Heather Fernandez & Pete Flint on Startup Speed As A Public Good

The NFX Podcast

In this episode, Pete Flint, Heather Fernandez, and James Currier discuss the business model of Solve Health and its strategic approach to navigating through the pandemic. They analyze the complexities and opportunities in the American healthcare industry, the impact of regulations on innovation, and the importance of understanding supply and demand in healthcare marketplaces. The episode concludes with advice for young entrepreneurs interested in healthcare.

Speed is routinely acknowledged as a major advantage for startups. But startup speed is not sufficiently understood as an invaluable competency for society at large. Solv Health’s growth during the pandemic is a great example. Just 4 years old, the startup managed 5 million Covid tests in 2020, compared to 7 million tests by long-established CVS.

Today NFX General Partner Pete Flint is joined by Heather Fernandez, Co-Founder and CEO of Solv Health and previously a leader with him at Trulia. They analyze mental models and hard tactics for using speed to convert chaos to growth — and good.

Read the full NFX Essay here - https://www.nfx.com/post/startup-speed-as-a-public-good

(0:00) Introduction to the NFX Podcast and guest Heather Fernandez (1:11) Overview of Solve Health and its business model (9:18) Comparison of 2008 real estate crisis and COVID-19 impact on Solve Health (13:39) Strategic approach to navigating through the pandemic and changes to Solve Health's roadmap (19:12) Discussion on different risk profiles within health tech and the implications of COVID-19 for Solve Health (22:27) Analysis of American healthcare industry complexities and opportunities (28:29) Discussion on healthcare regulations and their impact on innovation (31:19) Building a healthcare startup and targeting high frequency, low fidelity healthcare services (35:36) Importance of understanding supply and demand in healthcare marketplaces (41:57) The evolution of Solv and advice for young entrepreneurs interested in healthcare (47:49) Wrap-up and conclusion of the episode.