November 7, 2024 • 34 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Erin (00:00):
Howdy folks.
It's Erin again.
And I have a guest today thatis, I'm excited to talk to you
because we're going to talkabout the depth of what it takes
to be successful.
It's not about having an ideaand all of a sudden becoming an
instant success.
We're going to talk about thework that it takes to become an
(00:21):
instant success over a longtime, right?
So I have with me founder andCEO Todd Smith of Odessa
Connect.
And Odessa Connect is atelevision based communication
platform that was built forpeople who struggle with small
screen devices, apps, andpasswords.
(00:42):
Sounds a lot of good help for alot of people that we know in
our world.
Todd, thank you for being heretoday.
Todd (00:50):
Thank you very much, Erin.
We're very happy to be here.
Erin (00:52):
Yes, so tell me about how this all got started.
How you could think that youcould, correct me if I'm wrong,
put cell phone type stuff on toa TV.
Am I correct with that?
Todd (01:10):
Yes.
we think of Odessa almost as agiant iPad in the living room,
so we're we've enabled a lot ofthat same functionality.
on a large screen.
so clicker that looks like ttalk about how we designed the
(01:33):
physical interface.
A just sit in our comfy chaclick and look at photos We do
video calls with th Dining menusand activity calendars and just
a lot of the things that youmight normally have to go to a
small screen for, but now wetake the TV and turn it into a
(01:54):
two way communication portal andallow that person to interact
with a clicker on a big screen.
Erin (02:02):
And so for those who are listening, he was holding up a
remote control and a very simpleremote control.
Yes.
It's got a TV button, a talkbutton and on and off button.
buttons, channel buttons andvolume buttons.
And this is ultimately the cruxof the conversation here because
I heard, and tell me if I'mwrong, but I heard that it took
(02:26):
you three years to perfect thisremote control.
Todd (02:32):
That is correct.
Unfortunately, And we have timeto tell the story.
So
Erin (02:38):
yes, this story is important.
I want to say it.
I want to preface it from thisway, especially if you're a
senior living leader or newentrepreneur, like I am like
depth, understanding the productthat you offer, understanding
the roadblocks that could get inthe way and understanding what
people want.
(02:58):
That takes time, and this is aperfect story that I really want
to get deep into, because itreally resonated with me, and we
have these expectations we puton ourselves, or maybe that
businesses give us, companiesgive us, to be successful
immediately, but the ultimatesuccess you want is sustainable
(03:20):
long term success.
And that takes time and Toddhere took three years to create
a remote control that is doingreally well, but I can only
imagine the thoughts and thefeelings.
at two at the year two mark.
So tell us the story, tell uswhat you were thinking.
(03:44):
Give us all the gory details.
so somebody else can relate toyou who's feeling the same way.
I'm sure you did.
Todd (03:50):
Yeah, there were plenty of, nights staring at the
ceiling going.
What are we, what have we done?
What are we going to do?
Yeah.
Um, it really started, I waswith a company called signature
healthcare, so we're inLouisville, usually when you say
Louisville, people think ofhorses, Derby, urban, maybe the
Louisville slugger baseball bat.
(04:11):
And, all of that is true.
And we claim all that, but, alot of people don't realize it's
a vortex of senior care.
a lot of the nationalorganizations are based here.
One of those is called SignatureHealthcare.
And, I was with SignatureHealthcare, for some years as
director of communications.
(04:33):
Signature owns and operatesskilled nursing facilities.
I would visit, the facilitiesand, as soon as you walk in the
door, it hits you.
Like the loneliness, theisolation, the boredom, the
digital disconnection.
it's just in the air, And, beinga kind of a builder, a creative,
this is probably relevant.
(04:53):
My background is actually in themusic business as an artist, as
a songwriter, as a musicproducer.
So I have this DNA as a.
As a creator, as a builder, and,actually think about this a lot
now and write about it, how theartist DNA and the entrepreneur
DNA are very much the same,because the artist and the
(05:17):
entrepreneur, they see.
And inversely, like they seethings that aren't there, and
then they want to build them.
they want to make them existlike what in your head.
You wanted to build it.
so that's a good backdrop forthis thing.
Um, we visit these buildings andsee the problem that, we could
(05:39):
say the people who built them.
We're most in need of digitalconnection.
We're actually the leastconnected, that's a problem in
the universe and, builder, theentrepreneur, the artist wants
to solve that.
I started tinkering with it inmy head and You know what?
we could make an app or we coulddo something, to help fill this
gap.
And that thought, that wasreally the seed that became what
(06:05):
is now Odessa.
Okay.
So it was a long journey and wecan talk about how it went from
that to this.
But, that was the inspirationand the original vision.
And, I ended up, building someprototypes and testing and
talking to people and justnoodling on it for a year or
two.
And, it started to take on massand gravity and energy in my
(06:28):
head.
And it got to the point where,I, I had, I came into that, burn
the ships entrepreneur.
it's like I either have to justgo all in and do this or I have
to stop spending so much time onit nights and weekends.
so I, I did the burn the shipsthing.
Like I left the, great real joband, struck out, into the
(06:51):
wilderness and, put together asmall team and got a, local
Louisville family office as aninvestor partner.
And we started, we didn't knowexactly where we were going or
what the ship looked like, orwhat the distant shore looked
like, but we knew the direction,we knew the mission.
and we just started testing andbuilding.
(07:13):
and trying things in local,assisted living facilities.
So that's one advantage we haveof being in Louisville is that
we have ready access to,partners, test populations,
customers, subject matter,experts, clinical experts.
and we just started tryingthings and the early prototypes,
as a, Epic fail, the day we tookour first prototype into our
(07:37):
first test building was like oneof the worst days of my life
because that was the rudeawakening.
like, I made all of the classic,first time founder mistakes,
right?
Like you way underestimate howlong it's going to take.
You way overestimate yourabilities.
You way underestimate the gapbetween, Really knowing the user
(07:57):
and like where you are and Imade all those classic mistakes.
And so we take our prototypes inthere and we're all proud of
them.
And they just totally bombed andthe residents, they couldn't use
it.
They didn't like it.
It wasn't work, just all thethings.
And, that was the first night ofokay, this mountain is higher.
this sea is bigger than wethought.
(08:20):
so hold on.
Erin (08:21):
How bad did you feel?
was your heart to the ground andwere you nauseous?
Todd (08:27):
that's coming.
Only
Erin (08:28):
imagine
Todd (08:30):
that's coming.
It wasn't because it was stillpretty early.
And, on a, on an adventure,you're full of adrenaline and
optimism and stuff.
Erin (08:38):
Yes.
Todd (08:39):
so it wasn't that bad.
it was like, oh shoot, but itwas okay, so we just go back to
the drawing board and we trysome more stuff.
but it got worse and worse overthe next like six to eight
months because we just weren't.
Getting there, and the reason isbecause we hadn't made the
critical Eureka discovery of theTV screen yet.
(09:02):
we were trying, B.
Y.
O.
D.
Computers, tablets, mobilephone.
We had this device agnosticparadigm because that's a
digital user paradigm, right?
Like B.
Y.
O.
D.
Whatever you have connects tothe cloud.
You're off, but and this is justthe very first of many,
Epiphanies along the way thatthere is a drastic difference
(09:26):
between what I now call theanalog world view or the analog
paradigm and the digitalparadigm.
We all live and exist and workin the digital paradigm.
And that comes with a whole lotof underlying assumptions and
things that we take for grantedthat are not given.
In the analog world someday,this will be a book, but for
(09:46):
now, you're allowing me topontificate.
this was the first one was thatBYOD doesn't work here.
so then, because like we'd go inand we'd say, Hey, we're trying
a new technology.
Who wants to try it?
Here's another problem.
You don't use that word.
Technology is a bad word.
now we say, who wants to getpictures from the grandkids on
(10:09):
your TV?
everybody says yes to thatquestion.
Who wants to try a new, a reallycool new technology?
Everybody says no to thatquestion.
But see, here's another theme wehad to get out of our
perspective.
from our perspective, it's areally cool technology.
But that's a self centeredperspective.
get to know the user and thenlook at it from their
(10:29):
perspective.
this whole journey is aboutlearning to meet the user where
they are.
So we were trying, computers inthe corner bedroom with the dust
cover on, windows 98 hadn't beenpowered up in six years, and
tablets and phones and just, weweren't getting, engagement.
We weren't getting usage and, orgood feedback.
(10:53):
And so then at that was thefirst kind of pretty dark
moment, where you just sit backand go.
This is not working like what'sgoing on.
Like we knew the problem wasthere, but the solution was
eluding us.
And, this was a great Eurekamoment and I remember it
forever.
we were sitting in a coffee shophere in Louisville, me and one
(11:16):
of our, clinical partners, Dr.
Mark Rothman, who is.
A real, rock star, awesomeperson and clinical
geriatrician.
And um, he was very instrumentalin the early days of pulling in
geriatric specialists to adviseus on the design of the system.
(11:39):
so we were sitting in a coffeeshop and, he was looking over my
shoulder.
There was a TV over my shoulderand we're sitting around just
going, what's going on, it's notworking.
What could we do different?
And he goes, what about the TV?
And that was like the cloudsparted.
And I was like, of course theTV, then we had a new path, to a
(12:00):
trail to follow.
And, we went back to the lab andwe tried some prototypes and we.
Hack some stuff together andtook it in.
And it was just like night andday, like the users got it right
off the bat and flowing and,they were eager to use it and
stuff.
So we were like, okay, this isthe trail.
all right.
So now we know our trail and weknow the TV screen is.
(12:23):
The right place to be for man.
It makes sense, right?
Like it's not a new device.
It's not a strange techiedevice.
everybody has one, all day long.
So it's just makes a lot ofsense in retrospect is obvious.
But for some reason we see it.
so then the next realization wasokay.
(12:46):
TV screen is the right screen,but how do we interact with the
TV?
like you have to have a physicalinterface, you have to have some
kind of remote, and at first wedidn't really think about it.
We were like, oh, they'll justuse their TV remote, but no,
that you're, no, you, now you'rein a different problem, right?
Erin (13:08):
Yeah.
Todd (13:09):
It's a lot of buttons.
Yeah.
and are we just another app on asmart TV?
New problem.
We came to the, dauntingconclusion that we had to build
hardware.
Now, this is a, a lot of VCs,like as soon as they, as soon as
you tell them you're doinghardware, it's like immediate
hard pass,
Erin (13:29):
right.
And a VC is a venturecapitalist, correct?
Todd (13:32):
Yes.
Erin (13:33):
Yes.
Todd (13:34):
lots of investors are just like immediate hard pass if
you're doing hardware becauseit's expensive.
And the saying goes, hardware ishard, apps easy to iterate and
update.
And, so it's the path of leastresistance.
So most entrepreneurs and VCsjust want to do an app because
those barriers are so low, butthat's also the bad news,
(13:55):
because the barriers are so low.
a bunch of noise and glut, inthat space, hardware is hard.
the mountain is higher.
There's a lot of bodies on theway up, But we decided that we
had to do that.
And, like I said, I'm amusician.
I'm not a hardware engineer.
But, we, we figured out how todo it.
(14:16):
We got, put a team together andhired some advisors and
consultants, and we built, a boxand a remote control that
allowed us to really controlthat user experience.
from the minute you wake up andturn your TV on to how you go
(14:38):
back and forth between yourOdessa content and your TV, how
you navigate, how you switch.
we had to give the user veryeasy pathways to all that.
And the only way to do that wasto build hardware, to build a
box and build a remote.
so when we say it took threeyears.
(14:58):
that's all of that is it tookthat much time to go through all
those hoops and come to allthose conclusions and then come
out the other end of it withthis,
Erin (15:10):
right?
I think it's, I love how youliken it to a creative because I
used to really get down onmyself because I wasn't.
Artistic, right?
Which I assumed was creative,but I am creative with other
(15:32):
things, not art.
And when you do education orwhen you start a business or
when you're leading a team,there is art.
There is a creative component tothat.
And I really love how you tiethat back together, because if
you don't have that, if youdon't allow the art part in.
(15:54):
You lose so much
Todd (15:56):
and
Erin (15:56):
you gave yourself permission to bring that aspect
in and it really worked for you.
Todd (16:02):
Yes.
And I think that's a greatpoint, Erin.
problem solving is artistic,it's creative, it's making
something new that didn't existbefore, you know.
so art and creativity is allaround us, hidden in subtle
ways, but I really think it'sthe, it's the, Magic sparkle
that makes things happen, whenyou see like stuff that was
(16:25):
designed from a more,engineering or technical
standpoint, it doesn't have thatsparkle, I'm nothing against
engineers, if you need button ato perform function B, you need
an engineer, but if you want itto look and feel a certain way
and engage a user, you need anartist, To make it, user
(16:46):
friendly.
Erin (16:47):
Yeah, problem solving is an art form.
And so many people run away fromit.
So many people ignore it andpeople don't realize that is you
have to walk through theproblems in order to actually
find the success that you want.
And the control is reallypretty.
It's orange.
It's got all kinds of colors.
I'm sure there was some colorpsychology.
(17:10):
Chosen for the colors.
Todd (17:12):
Yes.
the truth is we chose the colorjust based on the aesthetics of
it and the fact that it Youknow, so different than all the
other remotes on the coffeetable.
You can't lose it.
It sticks out from across theroom and it's fun.
It's bright, but it also happensto be, the last color to go.
(17:34):
If you have macular degenerationor vision impairment, orange is
the last to go.
So it's a happy coincidencethere.
Erin (17:43):
Yeah.
So what have you seen as you'vegotten through the hard parts?
and the banging your headagainst the wall.
And now you're changing people'slives one TV at a time.
What do you see as your originalgoal and the goals and the
outcomes that you're seeingtoday?
(18:04):
Are they the same?
Are they different?
are there new things that youdidn't even think about that are
happening,
Todd (18:12):
yes, definitely that,
Erin (18:15):
all of that.
Todd (18:16):
Yes, we, I keep using this sort of explorer analogy, but,
originally the goal and themission objective was just to.
build some kind of digital toolfor the residents to help them
better engage with theirfamilies and, stay more
connected, reduce isolation.
(18:36):
But in the process of, buildingthat solution, we, we stumbled
onto a whole new continent.
Essentially, and now we'restanding on the shore of this
continent going, wow, we didn'teven know, all this territory
was here because if you thinkabout it, what we've done is
(18:57):
opened up a portal into theliving room, and we've solved
content delivery to people whoare 80, 90, a hundred years old,
who, you know, a lot of peoplejust write them off.
a lot of people, I even had a VCtell me once, I saved the
sketch.
I still have the sketch.
(19:18):
he drew an age curve and he drewa line and wrote the number 65,
like age 65, and then draw drewa steep decline after that.
And he's everybody on this sideof the line is not worth
building for.
It's not worth investing in.
It's not worth spending time on.
It's not, like literally,casting aside an entire
population of.
(19:39):
millions of people.
and, that's indicative of,that's starting to change a
little bit, that very kind ofageist, mentality that, that,
certainly technologyhistorically has had an
entertainment and, consumerculture and everything like, oh,
they're, those people are all,they're not buying stuff.
They're on their way out, Butit's hello, no, anyway, you got
(20:00):
along the rant there, So we didthe hard part already.
we figured out how to get into,create a portal into the living
room, engage that user.
willingly, they want to get in,they pick up their orange
remote.
It's fun.
It's not intimidating.
They get pictures from thegrandkids.
They do video calls.
They see stuff on their TV.
(20:22):
that's the hard part, right?
once you.
Once you establish that firstcolony, in the new country, now
you just build more colonies, Sonow we're looking at all sorts
of things, bringing through thatportal.
the most exciting to me is thenext thing we're really working
on is entertainment and gamesand, content programming because
(20:44):
of course, circling back to my,background in music, that's,
very much aligned with what I'vedone for many years.
but there's also now a rapidlyemerging body of work and
research around, media asmedicine, music, gaming, video
(21:06):
games, Immersive digitalexperiences as, as actually like
nonclinical interventions toclinical issues, anxiety,
depression, loneliness, isolate,like using these media, to
mitigate and address theseclinical issues.
And there's hard data now, thatit improves clinical outcomes in
(21:30):
many cases, better than a pillor some other clinical
intervention.
So that's very exciting to mebecause it's like the planets
have drifted into alignment andplanets move at a galactical,
pace, but they're lined up now.
we have delivery solved into thehome.
(21:52):
We have, growing awareness ofthe importance of media as
medicine.
And, we, that's really paved theway for all the groundwork that
we've Now we can just startpushing, optimized content and
programming to the Odessa users.
So very exciting.
Erin (22:12):
And so people use Odessa as we wrap it up and really
define.
Okay.
We know it's on the TV.
We know we can look at pictures.
We know it's for people whostruggle with.
small screens, small devices,apps and passwords.
What do, who, anyone can getthis in their home or is this
(22:35):
for senior living operators?
Is this, you know, how do wemake sure or know how to get
this or who uses it and or what?
Yes, for pictures, but.
What else?
Todd (22:50):
Yes.
Great question.
so, several parts to thatanswer.
Senior living, is the foundationof our business.
that's where we started.
So that would be just workingwith a senior living operator or
community, to provide this fortheir residents.
and we also have, a lot ofcommunity tools that the, Staff
(23:12):
can use, you can make yourcalendars.
You can manage your digitalsignage screens.
You can message the residentsand the families.
We have a family app.
So there's a whole suite of,modules and applications that
work together for a seniorliving operator.
and then.
the next sort of circle out fromthere is a health care provider.
(23:35):
So if you're a physician or ahome health group or health
plan, the pace organization andsomething like that, you can use
Odessa to engage your patients,these may be people who are bed
bound, maybe they live.
an hour away from the clinic.
They can't drive.
They can't get in easily.
(23:55):
It takes you two hours to getthere.
Perfect candidate for Odessa onthe tv in that person's home
because now we can check in withthem.
We can check on them we can dovitals, like remote patient
monitoring.
That's one of our features so wehave a whole host of healthcare
(24:16):
specific features in that bucketin that market And then for a
consumer or an individual familylike you mentioned We haven't
done a whole lot of that, butnow we're starting to, we would
get inquiries on the website,Hey, my mom is not in a
facility, but can we get one ofthese?
(24:37):
And we really weren't set up todo that, but we are now.
we actually have a new sitelaunching in about two weeks and
it's going to have an order pageand where a person can, just
order one for themselves or fortheir family.
Erin (24:50):
That's great.
Todd (24:52):
Yeah,
Erin (24:52):
so we solve the problem or you solve the problem.
Odessa connect solves theproblem of engaging the
disengaged in technology.
to where it can easily you don'thave to have, because let's face
it.
It is hard to have technologydevices inside senior living.
(25:13):
It just is and you can leavethem in another residence room.
It can get lost.
It can get thrown away.
It can walk away.
There's lots of things that canhappen.
It can get washed in the washingmachine.
there's lots of things thathappen inside of senior living.
And so when you bring engagementto a TV, you do actually make
(25:37):
engagement easier and moreconsistent.
And then you spent a long timetrying to figure out the remote
control and now makes it userfriendly and actually brings a
little joy when you see all thebright colors, knowing that you
can be engaged with family, andso it is, the technology digital
(25:58):
age is, It's hard to navigateand hard to, motivate some
people.
But like you said, the outcomeis I get to talk more to my
loved ones.
I don't necessarily have topress the button to have
somebody call in and help me setup the iPad because that can be
challenging.
Now I just have to use the sameremote control.
(26:20):
And if I lose the remotecontrol, I can probably find it
quicker because it's neonorange,
Todd (26:25):
right?
Exactly.
All of that is true.
absolutely.
we wanted to, I have an article,on my linkedin called design for
feeling, and so we want todesign the user experience to
create a feeling of, Autonomy,independence, joy, delight,
(26:47):
connection.
we want the user to feel allthose things when they use our
system, right?
Because think about trying likean iPad, for example, it's I, I
need help.
Somebody has to come in andlaunch something and sign me
into something.
And there's a feeling ofdependence, not independence.
And lack of autonomy.
(27:07):
we really want to beef up on thedigital autonomy as our physical
autonomy is starting to wane andwe're losing physical
independence.
We want to try to counteractthat with as much digital
independence as we can.
And we have to do that with veryintentional, UX design, that's
optimized for this user.
Erin (27:30):
And I will add this thinking about.
How you were really justdescribing digital independence
with physical dependence.
One of the ways to think aboutthis and for you to think about
in the future.
we protect our residents and ourolder adults by giving them
(27:52):
digital independence that canprotect them because I have seen
people lose their fortune.
I have seen.
And their fortune could only bea hundred thousand dollars.
It could be 50, 000, but theyjust gave it away.
They bought a cruise that theycan't get their money back, or
they're talking to people from adifferent country.
(28:14):
And lots of things happen.
Todd (28:17):
Yeah.
Erin (28:18):
This product is actually a safe way for them to have
digital independence because itremoves the negative
consequences of making badchoices.
And there is power to that.
because the scams are justgetting better and better
Todd (28:41):
out of control.
Erin (28:42):
Yes.
there's that element that'sreally important as well.
Todd (28:46):
Definitely appreciate that.
That is true.
it's a very private, it's a, wethink of it like a walled
garden, like nobody can get inunless the person wants them in
there.
family care team staff.
Otherwise, no spam, no fraud, norobo caught.
Nothing like that can getthrough.
So
Erin (29:04):
yeah,
Todd (29:05):
good point.
Erin (29:06):
That's important.
thank you.
This was really great.
for me as an entrepreneur andthen Even as a senior living
leader, to be able to listen toyour story and Odessa Connect
story and know the depth ofgetting something right takes
time and not everybody has threeyears, right?
(29:29):
But six months can feel likethree years.
and to me, the creativity side,allow yourself to feel free to
be creative because when you doallow yourself that quiet time,
like you said, staring at thewall, whatever, then you can
(29:51):
solve the problems.
Don't get frustrated because ofall the problems.
Just solve them one at a time.
Todd (29:59):
Love that take away, because the creativity, it needs
that, time to incubate, you, ithas to have that sort of just
wandering and thinking andexploring, time and space or it
can't.
get out.
Erin (30:15):
Yeah.
And the root of the problem,too.
Todd (30:18):
You can
Erin (30:18):
have a really great idea and you're just missing that
small little piece that was infront of you the entire time.
And so you sought support, youbrought people in y'all are
just, spit balling things.
And then all of a sudden, it'sWhat about the TV?
And that was it.
You
Todd (30:35):
just got to stay alive long enough to get to that
moment, and so many startups,don't make it that long.
the runway runs out, the rampruns out, people get frustrated,
bored off on other things.
So easy to, not make it to thatpoint.
(30:56):
critical point,
Erin (30:58):
or listen to the wrong people too.
Todd (31:00):
really
Erin (31:01):
how many people were telling you that maybe you
should stop?
Todd (31:05):
Tons.
Most investors, the thing abouthardware, it's like, you can't
build a remote control.
You never done that before.
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
I'm like, okay, thank you.
I'm going to do it.
fortunately my investors were sopatient.
And you can imagine we're a yearand a half into this and
nothing's worked yet.
We spent all this money, allthis time.
(31:26):
And then I show up one day andsay, we need to build a remote
control and I don't know how todo it.
So that was not a good day.
But here we are.
Erin (31:36):
Yeah, pays off, it's a great, it's a great story of
perseverance and really knowing,and then whose voice do you
listen to?
How do you dial those down?
Staying true to you, listeningto your intuition.
there's so much here and I justappreciate you sharing that with
(31:57):
us and motivating.
I didn't understand how closelylinked entrepreneurship and
senior living leadership isuntil I became on the other
side, because we just aren'ttaught to think that way.
And I think that it does open usup, expands our minds to think
about things differently, bylistening to stories and.
(32:21):
And paralleling them, yeah, weall the time.
I hear that all the time.
I hear all the negative voicesall the time.
Who am I going to listen to?
Why am I going to listen tothem?
all those things.
So I appreciate you sharing yourstory and creating a product
that will change the lives ofpeople that can't see as well
that want to be connected thatare isolated that, need
(32:44):
protection from people who wantto take everything they have.
It's very.
Important and I'm glad you'redoing it.
Todd (32:51):
thank you Erin.
I really do appreciate that.
Erin (32:53):
You're welcome And so if they need it, so what is the
website for them to contactsomeone or learn more about
Odessa connect?
Todd (33:01):
it's just odessa connect.
tv
If you go to the show notes ofthis podcast episode, there is a
QR code that you can scan to getyour Odessa Connect for your
loved one.
Erin (33:14):
All right.
thank you so much And if this issomething that you're interested
in You Or if you, thought thisstory was inspiring, just like I
did, share this episode with oneother person and, help impact
their lives in a positive waytoo.
And as always, aspire for more,for you.
Howdy folks.
It's Erin again.
And I have a guest today thatis, I'm excited to talk to you
because we're going to talkabout the depth of what it takes
to be successful.
It's not about having an ideaand all of a sudden becoming an
instant success.
We're going to talk about thework that it takes to become an
(00:21):
instant success over a longtime, right?
So I have with me founder andCEO Todd Smith of Odessa
Connect.
And Odessa Connect is atelevision based communication
platform that was built forpeople who struggle with small
screen devices, apps, andpasswords.
(00:42):
Sounds a lot of good help for alot of people that we know in
our world.
Todd, thank you for being heretoday.
Todd (00:50):
Thank you very much, Erin.
We're very happy to be here.
Erin (00:52):
Yes, so tell me about how this all got started.
How you could think that youcould, correct me if I'm wrong,
put cell phone type stuff on toa TV.
Am I correct with that?
Todd (01:10):
Yes.
we think of Odessa almost as agiant iPad in the living room,
so we're we've enabled a lot ofthat same functionality.
on a large screen.
so clicker that looks like ttalk about how we designed the
(01:33):
physical interface.
A just sit in our comfy chaclick and look at photos We do
video calls with th Dining menusand activity calendars and just
a lot of the things that youmight normally have to go to a
small screen for, but now wetake the TV and turn it into a
(01:54):
two way communication portal andallow that person to interact
with a clicker on a big screen.
Erin (02:02):
And so for those who are listening, he was holding up a
remote control and a very simpleremote control.
Yes.
It's got a TV button, a talkbutton and on and off button.
buttons, channel buttons andvolume buttons.
And this is ultimately the cruxof the conversation here because
I heard, and tell me if I'mwrong, but I heard that it took
(02:26):
you three years to perfect thisremote control.
Todd (02:32):
That is correct.
Unfortunately, And we have timeto tell the story.
So
Erin (02:38):
yes, this story is important.
I want to say it.
I want to preface it from thisway, especially if you're a
senior living leader or newentrepreneur, like I am like
depth, understanding the productthat you offer, understanding
the roadblocks that could get inthe way and understanding what
people want.
(02:58):
That takes time, and this is aperfect story that I really want
to get deep into, because itreally resonated with me, and we
have these expectations we puton ourselves, or maybe that
businesses give us, companiesgive us, to be successful
immediately, but the ultimatesuccess you want is sustainable
(03:20):
long term success.
And that takes time and Toddhere took three years to create
a remote control that is doingreally well, but I can only
imagine the thoughts and thefeelings.
at two at the year two mark.
So tell us the story, tell uswhat you were thinking.
(03:44):
Give us all the gory details.
so somebody else can relate toyou who's feeling the same way.
I'm sure you did.
Todd (03:50):
Yeah, there were plenty of, nights staring at the
ceiling going.
What are we, what have we done?
What are we going to do?
Yeah.
Um, it really started, I waswith a company called signature
healthcare, so we're inLouisville, usually when you say
Louisville, people think ofhorses, Derby, urban, maybe the
Louisville slugger baseball bat.
(04:11):
And, all of that is true.
And we claim all that, but, alot of people don't realize it's
a vortex of senior care.
a lot of the nationalorganizations are based here.
One of those is called SignatureHealthcare.
And, I was with SignatureHealthcare, for some years as
director of communications.
(04:33):
Signature owns and operatesskilled nursing facilities.
I would visit, the facilitiesand, as soon as you walk in the
door, it hits you.
Like the loneliness, theisolation, the boredom, the
digital disconnection.
it's just in the air, And, beinga kind of a builder, a creative,
this is probably relevant.
(04:53):
My background is actually in themusic business as an artist, as
a songwriter, as a musicproducer.
So I have this DNA as a.
As a creator, as a builder, and,actually think about this a lot
now and write about it, how theartist DNA and the entrepreneur
DNA are very much the same,because the artist and the
(05:17):
entrepreneur, they see.
And inversely, like they seethings that aren't there, and
then they want to build them.
they want to make them existlike what in your head.
You wanted to build it.
so that's a good backdrop forthis thing.
Um, we visit these buildings andsee the problem that, we could
(05:39):
say the people who built them.
We're most in need of digitalconnection.
We're actually the leastconnected, that's a problem in
the universe and, builder, theentrepreneur, the artist wants
to solve that.
I started tinkering with it inmy head and You know what?
we could make an app or we coulddo something, to help fill this
gap.
And that thought, that wasreally the seed that became what
(06:05):
is now Odessa.
Okay.
So it was a long journey and wecan talk about how it went from
that to this.
But, that was the inspirationand the original vision.
And, I ended up, building someprototypes and testing and
talking to people and justnoodling on it for a year or
two.
And, it started to take on massand gravity and energy in my
(06:28):
head.
And it got to the point where,I, I had, I came into that, burn
the ships entrepreneur.
it's like I either have to justgo all in and do this or I have
to stop spending so much time onit nights and weekends.
so I, I did the burn the shipsthing.
Like I left the, great real joband, struck out, into the
(06:51):
wilderness and, put together asmall team and got a, local
Louisville family office as aninvestor partner.
And we started, we didn't knowexactly where we were going or
what the ship looked like, orwhat the distant shore looked
like, but we knew the direction,we knew the mission.
and we just started testing andbuilding.
(07:13):
and trying things in local,assisted living facilities.
So that's one advantage we haveof being in Louisville is that
we have ready access to,partners, test populations,
customers, subject matter,experts, clinical experts.
and we just started tryingthings and the early prototypes,
as a, Epic fail, the day we tookour first prototype into our
(07:37):
first test building was like oneof the worst days of my life
because that was the rudeawakening.
like, I made all of the classic,first time founder mistakes,
right?
Like you way underestimate howlong it's going to take.
You way overestimate yourabilities.
You way underestimate the gapbetween, Really knowing the user
(07:57):
and like where you are and Imade all those classic mistakes.
And so we take our prototypes inthere and we're all proud of
them.
And they just totally bombed andthe residents, they couldn't use
it.
They didn't like it.
It wasn't work, just all thethings.
And, that was the first night ofokay, this mountain is higher.
this sea is bigger than wethought.
(08:20):
so hold on.
Erin (08:21):
How bad did you feel?
was your heart to the ground andwere you nauseous?
Todd (08:27):
that's coming.
Only
Erin (08:28):
imagine
Todd (08:30):
that's coming.
It wasn't because it was stillpretty early.
And, on a, on an adventure,you're full of adrenaline and
optimism and stuff.
Erin (08:38):
Yes.
Todd (08:39):
so it wasn't that bad.
it was like, oh shoot, but itwas okay, so we just go back to
the drawing board and we trysome more stuff.
but it got worse and worse overthe next like six to eight
months because we just weren't.
Getting there, and the reason isbecause we hadn't made the
critical Eureka discovery of theTV screen yet.
(09:02):
we were trying, B.
Y.
O.
D.
Computers, tablets, mobilephone.
We had this device agnosticparadigm because that's a
digital user paradigm, right?
Like B.
Y.
O.
D.
Whatever you have connects tothe cloud.
You're off, but and this is justthe very first of many,
Epiphanies along the way thatthere is a drastic difference
(09:26):
between what I now call theanalog world view or the analog
paradigm and the digitalparadigm.
We all live and exist and workin the digital paradigm.
And that comes with a whole lotof underlying assumptions and
things that we take for grantedthat are not given.
In the analog world someday,this will be a book, but for
(09:46):
now, you're allowing me topontificate.
this was the first one was thatBYOD doesn't work here.
so then, because like we'd go inand we'd say, Hey, we're trying
a new technology.
Who wants to try it?
Here's another problem.
You don't use that word.
Technology is a bad word.
now we say, who wants to getpictures from the grandkids on
(10:09):
your TV?
everybody says yes to thatquestion.
Who wants to try a new, a reallycool new technology?
Everybody says no to thatquestion.
But see, here's another theme wehad to get out of our
perspective.
from our perspective, it's areally cool technology.
But that's a self centeredperspective.
get to know the user and thenlook at it from their
(10:29):
perspective.
this whole journey is aboutlearning to meet the user where
they are.
So we were trying, computers inthe corner bedroom with the dust
cover on, windows 98 hadn't beenpowered up in six years, and
tablets and phones and just, weweren't getting, engagement.
We weren't getting usage and, orgood feedback.
(10:53):
And so then at that was thefirst kind of pretty dark
moment, where you just sit backand go.
This is not working like what'sgoing on.
Like we knew the problem wasthere, but the solution was
eluding us.
And, this was a great Eurekamoment and I remember it
forever.
we were sitting in a coffee shophere in Louisville, me and one
(11:16):
of our, clinical partners, Dr.
Mark Rothman, who is.
A real, rock star, awesomeperson and clinical
geriatrician.
And um, he was very instrumentalin the early days of pulling in
geriatric specialists to adviseus on the design of the system.
(11:39):
so we were sitting in a coffeeshop and, he was looking over my
shoulder.
There was a TV over my shoulderand we're sitting around just
going, what's going on, it's notworking.
What could we do different?
And he goes, what about the TV?
And that was like the cloudsparted.
And I was like, of course theTV, then we had a new path, to a
(12:00):
trail to follow.
And, we went back to the lab andwe tried some prototypes and we.
Hack some stuff together andtook it in.
And it was just like night andday, like the users got it right
off the bat and flowing and,they were eager to use it and
stuff.
So we were like, okay, this isthe trail.
all right.
So now we know our trail and weknow the TV screen is.
(12:23):
The right place to be for man.
It makes sense, right?
Like it's not a new device.
It's not a strange techiedevice.
everybody has one, all day long.
So it's just makes a lot ofsense in retrospect is obvious.
But for some reason we see it.
so then the next realization wasokay.
(12:46):
TV screen is the right screen,but how do we interact with the
TV?
like you have to have a physicalinterface, you have to have some
kind of remote, and at first wedidn't really think about it.
We were like, oh, they'll justuse their TV remote, but no,
that you're, no, you, now you'rein a different problem, right?
Erin (13:08):
Yeah.
Todd (13:09):
It's a lot of buttons.
Yeah.
and are we just another app on asmart TV?
New problem.
We came to the, dauntingconclusion that we had to build
hardware.
Now, this is a, a lot of VCs,like as soon as they, as soon as
you tell them you're doinghardware, it's like immediate
hard pass,
Erin (13:29):
right.
And a VC is a venturecapitalist, correct?
Todd (13:32):
Yes.
Erin (13:33):
Yes.
Todd (13:34):
lots of investors are just like immediate hard pass if
you're doing hardware becauseit's expensive.
And the saying goes, hardware ishard, apps easy to iterate and
update.
And, so it's the path of leastresistance.
So most entrepreneurs and VCsjust want to do an app because
those barriers are so low, butthat's also the bad news,
(13:55):
because the barriers are so low.
a bunch of noise and glut, inthat space, hardware is hard.
the mountain is higher.
There's a lot of bodies on theway up, But we decided that we
had to do that.
And, like I said, I'm amusician.
I'm not a hardware engineer.
But, we, we figured out how todo it.
(14:16):
We got, put a team together andhired some advisors and
consultants, and we built, a boxand a remote control that
allowed us to really controlthat user experience.
from the minute you wake up andturn your TV on to how you go
(14:38):
back and forth between yourOdessa content and your TV, how
you navigate, how you switch.
we had to give the user veryeasy pathways to all that.
And the only way to do that wasto build hardware, to build a
box and build a remote.
so when we say it took threeyears.
(14:58):
that's all of that is it tookthat much time to go through all
those hoops and come to allthose conclusions and then come
out the other end of it withthis,
Erin (15:10):
right?
I think it's, I love how youliken it to a creative because I
used to really get down onmyself because I wasn't.
Artistic, right?
Which I assumed was creative,but I am creative with other
(15:32):
things, not art.
And when you do education orwhen you start a business or
when you're leading a team,there is art.
There is a creative component tothat.
And I really love how you tiethat back together, because if
you don't have that, if youdon't allow the art part in.
(15:54):
You lose so much
Todd (15:56):
and
Erin (15:56):
you gave yourself permission to bring that aspect
in and it really worked for you.
Todd (16:02):
Yes.
And I think that's a greatpoint, Erin.
problem solving is artistic,it's creative, it's making
something new that didn't existbefore, you know.
so art and creativity is allaround us, hidden in subtle
ways, but I really think it'sthe, it's the, Magic sparkle
that makes things happen, whenyou see like stuff that was
(16:25):
designed from a more,engineering or technical
standpoint, it doesn't have thatsparkle, I'm nothing against
engineers, if you need button ato perform function B, you need
an engineer, but if you want itto look and feel a certain way
and engage a user, you need anartist, To make it, user
(16:46):
friendly.
Erin (16:47):
Yeah, problem solving is an art form.
And so many people run away fromit.
So many people ignore it andpeople don't realize that is you
have to walk through theproblems in order to actually
find the success that you want.
And the control is reallypretty.
It's orange.
It's got all kinds of colors.
I'm sure there was some colorpsychology.
(17:10):
Chosen for the colors.
Todd (17:12):
Yes.
the truth is we chose the colorjust based on the aesthetics of
it and the fact that it Youknow, so different than all the
other remotes on the coffeetable.
You can't lose it.
It sticks out from across theroom and it's fun.
It's bright, but it also happensto be, the last color to go.
(17:34):
If you have macular degenerationor vision impairment, orange is
the last to go.
So it's a happy coincidencethere.
Erin (17:43):
Yeah.
So what have you seen as you'vegotten through the hard parts?
and the banging your headagainst the wall.
And now you're changing people'slives one TV at a time.
What do you see as your originalgoal and the goals and the
outcomes that you're seeingtoday?
(18:04):
Are they the same?
Are they different?
are there new things that youdidn't even think about that are
happening,
Todd (18:12):
yes, definitely that,
Erin (18:15):
all of that.
Todd (18:16):
Yes, we, I keep using this sort of explorer analogy, but,
originally the goal and themission objective was just to.
build some kind of digital toolfor the residents to help them
better engage with theirfamilies and, stay more
connected, reduce isolation.
(18:36):
But in the process of, buildingthat solution, we, we stumbled
onto a whole new continent.
Essentially, and now we'restanding on the shore of this
continent going, wow, we didn'teven know, all this territory
was here because if you thinkabout it, what we've done is
(18:57):
opened up a portal into theliving room, and we've solved
content delivery to people whoare 80, 90, a hundred years old,
who, you know, a lot of peoplejust write them off.
a lot of people, I even had a VCtell me once, I saved the
sketch.
I still have the sketch.
(19:18):
he drew an age curve and he drewa line and wrote the number 65,
like age 65, and then draw drewa steep decline after that.
And he's everybody on this sideof the line is not worth
building for.
It's not worth investing in.
It's not worth spending time on.
It's not, like literally,casting aside an entire
population of.
(19:39):
millions of people.
and, that's indicative of,that's starting to change a
little bit, that very kind ofageist, mentality that, that,
certainly technologyhistorically has had an
entertainment and, consumerculture and everything like, oh,
they're, those people are all,they're not buying stuff.
They're on their way out, Butit's hello, no, anyway, you got
(20:00):
along the rant there, So we didthe hard part already.
we figured out how to get into,create a portal into the living
room, engage that user.
willingly, they want to get in,they pick up their orange
remote.
It's fun.
It's not intimidating.
They get pictures from thegrandkids.
They do video calls.
They see stuff on their TV.
(20:22):
that's the hard part, right?
once you.
Once you establish that firstcolony, in the new country, now
you just build more colonies, Sonow we're looking at all sorts
of things, bringing through thatportal.
the most exciting to me is thenext thing we're really working
on is entertainment and gamesand, content programming because
(20:44):
of course, circling back to my,background in music, that's,
very much aligned with what I'vedone for many years.
but there's also now a rapidlyemerging body of work and
research around, media asmedicine, music, gaming, video
(21:06):
games, Immersive digitalexperiences as, as actually like
nonclinical interventions toclinical issues, anxiety,
depression, loneliness, isolate,like using these media, to
mitigate and address theseclinical issues.
And there's hard data now, thatit improves clinical outcomes in
(21:30):
many cases, better than a pillor some other clinical
intervention.
So that's very exciting to mebecause it's like the planets
have drifted into alignment andplanets move at a galactical,
pace, but they're lined up now.
we have delivery solved into thehome.
(21:52):
We have, growing awareness ofthe importance of media as
medicine.
And, we, that's really paved theway for all the groundwork that
we've Now we can just startpushing, optimized content and
programming to the Odessa users.
So very exciting.
Erin (22:12):
And so people use Odessa as we wrap it up and really
define.
Okay.
We know it's on the TV.
We know we can look at pictures.
We know it's for people whostruggle with.
small screens, small devices,apps and passwords.
What do, who, anyone can getthis in their home or is this
(22:35):
for senior living operators?
Is this, you know, how do wemake sure or know how to get
this or who uses it and or what?
Yes, for pictures, but.
What else?
Todd (22:50):
Yes.
Great question.
so, several parts to thatanswer.
Senior living, is the foundationof our business.
that's where we started.
So that would be just workingwith a senior living operator or
community, to provide this fortheir residents.
and we also have, a lot ofcommunity tools that the, Staff
(23:12):
can use, you can make yourcalendars.
You can manage your digitalsignage screens.
You can message the residentsand the families.
We have a family app.
So there's a whole suite of,modules and applications that
work together for a seniorliving operator.
and then.
the next sort of circle out fromthere is a health care provider.
(23:35):
So if you're a physician or ahome health group or health
plan, the pace organization andsomething like that, you can use
Odessa to engage your patients,these may be people who are bed
bound, maybe they live.
an hour away from the clinic.
They can't drive.
They can't get in easily.
(23:55):
It takes you two hours to getthere.
Perfect candidate for Odessa onthe tv in that person's home
because now we can check in withthem.
We can check on them we can dovitals, like remote patient
monitoring.
That's one of our features so wehave a whole host of healthcare
(24:16):
specific features in that bucketin that market And then for a
consumer or an individual familylike you mentioned We haven't
done a whole lot of that, butnow we're starting to, we would
get inquiries on the website,Hey, my mom is not in a
facility, but can we get one ofthese?
(24:37):
And we really weren't set up todo that, but we are now.
we actually have a new sitelaunching in about two weeks and
it's going to have an order pageand where a person can, just
order one for themselves or fortheir family.
Erin (24:50):
That's great.
Todd (24:52):
Yeah,
Erin (24:52):
so we solve the problem or you solve the problem.
Odessa connect solves theproblem of engaging the
disengaged in technology.
to where it can easily you don'thave to have, because let's face
it.
It is hard to have technologydevices inside senior living.
(25:13):
It just is and you can leavethem in another residence room.
It can get lost.
It can get thrown away.
It can walk away.
There's lots of things that canhappen.
It can get washed in the washingmachine.
there's lots of things thathappen inside of senior living.
And so when you bring engagementto a TV, you do actually make
(25:37):
engagement easier and moreconsistent.
And then you spent a long timetrying to figure out the remote
control and now makes it userfriendly and actually brings a
little joy when you see all thebright colors, knowing that you
can be engaged with family, andso it is, the technology digital
(25:58):
age is, It's hard to navigateand hard to, motivate some
people.
But like you said, the outcomeis I get to talk more to my
loved ones.
I don't necessarily have topress the button to have
somebody call in and help me setup the iPad because that can be
challenging.
Now I just have to use the sameremote control.
(26:20):
And if I lose the remotecontrol, I can probably find it
quicker because it's neonorange,
Todd (26:25):
right?
Exactly.
All of that is true.
absolutely.
we wanted to, I have an article,on my linkedin called design for
feeling, and so we want todesign the user experience to
create a feeling of, Autonomy,independence, joy, delight,
(26:47):
connection.
we want the user to feel allthose things when they use our
system, right?
Because think about trying likean iPad, for example, it's I, I
need help.
Somebody has to come in andlaunch something and sign me
into something.
And there's a feeling ofdependence, not independence.
And lack of autonomy.
(27:07):
we really want to beef up on thedigital autonomy as our physical
autonomy is starting to wane andwe're losing physical
independence.
We want to try to counteractthat with as much digital
independence as we can.
And we have to do that with veryintentional, UX design, that's
optimized for this user.
Erin (27:30):
And I will add this thinking about.
How you were really justdescribing digital independence
with physical dependence.
One of the ways to think aboutthis and for you to think about
in the future.
we protect our residents and ourolder adults by giving them
(27:52):
digital independence that canprotect them because I have seen
people lose their fortune.
I have seen.
And their fortune could only bea hundred thousand dollars.
It could be 50, 000, but theyjust gave it away.
They bought a cruise that theycan't get their money back, or
they're talking to people from adifferent country.
(28:14):
And lots of things happen.
Todd (28:17):
Yeah.
Erin (28:18):
This product is actually a safe way for them to have
digital independence because itremoves the negative
consequences of making badchoices.
And there is power to that.
because the scams are justgetting better and better
Todd (28:41):
out of control.
Erin (28:42):
Yes.
there's that element that'sreally important as well.
Todd (28:46):
Definitely appreciate that.
That is true.
it's a very private, it's a, wethink of it like a walled
garden, like nobody can get inunless the person wants them in
there.
family care team staff.
Otherwise, no spam, no fraud, norobo caught.
Nothing like that can getthrough.
So
Erin (29:04):
yeah,
Todd (29:05):
good point.
Erin (29:06):
That's important.
thank you.
This was really great.
for me as an entrepreneur andthen Even as a senior living
leader, to be able to listen toyour story and Odessa Connect
story and know the depth ofgetting something right takes
time and not everybody has threeyears, right?
(29:29):
But six months can feel likethree years.
and to me, the creativity side,allow yourself to feel free to
be creative because when you doallow yourself that quiet time,
like you said, staring at thewall, whatever, then you can
(29:51):
solve the problems.
Don't get frustrated because ofall the problems.
Just solve them one at a time.
Todd (29:59):
Love that take away, because the creativity, it needs
that, time to incubate, you, ithas to have that sort of just
wandering and thinking andexploring, time and space or it
can't.
get out.
Erin (30:15):
Yeah.
And the root of the problem,too.
Todd (30:18):
You can
Erin (30:18):
have a really great idea and you're just missing that
small little piece that was infront of you the entire time.
And so you sought support, youbrought people in y'all are
just, spit balling things.
And then all of a sudden, it'sWhat about the TV?
And that was it.
You
Todd (30:35):
just got to stay alive long enough to get to that
moment, and so many startups,don't make it that long.
the runway runs out, the rampruns out, people get frustrated,
bored off on other things.
So easy to, not make it to thatpoint.
(30:56):
critical point,
Erin (30:58):
or listen to the wrong people too.
Todd (31:00):
really
Erin (31:01):
how many people were telling you that maybe you
should stop?
Todd (31:05):
Tons.
Most investors, the thing abouthardware, it's like, you can't
build a remote control.
You never done that before.
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
I'm like, okay, thank you.
I'm going to do it.
fortunately my investors were sopatient.
And you can imagine we're a yearand a half into this and
nothing's worked yet.
We spent all this money, allthis time.
(31:26):
And then I show up one day andsay, we need to build a remote
control and I don't know how todo it.
So that was not a good day.
But here we are.
Erin (31:36):
Yeah, pays off, it's a great, it's a great story of
perseverance and really knowing,and then whose voice do you
listen to?
How do you dial those down?
Staying true to you, listeningto your intuition.
there's so much here and I justappreciate you sharing that with
(31:57):
us and motivating.
I didn't understand how closelylinked entrepreneurship and
senior living leadership isuntil I became on the other
side, because we just aren'ttaught to think that way.
And I think that it does open usup, expands our minds to think
about things differently, bylistening to stories and.
(32:21):
And paralleling them, yeah, weall the time.
I hear that all the time.
I hear all the negative voicesall the time.
Who am I going to listen to?
Why am I going to listen tothem?
all those things.
So I appreciate you sharing yourstory and creating a product
that will change the lives ofpeople that can't see as well
that want to be connected thatare isolated that, need
(32:44):
protection from people who wantto take everything they have.
It's very.
Important and I'm glad you'redoing it.
Todd (32:51):
thank you Erin.
I really do appreciate that.
Erin (32:53):
You're welcome And so if they need it, so what is the
website for them to contactsomeone or learn more about
Odessa connect?
Todd (33:01):
it's just odessa connect.
tv
If you go to the show notes ofthis podcast episode, there is a
QR code that you can scan to getyour Odessa Connect for your
loved one.
Erin (33:14):
All right.
thank you so much And if this issomething that you're interested
in You Or if you, thought thisstory was inspiring, just like I
did, share this episode with oneother person and, help impact
their lives in a positive waytoo.
And as always, aspire for more,for you.
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