Tag: Insurance

Doug Polster was deep into clinical work when a conversation with a former classmate sparked something bigger. What started as a way to keep his private practice afloat during COVID slowly turned into a cross-state mental health network rooted in accessibility and real care. In this episode, Doug unpacks the lessons behind Thriving Center of Psychology’s growth, from sunsetting a failed tech platform to rethinking how founders define their roles. He reflects on the quiet wins, the tough calls, and what it really means to build with intention. --- Episode Resources “The Confidence Gap” by Russ Harris (https://a.co/d/jbAY54D) 

What does it take to walk away from a $15M term sheet? Bob Knorr did just that — choosing ownership, control, and vision over outside capital. He built that company (then 2 others) with a poignant blend of business sense, ethics, and intuition. In this episode we discuss how he built a medtech company from the ground up, bootstrapped it with creativity (and a Costco credit card), and ultimately exited to a publicly traded company. We discuss his other ventures and what he’s learned along the way about hiring the right early employees, developing a go-to-market strategy, and how to stay true to a vision while adapting to reality. Throughout every topic we cover, Bob shares hard-earned wisdom for founders at every stage. --- Episode Resources Check out what Bob is currently building with his company “Timless Tartans” (https://timelesstartans.com)

What if life insurance didn’t just protect you financially but actually helped you live longer? In this episode, we sit down with Ben Mason, co-founder and CEO of Athlete, a startup that’s disrupting the insurance industry by pricing based on fitness, instead of based on risk level. Ben shares his journey from advertising to entrepreneurship, the hard lessons he learned about chasing ideas vs. listening to customers, and why he believes mental health doesn’t have to be a sunk cost for founders. We dive into the challenges of launching a product in two countries at once, the myths that hold startups back, and how Athlete is planning to navigate data privacy concerns for its customers. Ben’s experience and skillsets are extensive, and I took away so much even from our short time together. You don’t want to miss this one! --- Episode Resources Check out what Ben and his co-founder are building at Athlete (https://lifeathlete.co)