Biggest fuck up
The worst decisions that I have ever made at the ones where I didn’t follow my gut. I chased money or a title rather than listening to what my gut was telling me about the situation. I have gotten much better at this, but it’s still a trap I fall into. My instincts have never steered me wrong, but sometimes, I WANT them to be wrong and make the wrong choice.
Rant
There are lots of things that piss me off about both healthcare and startups in general.
First, I think in healthcare, this idea that we can fix a broken system with a different kind of bloated infrastructure and tech enablement drives me nuts. We don’t need fewer humans in healthcare; we need more. Not everything has to be about making a billion dollars and scaling scaling scaling. Doing something small really well for a population that needs it can be enough. Then, teach other people how to do it.
Aside from the fact that most venture money goes to white men, the thing that bugs me about startups is that we act like raising money is a ticket to success and not an obligation. Venture capital is not runway. It’s an obligation. It’s something you have to pay back in some way. It’s pressure from people who may not let you run your operation in the mission-focused way you want to. Raising money doesn’t alleviate pressure. It creates new pressure. It creates literally millions of dollars worth of pressure, but we act like it’s a reason to have a party.
Useful advice
Isolation lies.
It’s very easy to feel like everything is just you because you’re in your head, and in your head, you’re the only one. Every time I have felt that way, nearly the first person I’ve talked to has shown me that what I was feeling was nearly universal.
Isolation begets isolation and makes us chase the comfort of that place where no one knows our secrets. The times where I was certain that I was alone and no one would understand were the times that I was the most incorrect.