Product Leaders to Watch Episode 5: On Life Sciences

Transcript

Neha Shah

Hello, I am Neha Shah. A product manager, and entrepreneur who has built and launched products in the b2b tech space for over 10 years. I am currently the founder of Kutumb Village, a kid wellness focus product company. Today, I get to bring you a special Product Talk miniseries called Product Leaders to Watch. As part of this podcast series, I will be introducing the 12 members of the Awards Advisory Board. 

The Awards Advisory Board is an independent panel of product leaders who will choose the winners at our next product awards. The conversations will be focused on seven different product verticals, from FinTech, to the internet of things. And we will be hearing, as you guessed, from some of the product leaders in those spaces. And now, I am excited to introduce you to our first guest today. 

Today, we’re joined by Ryan House, Director of Product Management at Pulse PEMP. Where he is leading product development on a product focus on invigorating the well being of people worldwide. Ryan, you’re a member of our awards advisory board in the life sciences industry. Thank you for being on the board. And thanks for joining us on the podcast today.

Ryan House

Yeah, thank you for having me.

Neha

So just to get started, how did you get into product management?

Ryan

Yeah, no, that’s a great question. I started in product about four years ago. And like a lot of professionals, I was doing a lot of product management tasks. And didn’t really realize that was product management, like, Oh, you do. So as a project manager, and I, the first month that I started at Pulse, we needed a new ERP system. So I was tasked with doing the market research, leading the whole ERP implementation. And so I did a lot of the project management aspect. 

But we were building for internal customers. So custom modules, a lot of the features that we had. you know, we went with an ERP, Oracle, NetSuite, which you know, is out of the box, you do have to make configurations. So I did that the first, probably six, seven months. And then one of our senior leaders approached me and said, Hey, you’re, you’re doing a lot of tasks that product managers do. How would you like to do this? You know, full time. 

It was exciting and kind of terrifying at the same time. But it was an incredible opportunity. And I’m always one to try things. So of course, I said yes. And we’re a fast moving company. So I went from not only having the ERP and continuously, you know, adding features to it. We had the hardware side. So our products are, its PEMF pulsed electromagnetic field.

Neha

What does that mean? Just out of curiosity?

Ryan

Yes, the technology has been around for a long time. What makes us different is we’re high voltage. So when you coil wire together and run voltage through it, it creates a magnetic field. Right, which works on a cellular level for general health. We’re actually in the biohacking industry if you’re familiar with that. So that’s really grown rapidly. Even in the four years I’ve been with the company just seeing what that industry has.

Neha

Just to clarify it. biohacking. Is that referring because I’m thinking a lot of quantified self work, is that the same as biohacking?

Ryan

Biohacking is like red light therapy, cryotherapy. Alternative modalities. And which is, it’s pretty exciting. Just seeing the type of companies that have come out in the last couple of years with new features and startups. So yeah, I started on the hardware side. And then, you know, shortly after took on the software side. That’s a mobile app, we’re working on. like I said, our ERP system, eventually an E commerce platform. But on the hardware side, it’s a lot of embedded software. So it’s not quite a wearable, because our stuff is pretty heavy. But it has a lot of the software embedded in it. 

Neha

And it’s almost like you’re having to gain expertise in different domain parts, because it’s all of those parts that make your product whole. Am I understanding that correctly?

Ryan

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And one of the challenges that we face is, you know, a lot of people aren’t familiar with what PEMF is, right? NASA has been using it since the 60s and 70s. So it’s been around for a long time. But explaining what it can do to users. So it’s challenging to understand, okay. What are the problems we’re trying to solve for people, but also explain this solution to them. So it’s, it’s challenging, but it’s exciting. because I feel that these types of modalities are really gaining intention, and people are starting to really start trying them out. So pretty exciting.

Neha

Yeah. And speaking of exciting, I mean, since you kind of found yourself into this role. Sounds like you really enjoy it. I mean, I’m guessing you do enjoy working in product.

Ryan

I love this industry. I feel lucky every day, because I truly feel we’re working on products that can help your everyday life. Our motto is we enhance all life. So we live by that.

Neha

Yeah. So as a product leader, what is the one thing if I can have you to pick one thing? What is the one thing you’re proudest of in terms of your accomplishments? Since taking on this leadership role?

Ryan

You know, it’s hard to pinpoint it. I would say it’s, it’s one A and one B. So I would say it’s, it’s the hardware products. so being able to add features to them and come up with next generation. But the one betta that is also it’s kind of that go to market strategy. So okay, we have an amazing solution. How do we communicate this to our users? So our current target market, but also other market segments as well? It’s a broad statement, of course, but I would say that that’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of is just being able to tell more people in the world about this.

Neha

Yeah. Because it sounds like you’re constantly growing the product and growing the reach and the impact. So you’re like, I think typically, they’re like, hey, built for a particular audience. But because you’re thinking about the growth of air leading and with a growth mindset, it kind of broadens really the outreach you have, you can do.

Ryan

Yeah, exactly. Our biggest focus when I first joined the company was on the professional side. But, you know, we have units that people can take in, you know, have in their home. So it’s for home use as well. So, just expanding to that market is tremendous. Yeah.

Neha

So I’m gonna confess, I’m learning a lot about life sciences vertical, since you know, having talked to you during this recording and also prior to us pressing record. But I guess for, you know, others who are listening in right now, because I typically focus on a lot of tech related, you know, b2b, especially b2b tech related products. Can you give me a basic understanding of, when you’re talking about life sciences, and products and life sciences, what and how is that defined?

Ryan

You know, funny you should ask. Before the call I was like, you know, what is the actual definition? and so that I feel is pretty good. What I found was that the industry is research, development and manufacturing of like pharmaceuticals, biotechnology based foods. I feel that that’s huge in medicines, medical devices. so we’re general health and wellness. But on that line, their food processing, like I said, really what it boils down to is improving the lives of organisms. Which is perfect for us, because we have an animal division and a human division. So we’re, we’re definitely in that category.

Neha

I like how you mentioned organisms, because I think my brain by default goes into humans. But this is not just about us. It’s about the entire I mean, all the beings all the life, like literally life sciences. not just us, but I guess from the agriculture perspective, and, you know, thinking about just the larger ecosystem. that’s, you know, that I feel like I’ve learned so much already.

Ryan

Yeah, exactly. There’s a lot of cool companies that are, you know, I read a lot, and I see what we’re doing with DNA. So it falls into this type of category. So it’s pretty exciting. You’re seeing a lot of new technology come out and innovation.

Neha

Yeah. And I think like you said, it’s impacting everyday, everyday lives, whether or not it’s something we’re directly consuming. Right. I think that’s what’s the invisible part, but also the super cool part.

Ryan

Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely. Food Processing, I see a lot. I mean, look at you know, the alternative meats that we’re, we’re seeing growing. Hemp has been around for a long time, but what we can do with hemp as far as food and materials. Those are just some examples. But it’s, that’s the shift I’ve seen in the last few years is a greater attention to these types of companies.

Neha

Yeah, the materials we use. So I mean, this is a good segue into really going into our product award season and thinking about your role on our awards advisory board. You know, you really you’re one of the people, one of the panelists who gets to pick our next winners, and my understanding is received like 1000s, almost 3000 nominations? Yeah. So it’s pretty cool there. And we’ve already discussed a wide range of products that fit into this category. So what is your criteria? Like? Do you have a checklist for what you look for when you’re evaluating a great life sciences product?

Ryan

It follows similar criteria that you’d find, you know, probably in other verticals as well, you know. The biggest one is, does it solve a real problem? I like to see, okay, that solves the problem. Can you market it better than other solutions that are out there? You know, does that have a clear value proposition? That’s part of the problem. But, you know, is this scalable? Is this kind of a one and done type of product, you know. Is it something that can be copied?

A lot of these, you know, are kind of smaller, but I’d say it always goes back to the biggest one. Does it solve a real problem? Right? There’s a lot of products out there. And it’s really easy to get caught up in that. But at the end of the day, does it solve a real problem that users are asking for? 

And, you know, you have the user experience? That’s a big thing, especially on the software products. But I would make an argument, even with hardware products, as well, you know, Is it understood by your target market? That’s huge. 

So I’d say those are probably my top ones. 

Other things is, you know, does it add value to the business? It goes in line with scalability, of course. but it’s got to be, you know, profitable as well. So those are, I’d say, the top ones I look for. I’m looking forward to seeing, you know, a lot of these submissions just because I learn a tremendous amount. So for me, I may not necessarily be the target user, but if I can understand it, that’s that’s huge for me, too. Do I understand your product? Being in product management, I can’t go anywhere without looking at something and being like, Oh, I wonder who this is built for? How they go to market that’s really changed how I’ve been wired recently. So that’s kind of the mindset going through these submissions.

Neha

Yeah, no, I appreciate your sharing that perspective. I think you raise a lot of good points that I am sure the teams behind these products have also put a lot of thought and time into. So I think it’s gonna be very exciting. And really, all the products that you know, that come our way. I think we’ll like you said we’ll learn a lot.

Ryan

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Very excited for that. I’m looking forward to some of these submissions.

Neha

Awesome. Well, thank you for being on our advisory board. And thank you for taking the time to talk to us about the life sciences sector. Yeah. Great to have you and thanks again.

Ryan

Yeah, thanks for having me.

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Neha

Today, we’re joined by Zac Fleming, Head of Product at TimelyMD. He has vast product and technology leadership experience in a number of diverse industries. He’s worked at large and small companies, including city, Baylor Scott and White Health System. Zack, so excited to have you join our podcast today.

Zac Fleming

Thank you, Neha. Very excited to be here.

Neha

Yeah. Thanks, also for being part of our Advisory Board Advisory Board. membership to this, this award season. Very excited to hear about your experience. So let’s get right into it. How did you get started in product?

Zac

Oh, it’s a great question. And it’s one I actually get asked quite a bit. So just really quickly, from the top level, I’ve really devoted my career to transforming healthcare through digital health. This dates back to when we moved most of the healthcare industry from paper to electronic health records. So for those that are familiar with this space, product is a term that is still relatively young in healthcare. So I had to take very measured steps across my career to build up my product experience across startups, mid size, and all the way up to Fortune 50 Companies, you hit on this idea today. 

I’m the SVP of product at TimelyMD. So we are the virtual health and wellbeing solution for higher end institutions. And through our product, we have over a million students access solutions they need to thrive, including the ability just to speak with a therapist, accessing digital self care solutions, and connecting with their peers in a secure peer community. So I’m very passionate about this space, and very much looking forward to this conversation.

Neha

And also a very, very timely use case, given the pandemic. and given a lot of folks returning back to environments where, you know, things look a little different now. And they need that extra support that might be Yeah, that’s always hard to navigate.

Zac

No, I think that’s a great point. And that’s one of the things that I think most excites me when I look at our verticals. So within health tech, as you hit on it, mental healthcare has been a growing fire for a long time. But COVID was the gasoline. We’re estimated to see 30 times utilization of virtual health services post COVID. So there is no industry, no product, or company out there that is built to go meet that level of need, right? 

So really, if you look at all the products in this space, they’re really doing one thing. And that’s innovation. And that’s a very buzzy word that I know it’s contentious sometimes. But I think when you step out and really look at what we’re doing, it’s never been done before. And it’s using our resources. We have to go change the mental healthcare landscape, not just in the US, but really across the globe.

Neha

Definitely. And I think this gets into something I also love to ask my guests on the podcast, which is what do you love about what you do? And you’ve kind of given us an idea there, right, the innovation angle, the fact that this is something, you know, that’s needed, and that no one’s ever done before. But I guess for you, you know, personally, what was that aha moment when you were like, God, I really love working in product. We love building, maybe specifically digital health products?

Zac

That’s a good question. So building products is hard. Building Products in digital health is borderline crazy. So what really is a crazy problem. And the reality is, when you work in products in this space, you have the ability to change people’s lives. That’s the reason why it’s hard. It’s highly regulated, because any given day, you have the ability to do something that’s going to positively influence people, whether it be their wellness, their emotions, any of those things. 

So I think to me, I’m very big in solving puzzles. I’ve always been just hungry and I can’t imagine a bigger puzzle than solving healthcare. So it gets me up in the morning and keeps me up at night just thinking about what we could do to really make it the way it should be.

Neha

Yeah, and I think you describe a lot of what we say the the key traits or the key things that differentiate you know, product management, job postings. versus what actually what are the skills you need to be successful at a job. the curiosity, the desire to really look at a problem be like how do I how do I get to the bottom of this?

So you know, coming back to the point On Awards season, you are going to be focused on our life sciences and health tech industry. So from your perspective, and you already kind of talked about this. How do you define health tech? First of all?

Zac

Yeah, so I think the definition and bounds has, has really grown a lot recently. If you even go back five years, a lot of the really innovative things in this space. just they were not moving, they weren’t going anywhere. So you didn’t see a lot of products. But if you just really double click and look in where we’re at today, it’s exploded. So when I look across this space, I really look at any sort of product that has the ability to not just impact people’s medical health, but also their mental health. And that is where we’ve seen a lot of the growth in the last couple years. it’s really looking at not just health in a traditional sense, but overall health and well being.

Neha

I guess that’s, you know, makes me ask a question. because there has been a cultural change and the cultural difference in perspective. Now, when it comes to areas such as mental health, but from your having worked in this space for a long time, you know. Is it the technology that leads the change? Or is it that the cultural need is something that people identify and feel strongly about? And then technology follows? Because there’s a problem to solve?

Zac

Yeah, so I think it has to be a combination of both. And I’ve experienced that. So a lot of the technology today, when you look at things like telehealth, has been around a long time. we’ve been able to do that for some can go all the way back to over a decade ago. But realistically, even just four or five years ago, we tried to get consumers to adopt it, because it just made sense. It was a good business model, it was a good experience. But consumers weren’t ready. 

But now to your point, what we’re seeing is this huge cultural shift, to have this demand for more accessibility. And so to do that, you have to have digital products. So I think the technology was there, but we needed the business to actually come out and say, Hey, we need this too. And the reality is those things have to kind of come together. And there is a little bit of serendipity around it. Nobody could have planned what we have gone through recently on the technology side, or the realities of what we’ve gone through. So it really just has to be a combination of both for shifts of this magnitude, to really be successful.

Neha

Yeah. And I think the point you made about, you know, consumers not being ready. I think it was also very hard for consumers to always find products that really fit, you know, kind of fit the experience that they were looking for, because I’m not sure if there was enough knowledge of what consumers were looking for. Because, again, you know, it’s a chicken or egg situation. 

So I think that’s, I think that’s probably been an exciting transformation for you to witness. So let’s play again, right. So you’ve seen what it was, like 10 years ago, you kind of see where it is now. what do you imagine happening in this space 10 years from now?

Zac

I think when we look that far out, I have to look to a couple of the things that we’re really learning today. So one of the lessons that I think a lot of digital health companies are learning today and products for that matter is, there is no single product that’s going to solve this problem. So when we look 10 years ahead, do we think that will get solved? I don’t think so. What we really see from products in that space, and this is really a way to judge who I really believe are the best products is. really they look less from a what is my solution? And how do I drive that solution to consumers? And it’s more thinking about what’s the broader experience? And how do I play into that? 

I think really in years, we need to be talking about things as overarching experiences and thinking about how we each fit into that sort of ecosystem that will ultimately help better people? Because today we can measure things like how many 1000s of likes, did you get on this tic tock video. talking about stress and anxiety. 

I mean, that’s good. That’s helping people. But we need to be measuring health outcomes. And saying, okay, but at the end of the day, were we able to make a change in that one person’s life?

And so I think just having that laser focus and products to recognize that. like we’re in the business of caring for people, and we have to do that to a certain level of quality and just remain steadfast and focused. In 10 years, hopefully, the and I’m a technical optimist. but I just hope we’d be in a place where we’re not really talking about brands, we’re really talking about an experience and those things come together, and in a very synergistic way, to just deliver on those. and that we will all be healthier as a society.

Neha

Definitely. I mean, I’m busy there with the technical Like the societal optimism really. because I think, you know, I speak for myself and maybe other other consumers out there. we’re just sick of these big giant conglomerate type of things. But instead, like, how do we connect it all together? And get to those outcomes. 

So I think we’re getting towards the end of our episode together. But you raise this point in while answering the previous question. let’s talk a bit more about what you think makes a great product, specifically, you know, I would say a great health tech product. And especially as a member of our awards advisory board, you know, you’re going to be reviewing a number of our nominations. I know, last year, we received over 3000 of them, and we are expecting more. So sitting there reviewing the application received from all these incredibly innovative and, you know, fascinating ideas out there. What’s your checklist or criteria?

Zac

So I think I’ll look at three things. First, is it grounded in what we talked about in the beginning where it does no harm. All the apps in the space have that ability to do good. and just making sure that it’s built in a way to deliver on that’s really important. The second thing is human centered design. It’s different, you can see it, when you just go through a product. you can tell which ones were engineering-led versus user-led. 

And those are some things that are important, especially when you’re talking about mental healthcare. Having a better looking button couldn’t help them reduce clicks. But ultimately, you have to go beyond that and really think about okay, but what was their emotion when they’re clicking this button? And what are we doing to solve for that in this context? 

And really, the last part is just Are they really thinking about a broader experience? And I’m really kind of solving not trying to be the all in one solution. but really thinking about, what is the bigger experience here? And how does that sort of connect together? 

So really, when I look at the products, I’m just trying to look through those lens to say, Okay, how, what are the products that are going to be changing the world? And what are those bests. and there’s a new one built every day. Especially this vertical, the pace of what we’re just seeing products come into it is unprecedented. 

So very excited just to see that and work with other leaders in this space as challengers each other. So we’re going on and ultimately making healthcare the way it should be.

Neha

I love it. Those are inspiring words to kind of wrap this up and and I’m really excited to see what comes out from this product award season. Thank you so much again, Zack, for sharing your perspective and joining us. Thanks for being on the show today. 

Zac

Awesome. Thank you.