The major impact of digital technologies has been to create exponential value. However, the use of software to deliver and scale human powered services, such as healthcare, has not been achieved and faces a number of critical challenges. This talk will focus on our attempt to scale a direct to consumer, personal health assistant startup, specific challenges that we faced and lessons learned.

1. @AdamDole
The Service Experience Conference
November 2016
San Francisco
The Hardest Thing About Hard
Things: Scaling Human Services

2. We have an entrepreneurial
culture that values,
measures, recognizes and
rewards the wrong things.

4. hype
outcomes that
matter to customers
(proven value)
≠

5. “It’s tough to make
predictions, especially
about the future.”
-Yogi Berra

6. "This 'telephone' has too many
shortcomings to be seriously
considered as a means of
communication. The device is
inherently of no value to us."
Western Union internal memo, 1876

7. "The world potential market for copying
machines is 5000 at most.”
IBM, 1959

8. "We don't like their sound, and
guitar music is on the way out."
Decca Recording Company, 1962

9. TIME Magazine, 1968
“Remote shopping, while
entirely feasible, will flop.”

10. WTF
is going on here?

11. Adage, 2013
“Experts say this product could
kill smartphones.”

21. All hype? Or potential for
exponential value?

22. impact
time

23. impact
time

24. We tend to overestimate the effect
of a technology in the short run
Amara’s Law

25. and underestimate its
effect in the long run
Amara’s Law
We tend to overestimate the effect
of a technology in the short run

26. Amara’s Law
and underestimate its
effect in the long run
We tend to overestimate the effect
of a technology in the short run

27. Amara’s Law
and underestimate its
effect in the long run
We tend to overestimate the effect
of a technology in the short run
Wash, rinse, repeat….
What are we learning from this?

29. 18 months later…

30. Your Personal
Health Assistant

31. 1
Growth before
product-market fit

32. 2

33. unit economics
discipline
3
vision =

34. 4
THE ROLE OF AI:
TO STRUCTURE AND AUGMENT THE
HUMAN CONVERSATION (&
RELATIONSHIP) WITH FUNCTIONALITY

35. Investor alignment
5

36. Peace time
vs
War time
6

37. LET’S RAISE THE BAR
An entrepreneurial culture that values, measures,
recognizes and rewards the right things…

38. 1. real impact of real solutions that solve real problems
LET’S RAISE THE BAR
An entrepreneurial culture that values, measures,
recognizes and rewards the right things…

39. 2. metrics linked to outcomes that matter
1. real impact of real solutions that solve real problems
LET’S RAISE THE BAR
An entrepreneurial culture that values, measures,
recognizes and rewards the right things…

40. 3. progress on the exponential impact curve
2. metrics linked to outcomes that matter
1. real impact of real solutions that solve real problems
LET’S RAISE THE BAR
An entrepreneurial culture that values, measures,
recognizes and rewards the right things…

41. 4. persistence & grit guided by actionable lessons learned
3. progress on the exponential impact curve
2. metrics linked to outcomes that matter
1. real impact of real solutions that solve real problems
LET’S RAISE THE BAR
An entrepreneurial culture that values, measures,
recognizes and rewards the right things…

42. Thank you
@AdamDole