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October 1, 2024 10 mins

Join us at VIVE 2024 in Los Angeles, where Alex Fair reads his mic drop worthy poem about standing up for change in an industry that is broken. Paulo Machado, joins the conversation emphasizing the significance of consumer and provider-centric innovations, sharing his firsthand experiences in launching transformative ventures. Meanwhile, Alex, from MedStarter Ventures paints a vivid picture of the trials and triumphs faced by healthcare startups, emphasizing the crucial role of supportive investment. Through a blend of personal stories and creative expression, we explore the immense potential of finding the right kind of investor to enable the sustainable redesign of the healthcare industry.

 

We tackle the pressing issue of focusing on consumers of healthcare and the need for personalized delivery of care by providers. Healthcare innovation not forced but transformational.  Alex and Paulo spotlight the artwork of Regina Holiday and her Walking Gallery jackets, which champion patient centricity, and also brings to light the camaraderie and fun embodied by the Pink Socks movement. The episode underscores the necessity of disruptive conversations and community-driven initiatives to create meaningful change in healthcare, all while blending serious discussions with lighthearted moments. Tune in to discover how collective action and innovative thinking can pave the way for a more equitable and effective healthcare system.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Well, we're still here vibing at VIVE 2024 in.
Where are we?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Los Angeles, California.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm Dave Pavlik.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
And I'm Ellen Brown, the co-host two of the three
co-hosts that are here on sitefor the Reverse Mullet
Healthcare Podcast, and we havetwo guests in here today and I
will let you guys introduceyourselves.
Super fun.
The great thing for those ofyou that are listening and not
watching is that they bothdonned the reverse mullet for us
.
So I highly suggest that youwatch the video version of this

(00:39):
episode so that you can see youlook uncomfortable.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Totally yes.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
So, yes, it is fantastic when guests wear a
reverse helmet.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So welcome Bill and.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Ted.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
In honor of.
Billy Idol Totally excellentdude yeah, In honor of Billy
Idol, so pal.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Alex, who wants to start?

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Paul Machado.
I basically help healthcarestartup companies launch into
the marketplace.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Fractional co founder .
So pre-seed.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Early place fractional, fractional
co-founder, pre-seed uh, earlystage, pre-seed cda okay, so
you're a money guy?

Speaker 1 (01:09):
uh, no, also advisory , advisory, okay, okay, okay
alex uh, alex fair, I run medstarter ventures.
We invest in accelerate earlystage startups and, um yeah uh,
and paula is one of ourinvestors in as an lp in our
fund.
So thank you, paul awesome,okay.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
So, alex, you have a poem I've got many poems and so
I I told he's a poet I told outalex and I had not met alex and
I had not met him and he wassucked into this conversation
for this, for this podcast.
And then he asked about thepodcast and I said you know, we
talk about real change in healthcare.
And he sent me a poem and soare you gonna read.

(01:46):
And he said I don't know, doyou want?

Speaker 1 (01:47):
and I said please, you have to read the poem
because, it's kind of the answerbut I think he's looking for
his poem.
It'll take me a second, or he'stexting mom, okay, all right.
Well, then we'll start we willstart.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
we will start with you, sure, to tell us what do
you think could affect realchange all caps.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Real change.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
In healthcare, in healthcare, yeah, in a very
broken system.
Broken system, so you know yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
I think it's gotta be much more focused at the
consumer level, really focusingin on consumers of healthcare,
but also the providers ofhealthcare, making it really
totally personalized andengaging for them.
So that's something that theydo as a default, versus
something that has to be forcedinto doing something on
providers or consumers.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, I think that's very true.
So, alex, you have the poem up.
It looks like.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, and it actually answers that question.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
I know which is why this is spectacular.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
So, just as background, I really believe in
human creativity.
I do believe in patientprovider, you know, approved
innovations and things like that.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
Centricity, yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
And you know, we started MedStarter in the
beginning as a crowdfunding siteand one of the things we saw is
that patients and doctors andhospital leaders and people at
big companies would get behindan idea and suddenly they'd take
off.
And this idea that had beenlanguishing for six years would
suddenly get $135,000 ininvestment and 166 people behind

(03:10):
them 100 patients, 12 doctors,some partners, some pilots and
this is a true story about acompany called Myme M-Y-M-E-E
that has changed healthcare for5% to 7% of all patients,
reducing cost of care and makingpeople healthier.
Even the founder, who has lupus, had a baby, which is very hard
to do if you have lupus?

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yes, it is.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
But one of the things we keep seeing is that
companies that are reallychanging things, they get
disrupted, and you know I'mtired of it and so, yeah, so we
have a plan, we're working on it, but this poem kind of tells
you a couple of parts of theplan.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
I'm super pumped.
Well, I could just stop you andtalk for an hour about what you
just said, but let's go to thepoem.
We don't have that much time,we don't, yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
So yeah, I thought maybe I had an aneurysm when
this kind of thing startedhappening, because like, just
things would come out lyricallyand then if I didn't stop and
write them down I wouldn't knowhow it ended.
So it just starts, and then ifI don't anyway.
So this all came out in likefive minutes on the train one
day.
Truth to power and nobody.
Coward Voices so loud, nevertoo proud, even before Congress

(04:12):
and at the White House, wearingour jackets, we made quite a
racket.
Believe we could drive change,but everything stayed mostly the
same.
So we create a new way.
Some of them got play Changingcare, shortening stays, but
where are they today?
Eye triage bought by Aetna,pairs falling off the tree.
Bright health, dim Babylon torndown.
Ppmcs RIP Oscar trashed flatiron privatized by Roche,

(04:35):
register's patient disappearedinto MD, on, and the list goes
on and on and on.
Disruptors disrupted byincumbents, just perpetuating
all this dumb shit.
Crystal is cracking, verballyattacking, but that's not really
all we're doing.
Our returns are accruing.
Now we invest in the best teamto pass all our tests rapidly.
They grow.
Soon the IPO.
So we spoke truth to power andnobody listened.
Now we invest in the best teamto pass all our tests Rapidly.
They grow, soon the IPO.
So we spoke truth to power andnobody listened.

(04:55):
Now we speak truth from powerand it makes all the difference.
So let's get investors aligned.
No more disruptors sidelined.
Change well, with gumbo we'renot nearly done, so stand up for
change, to fix all our painfrom a system that's broken to
patients, doctors, nurses,self-insuredured employers and
hospital leaders have spoken,that's it all right, let's wrap

(05:16):
the mic, can we wrap it now.
That's the mic drop.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, oh, I was like you're gonna end after that like
we have to start more second.
Yeah, we should, okay, so I putthis out there right now that I
want to have you guys for afull episode and hopefully you
will come on, and then you getjustin too, who makes this super
fun we'll put it to music.

Speaker 1 (05:35):
Yes, I'm getting it.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, absolutelyand and dave, here's the best
part alex dave is an.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
Is is a fantastic musician, excellent so we are
going to have a jam session.
I'm a horrible singer.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
That would be a horrible thing.
Yeah, I don't say yes, but no,we are.
I'm telling you right now, likewe're coming up with this
because that that whole thingjam session.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
I'm a horrible singer .
That would be a horrible thing.
I'll hum.
I don't sing.
Yes, we, but no, we are.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
I'm telling you right now, like we're coming up with
this cause, that that wholething is money right there.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
There's 160 of them.
Wow, seriously, that'sfantastic.
You should write a book.
You should write a book, apoetry book.
That's a whole different topic.
We don't have long hair.
160 million work, dave, dave.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
So, alex, I just have to know, though.
Like that, all has happened,and one of the things that I
have a bit of a struggle with isI feel like equity has become
so pervasive in our industry andit's needed.
Like I always say, you can't dothings without money, but I
think it's very.
A lot of folks are verymisaligned because it's just all

(06:36):
about scale and multiples sureand again, you know people that
are willing to pony up the dough.
They want the returns.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
So clearly you have some thoughts about there's hope
here, because I I do lose hope,but it seems like you guys are
yeah, well, I mean, I'm in itbecause there are people who
care, right, just creating thatsangha of people getting them
together and having alignedvalues, purpose, passion and,
frankly, impact, investing andwhat needs to be really a health

(07:06):
system, because we're not asystem, right, we're just it's
an industrial complex that'sfocused on caring for people
that are sick essentially, buttrue social well-being takes a
lot more work up front andyou'll find investors like that.
There just aren't that manyBecause it is going to be there.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
But are there people though?

Speaker 3 (07:23):
There are, and you just have to get them on the
same page and align theincentives financially, Because
they have to obviously pay forthe operations.
You can't run things at a loss,like some people seem to be
comfortable doing.
But at the end of the day youhave to kind of look at
long-term where's the value andhow do you align this stuff
financially, temporally right?
That's the big challenge.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
Absolutely.
I mean, you said everything Iwas going to say.
I would point out.
So consider this let's sayyou're a big fund and you've got
99 of your dollars inincumbents.
Whether you meant to or not,they get bought.
What have you?
And then $1 in the disruptors.
So there comes a day where youhave to decide what you're going
to encourage the disruptivecompany to do.

(08:07):
Well, sell it to one of yourother companies, right, but that
perpetuates the dumb shit,right.
On the other hand, there arepeople who only invest in
disruptors.
So if ninety nine of theirdollars are in disruptors, those
are the aligned investors.
So when we talk in the poemabout let's get investors
aligned, Right, and I need helpI need help finding the ones who
actually care, the people likeyou know, Richard Park and Chris

(08:31):
Park and some of the peoplementioned in there Pete Hudson,
Park and Chris Park and some ofthe people mentioned in there,
Pete Hudson.
So those are the people who gotin for the right reasons, might
have sold out, but now they'regoing for their next pass.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
Well, we need to give them a voice.
Let's put them on here.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
Let's talk about it, Because I mean legit.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
we are doing this because we wanted to expand the
conversation about real change.
It's not BS.
I didn't say the real word.
I would like to drop the realword, but we do try to keep this
PG, because I don't want to getsome flag on our podcast or
something.

Speaker 3 (09:01):
The real real.
The real real.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Beyond even the all caps real.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
Does that apply to us ?
No, because you said bullshitthree times.
No.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
Drop the F-bomb.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
We're going to edit that out.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
Alright, I really appreciate you guys coming on
and I mean it.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
I hope that you'll do a full podcast episode with us,
make it a series.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, and I would like to.
Actually I'd like to continuethis equity conversation,
because it's very needed todisrupt things.
For sure.
I don't want to wait for Appleand Tesla to come along and do
it for us.

Speaker 1 (09:32):
They won't?
Yeah, yeah, well, they'll tryif we don't do it.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yeah, they've tried, yeah so All right, Can y'all
thanks?

Speaker 1 (09:39):
for coming.
Can y'all stand up and turnaround.

Speaker 3 (09:41):
We got to see the backs of those jackets.
Oh yeah, sure, yeah, this isone that you got to watch the
video.
You can take the headsets off,okay, patient centricity.
So credit to.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Regina Holiday, yep, all right, regina Holiday
created these jackets.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
Walking Gallery.
Very nice, they're awesome.
They're awesome and, of course,you have to love more.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
with pink socks, the shout out to.
Excellent.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
We're going to do it.

Speaker 3 (10:05):
I meant this walking billboard.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
It's that darn mullet .

Speaker 3 (10:08):
I'm not used to having hair.

Speaker 1 (10:10):
I know especially part.
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