Welcome to COIQ where you learn how health innovators maximize their success. I'm your host, Dr. Roxie, founder of Legacy-DNA and international bestselling author of ‘How Health Innovators Maximize Market Success.’ Through candid conversations with health innovators, early adopters and influencers, you'll learn how to bring your innovation from idea to startups to market domination. And now let's jump into the latest episode of COIQ. [00:36.1]
Roxie: Welcome back COIQ listeners on today's episode, I have the CEO of Moterum Technologies with me. Welcome David Huizenga.
David: Hi, it's nice to talk with you.
Roxie: It's nice to have you on the show, David. So like I do with every episode, tell our listeners a little bit about you and what you do just to kind of set the conversation. [00:58.9]
David: Sure. So I'm currently CEO of Moterum Technologies, which is a company that helps chronic patients sort of move more and move better through remote physical therapy solutions. Prior to that, I started out as a scientist that was actually in a origin of life biochemistry lab, and most of our projects were funded through Hertz pharmaceutical. So I had sort of gone through the patent process a lot with them, and that got me really excited about Law school and what the patent attorneys were doing with my projects as I was going through and so I ended up in law school and eventually I was a patent attorney for a number of years and ran one of the larger firms in the Southeast. I was on the executive committee for that for quite a while. Needle & Rosenberg was the name of the firm at the time and. [01:48.9]
But eventually I started migrating out of law towards commercialization of technologies. My first move out of law back into science was as Chief Technology Officer for an antiviral company called Zirus. And we had a platform that identified host targets that could become drug targets for firearm interventions. And then I moved from there into an accelerator. I formed an accelerator company and raise money around that and we accelerated mostly med tech type technologies. And I, it has let us, let me now to my current position as CEO of Moterum. [02:28.0]
Roxie: I would guess that you are a lifetime learner.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: Passionate about learning.
David: That’s the thing. Yeah. You get to a certain spot and you learn really everything that you do during the day is about learning, and so.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: It's good to, I love learning, I loved, I'm rare in this case. I love law school and I love sort of how it helped me to pivot the way I thought a little bit after being a scientist. And I loved being a scientist, so being a student is a good profession. [02:57.5]
Roxie: Exactly. I completely concur. So obviously a lot has changed since we had our first conversation a few months ago when we were supposed to meet at HIMSS.
David: Hmm…hmm.
Roxie: And clearly that didn't happen.
David: No.
Roxie: And it feels like three years.
David: It does, man. It feels like a lifetime in some ways, huh.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And in some ways it really is true. I mean, I think the world too and we had our first conversation and you know, the world then will not be the world at this time next year.
Roxie: Yeah. I completely agree. So, you know, what I want to do here is kind of have a before and after or before and during conversation.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: Right. So let's talk about what you were doing before COVID and let's talk about some of the strategies and tactics that you had deployed as part of your commercialization process.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: And what was leading to success? What were you struggling with? Just kind of paint that whole process and where you are prior to COVID. [04:01.5]
David: Yeah, for sure. And in some, in some ways I think we're, we're on the same track that we were on and in others, certainly things are different. You know, what are the sort of key moments in any early stage life science company is that sort of cross from where you go from clinical trials or sort of technology development and you cross over into launch and you..
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: Launch two or more products. And that for us launch sort of means that the final delivery of that first product. And we had started the process, so inside of my term, our first product, you know, we're sort of a unique company in a way that we got formed because our first product and technology was based on technology near you actually out of University of South Florida, Dr. Kyle Reed's lab. And it was a device that helped hemiperetic stroke survivors relearn how to walk and it allowed them to rewire their brains to have a different gate. And that different gate, even up to 25 years, post stroke was a gate that helped them walk faster and walk safer. [05:13.0]
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: And that was what our company was formed on and we had done an initial clinical trial on that. But we learned during that process of that first clinical trial and through customer discovery around the stroke survivors, as well as clinicians and others, that we needed to sort of expand the way that technology was used, because our original goal was to, to use that device in the home setting, to allow survivors to get better at their own pace in the comfort of their home.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: And to do that, we needed to add sensing technology so that we were able to monitor how much they were using it when they were using it. And if by using it, they were actually getting better, right. If they were going to be disengaged from a clinical facility. [06:00.2]
Roxie: Yep. Yeah, especially if you don't have your eye on them.
David: Exactly, exactly.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: And then in addition, we realized that we needed to sort of wrap around that a, a tele-health and an engagement platform that allowed them to stay connected to the clinicians who had delivered that device to them. And so we acquired two other technologies that were well through their sort of the commercialization strategy. And then starting in about June, we took that device that was close to being ready to go to market for launch. And we combined it with these other two technology platforms. And we had completed that process in sort of the, what we were looking at as a beta launch by mid-November. And so we started taking orders for the device in mid-November. And one of the things that we were doing at that time was we had made the decision that through our beta launch, we were going to have physical trainers in the homes with the, with the patient. [07:05.2]
Roxie: Hmm.
David: We refer to these as concierge.
Roxie: Yep.
David: And it was going to help us make sure that they were able to use the device appropriately, make sure that the data that we had collected around the safety of the device was, was accurate and sort of make sure that in the initial launch period, that there was some additional oversight. So we did that and got through that process actually, you know, had had some growing success through November and December and January. And come beginning of March around, you know, beginning to end of March, we had patients that were using the device having lots of success through this beta beta world, but we no longer could send our concierge into their homes.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: You know, for safety reasons. [07:56.4]
Roxie: Yep.
David: And so that's an example of, we, we had a plan, you know, we were, we were moving and executing on that plan before COVID.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm, hmm…hmm.
David: We would almost assure they still be executing on that plan if it wasn't for COVID, but because of COVID, we had to pivot and, and the way that we pivoted was we so we, we sort of took a moment with those concierge and then we pivoted into an IRB approved clinical study around tele-health. And so instead of now sending those patients directly or sending that concierge into their home, we were enrolling the patients who had been there now. And we were monitoring them through without sending that the concierge into their home.
Roxie: Yep.
David: But with doing it over telemedicine and now the rest of our devices and we've pivoted. And so the only way we're delivering devices now is for patients who are able to perform and use the device in a tele-health.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm, hmm…hmm. [09:02.2]
David: So it's you know, for us, we were moving down one path.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Roxie, that had us sort of just making sure that all that we thought was correct, or, you know, after, after launch. But the whole plan had been to be a remote device for patient usage in the home without having concierge there. And so what COVID did, it just pivoted us a little bit quicker.
Roxie: Yeah, yeah.
David: It pivoted us quicker towards that than what we might have otherwise done. [09:35.4]
Roxie: So David, I would say that you are in really good company. Many, many of our listeners are CEOs that may have been at different points in their innovation process, but nonetheless have some common experience with what I had before and what do I have now? And, Oh my gosh, what do I have in a couple of months from now? So if you don't mind, let's just be really honest, like, what was that like when you first figured out that HIMSS was going to be canceled?
David: Yeah.
Roxie: And this was not something that was like, oh, and it's just going to be rescheduled for in a couple of weeks, right? And there's this just major global pandemic happening, you know, what was that like for you both personally and professionally? What were you thinking and experiencing? [10:27.6]
David: Yeah. Wow. That's a good pivot on your interview too, because I wasn't exactly expecting that question, that’s great. Good.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: You get a real answer. So I think actually, you know, I, I come, so my, the company I was in, I, I I've been affiliated with a lot of DARPA grants and Homeland Security grants in that, in the in my previous stint as the chief technology officer for Zirus. You know, I, I know a bit more than I suppose most, around viruses and pandemics and those things cause that's what our company had been built on.
Roxie: Right.
David: Or contact with most of those people that were there while I've moved into different technology spaces, many of them are still in it. And so I, I think probably quicker than most, I felt fear.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: Yeah, you know that from the data that you could see that was coming out, there were parts of this that the expression of this particular coronavirus could be particularly difficult to control. [11:28.7]
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: And had the chance of becoming a pandemic, which we've never really had, right? We've had these chances, but at least in my lifetime, we've never really had something like this. And, and so, so I think my initial thing was fear and, you know, trying to make my family safe.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: And how to, how to both navigate all that and make sure that my team, my professional teams were safe and, you know, we started adjusting quickly what we were doing and how, how we were interacting as a team. And then and then once your personal world is safe.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: At least in our, at least in, in, in the realms that I'm in, you know, once.
Roxie: Hmm.
David: Everybody's personal world, is this button down as possible, then we sort of got back to rolling our sleeves up and making sure that the mission that we had each day before with our company was still the mission that we had today, which is to help chronic care patients in their home and move more. And how would we do that? And that is actually changing on a daily basis. You know, I, let me if it's okay. You know, we also, yeah, we had a, another product that was further out in our pipeline. [12:43.3]
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: And it was it's, it's more of an enterprise expression of our software portal and the clinical version of the portal and the treatment modalities for, for home use across all sorts of physical therapy needs and, you know, sensors for helping facilities monitor their, let's say the falls risk across all of their patients.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: Right, on a daily or weekly basis. Out of the 50 patients that I'm seeing, who's got the highest fall risk and who has the lowest falls risk, for example, that wasn't going to be launched until Q4 Q1. So Q4 of this year, Q one of next year, but we moved that up in a beta version because we were being asked.
Roxie: Yeah
David: By our partners and things, Hey, when can we, when can this start working? And when could we turn this on? Because in the physical therapy realm, which is obviously a subset of the healthcare needs, it was absolutely, I mean, many of our partners they're laying off 70 to 80% of their physical therapists and a lot of others.
Roxie: Yeah. [13:50.8]
David: And they're trying to find ways to still be, to still help the patients who they were helping before. So
Roxie: Yeah, you know, the social distancing is definitely a barrier to a lot of that hands on care that we were accustomed to. And like you said, you know, was part of our business model, to begin with. So I imagine you, like most of the health innovators that I've spoken to, that, you know, this is a it's a very dynamic situation and it's an emotional roller coaster, right? You know, some days where we're feeling like I got this and other days where like, Oh my gosh, how am I going to survive this? How is my business going to survive this? What were some of the conversations like just leading your team? [14:38.3]
David: Yeah. You know, one of the first conversations, you know we had was look at we were relevant were important. Were, we have a mission that is as important as it was before.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And possibly more important, right?
Roxie: Yep.
David: So, so don't lose sight of that fact and helping them stay on task with sort of a mantra that we talk about all the time, you know, when you work for a healthcare company and in particular, when you work for our company, you know, you need to know that the reason you get up and the reason you come to work is to make somebody's life better.
Roxie: Yup.
David: It's about helping people. And it's about the person at the end of our technology, it's not about the technology per se. And so that doesn't change and you keep, so we talked about that and we kept people focused on that. And then we talked about the things that we were doing to sort of shore shore things up so you go through cost cutting measures so that you make sure that your, your monies are able to last longer, you go through the things that you need to do, that the government is providing you for example. [15:45.3]
Roxie: Yup.
David: In this case. Right? So things that they're hearing about. And so there's a lot of communication about how that is, you know, how those loans are, you know, where we fit or all those types of things.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And then you, at least in our case, like all, most small companies, you're constantly, you know, we're always fundraising. They have to be to, till you get to sort of a much later point in this, in the sales cycle. So I, I started communicating more to the team about the successes and the things that I and our senior management team was able to achieve and was achieving related to funding. So they felt more secure with that.
Roxie: Definitely. I think.
David: You know, that there’s a plan and we are going to be okay. [16:30.9]
Roxie: Yeah, I think the leadership skills or conversation is very different in this moment for all the reasons that you just described. Right. You know, a lot of us are here, you know, just human beings. We want to make a difference in the world in our small way. And you know, to think about the opportunity that so many health innovators like you and your team.
David: Hmm.
Roxie: The impact to really be able to make a difference in somebody's lives during this time it's profound. And what I've seen is that it has rallied people and teams to work harder than ever before, to work faster than ever before. Right? [17:13.7]
David: Absolutely. You know, our team is, you know, when we were pivoting and new stuff was coming on their plates, you know, they've, they've just responded incredibly.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: It's hard because you're in different work environments, you're more focused on home, you know, there's stuff happening in the home setting. It's different for every person, right? So when you come into an office where you come into a meeting place or a lab or whatever it is, everybody is sort of in that moment, in that place, they're the same. Right. But when you're now everybody's in a virtual home environment and you know, you've got some people who might have young kids who you have to figure out how to sort of manage and others who have parents that they're now having to take care of and, you know, it's so, so we also created space that, that those things were okay. And, you know, people were able to, no, that they're not alone in those sort of unique pieces of their own personal experience. Right. [18:07.7]
Roxie: Yeah. I say grace abounds with COVID right. Like everything's okay. Kind of anything goes, you know, I had a team member that she didn't tell me in real time, I found out a couple of days later because she didn't even know, but she's like, listen, she's like a couple of days ago I had a couple of zoom meetings scheduled back to back. And by the time I was done, the kids had flooded the toilet.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: They were trying to plunge it on their own. They were crying. Cause they knew that something was not right and they were going to be in trouble. And this is while she's trying to work. Right?
David: Yeah, yeah. It's a different, everybody's sort of finding their groove and finding their, the new way, right?
Roxie: Yeah. [18:49.1]
David: The new way it's going to be. And those things aren't going to get turned off right away. You know the, or, or, or some of them will never really change. I think it's going to be. I've got in my family; I'm the only one who's in healthcare. And I've got relatives in the travel industry who are having completely different experience. Relatives in retail are having a different experience and.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And friends, you know, sort of all over the, all over the board. It's yeah, all you can do is, as you said, give as much grace as you can. [19:20.4]
Hey, it's Dr. Roxie here with a quick break from the conversations. Are you trying to figure out what moves you need to make to survive and thrive in the new COVID economy? I want every health innovator to find their most viable and profitable pivot strategy, which is why I created the COVID proof your business pivot kit. The pivot kit is a step by step framework that helps you find your best pivot strategy. It walks you through six categories you need to examine for a 360 degree view of your business. I call them the six critical pivot lenses. As you make your way through this comprehensive kit, you'll be armed with the tools, tips, and strategies you need to make sure you can pivot with speed, without missing out on critical details and opportunities. Learn more at Legacy-DNA.com/kit
[20:08.5]
Roxie: So let's talk just a little bit about the financial piece as well.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: You know, all of our listeners are trying to learn from what other people are doing and whether it's just giving insights into somebody else's experience with raising money, right? So are you able to raise money right now? How are you reshaping your, you know, just tactically, your investor presentation, you know, in positioning yourself, I’d like to call it like a COVID proof business to be able to demonstrate that now is the time to invest in companies like yours, not to stop investing. It's just, now's the opportunity. You know, just kind of give some color to what that experience has been like for you. [20:51.3]
David: Yeah, no, it's a great, so I think that starts with a lot of listening.
Roxie: Hmm...Hmm.
David: Yeah. So I'm trying to listen a lot to write to the people that my own shareholders, colleagues, you know, that I sort of stay in, try to stay in touch with and what their experiences are. And then, yeah, I think from a fundraising perspective, right, the stage of the company really determines what your story is
Roxie: Hmm.
David: And how you're, how you're talking and who you're talking to, right?
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And we're a company that has been right on this sort of cost, we've had institutional early stage institutional capital as part of our, our experience. And we've had sort of handful of high net worth or, you know, personal investors bring us to the point that we're at right now. And I think in any downturn or any situation like this, you always have to be able to lean back on those, those core people who know you because it's, in some cases impossible, but much, much, much harder to actually build that rapport and the trust with new investors. [21:57.0]
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Or somebody that's new. So I think those are harder. We are right on this cusp of sort of moving to next level capital, right? We've been in a much larger raise. And so that, that requires oftentimes is when you really jumped to sort of next level institutional capital. And I think a lot of that capital is going to be on the sidelines for a window of time.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: Unless for one reason or another they've got mandates. You know, one of the things with institutional capital is time is money for them. And so if they're holding money in some ways that can almost be as bad as making poor investments.
Roxie: Yeah. [22:35.2]
David: So it's never the right thing to do, but holding money too long is also not good. And so there's a, they have a investment thesis and an investment plan that they're trying to execute just like a business is executing. They're trying to execute towards that plan. And I think that has shifted some. And so you have to take that into consideration I think.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: I think anybody who's trying to raise money in today's world; you have to be very aware. So one of the things that happens right, as a CEO, having an early stage company, as you can absolutely, it's very difficult not to be consumed with your own position, your own moment, your own set of things that have to happen. Right?
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Forget, you can’t forget, right that you're really part of a much larger ecosystem. You're part of a financial ecosystem, right?
Roxie: Hmm…hmm. [23:22.2]
David: So unless there's exit and pull on wall street, little companies like ours, even if you're never going to be the company that IPOs all of those things are necessary to be able to create a moment for you. If you're a company that is at the stage where you've started selling your product and you're moving your product can still be the greatest thing in the world. But if you were selling into surgical centers and they've stopped doing surgeries.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Your product doesn't have a market, right?
Roxie: Yeah. . [23:48.3]
David: So understanding where you are in the greater health system is also important. And so I've been doing a lot of calling and what I would call water cooler talk and today's world, right? We do on a zoom, but you know, it's that water cooler talk around what other people are experiencing and what they're understanding and the health industry as a whole is going to be pretty depressed I think for the next 12 to 24 months.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: That's gonna affect, you know, most of the companies that are in our space. And so we have started thinking about how, like you said, our offering, highlighting what our offering can do immediately in this space, but also how we can prepare. So in other words, you know, today it might even be easier to raise money for really good preparation to meet a need that is projected to be out there in nine months versus raising money around scaling something that was ready to scale. [24:55.3]
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And right now is ready to scale. And so we focused a little bit more on our pipeline and in conversations and how that pipeline meets needs in the future. But again, it's listening you know, the best as we change our deck, I'm talking to the people who I know will tell me how bad that deck is.
Roxie: Yes, yes, right. Exactly.
David: And when I'm talking to the people who will help me, no, you gotta, you really need to not say that, or you really need to say this differently or that's more like a thing.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: At all, or no, it's important to get that feedback from multiple people. [25:29.7]
Roxie: So, you know, I almost even consider what we're doing here. Very similar to even what you described. I liked how you talked about the water cooler talk. I call it a, like a thinking partner. Like I need several thinking partners and they can be part of my organization, but I need a set of thinking partners that are outside of my company as well. That's going to help me talk about things and kind of give a different perspective when they're not in it. Right? I mean, it's that old adage of force of the trees, but I think that you know, what you describe is all of these different pivot paths.
David: Hmm…hmm.
Roxie: That a CEO can take and requires some kind of long thinking around who was I before and really mapping that out and then mapping out those different, new paths you could take and figuring out what's going to be the best move. And I think what you described is I like to say 10 years ago, we were building like annual plans, right? [26:34.3]
David: Yeah, yeah.
Roxie: Five years ago today, or I should say, you know, 60 days ago it was quarterly plans.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: Now, even the quarterly plans aren't viable.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: But now it's weekly.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: Because market conditions are changing so rapidly that I don't think we could even set a 30 day plan.
Roxie: And continue to execute that.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: So we're having to be more agile than we ever have been around all aspects of our company. [27:02.4]
David: Yeah, no it's wise. I think you're, I think that's very wise and I think the hardest thing, one of the hardest things I deal with, and one of the reasons I'm constantly looking for other information and one of my friends, once we were, he wants to told me to say like a, sort of a truism of life that I never forgot.
Roxie: Okay.
David: That it applies in all, so many aspects of my life. Right. He said, you know, David, by the end of the day, I've had just about all of me, I can stand. Right. And that's from a business perspective, that's just such a genius thing, right. Because what's happened is in this world, we've become much more self-centered or, you know, isolated and it's been harder. And so I've tried actively to, to prevent that because I know what I think. Right. But what's important is to hear what others are thinking.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: So that I can, you know, sort of understand where I, where I need to change. And, you know, you mentioned the timeframe of how that's happening and in these plans, you know, one of the most difficult things in, in understanding what to change is not changing because of reaction, but actually doing proactive change for where you believe.. [28:13.4]
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Things will be, right? So today we're in a moment that is unprecedented and is absolutely changing the way the world will be in the healthcare ecosystems for forever.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: But what it is today is not what it will be in 12 months. And so if you pivot your company to try to be something today or tomorrow, or next week, or next month, that can have consequences, if you're pivoting yourself out of where the market is going to sort of reset. And I think that's what is very, very difficult to do, right now [28:47.2]
Roxie: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And it's so true. So one of the things that I was talking about recently was just the impact where, you know, you described, it's not surprising for many of us as that, you know, the number of companies, the number of hospitals, the number of physician practices, just the number of companies that are going to have to close their doors. And that is, I think, creating a lot of consolidation, a lot of mergers and acquisitions. And so as we think about this future pivot strategy, even that to me, is something to analyze, right? Like is the market opportunity changing and how will that acquisition strategy impact, right. I can't sell to companies that don't exist anymore. So I think that in a lot of ways we might have a smaller customer segment because of some of this closing the door and you know, mergers and acquisitions gets going to inevitably take place. [29:46.0]
David: Hmm…hmm.Yep.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Yeah I know, it's a great point and it's really scary when you think about the numbers that that could actually be affecting, you know, you hear things on the street, so to speak, it's very scary, but our company, it was built around sort of three sort of core beliefs of what the coming healthcare world was going to be. And these aren't really my beliefs, you know, they're not; I don't think they're unique to me. They, they get discussed a lot, but it's one thing to sort of understand that they're there and it's another to start moving towards acting as if they're there. Right?
Roxie: Yep. [30:23.4]
David: So those three things are, you know, one is the consumerization of healthcare.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: The other is the decentralization of healthcare. So healthcare is, you know, moving out from bigger or midsize facilities to the consumers in their home place.
Roxie: Yes.
David: Is what I like to call anyways, the data-mocratization right. So today we know that data is important, but eventually we're going to actually be making decisions based on data in, in, in the world or many more decisions based on data then than we do. And in the, in the world that COVID-19 has created, you see all of those things and literally playing out in real time.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Right literally before our eyes, you know. I, I was stunned and it hasn't this version of it has not expressed itself as well as what we had hoped.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: I’m not sure, for the people who had said it hoped. But when I heard of the announcement, right, that the testing for this pandemic, it was going to be taking place in the parking lots of Walmart and Google. [31:27.3]
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Immediated by Google and the parking lot of Walmart and literally was just what an amazing expression of the consumerization of healthcare, right? How healthcare is moving to where consumers live. Right.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And rather than in the great hospitals, or rather than in, even at the, you know, the, the, the great companies, I, it just, it stunned me. And then within a week of that announcement, right, they literally opened up the complete tele-health playbook.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Every facility, everything that could be billed, basically, I'm not giving reimbursement advice by the way.
Roxie: Right, right, right.
David: Quite that simple, but it was, it was really opened and, and, and, and expanded on, on, on the spot. And then last, you know, data has both been the lack of data today.
Roxie: Yeah. [32:19.5]
David: May be the most enduring story 20 years from now when we're looking back. Right. Because I really believe that if, if the data had been centralized, if the data had been being collected, if it's all capable of being done.
Roxie: Right.
David: It's just not being done. These parts of the pandemics would be nipped in their bud way, way quicker.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Than this one particularly was so yeah.
Roxie: Well and if I could, you know, I think that the three trends that you just described are, you know, our listeners probably hear me say this quite often lately, that those are, what I hear you describing is, is a big part of the silver lining in all of this, right? So the data democratization, the consumerization, the decentralization is stuff that a group of entities have been fighting.
David: Right.
Roxie: For for a very long time, with very little success.
David: Yup. [33:20.4]
Roxie: And so if there's ever anything positive that could come from this, you know, this being the catalyst or the springboard for increased adoption of these things that we know will improve and transform healthcare in a really, really powerful way.
David: Yep. No, I completely agree. And, and you know, one of the great things about the human spirit has the ability to overcome extreme conflict and extreme burden and extreme tragedy through growth.
Roxie: Yeah
David: Right?
Roxie: Yeah.
David: That's a that I believe anyways, that that's, you know, that's a defining component of who we are as humans, and that is absolutely in play as you described.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: And the system itself and the health system itself that is that's happening right now. [34:11.5]
Roxie: So I've been reading a lot about these stories of survival and thriving companies from the great depression.
David: Hmm…hmm.
Roxie: And I'm not a beer drinker.
David: Hmm…hmm.
Roxie: But I read this story this week about a brewery who mind you at this point in time is during prohibition, so they were selling something that was illegal to begin with.
David: Right.
Roxie: And you know, when they described it, I mean, it's like all the odds were against them, right? So they were selling something that was illegal. There were over a thousand breweries, but at the time, even in the legal market, right. And that, you know, there were certain strategies and tactics that some of them took or applied in order to survive that after the great depression, they ended up with 164 out of over a thousand. So that's a lot of what you're describing. [35:15.3]
David: Yep.
Roxie: Like this is what we're anticipating. And what I thought was so remarkable is they said that the top five beer brands are from were birthed during that period of time.
David: Yup, yup.
Roxie: And Yuengling was one of them. I don't remember the gentleman's first name, but whoever Yuengling birth this during that and so, you know, there's there's a lot of, a lot of exciting opportunity in this, and it really forces us to really think differently about our businesses and the opportunities that are before us. You know, there's so much mounting pressure as you described.
David: Hmm…hmm.
Roxie: And I love just hearing these stories of all these overcomers that we can glean from in the past. [36:03.8]
David: Absolutely. You know, history, you always hope history, which will repeat itself is repeating itself from a good way.
Roxie: Right, right.
David: Yeah, rather than in negative ways. And certainly the ability to overcome, I mean, at the end of the day, being an entrepreneur is at least from my perspective, as you know, it's relatively simple, it's being able to identify a need. It's having a passion about solving that need, about being able to execute, to bring that solution to those who need it. Right. If those three things occur, it's the same for business on main street, as it is for a cure for COVID-19.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: Or, you know, a cure for SARS COVID too. And there's a lot of need right now and when there's a lot of need, if you're focused on solving or curing or helping that need, there’s a lot of opportunity. [36:56.0]
Roxie: Yeah. So David, as we wrap up here, what lessons learned, or what advice do you have for your peers, your fellow health innovators.
David: Hmmm.
Roxie: Who are in the trenches right now, trying to figure out.
David: Yeah.
Roxie: How they're going to survive and thrive in this new COVID economy.
David: Yeah. Wow, I don't know that I'm qualified to give them advice actually on what to do. But from a lessons learned, you know, I think at least in my experience, you know, it takes a lot of time to stay sort of people-centered and people first. And, and I think this is a really good example of all of those relationships that you, that you generated and all those relationships that you're gifted to have in how you're executing your business. That's, what's going to carry you through this times. And so, you know, for me, it has become the lesson I learned is, is that, that that effort is worth it. [37:59.5]
And it's always because sometimes it's hard, right? Maintaining those relationships, but today sort of in this space that we're in now, the thing that is most valuable to me are, those, those relationships and the ones that you're able to rekindle, you're able to, you know, just like just being able to reach back out and touch. I've reached out to some, some friends or people that I haven't talked to for a while. Right?
Roxie: Yeah. [38:27.3]
David: Are they okay? Are they not? That's what makes a business successful.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
David: Is people and just value the people.
Roxie: Yeah.
David: That are in and around you to help you be successful in your business.
Roxie: So very valuable advice, very valuable guidance that I think that you know, we, we know intellectually that relationships are important, but if we looked at our calendars over the last three months, last six months, I don't know if I don't know what our calendar would say we value versus what we say we value. And so I think that there's a little bit of that heightened awareness that you just described.
David: Hmm…hmm.
Roxie: Of to make sure that what we do with our life and our time, our most precious resource is really more in lined with what we truly value deep inside. And not just a lot of all the surface stuff.
David: You said it better than I did. You should have answered my question. [39:28.1]
Roxie: No, no, no, no.
David: Totally. That was wonderful. You should have, that’s what I was trying to say. I wasn’t able to.
Roxie: You said it, you said it. I was just repeating you. Oh man. So what an incredible conversation. I thank you so much for your openness and candidness about your experience, because I know that our listeners, you know, it's a real benefit when we can hear other people's story and we can realize that we're not all that different and we're thinking, and feeling and processing a lot of the same things. I think it's just, it's very encouraging and inspiring to hear. So I appreciate you sharing your story and you were with our listeners today.
David: I enjoyed it. I enjoy hearing that what others share with you. [40:24.4]
Roxie: Yeah.
David: So, thank you for being there and being a voice in that, in this new world.
Roxie: Yes. Right. Yes. So David, how can any of our listeners get a hold of you if someone wants to connect with you after the show?
David: Sure. Our website is www.moterum.com and you can send it, you know, obviously you can contact through that medium or my email address is D E my last name, Huizenga H U I Z E N G A @moterumtechnologies.com.
Roxie: Wonderful. Well, thank you so much. It's been great.
David: Thanks. [41:05.2]
Thank you so much for listening. I know you're busy working to bring your life changing innovation to market, and I value your time and your attention. To save time and get the latest episodes on your mobile device automatically subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app like Apple podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. Thank you for listening and I appreciate everyone who's been sharing the show with friends and colleagues. See you on the next episode of COIQ. [41:33.8]
