Happy 5th Birthday Well Made Health!

I have been running my own company for five years. FIVE! I went back to look at my company birthday post from last year and so much still stands. I’ve added some updates in bold below:

“Little did I know when I started my company early March 2020 what was around the corner. I'm taking a moment to reflect on what I am proud of as a CEO and working parent:

- I spent the first year juggling an infant 👶 and toddler 👧 at home because of Covid and got my work done ✅ during naps, tv breaks, and in the evenings. (Don't recommend that level of stress, but I survived.)

- I've earned income 💰 47 out of 48 months of being open. I took one month off for my sanity 😀. (Update: 59 out of 60 months of being open!)

- I've increased my earnings year over year ⬆️ 💵 (Update: Still going strong!)

- I have stayed true to my desire to work with mission-driven healthcare tech companies, women's health companies, and female founders. Shout out to Athelo Health, Collaborate Health, Dock Health, Gary Bennett, Gravity Branding, Liquid Agency, MDisrupt, MiracleFeet, New Morning, Piction Health, pumpspotting, Self Care Catalysts Inc, and SimpliFed. Thank you for trusting me to improve your businesses with research, communications, and product strategy and becoming my friend along the way. (Update: I added Amissa Health and Digital Health Insights to that list!)

- I raised funds to work with Erin Carey and Emilie "Mia" Mathura, MSPH to create the first database of clinical evidence for FemTech which was acquired by MDisrupt and I had the joy of working with Chet Robson, DO, MHCDS, FAAFP on continuing to build out that body of work. I continue to conduct my own research in the space in my free time. (Update: I still care deeply about this and wrote a call to action for more evidence-backed women’s health innovation.)

- I joined the Global Advisory board of NODE.Health (Update: I presented at this year’s Digital Medicine Conference on Benchmarking Success to Overcome Evidence Generation Challenges in Digital Health. My third presentation at that event!)

- I've written pieces for STAT, MobiHealthNews, and been interviewed / quoted in other articles and podcasts about my passion for the intersection of women's health and technology. I also keep up with my bi-monthly newsletter, Katie's Notebook, and write longer form pieces on my blog to pay it forward to digital health researchers, founders, and consumers. (Update: I am still publishing Katie’s Notebook on a bi-weekly cadence which seems to work well for me and my subscribers. I’m proud of my consistent 65-75% open rate for each issue! In September of 2024 I started writing a weekly column for CHIME’s media imprint, Digital Health Insights, and have put out 23 articles so far. I explore topics related to evidence-backed digital health products, consumer health technology, women's health, wearables, and AI.)

- I have also learned how incredibly important community is ❤️ . Being a solopreneur can get lonely and I love connecting on the regular with friends like Margaret McNab, Katie Warren, Ivy Lamb, Sarah Glova, André Blackman, Justin Kunkel, Donald Murry, Ellen Gowdy, and Jonathan Nicolla to hash out ideas and raise each other up. (I have to double tap this one. I went to ViVE this year and running into friends in the health tech community I’ve known across the last 15 years in the industry sparked so much joy. I also joined the WELL community for women leaders in digital health and really love that group. People are what matters!)

- I have some BIG ideas 💡 for 2024 and hope that I'll be able to bring together some of the best in the business 💪 for some ecosystem level impact.” (Update: I am always brainstorming new ideas!)

A few final thoughts after five years in business:

Being an entrepreneur means betting on yourself every day. I have always been intrinsically motivated, but knowing that I am the only person who will do the work has increased my motivation by 10x. I’ve realized that while I am hired as an expert, I learn something with every project — and that makes me happy! I thrive with new challenges. I have also come to realize that longer-term projects where I am treated like an embedded team member are more fulfilling to me than transactional work. Deliverables are the backbone of consulting, but being able to contribute to organizational strategic conversations and then taking on action-items to achieve those goals is where I really shine. I’ve learned that you never know what the future holds, but I am very proud of what I see when I look in the professional rear-view mirror.

Thank you to everyone who's shared my posts, cheered me on, referred me to clients, suggested Slack groups to join, and been part of my life team. It means everything.