Ready for a rollercoaster ride through the trenches of entrepreneurship?

You're about to embark on a journey from the stringent confines of European telehealth regulations to the brilliant promise of American innovation, so buckle up!

The story goes like this: I've arrived in America with a German telehealth startup by necessity, not by choice.

Back in 2014, the European Union had its telehealth regulations wrapped tighter than a Berliner bratwurst.

As our company was embroiled in lawsuits, pivoting became our only option. We departed from the Old World and Asian ambitions and set sail for the US market.

Here's where things get complicated.

As a telehealth solution, we would acquire patients, and then match them to providers for a pay-per-tele-visit model.

It was soon obvious that patient-by-patient acquisition was expensive and cash-draining. In order to achieve our goal (and not run out of cash), we wanted to capture hundreds of patients in one fell swoop, rather than painstakingly reeling them in one by one.

Now, enter pivot number two: we decided to become a provider of B2B telehealth solutions.

Our goal would be to sell telehealth solutions to medical providers so that they can invite their patients into the world of telehealth.

The gamble paid off. There were annual contracts flowing in, with pricing tied to the number of providers in medical practice.

With our first ten paying customers, the winds of success were on our backs.

Unfortunately, the path was strewn with surprises.

Our product usage plummeted, leaving us puzzled. The app was only actively used by 20% of our paying customers every week.

Is it time to panic? Nearly.

It was then that the bombshell moment struck, a revelation that would forever change our path.

Upon reaching out to the physicians who were actually using the product, we discovered they weren't driving engagement. They relied on their trusted medical and physician assistants to communicate with patients, eliminating patient follow-up calls. For staff, the efficiency soared, and joy abounded.

BAM!

Once again, the lightbulb flickered to life, guiding us toward yet another pivot, but this time, a double whammy.

First, we made our product team-based, mimicking a medical practice's real-world workflow.

Second, we reshaped the product's identity, shifting from a telehealth savior to a patient communication platform.

We weren't done pivoting yet, so hold your horses.

A giant leap of faith led us to offer our solution free to medical practices.

Why, you ask?

There was no way we could be sure we weren't on to something big unless we were dead sure.

Dropping the price tag would allow us to test our solution to the extreme.

Quite a test, that was!

Within a few short months, we reached 200 medical practices and gained traction.

At that point, the big guns came out and we returned to traditional B2B selling.

We went from zero to a million in just 10 months by finding our product-market fit. As they say, the rest is history.

We were acquired by a larger company a few years later.

In light of this whirlwind experience, what pearls of wisdom can we glean?

It is always a good idea to be ready to pivot, even if you are steering a ship that has just left the dock.

Never underestimate the power of team synergy and efficient communication.

This might just be the game-changer you've been looking for.

Positioning Magic: Dominate Your Market

Gather 'round, folks, because we're diving headfirst into the waters of positioning. If you want your message to hit the bullseye, you've got to have your positioning game on point.

How do you ace this positioning thing? Building a skyscraper requires a solid foundation. Here are three key elements:

1) WHY - This is the heart of your narrative, the belief that sets your brand apart. It's your North Star, your guiding light. Without a compelling "why," you're just drifting into the marketing wilderness.

2) HOW - Now, we're getting into the nitty-gritty. This is where you lay out the problems, the pain points your audience faces, and, most importantly, how you're the knight in shining armor who's going to swoop in and save the day.

3) WHAT - Here's where the rubber meets the road. You've got to spell out what you're offering, the tools, the solutions, the magic that'll make those problems disappear. And remember, it's got to align with your "why."

Finding the common ground between these elements is the trick. How do you connect your "why," your "how," and your "what"? Right there is your secret sauce.

Think about value creation on a grand scale to uncover this common thread. How would you sum up the value you bring in just one word? In just a few words, how can people obtain that value?

For example, HubSpot. Bam! "Revenue by using inbound." That's it! Clearly, that's their common or main thread.

Storytelling on steroids is positioning. This is the art of giving your brand, your tribe, your customers, and your partners the words to tell your value creation story.

Great positioning is a game-changer. It drives engagement, boosts conversion rates, boosts revenue, keeps 'em coming back for more, and turns your customers into your biggest fans.

Positioning isn't just a word game; it's your secret weapon in marketing.

Getting it right will lead to a bold, capital-letter success story for your brand.

Tweet That I Noticed This Week

Epic Systems Corporation is a privately held healthcare software company that provides electronic health records (EHR) for large healthcare providers, health plans, and medical groups.

This thread on Twitter…..I mean… X is about Epic Systems.

Interesting Thing That I Read This Week

What Do You Think?

This concludes this edition of Fresh Salmon.

I would like to hear what you thought of today's newsletter.

Also, let’s connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, or TikTok.

Cheers,

Vivek

PS. I love you ❤️