Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kwasi Kyei, Co-Founder of Handspring Health, located in New York, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Handspring Health is redesigning the family mental healthcare experience from the ground up. We deliver evidence-based mental health support to children and young adults through a hybrid care model that integrates digital and in-person care experiences. With our highly trained pediatric therapists, technology, and health plan partnerships, Handspring is making quality mental healthcare more accessible to all children and young adults.
Tell us about yourself
The answer to this question always starts with “I was born and raised in Ghana.” It is such an important aspect of my identity and what drives me as an individual. As a kid, I saw and experienced a broken healthcare system. I came to view healthcare as the most important foundation of every society. My ultimate goal is to help democratize evidence-based healthcare approaches. Before making the jump to entrepreneurship, I spent years working as a venture capital investor focused on digital health innovators. I love investing, but the opportunity to be in the arena and to directly make an impact in the lives of children and young people (through Handspring) was one that I could not turn down.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Building an incredibly talented, diverse, and dedicated team that buys into a common vision and strategy to achieve that vision.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Building an effective company culture and maintaining it as the organization grows.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be obsessed with the problem that you are solving & your customer needs, not your solution.
- Jump in and do it – don’t spend all your time at the ideation stage looking for the perfect solution. Continue to build, test, and learn.
- Your job is to build the best possible team to solve the problem. Take your time in building the team. However, you will make hiring mistakes. When you do, you must be comfortable letting them go. You must be decisive and not let employees who are not aligned with your culture & vision stick around for too long.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Challenge your assumptions. Don’t get stuck in familiar ways of thinking. The fact that an approach worked last year does not necessarily make it the right approach for next year. Build an organizational culture that encourages and rewards curiosity, continuous learning, and a willingness to question/improve the status quo.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.handspringhealth.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellohandspring/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hellohandspring
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/handspring-health/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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