Medical app for paramedics

[mikekob]

There's tech barriers preventing us from having the video portion currently. Outside the US I can't really give details but within the tech isn't there yet. Reason you see it in hospitals is because they have the bandwidth. For our mobile application we are up the creek until technology progresses, but once we get there were gonna jump in it. I'm not exactly sure how google glass pulls it off but smartphones can't.

We do have the ability to have 15-30 seconds of video which were looking at for strokes.

 

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[throttleforward]

Anyways, he wants to review my product and put it in the January issue.

You're going to be in JEMS?! Dude you're moving pretty damn fast considering the industry you're in. So excited to see you crush it!

 

[mikekob]

That's the plan. I'm at the point now where I'll believe things when I see them. This is all just way to slow of a process for me. I think I'm having a hard time adjusting from EMS to business.

 

[throttleforward]

That's the plan. I'm at the point now where I'll believe things when I see them. This is all just way to slow of a process for me. I think I'm having a hard time adjusting from EMS to business.

There are few things faster than EMS, even within the medical field. It's a tough adjustment (imagine going from EMS to federal government bureaucracy!). But like you said, once you get one to come on board, the floodgates will open. That's why JEMS is so critical - it's the only EMS publication with the weight to lend credibily to your idea. All of a sudden you go from crazy medic with an app to a legitimate medical device business, featured in serious publications.

For that reason I think you could get some serious traction by continuing to focus on PR. Start thinking gizmag, techcrunch, regional papers, etc. Take a look at how Eskil did PR for his product.

 

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[100k]

Whats your offer?

They love the product... so why are you not closing?

Might be the offer... take away the risk for them! I mean can you set it up for them and let them use it for 30 or 60 days for FREE and if they don't love it then ... you can fix whatever is causing them not to love it and continue on your progress.

Also... try to get endorsement from doctors/influencers etc.

Good luck

 

[throttleforward]

Whats your offer?

They love the product... so why are you not closing?

Might be the offer... take away the risk for them! I mean can you set it up for them and let them use it for 30 or 60 days for FREE and if they don't love it then ... you can fix whatever is causing them not to love it and continue on your progress.

Also... try to get endorsement from doctors/influencers etc.

Good luck

Medical stuff is a little more complicated. There are a lot of laws in this arena - the CEO himself cannot railroad something through clinical trials, legal review, etc. Even in the most extreme example - say the experimental vaccine for ebola that's currently being pushed through emergency fielding, it still takes months (and that's in the face of the worst ebola outbreak in history). This will take time, but it serves as an awesome barrier to entry, and once those barriers have been broken he will enter a world where he can quickly sell to everyone behind the wall.

 

[mikekob]

I'm offering a minimal initial fee to purchase the iPad/mount. After that I give the first month free with a "cost" rate the second and third month. Our server cost is $1500/mo so we eat it the first month.

Seems the barriers to close are tech then financial. Agency involvement is a third which isn't too big of a deal. Being a product that sends protected info, there's a few hoops to jump through to show HIPAA compliance. Why I'm not closing? I'd say that's probably why. Having a product that's never been made before seems to have some hesitation with implementation as well. We think it's the speed at which any of these hospitals move. We looked at making it dirt cheap but I'm not willing to go that route and potentially lose value. But then again I'm pretty much wingin it and addressing things as they come up.

 

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[Iwokeup]

You're going to be in JEMS?! Dude you're moving pretty damn fast considering the industry you're in. So excited to see you crush it!

What he said. That's a no kidding BIG Publication. Congrats man!

 

[tafy]

Why is the server costing you 1500 a month? Amazon aws isn't expensive.

 

[ilrein]

Nice dude, kill it!

 

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[mikekob]

The server cost us $11 last month for the data being moved and stored. Issue for us is the HIPAA compliance. That's an additional fee and is set at 1500. This is not "per facility" but total for the service. Were looking at rebuilding the back end not on aws but it's a couple weeks worth of work. We've addressed that fee and the services that come with it and feel currently it's the best option.

 

[Iwokeup]

The server cost us $11 last month for the data being moved and stored. Issue for us is the HIPAA compliance. That's an additional fee and is set at 1500. This is not "per facility" but total for the service. Were looking at rebuilding the back end not on aws but it's a couple weeks worth of work. We've addressed that fee and the services that come with it and feel currently it's the best option.

Interesting comment. Who would you host with? I'm looking at using AWS just because I want professional management. Are you guys considering going with local hosting service? Curious, and thanks!

 

[CreateLiving]

Dude you are kicking butt out there! This is a great thread as it outlines your entire journey so far!

 

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[mikekob]

I'm not 100% sure. We have a couple options which are on the back burner currently. Were looking at a few options but nothing real certain yet.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I'm seeing a lot of barriers to entry here... you might hate them now, but you will love them later. Congrats on digging in.

 

[mikekob]

Thanks man. It's been barrier central for us but were so close now. It's a process. That keeps me sane right now.

 

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[mikekob]

Here's a quick update from this last week and today. I was pulled in to the office again on Thursday and said my partner would be working with another medic the rest of the day. My business partner also a paramedic was called in and his partner told the same. We anticipated we were getting fired with the given information. Walk in to the ofice to be "asked a question about our app." We have a real quick conversation basically telling them not to call us in during our work hours after what they previously told us. Friday after work we walk into the chief's office and cleared the air. My partner said "If you want to be excluded that's fine" and they started back peddling real quick. They had apparently took this to legal several times to try and find a way to F*ck us and they were told we are 100% solid and legal. I left the office with a meeting tomorrow morning with the actual person that looks at products for IT's approval. Interesting.

This morning I met with an investor with who seems to be a pretty good value to the company. I'm still feeling that one out. He's wanting to retire and would like to invest in a company. Sounds great and we're evaluating the decision pretty thoroughly.

Here's the thread as I thing this topic might be of value to others specifically.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/i-met-with-an-investor-today-options.54796/

Mike

 

[mikekob]

Barriers, barriers, barriers... That's the name of the game. I see so many threads on here from people looking to have an easy entry low risk type of venture. If that's what you want just go buy a laundramat or something. After going through all the various walls and still not being at the top I have to say, I not only feel successful but also protected. My competition is multi-million dollar companies that are slow and can't change direction as fast as I can. Use that to your advantage when looking at opportunity and competition. Don't be afraid to post up for the long haul and find a solution with many barriers. That will be a huge benefit once you get through.

We had a meeting with a hospital group we've been talking with last weeks IT Dept for approval. No idea what they think but we did have a small issue during the demo. It went fairly smooth and our contact at that hospital was very supportive of getting our product in place. I met with another ER director and was introduced to a stroke team and another hospital within this system. Meeting with a CEO of a hospital in a couple weeks should be interesting. Hopefully that stroke team gets us in the door a little more effectively. I'm going balls to the wall now as I'm playing chess with four hospitals and two different EMS agencies. Talk about a challenge.

Still a blast and still a huge toll on my patience. Really the best lesson I've learned is to be patient and keep tackling problems as they pop up. I've had several people approach me at work since we launched publicly on FB which has been a great feeling. We've recently started working on the second product as I am still working on sales. No sales yet but still a hell of a lot closer. It will happen soon. I know that for a fact. Barriers! Patience!

As for the next project that is a charting program that connects seamlessly to our first product. We met with one EMS agency and already have two lined up to demo and hopefully purchase. I'm working some kinks out of a UI right now so I'm drunk as hell playing with lines and wheels. Perfect way to design in my opinion!!

Mike

 

[ilrein]

Awesome man, keep up the good work!

 

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[mikekob]

Met with the CEO today. Went about as good as it could short of getting a check. She identified a big barrier and said she would make a call to take care of it, long story short. My mind is absolutely blown from today. We've also been focusing some press exposure and have had a couple interviews by local publications which are going to be huge I think. Seems everybody has been so amped up for our product and the fact we're just a couple paramedics making a cool app. I have another interview next week as well as a meeting with another VP to get this in place.

I have a couple pieces in play it seems and I'm getting a small army together to get this in place.

I also decided I'm going to get a really nice suit.

Mike

 

[mikekob]

Well I got a suit. I feel about a million times better meeting with ceo's, cmo's, and directors.

We've been still chipping away at these barriers and are trialing our product at the largest neuro hospital in the region in a couple weeks. That's gonna be a good day. Met with them this week and they loved it.

Also I've been hitting up some local media agencies and after a couple interviews we are getting an article printed in a local source. We've had some turbulence with the service we work for and them refusing to allow us to use the app. They said they do not benefit from it which is their reasoning. Not because it's not good for the patient. Nothing like EMS agency politics!! Were hoping the article(s) help with this.

I've been applying to accelerators over the last month or so since there's a huge uprising with the mhealth industry and we have a great product for it. Hoping to get some dollars and get off the bus soon.

We also started the next product were going to offer and have two agencies lined up to purchase. Things are moving along really nicely and were very happy with our progress.

Mike

 

[Iwokeup]

You're rocking it dude! Awesome progress!

 

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[mikekob]

Well we had our dry run last week and it went really well. We submitted a proposal and are in negotiations for the contract now. They are asking for a free trial which costs us about 3k. Not much to most but a lot to us. We are looking at changing our backend to a cheaper solution and are also going to push away from free. We do get a lot out of it but we would prefer not to pay for them to try it. They are a multimillion dollar hospital after-all.

So that end of things are going well. We have a few publications next month and aren't really sure what to expect. I'm keeping my expectations low. One local magazine that has a reader base of about 100k, and a couple EMS magazines that are perfect for us as a niche across the country.

Just gotta get this contract negotiated. Any advice would be so appreciated as I'm in it deep now. Do I ask for them to do marketing? What about customer service? We are all still working and unable to be there within the hour. I have a laundry list of things to reflect on and explore as far as barriers and potential benefits/positives.

One thing for sure, this is F*cking fun.

 

[mikekob]

Still working on this first sale. I have three soft yeses all of which are teetering. We were also written up in the local magazine "5280 magazine" for any local Denver people. There was an article featuring us and two other Colorado based app start up companies. We were listed first which I thought was cool and best of all, my name is in the article in the magazine.

In other news I quit my job. I can't mentally be a paramedic anymore and this business is getting busy enough I can just pour energy into it. My partner also quit so we are both working on this full time. My last day will be Jan 3rd. I couldn't be any more excited and scared shitless at the same time.

 

[ilrein]

Way to make the big step! We're rooting for you!

 

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[Iwokeup]

Man, I am so dammed happy and proud of you! You're one hell of an inspiration. Way to take a leap of faith!

 

[mikekob]

Thanks guys, It's a little interesting but I'm pumped in general.

Here's a link to the article we were in.

http://www.5280.com/healthwellness/magazine/2014/12/health-apps-help-you-take-care-you

 

[ilrein]

$7500 a month?

[HASHTAG]#fastlane[/HASHTAG]

 

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[mikekob]

That's the plan. Working on a completely automated registration process now and we might lower the price if we make it completely automated for mass installs.

 

[Ninjakid]

This > every "I want a website that will make $5K of passive income a month" plan

Excited to hear about the success of your app. Make your fellow tribesmen and tribeswomen proud.