Entrepreneur Profile
Harsh Vathsangam, CEO, Moving Analytics
Mini Bio
Young entrepreneur Harsh Vathsangam is CEO of Moving Analytics, a health-care IT company helping hospitals implement home-based cardiac care to discharged patients following a heart attack or heart surgery.
Name: Harsh Vathsangam
Title: CEO
Company: Moving Analytics
Years in business: 3
Business location: San Francisco
Number of employees: 8
Chief product: Technology-enabled, home-based cardiopulmonary care management programs
Website: movinganalytics.com
First of all, how is business these days?
I love it! We're getting some strong customer traction, early clinical data is stellar, and we are building a scalable process to reach and display our value to as many customers as possible.
What led you to start your own business?
I have always been passionate about making a difference in people’s lives. With Moving Analytics, I saw this incredible opportunity where there was a clear need that had to be addressed. Patients were not getting access to quality post-acute care after being discharged because of unfortunate logistical issues, like cost and distance.
In addition, there was a perfect storm of changes to health-care law, thanks to the Affordable Care Act; the publishing of key scientific evidence through the MULTIFIT program from Stanford on which we are based; and the proliferation of cloud-based services and smartphones that make the deployment of solutions like ours a piece of cake. It was a timely, golden opportunity that I had to jump on.
What sources did you use for startup capital?
We spent the first two years bootstrapping. During this time, we participated in quite a few business plan competitions that gave us our initial seed capital. We were also fortunate to get grants from the National Science Foundation and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation to further validate our ideas.
What do you think is your biggest business strength?
We have a strong culture of empathy-guiding expertise; we have some of the world’s most renowned experts in chronic disease management who, in total, have 100 years of experience. But rather than forcing that expertise down a customer’s throat, we spend a lot of time understanding what their needs are and use our knowledge base to work with them as partners. This combination of listening and working together is what our current and future clients can expect from us.
What do you enjoy most about owning your own business?
My all-time favorite part of owning a business is talking to customers, determining what their pain points are, and translating pain points into a tangible product they can use. I'm in my most "zen" state when I'm working with our rock star team to create those user experiences. I’m a builder, first and foremost!
What’s your least favorite part of running a business?
The paperwork. Running business operations, particularly in health-care IT, needs proper documentation and safeguards. Since there are usually many stakeholders involved, it slows down the speed of the deal. However, I do understand why paperwork exists; we need to maintain standards and compliance because we are dealing with patients’ lives.
What do you think are important entrepreneurial skills to have?
An entrepreneur tries to create a market and sell to it at the same time. A large part of this is understanding what makes your clients tick—that means asking a lot of questions to understand their needs. Another important skill is knowing when to stay on course and focus on solving a problem, and when to be flexible and find other business opportunities that were not your original idea (the famous pivot).
What are some challenges you’ve faced in business and how did you overcome them?
I think a lot of our initial challenges stemmed from understanding the right business model and what would work. This, of course, is a continuous process and the only way to address it is to try different models and see what sticks. Find those anchor customers who would be willing to stay with you through the end and work with them to find out what works. Now, I would say our problems lie in scaling and combating the long sales cycles that are common in health-care IT.
What do you wish you’d known before you started out?
Team matters. Your team members are the folks you will be hanging out with 24/7; you'll be living with them, sharing good times and bad times with them, and they'll make or break your success. Products will change and business models will change, but if you don’t have a good team, you can’t make any of those changes.
What is the smartest move you have made with your business so far?
Our smartest move was picking a niche (post-acute cardiac care) where we can make a measurable impact as defined by certain key outcomes and optimize our solution for that niche. We're not trying to be all things to all customers; we do one thing and we do it well.
How do you find new customers? What do you do to make sure they become return customers?
A lot of our initial clients came through referrals. Now, we have a robust sales process where we reach out to over 50 clients a month. When it comes to return customers, understand that when they win, you win. Making them look good to their boss or their end user is in your best interest. It’s about finding those feedback loops and constantly checking in to see whether you are continuing to provide the value you promised. Show them you care and that you’re in this together.
What’s your management style with employees?
You should ask them! But seriously, I believe in working with smart folks who are self-driven and ambitious. My job as CEO is to provide broader context and general guidance, set the strategy and culture, and coordinate efforts so we are all moving in the same direction. But mostly, I want to empower these people (who are much smarter than me) to create amazing things. If you like that style, you should join us!
What are some other companies or entrepreneurs you admire, and why?
I have admired various companies at various points. I admire Microsoft of the '90s for the sheer audacity of scale and domination they achieved. I love Apple of the 2000s for changing the emphasis on its consumer products from being a purely engineering endeavor to one focused on all-around good design. I love companies like Facebook and Dropbox for hiring amazing technical talent and achieving these massive feats of engineering.
My favorite celebrity entrepreneur has to be Jeff Bezos. He’s got to be a genius for the way he has built Amazon into the powerhouse it is today and the way the company sets the gold standard for customer service. But really, anyone who creates their own business at any scale fascinates and inspires me. The idea of building a sustainable organization from mere thoughts, and creating wealth and value by solving people’s needs is so powerful.
Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?
“Perfect is the enemy of good.”
What new initiatives are you working on?
Our goal is to be the one-stop shop for our clients’ needs in post-acute and chronic care. To that end, we are developing a new evidence-based program for a variety of conditions, including COPD, heart failure, and diabetes. In addition, we continue to innovate so we can provide the best possible customer experience on our core product line of cardiac conditions.
What advice would you give to someone hoping to start a business similar to yours?
Spend as much time as you can validating your idea up front. Don’t be afraid to tell everyone you know about your idea and get feedback to refine it further. Ask yourself: “Who are the important stakeholders? Are there any conflicts? Who writes the check in this transaction? What are their real problems and am I solving them?” Don’t be afraid to do the dirty work—pick up the phone and talk to potential clients, visit them in their offices and homes, spend time with them, and really understand their motivations and aspirations. You have to care about them. It's not about money; it's about making a difference in people’s lives.
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