MY ROLE

Chief Product Officer

THE PROJECT

Suicide Prevention Platform for Hospital Emergency Rooms

THE RESULT

100% Survivorship Across Participants in First Clinical Trial (Reference)

Jaspr Health is a leader in digital health focusing on mental wellness, known for its use of evidence-based methods to help people.

  • Innovation and Impact: They blend the latest tech with a strong understanding of what patients need, making a real difference in their lives.

My Role as Chief Product Officer:

  • Transition to Commercial Funding: Guided Jaspr's shift from grant funding to a business model supported by healthcare companies.

  • Leadership Goals:

    • Team Building: Put together a dynamic team passionate about product quality and user experience.

    • Process Development: Set up a solid process for developing products, ensuring they're both effective and user-friendly.

    • Human-Centered Design: Fostered a culture where every product is made with the user's needs at the forefront.

Impact:

  • Strategy and Empathy: Worked as both a planner and an advocate for users, making products that truly connect with and improve people's lives.

Background

My Approach

“At the end of the day, it’s all about outcomes.”

—Marty Cagan

Stepping into Leadership:

  • Strategic Planning: Developed a comprehensive plan focusing on:

    • Understanding the complex mental health landscape.

    • Building a top-tier team.

    • Refining our product development process.

    • Ensuring the success of our clients.

Understanding and Strategy:

  • User-Centric Foundation: Conducted in-depth analysis to align our products with real mental health challenges and the potential for digital solutions.

Team Building:

  • Content Manager: Hired a filmmaker with domain expertise to bring a unique perspective to our content strategy.

  • Customer Success Manager: Brought on board to enhance client satisfaction and become central to our commercial success.

  • Visual Designer: Ensured our product interface was not only user-friendly but also visually engaging.

"The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else."
— Eric Ries

Product Process:

  • Methodology:

    • Adopted an iterative and agile approach inspired by SVPG, promoting:

      • Team collaboration.

      • Ongoing innovation.

      • A culture of continuous learning.

Client Success:

  • Customer Alignment: Focused on aligning our products with both user needs and strategic goals of partner organizations, facilitating the move to a sustainable commercial model.

Culture and Impact:

  • Innovation and Empathy: Cultivated a product culture driven by innovative practices and a deep understanding of user needs, leading to impactful mental health solutions.

Results

In my tenure as Chief Product Officer, I'm particularly proud of three key achievements that reflect our team's dedication and the effective product culture we established:

  • Clinical Trial Success:

    • Achieved a groundbreaking 100% survivorship rate among participants in our clinical trial, underscoring the life-saving impact of our work.

  • Widespread Adoption:

    • Launched our product in dozens of hospitals, reaching across two major U.S. healthcare networks and marking a significant expansion of our digital health solutions.

  • Cultivating a Balanced Work Culture:

    • Fostered a healthy, results-driven product culture characterized by:

      • Work-Life Harmony: One team member took her first laptop-free vacation in her career, signaling a shift towards a more balanced approach to work.

      • Effective Collaboration: Implemented processes that empowered everyone to contribute and excel without sacrificing well-being.

      • Decisive Action: Demonstrated a strong bias for action by fast-tracking a critical feature that had been stalled for years, delivering it within just three months of my onboarding.

Lessons

My journey at Jaspr Health has been incredibly instructive, and I've distilled it into three key lessons that have reshaped my approach to product management:

  • Business Model as the Product:

    • "Your business model becomes the product." — Matt Wallert, Behavioral Scientist and author of "Begin from the End"

    • I recognized the importance of prioritizing our business model as much as product features. Understanding that the business model shapes the product was crucial in driving our strategy.

  • Broaden Design Thinking:

    • While we adeptly applied agile methodologies to product development, I learned that these principles are equally valuable when applied to team dynamics.

    • Initially, my methods in hiring and process implementation were too rigid. In hindsight, incorporating flexibility and iteration would have accelerated team cohesion and efficiency.

  • Focus on Core Value and Lean Growth:

    • In the rush to scale the team, I realized the significance of concentrating on our core value proposition and ensuring customer ROI before extensive hiring.

    • Moving forward, I would emphasize solidifying the fundamental value we deliver to customers and growing the team in a more measured, strategic manner.