From Turnover to Tenure: Rebuilding the Healthcare Workforce Pipeline with Tess Michaels

Join Tess Michaels, Founder and CEO of Clasp, for a strategic discussion on solving one of the most critical crises in modern infrastructure: the healthcare staffing shortage. With a high-octane background in healthcare investment banking at Goldman Sachs and private equity at Vista Equity Partners, Tess is applying institutional-grade financial logic to a human problem. In this episode, we explore how Clasp is moving the needle from "Turnover to Tenure" by connecting employers with clinicians before graduation and utilizing student loan repayment as a structural retention tool.🎯 Insights You’ll Learn:The July 2026 Cliff: How new federal loan caps are leaving clinical training costs unfunded and why this makes employer-sponsored education mission-critical.The "ROTC for Healthcare" Model: Why tying debt repayment to tenure creates a more stable, loyal workforce than traditional, short-lived sign-on bonuses.Redesigning Hiring Infrastructure: Moving from reactive recruiting to a proactive pipeline that secures talent before they even enter the job market.The Financial Engineering of Retention: Leveraging Tess’s PE and banking background to build a $50M+ venture-backed solution for clinical talent.Building in "Resistant" Sectors: Strategic advice for founders on how to drive innovation in healthcare, an industry traditionally slow to embrace change.Student-First Entrepreneurship: Lessons from Tess’s journey of founding Clasp at Harvard Business School and her previous successful exit at Wharton.Scaling Mission-Driven Tech: Balancing social impact with the operational rigor required to serve the nation’s largest healthcare employers.🌍 Why This Matters:In 2026, the healthcare system is at a breaking point. High burnout and crippling student debt have turned clinical staffing into a revolving door. Tess Michaels argues that the current hiring model—relying on massive sign-on bonuses that offer no long-term loyalty—is fundamentally broken. Clasp offers a new social contract: employers fund the education of their future workforce, and in exchange, clinicians commit to the tenure that healthcare facilities desperately need. By aligning the incentives of the student, the school, and the hospital, Tess is building the "plumbing" for a more resilient healthcare economy.👤 Expert Background:Founder & CEO of Clasp, a $50M+ venture-backed platform fixing the healthcare talent gap.Healthcare Investment & PE Veteran with experience at Goldman Sachs and Vista Equity Partners.Serial Entrepreneur who achieved her first successful exit while still an undergraduate at Wharton.Harvard Business School MBA who founded Clasp to solve the debt-to-employment disconnect.Recognized Innovator featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Business Insider for her work in education and employment.🎙️ Hosted by Gary Fowler, CEO of GSD Venture Studios — global AI entrepreneur, investor, and innovation leader spotlighting founders navigating the realities of building in the AI era.💡 Perfect For:Hospital C-suite executives, HR leaders in healthcare, EdTech innovators, venture capitalists, and founders navigating the complexities of highly regulated "legacy" industries.🚀 Timely Topic:As federal funding for clinical education shrinks in 2026, the burden of training the next generation of healers falls on the private sector. Tess Michaels is providing the infrastructure to make that transition profitable, sustainable, and ethical.Subscribe for more global founder conversations from GSD Venture Studios: https://gsdvs.com#HealthcareStaffing #Clasp #WorkforceRetention #EdTech #FintechInHealthcare #TessMichaels #GaryFowler #GSDVentureStudios