"It won’t happen if you don't do it" with Chrissa McFarlane
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Chrissa McFarlane is the Founder and CEO of Patientory, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta. McFarlane founded Patientory in December 2015 after seeing the need in the market for more personalized and secure consumer-driven health information management solutions. Chrissa has over 10 years of experience as a healthcare professional and has written the book Future Women encouraging women to take the next step in starting their business.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
I am a startup founder with extensive experience in the healthcare industry. I graduated from Cornell University and later earned my Masters in Business Administration and Strategy at Wake Forest University. Before founding Patientory, I worked at a telehealth startup and played a key role in some of the healthcare infrastructures we have today.
What inspired you to start your business?
After witnessing the shortcomings of our healthcare system when trying to receive care and through professional experience, I envisioned that Patientory would empower end-users to own, manage, transfer, and share their healthcare data securely using blockchain technology and unique machine learning algorithms. Particularly, I started out in the healthcare industry conducting research and went into healthcare IT consulting. After my experiences with an early stage telemedicine company, I experienced first hand the lack of data access that made it difficult for individuals to receive care. After leaving that company and delaying my plans to go to medical school, I started Patientory. I started Patientory with a hunch and through the unique knowledge, I had accumulated. I would say I was uniquely positioned to start this company.
Where is your business based?
Patientory, Inc is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Specifically, we are at the Atlanta Tech Village! Atlanta is a wonderful community for fintech and healthcare. It fits perfectly with what Patientory is trying to accomplish. Atlanta is somewhere in which Patientory can really leverage the network of investors, accelerators, and fellow founders.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
I joined an accelerator program, specifically the Boomtown Healthtech Accelerator in partnership with Colorado Permanente Medical Group. I already had experience learning the ropes at a previous telehealth startup; however, the accelerator paved the way for me to start Patientory towards success.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
Patientory, Inc created Patientory Association, a global conglomerate encouraging the adoption of blockchain in healthcare. As the founding member, Patientory gained recognition and over 45,000 subscribers.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Access to funding when starting my company - Our company successfully raised a crowdfund.
How do you stay focused?
I remind myself of the bigger picture. Founding a startup is uncharted territory, let alone a startup in the blockchain. I am now a leader in this space, inspiring other women to pave their own paths. This motivates me to stay focused. I stay focused to inspire others to come to the table.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
Patientory believes people come first. In this way, we really differentiate ourselves from our competition. Unlike competitors, Patientory uses blockchain technology and APIs to transfer information from the EHR and medical devices. Hospital readmissions and penalties can decrease by 85% with 0 breaches. This technology allows the patient to control who sees their data and how it is managed, which has always been important but is especially important today.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
We create newsletters with educational pieces and key partnerships we have acquired to move healthcare toward a more equitable future.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
It won’t happen if you don't do it. Don't put off what can be done today!
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
Future Women is my favorite book. I might be biased because I wrote it, but it is a new accomplishment I am very proud of. This book was recently released and shares lessons learned as a woman pioneering the 4th Industrial Revolution of blockchain and crypto.
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
Calendly - makes life easier to manage!
Who is your business role model? Why?
Jeff Bezos - for his ability to successfully build something out of nothing and have the vision to execute one of the world’s most successful companies of our era.
How do you balance work and life?
On a practical note, I work with 100% of my energy during the week. The weekend is my time to recharge and relax, so I can remain focused for the next week.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
Travel (pre-pandemic) - now I enjoy making culinary meals from around the world.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
Patientory is planning on launching! We will be launching our consumer app and our enterprise solution, Neith. Stay tuned and look for us on the app store. We are pioneering a safer, more personalized way to manage your healthcare using blockchain technology.
How can our readers connect with you?
Follow me @chrissatenelia and Patientory @patientory on Twitter. You can also find me and Patientory, Inc on LinkedIn.