Kris Finstad

Stories By Kris Finstad

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  Tomorrow

  Tomorrow By Kris Finstad

  Emerging Health and Wellness Tech Trends to Keep an Eye On

  In 2015, the total dollar amount of venture capital-funded deals in health technology grew higher than ever, accounting for 7% of total venture funding. In that same year, 267 digital health companies raised more than $2 million. Fast forward to 2016, and the current marketplace for digital health and technology funding is hitting a record pace yet again, according to Rock Health. Despite recent investor, founder and tech media chatter surrounding lower valuations and conservative VCs in the tech industry at large, the digital health sector is seeing an uptick. Total funding in the first quarter of 2016 reached $981.3M. Some of the largest deals thus far include Flatiron Health, Jawbone, HealthLine, Health Catalyst and Higi, according to the same Rock Health report. While investors continue to favor a few popular categories, we're seeing digital health innovations emerge and new trends beginning to take hold. Some of these include: Wearables and biosensing technology – Rock Health reports that this space has seen a huge amount of investment, which we'll continue to see throughout 2016. The wearables and sensors allow for 24/7 monitoring, gathering key data which will become essential for healthcare providers. Corporate wellness programs – The ever increasing popularity of health apps and fitness trackers amongst consumers grew by 52% in 2015. This growth in the market is certainly being noticed by corporations that are looking to improve or expand on wellness programs and implement tactics to lower health insurance premiums. For example, BP has utilized the FitBit tracker to challenge employees who hit one million steps over the course of a year to become eligible for an even greater deductible health plan. Innovative partnerships – Many corporate and tech giants are making inroads into healthcare according to several reports. IBM recently partnered with CVS to better analyze the deteriorating ailments of customers through predictive analytics. Novartis (a Swiss drug maker) and Google have also partnered to develop a "smart" contact lens to help patients with diabetes better measure the glucose from their tears. Smart pills – These are becoming the latest, non-invasive tools to help collect data. A hospital in California became the first to prescribe ingestible sensors for patients with hypertension. Also, a hospital in Texas was recently the first to use smart pills to track the health of about 75 children suffering from all different ailments and who were required to take medication daily to manage their health. However, with all these innovations in digital health, there are heavy regulatory issues in the U.S. which are a driving factor in the marked increase in digital health funding outside of the states, as reported by CB Insights. In many other parts of the world, regulatory issues are less of an obstacle. In developing countries like India, where the patient to doctor ratio is very high, the need for digital health solutions increases as well. Countries like Singapore are booming in innovative technologies in large part due to a welcoming, business-friendly environment. Not to mention its close proximity to Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines that have an emerging middle-class and still hugely underdeveloped healthcare systems. Singapore is also near "frontier markets" like Myanmar and Cambodia that are huge sectors for health tech innovators focused on the world's poorest. Additionally, Canada, Switzerland, China, France, Israel, and Japan (along with the U.S.) are providing some of the best innovations in wearable technology. While this is certainly an exciting time for innovation in digital health, what will prove to be the most successful trend? It's tough to say, but the data collection is a key component that provides healthcare professionals access to a greater breadth of data that can be used to treat patients more effectively. Wearables, apps, and smart pills seem to be the most efficient in tracking and analyzing health data and are taking off now, but the ever-increasing interest and funding in this sector can only lead to bigger and better things.

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  News

  News By Kris Finstad

  Four Ways to Stay Efficient While Traveling for Business

  The U.S. Travel Association calculated an estimated 459 million business trips were made in 2015. That's a whopping number, and many entrepreneurs like myself know all too well the familiar feeling of jumping on a plane a couple times a week for business. Business travel can seem daunting, exciting, exhausting and invigorating when traveling to a new place and working in an unfamiliar environment. However, traveling to and from airports, checking in, and packing can eat up precious time needed to conquer that mountain of endless tasks. As an entrepreneur that travels intercontinentally from Norway to Los Angeles, and not to mention all over the U.S., I have found certain hacks that make my travel experience as productive as possible. Here's how I stay productive when I cross the Atlantic: Designate airplane time as an extension of the office. Every businessperson or entrepreneur should make the airplane a dedicated work zone. With today's global marketplace, digital connectivity is available 24/7, and in today's day and age, work demands that we be available constantly. Use this airplane time as means to get ahead and focus on tackling your to-do's. Stay connected but limit communications (unless urgent) so that you are not distracted. One strategy I have found that is effective is to block out your travel time on a calendar as you would for any business meeting. This will set the tone that your travel time is meant to be time for work and crossing items off your checklist. Treat yourself. You might think that I snuck this tip in in order to justify traveling in style, but it's essential to take any step necessary to ensure a seamless and enjoyable work trip. The airport is known to cause annoyance or irritation – long lines, delayed flights and inconsiderate travelers. This can disrupt your flight time and interrupt the hours you have to focus on work. So before any business trip, I purchase a new set of headphones or travel accessory. The excitement of opening up a brand new pair of headphones gives me something to look forward to while in-flight, and puts me in a positive mood. Maybe it's a pair of new shoes or buying a really good book – whatever it is, just splurge a little and you'll feel an instant pick me up. Get geeky with gadgets. Take advantage of the cool tech literally available at your fingertips. Buy a portable charger, a wireless keyboard, a wireless router, and a backup battery pack. These items alleviate all stress when traveling and you won't worry if your laptop or phone might run out of juice. It's best to be prepared in case the in-flight Wi-Fi isn't working or the charging port happens to be broken, or occupied. Apps, apps, apps. There are so many incredible apps that help with business travel. Personally, apps that function as a personal assistant are essential when I travel. This helps me stay on time for meetings, or assist if I'm running late and need to alert the executive team. Whether you need assistance with keeping track of meetings or keeping track of flight and hotel itineraries, there's an app for it. Business travel can be enjoyable for many reasons – taking a break from your regular work-life routine, visiting an interesting location, and an opportunity to re-evaluate work goals away from the office. However, before you set off, make sure to set up a check in with staff prior to and during your travels. Ensure that your employees or team members feel like you're available and able to communicate. Use the waiting areas before a flight to check in or call, and delegate tasks that you are unable to achieve. It's inevitable that your work schedule may stray from what you may have planned out, but it's okay, be sure to over communicate and adjust your end objectives. You will be able to accomplish tasks you set out to achieve, and this will also set the tone for future business travel and will keep you productive along the way.

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  News

  News By Kris Finstad

  How Health Tech Is Transforming Corporate Culture For The Better

  The saying goes happy employees equal productive employees, and a recent study backs up this age-old adage. Economists from the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick carried out a number of experiments to test the idea that happy employees work harder. The results showed that happiness made people around 12% more productive. What if corporate wellness programs were a main contributor to overall employee happiness? Well, recent findings have shown that corporate wellness improves a company's bottom line. How so? The importance of good employee health in a business trickles from the top down. As quoted in Forbes, Dr. Roger Sahoury, author of Gladiator's Guide to Corporate Health & Wealth, stated that 55 percent of workers identified a workplace wellness program as an instrument in improving their overall well-being; equating to $250 million in savings in lowered healthcare costs and a 50 percent reduction in high blood pressure among employees. Healthy employees not only bring increased productivity to the workplace, but also happiness across all aspects of their lives. Research from the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), Brigham Young University and the Center for Health Research at Healthways showed that employees who eat healthy all day long were 25 percent more likely to have higher job performance. The link between employee health and improved productivity reinforces the case for corporations to invest in top-notch wellness programs and technology that provides employees with benefits that reduce stress and fatigue. General Electric recently began offering unlimited vacation to a majority of its salaried U.S. workforce – about 43 percent, becoming the largest company to do so. Another example is Microsoft's commitment to improving corporate wellness, offering a shuttle and bus with Wi-Fi that transports commuters to and from work, flexible work hours and a bevy of health benefits including dental, vision and even physician house calls. Fitbit, another large corporation and manufacturer of wearable technology, not only promotes an incredible wellness culture but is also helping other companies use its wearable fitness tracking technology to create programs for employees. Wearables can be a valuable tool in encouraging workplace health by helping to monitor stress levels and heart rates. Companies are leveraging this tech in order to implement fitness plans and motivate employees to stay active as part of a rewards program. Lowered health insurance premiums is another incentive for corporations to implement health tech in the workplace. By expanding wellness budgets and promoting preventive measures, employers can keep employees out of hospitals which keeps premiums down. Mental health coaching and fitness trackers are common tactics used to improve employee happiness and heath, which is a trigger in work productivity and an important key for a company's bottom line. Some small startups, like ShapeUp, and WellTok are also following the lead of big name companies like Google, Zappos, General Electric and Microsoft, and expanding corporate wellness by implementing health technology as an incentive for a better corporate culture, work productivity, and as a recruitment tool. As the use of fitness mobile apps increases – up 52 percent in 2015 - and wearables are projected to grow 31 percent this year, we can expect to see this trend continue. We'll certainly see innovation in this space and it will be interesting to watch the positive impact it has on corporate wellness and on a company's overall profit.

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