Step up to solve big problems
“I don’t just sit and watch things happen. If there’s something I can do to make a difference, I step in and do it.” – Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu
In this edition:
It starts and continues with you dear leader
Turning your business ideas into stellar innovations
Breathwork and more ways to stay healthy
STORY
Innovation depends on leaders who upskill
After an allergic reaction landed Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu in the hospital, she became a doctor to help others feel as good as her care team did.
As a medical officer, she watched babies die due to inadequate staff and equipment sparking a desire to improve primary healthcare. “As a doctor I needed to comfortably sit in policy spaces, so I decided to pursue an MBA” she says.
The decision to upskill helped her become a well-rounded practitioner who can develop solutions for different healthcare stakeholders:
Patients in different settings
Public healthcare: she oversaw the establishment of quarantine and isolation centres in Kenya contributing to emergency response policies.
Private healthcare: as the president of the World Medical Association she still runs her own practice to stay connected to primary healthcare needs.
Mentorship structures for fellow medics: she created the Kenya Medical Association Young Doctors Network to appeal to junior doctors who previously linked the brand to older medics.
Importance of a learner mindset
The Covid period was challenging but her willingness to do the unscalable kept everyone going. “We were making decisions on the fly, there was no manual for this. At one point I was fielding 300 calls a day coordinating medical personnel.”
Dr. Kitulu’s story reminds us that continuous learning is more than certificates and titles. It’s about building a knowledge base that gives you the courage to innovate in times of uncertainty — a constant reality in healthcare.
It’s easy to focus on your strengths but as a leader, you need to understand everything involved with delivering quality care to your customers. People’s wellness depends on your best work.
SPOTLIGHT
Customised care
Gaming, fitness & AI: this product creates instant workouts based on your needs [Read]
1 dollar gets customers a monthly doctor visit and 30 dollars worth of medication on NetOne’s medical plan in Zimbabwe [Read]
Africa to the world: AstraZeneca cardiovascular clinical trial in South Africa informs global treatment protocols [Read]
RUNDOWN
The “start” in start up: you have an idea, now what?
Last week we covered Zach Yadegari’s impressive founder journey and how that led to his latest venture, Cal AI — an AI powered calorie tracking app.
Zach is a self starter who used the resources around him to build product after product. Here’s a menu of considerations for your next venture:
What problems are you facing? As a go-getter, a motivational alarm clock was Zach’s solution to starting the day focused on his goals.
Who else is solving this problem and what can you do better? Although MyFitnessPal had been around for 19 years, Zach found a simple current solution (AI imaging) to solve the tedious manual calorie tracking.
What do you have around you? Zach built a site to host other games driving traffic from existing communities while solving a convenience problem for gamers. He also pitched this idea to his co-founders that he met online and at a coding camp.
Are you making informed changes? Grind Clock didn’t scale but building it gave Zach the confidence to create a better calorie tracker despite existing apps. He also pinpointed scaling as an issue and recruited a cofounder with experience.
How many people can your product help? The initial goal was to eliminate manual calorie tracking but now they’re positioning Cal AI as a health companion all the way into a user’s later years — much like Bayer’s product suite for their ageing customers.
Your first version will never be your last one but you can’t tweak what you don’t build so just start.
It’s also easy to forget customers’ pain points so consider their lifetime value throughout your business planning.
DIY
Start anywhere, just breathe
We’re huge believers in incorporating daily health practices starting with the simplest exercises to training programs that challenge you to grow.
Here’s a little bit of everything:
Benefits of nasal breathing: humans can enhance emotional regulation through breathwork
A 5 min stretch for beginners: practise deep breathing as Maddie walks you through each movement
Chat GPT vs P. Trainer: lessons from an experienced personal trainer on how to use AI in your sessions
Remember, the goal is to pick something you can commit to because you understand its impact on your health, not what’s popular.
Progressive change is catalysed by bold individuals who are willing to think and do things differently.
Open minds like Jacqueline’s and Zach’s are a great example of the mindsets we can carry to convert challenges into opportunities.
Big problems are solved through big thinking.
Stay active, keep innovating.