Mobile Health Is Huge

#1 Health app today is the doctor's website.

Surprising that over 50% docs don't have a site, and ones who do, don't work on mobile.

So let me be the first to declare:

The doctor's website is going to be the most popular health application in the years to come.

Further (inferred) validation in this just released Pew Research study on mobile health (#mHealth).

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Mobile-Health.aspx

Overview

Fully 85% of U.S. adults own a cell phone. Half own smartphones, which expands their mobile internet access and enables mobile software applications.

One in three cell phone owners (31%) have used their phone to look for health information. In a comparable, national survey conducted two years ago, 17% of cell phone owners had used their phones to look for health advice.

Smartphone owners lead this activity: 52% gather health information on their phones, compared with 6% of non-smartphone owners. Cell phone owners who are Latino, African American, between the ages of 18-49, or hold a college degree are also more likely to gather health information this way."

Clever Advertising

DialPad vs Google & Skype

Dialpad was the first VOIP app I used to call landlines. It was simple and it worked. That was ~10-13 years ago. Interesting to see how far we have come from the first pc-to-phone concept to Google & Skype leading the way, along with rumors of a Facebook phone. 

Physical Yellow & White Pages

Why not make these opt-in? Or better yet, why not stop making it all together? Assuming there's a small population that still uses them, make it available for a premium. When are paper directories, flyers, coupons, invoices, b&h catalogs going to go away? When was the last time you used one?

Stack of phone directories sitting in a pile of trash on my street

Sandy - New York Mag Cover

The aftermath of hurricane Sandy captured in a stunning, eerie cover by New York mag. Here's a link to the story behind it - http://nymag.com/thecut/2012/11/more-images-from-new-yorks-sandy-cover.html 

My prayers and thoughts go out to those affected.

What makes a good BD candidate?

Most BD roles are either sales or support/partnership driven, some with or without quotas to meet. Both sales and BD require selling in one form or the other. So then, what differentiates sales from BD? In my opinion - All Business Development people are salesmen; all salesmen are not wired to do Business Development"

The ideal BDM is the one who can visualize opportunities from a sales, product, finance, development and operations perspective. At the macro level, the BD person is a jack of these trades, and a master of putting it all together to identify a new revenue or strategic opportunity.

I would look for the following skills/traits in a great BDM in a startup, for a technology product:

• Sales: Is the person able to confidently present, communicate, follow-up and do what's required to close a deal?
• Industry Knowledge: Is the person always up-to-speed on what's going on in their particular industry? To what level of detail? Does he have an      opinion on What, Why and How of the current happenings, and future      possibilities related to X?
• Technical Aptitude: The person should be able to comfortably present the possible implementation of the discussed partnership at a macro level, and get the product team involved at a stage when there is a verbal agreement on terms, and implementation needs to be finalized.
• Curiosity: There needs to be a genuine curiosity about people, things, and      happenings. This can be judged by the type of questions that the person      asks when assessing a situation or a potential partnership. The ability to      gather intelligence, and not just data is really important.
• Numbers/Spreadsheet: There are x # of ways you can structure a deal from a financial standpoint - do your BD person have the required mindset and      skills to frame up x different revenue, operational or strategic scenarios?
• Strategic vs Tactical: Maintain a balance of thinking at a macro /      company level, and executing at the micro/departmental level. Should be      able to follow and/or define the rules of engagement between different departments.
• Contracts: Should know basic legal terms, and identify red flags within T&Cs, Privacy Policies, and other legal documents.

The distribution of time between various aspects of the BD role would vary, but at the end of day, I expect my BDM to be the relationship person who can identify, close and/or manage deals, on demand