Kicking off 2021
January 2, 2021
As we launch our new healthtech hunches website and kick off our 2021 event series, we wanted to share our goals, progress to date, thank our supporters, and share our plans for 2021.
TL;DR: Digital health has the power to change the world and the space is booming. There is a need for more talent, however, it can be difficult for new talent to enter the space. healthtech hunches is a community helping the next generation of talent enter digital health, focused on MBA and MD students. Our community revolves around weekly fireside chats featuring experienced digital health professionals. In under 6 months, we hosted 16 events, built a video library of over 300 career advice videos, and created a highly engaged community of 500 members. We look forward to expanding in 2021.
Why we created healthtech hunches (original version is here)
Digital health is expanding rapidly and changing the world. It has made a huge impact on our ability to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been more investment by end of Q3 2020 than any other year, and we have seen a series of exits which is a great signal as the space matures.
Figure 1: Digital health received more investment by end of Q3 2020 than in any prior year. Thanks Rock Health for the report!
As digital health grows there is a need for more talent, however, it can be difficult for new talent to enter the industry. Digital health is hot but it’s still small. Many students who are interested in digital health don’t have connections in the space and resort to cold calling through alumni networks or LinkedIn. Some professionals are inundated with requests from students, others have equally great insights to share but receive very few inquires. The process is inefficient and inequitable and would benefit from a re-vamp.
Figure 2: Many students do not have connections within digital health and resort to cold calling, with limited success. Some professionals are inundated with cold calls, others receive very few. The situation is inefficient and inequitable.
healthtech hunches is a bridge connecting students with digital health professionals in a personal yet efficient forum:
Figure 3: healthtech hunches provides a bridge between students and professionals in digital health. Our goal is to provide a personal, efficient, and inclusive forum.
We started by developing a site sharing pre-recorded videos focused on career advice. We tried a number of different approaches for engagement, and recognized that students preferred having the opportunity to connect live. We launched a series of ask me anything sessions, a small and vibrant community blossomed.
Where we are today
healthtech hunches is a community revolving around weekly fireside chats where MBA & MD students ask questions about digital health, seek career advice, and make connections with experienced professionals.
This approach enables efficiency, equity, and scale:
- Many to 1
- Across schools
- Across time (sessions are recorded)
Our goal is to create a personal, efficient, and inclusive forum.
Why focus on MBA and MD students? If you build for everyone, your product will be good for no one. Therefore, we have targeted a specific audience. We started with MBA programs and realized that MD students typically have similar questions. That said, the community is open, and we have had law, policy, and engineering students as well as working professionals join us.
Our progress
Over the last 6 months, we have:
- Hosted 16 “Ask Me Anything” sessions including one company presentation with PathAI
- Captured career advice from 22 professionals on our website
- Built a team of 13 student student ambassadors across top MBA and MD programs across the country
- Created a community of ~500 members within 6 months, with over 270 students attending events. Our greatest participation is from students at Duke, Wharton, Berkeley, Northwestern, Harvard, and Stanford
Thank you to our volunteers
This program wouldn’t be possible without our volunteers. First, we thank our speakers for generously sharing their time and experience with the students.
Speakers
We also thank our student ambassadors who have represented healthtech hunches within their programs and promoted and moderated the events.
Student Ambassadors
We give a shout out to the university career centers that helped us get this off the ground!
Last but not least, we thank everyone behind the scenes who provided advice and support along the way:
What’s New
We revamped the website to include a filterable video library with over 300 career advice videos from our events. Students can use these to hear responses to their questions across multiple professionals, e.g.:
- How to pivot into digital health
- Should I target start-ups or large companies?
- What does product management entail?
What’s Next
- The 2021 fireside chat series is kicking off on Jan 13. The student ambassadors are now taking the lead nominating speakers!
- We are seeking student ambassadors from additional MBA and MD programs. Please reach out if you are interested in volunteering! Responsibilities are here and the current team is here.
- We will be looking for partnerships to accelerate our growth and ability to support the next generation. Please reach out to discuss collaboration opportunities.
We look forward to “seeing” you at one of our upcoming events. Questions? Feedback? We’d love to hear from you!
Carolyn
Contact: healthtechhunches@gmail.com