coaching platform that connects the more than 5 million Medicaid recipients with diabetes or heart disease with professional health coaches to achieve better health outcomes.   

Shannon Farley: The sightline from MBA to social impact startup founder isn’t clear. What inspired you to pursue this path? 

Karin Underwood: Before going to Stanford Business School, I lived in Myanmar. I worked with low-income women, tech workers, and entrepreneurs seeking to improve the quality of health research. I saw plenty of business problems, and I became motivated to go to business school to learn from the best of private sector leadership. As business school opened up new worlds of possibility, my time abroad helped anchor me to what I cared about most: improving the health of low-income people.

The decision to start a tech nonprofit after graduating wasn’t easy, but I knew it was right. I decided to try to solve a big, intractable problem: our healthcare system mostly pays when we get sick, but not to keep us healthy in the first place. This is especially true for those with the least resources.

Today In:  <https://www.forbes.com/forbeswomen> Leadership

Working with women’s groups on sanitation and hygiene in work for BRAC Myanmar

KARIN UNDERWOOD

Farley: Your tech nonprofit, CoachMe, seeks to improve health outcomes for low-income Americans with chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure through virtual health coaching. Why was this the problem that captured your attention?

Underwood: When I was in business school, I spent hundreds of hours with people receiving Medicaid, which provides health insurance coverage for 1 in 5 Americans. I expected to hear that patients wanted better access to care. Instead, I heard over and over again about a lack of trust. I heard how people felt their doctor didn’t listen to them or invest enough time to address their needs. The current system isn’t set up to help Medicaid recipients manage their conditions during the 364 days each year they don’t see their doctor.

Farley: Did you have a moment of realization that stood out to you during these interviews?  

Underwood: One woman with high blood pressure crystallized my understanding of the need. I asked her, “if I could give you any tool in the world to get better, what would it be?” She said, “a friend.” At the heart of it, that is what health coaching provides.

Karin Underwood, Founder of CoachMe, pitching at the Fast Forward Tech Nonprofit Demo Day 

DAVID DINES

Farley: How does health coaching help people get better? 

Underwood: Health coaching is powerful for two reasons: it builds trust, and it helps patients build confidence. Trust is important because unless you trust a coach, teacher, or health strategy, you will not invest in it. The second reason gets into the science of behavior change. One of the best predictors of whether or not someone will change their health behaviors is not their motivation, but their confidence that they can make that change. Coaches use techniques to activate both the motivation and confidence to build healthy habits through small incremental changes.

Farley: Can you tell us a story about how CoachMe has positively affected a person’s life? 

Underwood: One of CoachMe’s participants, Maria, works as a janitor. She started by using CoachMe to manage her diabetes and blood sugar levels. When we met her, her sugar levels had been so high that they had landed her in the hospital in the past. Now, Maria is working with a CoachMe coach to develop the habit of walking more regularly and taking deep breaths when stressed. She now sees her blood sugar levels dropping each week, increasing her confidence. Two months into coaching, Maria is looking forward to showing her progress to her doctor, rather than dreading the visit.

Farley: What keeps you motivated to build CoachMe? 

Underwood: It’s an honor to get to do this work. I wake up every day motivated by the chance to create better health outcomes for low-income Americans. According to research from  <https://opportunityinsights.org/> Opportunity Insights and economist Raj Chetty, CoachMe’s participants face up to a decade shorter life expectancy than wealthy peers. 

For me, CoachMe is about giving hope to those with chronic disease and reducing the injustice of inequality. Bringing together a team of others committed to this cause has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my career.

Farley: Can you talk about a challenge you’ve faced as a social entrepreneur?

Underwood: This summer, I participated in the incredible Fast Forward tech nonprofit accelerator. I had the chance to receive mentorship and raise support to launch our first pilot. 

All I had to do was pitch my idea in front of a big audience.

Halfway through the accelerator, I was the worst pitcher in the batch. And I knew why. I struggled with the idea of putting the problems our patients go through on display. Instead, I wanted to spend my time solving them. I couldn’t square my value for humility with how I needed to show up to raise money.

The big Demo Day was approaching. Finally, under time pressure, I sat down and thought about what was getting in my way. I realized I was thinking about humility the wrong way. It takes humility to ask for help to solve such a big intractable problem. To admit that I have such big dreams, and that I need others on the journey with me.

So ask I did. I raised more than I could have expected and am running full steam ahead at scaling our model.

HAYLEY DAY

Farley: What’s been the most surprising thing about social entrepreneurship? 

Underwood: I have been amazed at the number of people who want to help make tech nonprofits a success. I was worried about feeling alone as a founder in this work. Instead, I am amazed by those who have come out of the woodwork to help me succeed. And I want to keep finding people who care.

Farley: What advice do you have for other women entrepreneurs thinking about taking a leap and building a tech nonprofit? 

Underwood: Start with the problem you want to solve. Spend time with it. Let it surprise you. Let it give you the motivation. 

Someone once said to me: “No one big company or recruiting team will recruit you to entrepreneurship.” So as you read this, I’m going to recruit you to entrepreneurship. And I can personally attest that being a tech nonprofit is one of the most fulfilling ways to be an entrepreneur. As a tech nonprofit, we get to keep clients’ needs as the north star. Putting clients first is my job. I wake up every day feeling grateful for that.

Farley: What will the world look like when CoachMe is successful? 

Underwood: Every low-income patient with chronic disease will have access to a new form of healthcare: one that puts their needs and wants first. We will work with community clinics across the country, supporting communities of patients on our platform. We will employ former patients as coaches, creating meaningful work opportunities. 

And we will bring critical awareness to the challenges patients who are low-income and relying on Medicaid face every day, leading to a better healthcare system for all.--Forbes

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