Digital Health Entrepreneurship Daily with Laurence Girard

How can we harness data to improve healthcare outcomes? How do data scientists help

In this episode, Laurence talks with Wyatt Tyree, a data scientist at Fruit Street Health.

Interested in physics, computer science, artificial intelligence, business intelligence, Wyatt is also very interested in health and wellness. It’s the connection between all of these things that led him to Fruit Street, a healthcare startup.

In this episode, Wyatt talks about:

* Giving data and outcomes visibility throughout the company.

* Using data to find answers to questions that Fruit Street employees and participants in Fruit Streets wellness programs are asking.

* Using data to back-up educated guesses that people often make about changes to products.

In this episode, Laurence talks with Suzanne Amoruso. A registered dietician since 1992 and a certified diabetes educator (CDE) since 2003, Suzanne is now a lifestyle coach with Fruit Street Health.

Discussed in this episode:

* The group dynamics of people who participate virtually in Fruit Street’s Digital Diabetes Prevention and Weight Loss Program.

* How participants use the barcode scanning feature in the Fruit Street app to log their calorie intake in their food log.

* How participants share their successes and challenges with other people in their group.

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In this episode, Laurence talks with Stacey Wiesenthal, a Fruit Street Health dietitian.

Prior to becoming a dietitian, Stacey studied at Michigan State University and Case Western Reserve University. Over eight years in Cleveland, she worked at nursing homes and Cleveland Clinic hospitals where she worked in the intensive care unit (ICU), the trauma unit, the maternity ward, the cardiac rehab program, and elsewhere.

Then Stacey realized that she wanted to work with more in the field of wellness. In short, she wanted to help prevent people from getting chronic diseases, from needing to go to the hospital, and so forth.

Working with Fruit Street as a dietitian, she really enjoys the long-term connections she has with people who are improving their health via Fruit Street’s programs. For instance, she loves seeing the food logs of participants in her classes, and how they change from the beginning of the program, to the middle, to the end. She loves seeing how her coaching is making an impact on people’s lives.

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In this episode, Laurence talks with Sky Owens, a registered dietitian and a lifestyle couch for Fruit Street’s Digital Diabetes Prevention Program.

Prior to joining Fruit Street, Sky worked for several years with in-person diabetes prevention groups, so she certainly has extensive insight regarding the benefits of virtual diabetes prevention groups compared to in-person groups.

In this episode, Sky and Laurence discuss:

* How virtual diabetes support groups, according to Sky, have “less of that intimidation factor  [because] you're just on a video screen.”

* How with online classes, lifestyle coaches like Sky can interact with participants every day (whereas this type of daily coach interaction is relatively unheard of with in-person classes).

* Sky talks about one participant who had glucose in the prediabetes range when he started Fruit Street’s DPP ten weeks ago. Using the goals section of the Fruit Street platform, he regularly updates his food logs and all his health information. Since then, he’s been setting new goals frequently, and has utilized every tool that the program has to offer. To date, he’s lost 10 pounds and is getting close to his former weight.

* How the Fitbit trackers are often the number one motivating factor for participants who want to prove their overall health.

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Today’s guest is passionate about empowering people to take better charge of their health.

In this episode, Laurence Girard, CEO of Fruit Street Health, talks with Dr. Priscilla Janice Marbell. A medical doctor, certified health educator, and certified health coach, Priscilla has worked for Fruit Street Health’s Digital Diabetes Prevention and Weight Loss Program for two years as a lifestyle coach.

In this episode, Priscilla and Laurence discuss:

* The importance of diabetes self management programs and chronic disease self management programs, and how you can’t expect your healthcare provider to do everything for you.

* How some people who join in-person diabetes prevention programs simply fail to turn up to sessions.

* Priscilla reads an encouraging message she received from someone who recently graduated from Fruit Street’s virtual diabetes prevention program: “It's not easy to change habits and to stick to them. I'm hopeful, though, and I can't thank you enough for the support and push to keep going. I know it's a job, but you've made it genuine. And I'm glad you’re my coach.”

* How each person’s health journey is unique to them. For example, some people use the Sharecare Health & Well-being app and also use calorie-counting apps. Another example is that some people insist on weighing themselves every day, while others only want to weigh themselves once a week.

* The sense of community and emotional support that participants in group diabetes prevention programs feel. For instance, many participants really love the Fitbit challenges. (Fitbit are physical activity trackers that are worn on your body, like a watch or a clip. Fitbit challenges are ways people can “compete” against other people. Examples include: Who can do the most steps today? How many participants can reach their daily step goal?)

In this episode, Laurence talks with Katie, a coach for Fruit Street Health’s Diabetes Prevention Program.

A registered dietitian and a certified diabetes educator, Katie received her bachelor's degree in nutrition from Montana State University and her master's degree in human nutrition from Arizona State University.

Discussed in this episode:

* Katie explores how participants of in-person diabetes prevention programs dislike being weighed in front of another person—even if that person is a registered dietician. These discomforts and anxieties, Katie explains, can sometimes be lessened when participants in digital diabetes prevention programs use smart scales.

* The pros and cons of someone committed to weight loss weighing themself daily versus weighing themself weekly.

* One-on-one dietician counseling compared to counseling via a support group. And how group sessions can help alleviate burn-out for healthcare professionals (who can interact with, say, thirty people in a group in a much more timely matter compared to interacting with thirty people in one-on-one consults).

* Empowering people with diabetes.

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In this episode, Laurence talks with Kathy, who has been a dietitian for 30 years, is a certified diabetes educator, and is a board certified in lifestyle medicine.

A dietitian for Fruit Street Health, Kathy currently has five diabetes prevention classes going.

In this episode:

* Kathy shares how some participants in her classes are experiencing lower blood sugar, improved blood pressure, are losing weight, and are eating more healthfully.

* Kathy discusses how people coming together in groups share a common mission, work harder together, and benefit from the support and accountability they each provide each other.

* Kathy recounts how members in her classes are motivated to become healthier by wearing a Fitbit (which tracks their steps) and by sharing photos of their meals with other members (via the Fruit Street app).

* While many people in Kathy’s classes have a simple goal such as losing weight, some have a more intrinsic thing that motivates them to be healthy, such as being able to play outside with their kids or grandkids.

* How Kathy sees Fruit Street’s Digital Diabetes Prevention and Weight Loss Program as being lifestyle medicine.

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If you’re at risk for type 2 diabetes, have you considered joining a group of people just like you who want to use digital health solutions to unlock a new, healthier you?

In this episode of “Digital Health Entrepreneurship,” Laurence Girard talks with registered dietician Dr. Amelia Stefanac. A team lead at Fruit Street Health for over two years, Amelia has worked with hundreds of participants in Fruit Street’s Diabetes Prevention and Weight Loss Program, helping them lose weight, eat better, and feel energized. Additionally, Amelia works with approximately 20 coaches who manage their own diabetes prevention groups via the Fruit Street app.

Discussed in this episode:

* Success stories with participants in Fruit Street's Diabetes Prevention and Weight Loss Program. One example is how a woman in one of Amelia’s groups stopped drinking soda, lost 30 pounds, kept the weight off for six months, made plenty of healthy lifestyle changes, got off most of her cholesterol medications, lowered her blood pressure, and more.

* Trying to address diabetes all by yourself compared with trying to tackle it with a group of people who are also at risk of developing diabetes.

* How regularly taking pictures of your food — and sharing those photos with your dietician and diabetes support group — can encourage people with diabetes to make healthier food choices.

* How a Fitbit can increase a participant’s level of engagement. (Fitbits are step tracking and activity tracking devices that can be worn like a watch or clipped onto your clothing.)

Please subscribe! Whatever podcast platform you’re listening from, remember to click “Subscribe” so you won’t miss out on future episodes. Here are links to “Digital Health Entrepreneurship with Laurence Girard” on various podcast platforms.

Please subscribe! Whatever podcast platform you’re listening from, remember to click “Subscribe” so you won’t miss out on future joy. Here are links to “Digital Health Entrepreneurship with Laurence Girard” on various podcast platforms.

This year, Fruit Street will be filing paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $75 million from the public. In this episode, Laurence Girard, CEO of Fruit Street, discusses all of the legal and financial hoops that his digital health company is going in order to file with the SEC. Topics discussed include:

• What are Regulation A+ offerings?
  
• The difference between accredited and non-accredited investors.
  
• How Regulation A+ offerings don’t get a company listed on stock exchanges (such as the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange), but they do enable investors to buy shares in them.
  
• The benefits a Regulation A+ offering provides a company, including allowing it to offer shares on equity crowdfunding portals such as Wefunder, StartEngine, SeedInvest, MicroVentures, Mainvest, and other equity crowdfunding sites, where it can raise capital from non-accredited investors.
  

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Preparing a digital health startup so that it’s ready for a Regulation A+ offering involves a ton of work. This month, Fruit Street hired two new employees — Brenda Melanson and Brandy Marino — with decades of experience in bookkeeping, accounting, and legal matters to start the process. Fruit Street’s goal is to conduct an audit of their balance sheet, profit and loss, and other financial statements. Then, the next step will be to include the company’s audited financial statements in an Regulation A+ offering, with the goal of potentially raising up to $75 million from accredited and nonaccredited investors.

Please subscribe! Whatever podcast platform you’re listening from, remember to click “Subscribe” so you won’t miss out on future joy. Here are links to “Digital Health Entrepreneurship with Laurence Girard” on various podcast platforms.