CLINT PHILLIPS
FOUNDER/CEO
MEDICI

Medici is a simple mobile app that allows patients and doctors to connect with one another. Get Medici to communicate via text, voice or video privately with your doctor right from your phone. This convenient app allows patients to avoid the waiting room for simple healthcare needs, get follow-up questions answered, see lab results and even request some prescription refills!

It is headquartered in Austin and active in all 50 states and booming in Puerto Rico, South Africa and Nambia. He previously founded telehealth company 2nd.MD, a second opinion service for complex medical conditions.

Clint has been married to Jade, a former TV gladiator, for 18 years and has three children: Clinty, Faith and Gabrielle (who has recovered marvelously from her stroke). Clint is the National Champion in various track and field events for his age group and loves nothing more than returning to Aspen to train. 

HTA - Tell us a little about yourself, your family and what inspired you to create Medici?
 
Family - My family is my greatest blessing, and I try to invest heavily into them. My daughter, Gabi, having a stroke and being paralyzed on her  right side, pushed us to start 2nd.MD, the leading 2nd opinion platform  now serving 10 million members in the US.
 
Faith - My Christian faith is what drives and inspires me to attempt  great things that will change the world. Medici was born out of seeing  how miserable healthcare was becoming for doctors and their patients. We  are attempting to make healthcare incredible for 1 billion people.
 
Fast - I love speed in business, cars, life etc. I'm training my brain  to listen to audio-books at 3X speed, and my body to beat my 400m track  time from high school. Not easy at 44 years old.
 
Medici is inspired by the need to liberate doctors and patients from the  awful healthcare experience they find themselves in. Medici exists to  take the stress out of Medicine.
 
HTA - You recently had a life altering experience when you and your family were in a Hot Air Balloon crash in Wyoming.  What did you learn from that?
 
I was reminded that sometimes things are completely out of your control. Your fitness, finances, friends and family can't help you and all you can do is pray.
 
 HTA - Tell us about your early mentors, and how they have impacted your career?
 
I have been fortunate to have many amazing mentors. Nelson Mandela, who said 'it's always impossible until its done.' Barry Sternlicht, who founded Starwood Hotels, and gave me the opportunity for my clinic at  St. Regis, Aspen.
 
Most impactful has been Jesus who told us the golden rule... treat others as you want them to treat you.
 
 HTA - What surprises you about the Healthcare Industry?
 
Too many to mention, but here are three:
 
 1 - The level of inefficiency that people are willing to put up with.
 2 - How removed people are from prevention - most patients think they can only get better with drugs and/or surgery.
 3 - How cost and quality have almost no correlation.
 
 HTA - What was Medici’s journey like to get where it is today?
 
Medici's journey has not been typical. We did not raise money from VCs  or go through an accelerator. We started by knowing where we want to be  in 10 years, serving 1 Billion people through 1 Million doctors, and  worked backwards from there.
 
There is not a good playbook to follow when you are trying to reshape a very entrenched industry, but we decided that ending the insane parts of healthcare was worth devoting our lives to it.
 
We were fortunate to have investors, who felt the same way.
 
HTA - How much has Medici grown in the past year?  What impact has the pandemic had on Medici?
 
Medici has grown 10x in the last year. The pandemic has had a mixed reaction for us. While doctors flooded to virtual care platforms like Medici and Chiron, some vendors started giving away free virtual care solutions. Many doctors chose free over quality. As a result, they have not been impressed by telemedicine and returning to office visits despite the tremendous value of virtual care.

HTA - What are your thoughts on the Teladoc/Livongo merger?

The valuation for Livongo was dizzying but I do like to see Teladoc do more to help the overall health of their members. Too many solutions are looking at dispensing prescriptions rather than providing true health+care.
 
HTA - How much funding has Medici raised?  What is your secret to attracting investors?
 
Medici has raised $60M. We will raise a big round in Q4.

Two  important thoughts for raising money...

1.  Go to people who trust you. It's hard to convince strangers. My  first sports rehab clinic, Aspen Back, needed $360k and I had no credit,  because I was new to the US. I went to a client who really believed in  me, and we tried to exceed expectations. so when I needed $1.2m for  2nd.MD, it was a lot easier.
 
We did what we said we would do, so when 2nd.MD needed $60m, we had credibility.
 
2.  Show them you have skin in the game. When launching Aspen Back, I took every cent of savings to put into the business. When launching  2nd.MD, I sold the clinic and took every cent, and borrowed more to  invest in 2nd.MD. My investors never have to wonder if I am all in. They  know I will be bankrupt, if we don't succeed.
 
 I did the same with Medici, but this is my strategy, and not meant for everyone.
 
 HTA - What are Medici’s core values?
 
 Our values spell SHARE:
 
 Speed - it's not the big that eat the small, its the fast that eat the slow
 Harmonious - must play well with others
 Ambition - must think big to change the world
 Resilient - must be able to deal with setbacks
 Excellence - be excellent in your word, product, and care
 
HTA - How has your Track & Field career helped develop your mindset for building companies and relationships?
 
Track & Field is an awesome metaphor for life... 
 
You get out what you put in - There are few people surprised to be on the podium.
 
You will be injured at some point - Deal with it and come back even better.
 
There are so many ways to get better - power, technique, coaching, mindset. You only stop getting better when you quit.
 
HTA - What is your favorite quote to remember?
 
If I lose at work and win at home, I still win. If I win at work and lose at home, I still lose.
 
 HTA - How do you learn?  What are you reading?
 
I have a business coach, a track coach, and I try to engage with doctors several times a week to keep the learning consistent.
 
I try listen to a book a week. The topics cover healthcare, economics,  productivity, and Christianity. I am currently listening to Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman