EP430: Advice for Digital Health Vendors Selling to Employers, With Barbara Wachsman

In Episode 430 of Relentless Health Value, host Stacey Richter discusses strategies for digital health vendors aiming to sell their solutions to employers with guest Barbara Waksman. The episode covers why targeting employers can be lucrative, along with Waksman's four key pieces of advice for entrepreneurs: ensuring there is a significant market need, offering truly differentiated products, understanding and navigating internal politics of employer organizations, and managing investor expectations. Emphasis is placed on aligning product development with actual market needs and planning for lengthy sales cycles. Examples of successful strategies include improving patient engagement and predictive analytics for health outcomes. Waksman also highlights the importance for health tech entrepreneurs to broaden their focus beyond healthcare to include disability and occupational health in their offerings. === LINKS === 🔗  Show Notes with all mentioned links:   https://cc-lnk.com/EP430 ✉️  Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter: https://relentlesshealthvalue.com/join-the-relentless-tribe 🫙  Support the podcast with a small donation to the Tip Jar: https://relentlesshealthvalue.com/join-the-relentless-tribe 🎤  Listen on Apple Podcasts  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feed/id892082003?ls=1 🎤  Listen on Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/6UjgzI7bScDrWvZEk2f46b 📺  Subscribe to our YouTube channel   https://www.youtube.com/@RelentlessHealthValue === CONNECT WITH THE RHV TEAM === ✭ LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/company/relentless-health-value/ ✭ Threads  https://www.threads.net/@relentlesshealthvalue/ ✭ Bluesky   https://bsky.app/profile/relentleshealth.bsky.social ✭ X   https://twitter.com/relentleshealth/   06:55 Why have people cottoned on to selling to employers, and is it a good direction to focus? 07:28 What are the three ways healthcare gets paid for in America? 07:46 Where is the profit in the healthcare system? 08:32 What does an entrepreneur really need to understand in order to sell to employers? 13:05 "It really is about producing a productive employee." 17:49 Why it's not enough to understand the market but you must also differentiate. 21:01 What's the biggest misunderstanding entrepreneurs have about per member per month? 24:10 What companies are standing out right now as differentiators? 28:02 Why is it important to also show that you are improving quality? 28:51 EP331 with Al Lewis. 28:55 EP427 with Rik Renard. 29:33 EP372 with Cora Opsahl. 30:07 Why is it important to find a strong champion who will advocate for you as a partner? 35:05 Why is it important to manage your investors and set appropriate expectations around the timeline of a sale? 36:21 What's the lesson to be learned behind Livongo?