Lessons Learned
I have decided to lay myself off from Health Tech PHL in 2026. I plan to launch something new, but that new thing is still taking shape in my brain.
In the meantime, I just finished The Art of Gathering and it was an excellent read. I will be giving out copies to many people in my life. Some parts were validating of my instincts and I also got some new ideas about how to make communities even more kind, welcoming, and productive. It did make me want to reflect.
Here are some things I have learned in the year and a half of Health Tech PHL:
- My favorite thing is community building. The mailing list alone for Health Tech PHL is about 400 people. I personally invited at least half of those people, and 40-60 people regularly attend. I'm really proud of these numbers and honored by every person who has given it a shot.
- Logistics is the hardest part. I could write a book about this subject, and this will be an area of deep focus in my next venture. Just know that creating an affordable, comfortable space with good acoustics and modest sustenance that is accessible to everyone is really, really difficult.
- Get to know people as humans first, and resumes second. Everyone is interesting, and everyone has a story. There is probably an event out there for the grinding networker types that evaluate the dollar value of every person they meet, but I don't want to be around those people. You likely don't either.
- Help out the introverts and the people who don't look like you. Just about anyone who attends these kinds of events is at least a little bit uncomfortable, and overcame some trepidation to show up. Being the "chill" host who lets people make their own way is not helpful. Taking care of your guests is key to having them return, and also it's just the right thing to do. Making sure no one feels left out, making introductions, and being curious is meaningful to people.
- If you are going to have speakers, index on authenticity and earnestness over coolness. Insist that they prepare with you. Make sure at least the speaker is excited about what they're doing. It will land with someone in the audience.
- Encourage questions but manage this part tightly so that one person doesn’t suck the oxygen out of the room. Have a few questions of your own in your pocket. Preferably they should be a mixture of smart questions based on your own industry knowledge, and a couple should be fun. Balance out the other questions.
- Lay down some ground rules for attendees. People should be supportive, stay off their phones, and assume everyone present at the event is smart, or they wouldn't be here. Yes, reimbursement is hard, yes clinical integration is hard, and yes the speaker probably won't "blow up" the dysfunctional healthcare system, but you help no one by being dismissive. Shark Tank is just a dumb TV show.
- Keep the speaker presentations shorter than anyone expects. It keeps up the energy in the room and allows the speaker to re-integrate back into the group because the attendees will probably have follow up questions for the speaker they may not have asked in the larger forum.
- A little bit of friction goes a long way. If it's too easy to sign up for events, many will do so just to keep their options open but then not bother to show up.
- Don't worry too much about people who undermine the community. They usually select themselves out quickly, but don't rush to invite them back either. Of course, anyone who is rude to others or otherwise behaves badly should never be invited back.
- There needs to be a boss in planning and execution. When I was in business school, my hyper capitalist professors insisted to me that two friends can start a business, but they cannot be equal all the time. Someone needs to own 51% and someone else 49%. That sentiment always rankled my socialist and anti authoritarian values, but I was wrong on this point. By the way, my professors were also very wrong about most non-business things. But it is true: oftentimes you need more action than information. That doesn’t mean you should be an autocrat, but it does mean that as a team, you can disagree but still need to commit.
- Solicit feedback from all attendees. Act on what you can, but take it all in good humor and be kind to yourself.
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A man on a thousand mile walk has to forget his goal and say to himself every morning, 'Today I'm going to cover twenty-five miles and then rest up and sleep.' -Leo Tolstoy