Current Industry

HealthTech / Healthcare

Date Joined

May 13, 2021

Referred By

Ali Rohde

Nabil Uddin

I'm a biomedical engineer by training, with a background in medical devices and digital health, and currently the Chief of Staff at HelpWear (YC S17). HelpWear develops a continuous clinical grade ECG monitor worn on a patient's bicep for the better detection and treatment of complex cardiac diseases.

Before joining HelpWear, I led an innovation team within St. Michael's Hospital (through the Biomedical Zone) as a part of Unity Health Toronto, the largest health system in Canada, building everything from software systems to improve the management of brain hemorrhages, to software that allowed victims of domestic violence to discreetly report their abuser in the context of a fracture clinic. Over my 4 years at the hospital, I paired frontline care providers (who had identified gaps in the hospital's quality of care) to teams of engineers to co-design and develop solutions to address those gaps. We implemented over two dozen products in the hospital.

In my off time, I'm also a co-host on SneakerSinz, a leading Canadian sneaker podcast.

Top Areas of Focus

No items found.

CoS Start Date

Feb 1, 2019

Current Industry

HealthTech / Healthcare

Company Size

1-10

Experience

6 to 10
years

Previous Experience

Pro Tip

Design your role to fit your character, not your character to fit your role.

Gives

I can support members of our community in helping to commercialize complex technical solutions in highly regulated industries (especially healthcare). Over the better part of the last decade I've assisted in the commercialization of everything from modular drones to class II medical devices, and have built a wealth of experience in handling the government relations, strategic planning, and navigating bureaucracies involved in these industries. Next, I can also assist in the recruitment and cultural integration of highly skilled specific roles into a technology organization. In the medical device industry and in digital health, it's very common to have to recruit one of a small handful of global experts on a very specific problem for your company to succeed. These experts can be incredibly high value, but also difficult to find, onboard, and (most importantly) integrate into a young company with it's own unique. Finally, what I’m especially proud of, is something I built at HelpWear. Which is building a culture where the team is composed of talented individuals who not only collaborate on solving challenging problems together inside the company, but outside of it as well. My team and I frequently collaborate outside of HelpWear on various initiatives such as charities, peer mentorship, and podcasts.

Asks

Over the lifecycle of my career (so far), I've discovered that I derive the most fulfillment from focusing on meaningful problems that can improve people's lives, and building the infrastructure and support systems to enable the people that build solutions for those problems. I started my career as an engineer managing the development of products in healthcare, constantly filling any gaps identified that prevented my team from success. This brought me to the role of Chief of Staff completely in isolation. My community today is primarily of founders building companies or engineers building products. However, I've yet to find a community of like-minded individuals that also fill my role. From the CoS Network, I hope to build deep connections and friendships with fellow Chiefs of Staff to share best practices, collaborate to overcome roadblocks, and act as a mutual support system in the unique challenges of our unique role.

Superpowers

Accomplishments