Archive for March, 2015

Amino

One month since TEDxWakeForestU “Hearts & Minds”, and I have found myself continually discovering new innovations in the healthcare sector. Whether it’s investigating the specs on Apple Watch, learning about the serious medication adherence problems, or keeping up to date on my favorite startups, 2015 is becoming the renaissance year of health technology.

One startup in particular, Amino, is building a product at the intersection of routine healthcare decisions and big data. For example, a common problem for heavy computer users, carpal tunnel surgery, is highlighted as an example in their recent update. I personalized the Amino recommendations to myself, a 21 year old male.

Amino breaks down the three parts of a medical procedure: diagnosis, repair, and recovery. Screen Shot 2015-03-23 at 11.09.13 PMScreen Shot 2015-03-23 at 11.09.33 PM

Then Amino explains common risks and complications associated with the procedure:

Screen Shot 2015-03-23 at 11.09.53 PM

Finally, Amino shows you a map of doctors near you that can help.

Screen Shot 2015-03-23 at 11.10.07 PM

This is a classic 0-1-2-3 product design, meaning that Amino is simple and provides simple but meaningful results in just seconds.

I suspect they are tracking this data from the millions of publicly available health records that are tied to Medicare claims. As my Mom (a computer systems manager at Johnson & Johnson) advised me, this is part of an industry-wide trend of health companies incorporating real-world-evidence into new products.

IMSHealth, a popular provider of anonymized healthcare data, mentions that RWE is “…becoming the new currency in healthcare”. Amino is off to the races to turn anonymized patient-level data into their own small fortune, and thus more informed healthcare decisions for all.

The team behind Amino explains it all. They are lead by David Vivero, former founder of RentJuice (software that helped real estate agents market their listings) who sold his product for $40MM to Zillow. And thanks to funding from RockHealth (source: tweet from Partner Halle Tecco), their bank account is most likely ready-for-hiring as they build “the digital doctor“. With an A-list design team to compliment Vivero’s leadership, Amino is on track towards building a landmark healthcare web property.

Keep checking back at Amino.com as they add more medical treatments and conditions.

23

03 2015

Wynwood

Every now and then I come across a place in my travels where I can feel future coming alive, with new energy continuously brewing. That was the feeling that I had in the Wynwood section of Miami this past week.

Despite having visited Miami about a dozen times in the past few years, I had never been to Wynwood. Perhaps this is because Wynwood still has an “insiders-only” type of vibe, where the outer appearances only scratch the surface of what is truly happening.

Tony Goldman, a visionary real estate developer, was the driving force behind the revitalization of Wynwood beginnig in 2009. The neighborhood is situated in what was once a neglected warehouse district, in the backdrop of waterfront skyscrapers; the classic storyline of dozens of industrial neighborhoods around the world. Goldman brought over two decades of Miami real estate redevelopment experience to the table, having already having been a key figure in the preservation efforts of the architecturally significant buildings in Miami beach, such as the Park Central Hotel on Ocean Drive.

He combined his real estate knowledge with that of Jeffery Deitch, a prominent art dealer and early advocate of street art in New York, to create an exhibit for the newly popular Art Basel Miami beach in 2009. (Fun fact: Art Basel Miami drew over 75,000 visitors in 2014 and more than 1,000 private jets, according to Bloomberg.) The result was stunning: The Wynwood Walls.

In a 2012 interview with Art Business News, Goldman noted: “The vision behind Wynwood Walls has always been to create an international outdoor street/mural exhibition showcasing the world’s greatest artists working in the genre, …the project has truly evolved into what my friend Jeffrey Deitch calls ‘a Museum of the Streets.’”

In subsequent years Goldman recruited even more international and domestic artists who are drawn to make their mark on the buildings of Wynwood during Art Basel Miami. Today, gallery openings are booming, and both residential and commercial real estate is in high demand. Goldman Properties says it best on their website:

Today, when you are in Wynwood, you know you are in Wynwood. It is like nowhere else. It has a “sense of place.”

Wynwood is a welcoming home for anyone willing to embrace it. Even more importantly, it is especially attractive to creative entrepreneurs who subscribe to Goldman’s vision and want to push it forward with their own investments. Thus, what was once just a few colorful murals is now a self-perpetuating economic engine, rooted in a neighborhood with the arts at its core.

I’m excited to track the development of Wynwood, and I encourage you to check it out on your next trip to Miami.

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03 2015