HealthTech entrepreneurship, surviving cancer, and starting FertilityAnswers :: with Alice Crisci
01/26/21 • 63 min
In this episode of Ventures, my guest Alice Crisci (https://www.instagram.com/fertilityanswers_/) and I discuss her journey as a cancer survivor and entrepreneur in the medical/fertility space. While many people turn to “Dr. Google” when trying to find answers to their medical questions, Alice and her team have created a more sophisticated and personalized approach for finding answers to fertility-related questions. In addition to talking about MedAnswers and their first vertical, FertilityAnswers, Alice and I also talk about mental health for founders, how to validate an initial entrepreneurial idea, and how to think about smart resource allocations for effective go-to-market strategies.
Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-29 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.
You can watch this episode via video here.
In this episode we cover the following:
1:40 - Alice intro, background, cancer survivor, entrepreneur.
7:15 - The earlier years of Alice’s life. Where did the kernel of entrepreneurship come from and what were her early learnings?
10:37 - What did Alice teach those 75 journalism students in her high school years about how to be excellent at sales.
13:16 - How was sales part of Alice’s career in her 20s?
15:53 - Coming through cancer, doing advocacy work, and starting MedAnswers.
18:42 - What was the original pitch that landed Alice’s first $50k investor check?
19:42 - What is MedAnswers? What is the problem? What is the solution?
21:52 - When answering questions online, the more context the better. MedAnswers helps with this. What is an example of the kind of information that MedAnswers provides to experts (anonymously) to give the best possible answers?
23:57 - Education session. How does Alice typically guide someone who is new to the fertility care process?
28:16 - What is PCOS?
29:40 - What is a metabolic disorder?
32:10 - Nuances between Alice’s liberties as a “patient advocate” vs. a medical provider.
37:09 - Advice for entrepreneurs about how to get started and know their idea is validated?
40:43 - How did Alice initial market her product/service?
43:32 - What is epigenetics? Should people stop smoking pot when trying to get pregnant?
46:33 - What advice would Alice have for entrepreneurs starting now with regard to their go-to-market strategy.
48:55 - Resource allocation strategies during go-to-market operations.
50:44 - Self care. In the dance between raising money, building a product, making customers happy, etc.. How does Alice maintain mental health and sanity? https://www.unplug.com/ https://journey.live/
57:30 - For MedAnswers, what is the vision in the coming years? Where is Alice and her team heading next? Healthy babies for healthy families.
1:00:04 - Where can people best find Alice and MedAnswers online? https://fertility.medanswers.com/ https://www.instagram.com/fertilityanswers_/
Special thanks to our sponsor: https://www.startuprocket.com
In this episode of Ventures, my guest Alice Crisci (https://www.instagram.com/fertilityanswers_/) and I discuss her journey as a cancer survivor and entrepreneur in the medical/fertility space. While many people turn to “Dr. Google” when trying to find answers to their medical questions, Alice and her team have created a more sophisticated and personalized approach for finding answers to fertility-related questions. In addition to talking about MedAnswers and their first vertical, FertilityAnswers, Alice and I also talk about mental health for founders, how to validate an initial entrepreneurial idea, and how to think about smart resource allocations for effective go-to-market strategies.
Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-29 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.
You can watch this episode via video here.
In this episode we cover the following:
1:40 - Alice intro, background, cancer survivor, entrepreneur.
7:15 - The earlier years of Alice’s life. Where did the kernel of entrepreneurship come from and what were her early learnings?
10:37 - What did Alice teach those 75 journalism students in her high school years about how to be excellent at sales.
13:16 - How was sales part of Alice’s career in her 20s?
15:53 - Coming through cancer, doing advocacy work, and starting MedAnswers.
18:42 - What was the original pitch that landed Alice’s first $50k investor check?
19:42 - What is MedAnswers? What is the problem? What is the solution?
21:52 - When answering questions online, the more context the better. MedAnswers helps with this. What is an example of the kind of information that MedAnswers provides to experts (anonymously) to give the best possible answers?
23:57 - Education session. How does Alice typically guide someone who is new to the fertility care process?
28:16 - What is PCOS?
29:40 - What is a metabolic disorder?
32:10 - Nuances between Alice’s liberties as a “patient advocate” vs. a medical provider.
37:09 - Advice for entrepreneurs about how to get started and know their idea is validated?
40:43 - How did Alice initial market her product/service?
43:32 - What is epigenetics? Should people stop smoking pot when trying to get pregnant?
46:33 - What advice would Alice have for entrepreneurs starting now with regard to their go-to-market strategy.
48:55 - Resource allocation strategies during go-to-market operations.
50:44 - Self care. In the dance between raising money, building a product, making customers happy, etc.. How does Alice maintain mental health and sanity? https://www.unplug.com/ https://journey.live/
57:30 - For MedAnswers, what is the vision in the coming years? Where is Alice and her team heading next? Healthy babies for healthy families.
1:00:04 - Where can people best find Alice and MedAnswers online? https://fertility.medanswers.com/ https://www.instagram.com/fertilityanswers_/
Special thanks to our sponsor: https://www.startuprocket.com
Previous Episode
From social work to social entrepreneurship and starting an inner-city boarding school :: The Ryan Banks Academy story, with Valerie Groth
In this episode of Ventures, my guest Valerie Groth (https://www.ryanbanksacademy.org/) and I discuss the Ryan Banks Academy story, her background in social work and in Chicago Public Schools, resiliency when starting a school and nonprofit, and life for students in a pandemic. With social entrepreneurship gaining increasing attention globally, in this conversation we dive into a number of topics to help founders think about relevant issues to address with new ventures.
Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-28 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.
You can watch this episode via video here.
In this episode we cover the following:
2:47 - Val intro, background, and journey into starting Ryan Banks Academy.
6:11 - What is social work? What career paths are available?
8:22 - What do social workers learn in school? What tracks are common?
12:08 - What is the work that Val was doing day in and day out during her time working with Chicago public schools?
16:40 - What started the kernel of the idea for Ryan Banks Academy?
20:43 - Comment about entrepreneurs who can’t stop thinking about an idea :)
21:18 - What steps did Val start taking initially to make RBA a reality?
23:33 - Comment about Madeleine Albright and what she’s had to go through in her career.
23:51 - How and when Val left her day job to start her new venture.
25:45 - What is Ryan Banks Academy? What stage is the school at in its growth?
28:09 - Fundraising, rallying a team, and establishing a board for a nonprofit.
32:29 - What has life been like during the pandemic for RBA?
35:38 - What kind of lessons is Val learning about entrepreneurship in general in this season?
37:09 - From Val’s perspective of inner city dynamics, what social problems can (and should) entrepreneurs be thinking about? What would be her call to action to fellow founders?
40:29 - What is Val learning about the conversation around race and racism? How does she think about the conversation?
44:18 - What are the ways in which people can help out with Ryan Banks Academy?
46:43 - What is Val’s vision for RBA in the next 5/10/15 years?
48:05 - Final words for the entrepreneurs, investors, and other listeners curious about RBA.
Special thanks to our sponsors: https://mybirdbuddy.com, https://www.startuprocket.com, and https://satchel.works
Next Episode
Starting a company in the pandemic, leveraging no-code solutions, and finding co-founders online :: The indifit.co story with Cheryl Kemp
In this episode of Ventures, my guest Cheryl Kemp (founder of https://indifit.co/) and I discuss her journey of starting a company at the beginning of the pandemic, finding co-founders, leveraging no-code technology to validate her idea, pivoting into a completely different business model, providing software for fitness instructors, experimenting with growth strategies, and raising money in 2021.
Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-30 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc...) mentioned.
You can watch this episode via video here.
In this episode we cover the following:
1:45 - Cheryl quick intro, background, and high-level description of Indifit.
3:16 - Did Cheryl have the entrepreneurial drive as a kid or did it come later in life?
5:31 - Will’s story of selling pictures of aircraft carriers as a kid.
6:06 - What kind of work did Cheryl do earlier in her career?
8:03 - Appreciation for entrepreneurs that start restaurants & cafes.
9:02 - Where did the idea of Indifit come from? (Cheryl mentioned this program: https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/28/cleo-capitals-sarah-kunst-launches-a-fellowship-for-laid-off-workers/)
16:22 - Was the program ongoing or a one-time thing?
16:50 - How did Cheryl go through the process of building and validating the idea?
19:14 - Discussion about the Indifit business model
22:00 - A discussion about the no-code/low-code movement. e.g. https://www.sharetribe.com/
24:08 - How is indifit going? How are Cheryl and her team doing?
28:20 - How are Cheryl and her team building trust/culture remotely?
31:57 - Was there an “aha” moment with regard to Indifit’s pivot to sell software for instructors rather than be a marketplace?
36:19 - Did Indifit’s no-code approach help with their pivot? How did she surface the data to know when to pivot?
38:29 - How is Cheryl thinking about their growth strategy from here?
43:05 - Fundraising conversation. What has the process been like to court investors?
47:54 - Commentary about the VC industry in general and strategically finding the right investors.
57:22 - What is the best way to follow Cheryl and Indifit online? (Go to https://cheryl-kemp.com and https://indifit.co/ )
Special thanks to our sponsor: https://www.startuprocket.com
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