Pamela Swingley is a seasoned software executive with more than 20 years experience working with technology companies of all sizes. With a passion for early stage companies, she managed the marketing strategy and programs for three successful startups: Onlink Technologies which was acquired by Siebel, Shoplink Collision Estimating, a division of ADP, and Gate58 Marketing. In 2005, she founded Savvy Internet Marketing, a consulting firm specializing in online marketing, website design and usability. Pam holds a BS degree in Human Development from UC Davis and an MBA from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga.
To an outsider, Pam’s career looked like a major success story but those in her inner circle knew she was not happy. Three hours a day in a car commuting was tiresome and Pam felt she was missing out on quality of life. Her 81 year old father needed more attention and Pam worried about his glaucoma. He was forgetting to take his prescription eye drops several times a day and was close to losing his vision.
Pam developed a text messaging system to remind her father to put in his eye drops. It was a great solution for Pam’s father to manage his medications and maintain his independence. After realizing that other families could benefit from this type of service, Pam assembled a software development team to create RememberItNow!
A Feisty Little Start-Up
Matthew Holt founder of Health 2.0 and The Health Care Blog calls RememberItNow! a “feisty little start-up” which focuses on medication management. Holt also praises Pam for being an “engaging CEO” and distinguishing her company with creative online marketing materials like Prezi, presentation software.
Pam’s use of progressive online marketing tools like YouTube videos and Prezi presentations, help prospective users understand the benefits of RememberItNow! Regardless of age, patients often get lost in the complexity of the healthcare system and RememberItNow! simplifies this because it is all designed from the patient’s perspective. With RememberItNow! users can set and send SMS or email medication reminders, maintain a personal health record, and create an interactive personal health team. Available online and on a mobile phone, the service is eHealth made easy. RememberItNow! also:
- Improves medication compliance. Text or email reminders help patients take the right medication, at the right time, in the right dose. This improves patient health and reduces health care costs.
- Connects patients, family, caregivers, and health care providers. Patients create a private care community that enables care coordination, long-distance care giving, and peace-of-mind.
- Simplifies health care management. Easy to use eHealth tools include a health journal, health charts and reports, website bookmarks, medical history and contact management.
The New Era of E-Health
At present, 32 million patients in the US are taking three or more medications. RememberItNow! aims to help some of the 65 million Americans who are serving as care providers for other family members. The service requires a mobile phone or handheld device and is easy to use. The simple to use, patient-centric eHealth service is available online. There is no software to download, or upgrades to manage. Customers can test-drive for a 30 day trial with no obligation and with month-to-month service there are no lengthy contracts.
Pam’s team will help you remember to take your medications, create a care community, get organized, provide long-distance care, and much more. She believes you should spend more time doing the things you enjoy, and less time worrying about taking medications, remembering appointments, tracking prescriptions, reordering supplies and scheduling care.
“Most web applications assume users are way more Internet savvy than they are, or want to be,” points out Pam. “Managing medications is complex enough. We’ve focused on building our software to work the way people do. It takes less than five minutes to get started with RememberItNow, and online or phone support is available for those that need help.”
The Alpha Daughter
The new company was a labor of love from the beginning since Pam’s Dad was the inspiration. But she also used this opportunity to launch a new career and reinvent her life. She tapped into her nest egg to finance the launch using her own money from her retirement fund and home equity.
Her priorities changed as she started the business so she could focus 100% on this new endeavor. To save money, she did not take vacations and hunkered down passing up social engagements in order to focus on the business. Starting her own company was a 24/7 responsibility.
As an internet marketing consultant, Pam had been working for several years with a core team of people to build corporate websites. An effective website is the work of a team of people. One person will do the strategy. A graphic designer creates the look and feel. A writer creates the content. An engineer makes the forms work, builds a content engine, creates flash elements, and often builds mini applications. The production manager puts all the pieces together and builds the site.
The process was the same to build RememberItNow!, it just took longer. Since Pam assembled a team of former colleagues who all worked together before, things went pretty well. Because of this attention to detail at the beginning, the final application was exactly what she wanted.
The Value-Add
Pam knows that she is more at-risk with this business than at any other time in her professional career. But she also shared that she is at peace and really believes in the project and has complete confidence that the business will soar.
Right now she doesn’t have any investors and she has bootstrapped the company with her own money. When the time comes to raise funds, Pam will look for investors that share her same values. She wrote her core values within the first three months of starting RememberItNow!. They are designed to guide the company in the future in who she hires and partners with.
Here is a breakdown of Pam’s core values for RememberItNow!
- Be understanding and responsive to our customer’s challenges.
- Deliver value by doing more with fewer resources.
- Build open and honest relationships.
- Create quality and take pride in our work.
- Make things easier, and be easy to work with.
- Bring passion and a positive attitude to all we do.
- Embrace creativity, innovation, and change.
The Power of a Niche Market
Even though money is her number one worry these days, Pam stays positive and has picked great people for her team. There are no naysayers in the company. Enthusiasm is contagious, and she only accepts optimism. It’s an exciting time to be in business as the Internet reshapes how Pam’s company builds, markets and delivers software. Pam feels fortunate to be able to participate in the Health 2.0 revolution. And she is thrilled to empower patients to reach their own health goals.
One of the things Pam learned is that she underestimated the opportunity for eHealth services. It’s not a small niche. Twenty-seven percent of the people in the United States take five or more medications a week, and almost every one of these people finds it a challenge to manage their health care. Nearly 50% of the time medications are not taken as they were prescribed.
In addition, this market is rapidly expanding as 77 million baby boomers enter their senior years. Pam has realized that the value of RememberItNow! isn’t just medication reminders, it’s so much more. It’s a way for employers to control healthcare costs. For long-term care facilities to manage resident records. For patients to take control of their health. And for healthcare providers to provide better care. It’s eHealth made easy.
An Elephant in the Room
In the case of RememberItNow! the only elephant in the room is the company mascot. The elephant is a symbol for memory and Pam’s goal is to empower patients with self confidence and independence and ultimately better health.
As a corporate software executive Pam had a long history of building start-up companies, but this one is different. Inspired by her ageing father, RememberItNow! was created with Pam’s core values in place from the beginning. The next step may involve partners, investors or even a buyer, but one thing Pam knows for sure is that she is confident she is doing the right thing.
Pam’s Advice and Action Steps:
- Remove all negativity in your life.
- Cherish every day.
- Pick great people to be on your team.
- Taking a risk is a long term investment in your quality of life.
- Tap into all of your skills and think about what you do well. You may surprise yourself.
Quote:
“I feel validated and want to make this business work by myself. I have found my career identity and I couldn’t be happier!” Pam Swingley
Resources:
RememberItNow! www.rememberitnow.com
RememberItNow! video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJXYaT9KseA
Prezi – RememberItNow! http://prezi.com/irjw0cqiv1cu/introducing-rememberitnow/
[...] of today, Pam’s story, “A Feisty Little Start-Up Company in the E-Health Arena” is officially published and can also be viewed on Professor Higgins’ [...]