Nwanyinma Dike
Hi everyone, welcome to the Atlanta Startup Podcast. I am Nwanyinma Dike, the managing director of Startup Runway, the leading platform linking underrepresented founders to their first investors, and so on this special episode of the Atlanda Startup Podcast. I’m really excited and thrilled to welcome Georgina Dukes-Harris, the founder of Swishvo. She was able to snag the judges’ prize at the recent Startup Runway. That prize is presented by Cox, and I will let Georgina go in more, but I would want to highlight how Swishvo is transforming how healthcare professionals are matched with short-term opportunities. And she’ll go into more detail about her own platform. She, as a founder, can speak to it, of course, best. Without further ado, welcome Georgina.
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Thank you. I’m so excited to be here.
Nwanyinma Dike
Thank you. Thanks for being here. So with that, can you share a bit about what is Swishvo and the problem you are trying to solve with this solution?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Yes, Swishvo is an AI-powered technology that empowers holistic health providers to connect, heal, and build for their life-saving services. So when you think holistic health providers, I want you to think of people who are not in the clinical setting. So don’t go the traditional route of a doctor, a phlebotomist, or a nurse practitioner. These are individuals who believe in healing mind, body, and spirit. So think, faith-based spiritual counselors. Think doulas for maternal health, think lactation specialists, think chiropractors. These are people who believe in that you can’t heal one aspect of your life without healing all three. These providers have been historically shunned and marginalized due to politics and the over-medicalization of healthcare that we have in America, and our ultimate goal is to empower them and make them accessible to communities who need them most, which is particularly BIPOC communities. Does that help give a good explanation?
Nwanyinma Dike
Absolutely. As someone, I personally ascribe to more holistic approaches to health. There is a place for hospitals and the traditional model in the life of our health. I think what you’re doing with Swishvo is to elevate more holistic providers and also make it easier for people like me to be able to find and interact with them. I think it’s awesome and is needed. So before I ask more about that, I wanted to hear like what you got, what brought you to this, what inspired you to go achieve this, not only for this problem but a little bit more about why you wanted to be an entrepreneur to work in this space?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Yeah, so I’d say one, I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur like I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My great-grandfather owned the first black grocery store where I was born and raised. So I come from a long period of people who were sharecroppers, who just believed in working for themselves, just to make their ends meet. Coming up, although I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, I’ve always loved healthcare, and I felt like my superpower was going to be the ability to heal. Like, if anyone would have asked, if you were a superhero, what would it be? I’m like, I just want to heal everyone. That’s just what I thought. And so I came up with the idea for Swishvo and said I wanted to pursue it full-time back in 2013 while graduating from undergrad at Clemson. And I had wrote the business plan because I was applying to an MBA innovation program, and I was just like, “This is what I’m meant to do”, and just didn’t have the confidence. Then I would say, I’m like, “Who am I to think that I could start this company?” I’ve only worked in a hospital in the third shift, I didn’t have any experience, so I kind of tabled it and and went the traditional route. So I just decided to go to the Medical University of South Carolina and just further my education, do residencies at some large academic medical centers. Even started going to startups and like understanding, how do they start a business and scale it from start to finish, and all that to say, I just feel like there are no mistakes when it comes to your life’s journey. Although, I didn’t have the confidence in the beginning to pursue this full-time, every life story I’ve had, like every medical situation, even the birth of my son, having to be emergency C-section, and then having a daughter 12 Years later, and it was completely safe and holistic birth, thanks to holistic providers, every step I went through prepared me for this moment to break off and pursue it full time, starting last year. So although I was 10 years delayed, delayed is never denied, right? And it helped, it just really came full circle, and now I’m just so grateful that I got all that experience and I’m able to pursue Swishvo with the confidence that I wish I had in the beginning.
Nwanyinma Dike
I love that. And I think with experience and time comes conviction. I think the becoming and pushing through to build something from scratch, which is the case with so many tech founders, you have to believe in the thing that you’re pushing. And so with the time, yeah, there was the initial spark, but that it sounds like you needed those 10 years to build that conviction that’s empowering you and animating the work you’re doing right now, which is not an easy path. So absolutely, I loved what you said about delays, not denial. That’s good. Can you tell us, share a bit about what’s been the most fulfilling part of building Swishvo?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Yeah, so I would say there are two parts of it, as you alluded to earlier, that there’s the part where I want people to have access to it, like people like me and you who need holistic services to have access. And then there’s the actual platform that empowers the holistic health providers to manage their clients better and become billable because that’s when we will have equity and advanced health equity. So I will say the access part isn’t live yet, but funding is close to being live. So the second piece I will say right now because I’ve been so focused on that is life has been so fulfilling. So seeing doulas receive their first reimbursement like these are doulas who can change the game with maternal mortality in the United States, we know women are dying at an alarming rate, especially black women, three times as likely to die. And doulas, and as well as midwives, can increase our survival rate by over 81% and so the fact that we now have doulas who are getting trained, who know this work true and true. They just don’t have the time, or just don’t even care about the skill set of learning how to build or become in-network with health plans. But they’re charging these moms out of pocket, and moms can’t afford it, and these doulas need to live. So the fact that we have 17 doers who are now reimbursable and who are getting paid for their services. And again, we’re handling all the administrative work. They’re just going out being with moms, doing births, and just every time we say, “Oh, you got another payment like that?” I just feel like it is not only I’m healing the lives of mothers, but I’m changing economics like empowerment in my community because these doulas look like me. They are black and brown women who thought that they would have to charge moms $1,500 for the low-income moms that didn’t couldn’t afford it. They couldn’t provide for them. But now you’re accepting Medicaid, right? You’re changing the financial dynamics for not only moms but for these doulas as well. So that has been so rewarding, because I feel like we’re on to something, and it’s not just healing people mentally and physically and spiritually, it’s healing people financially as well.
Nwanyinma Dike
I love that, and that is a keen point, the economic impact of what you’re building. Now you are creating a space. Not only are you serving the doulas and these practitioners that exist now, making it more viable for them, but now you create a pathway that becomes more attractive to others, who might be like, well, there doesn’t sound like there’s they can make money there, or there’s a viable business model there. Now you’re creating it, making it so that more people can go into this space, people who have the inclination and the heart to do this work, they don’t have to think as much as how they’re going to eat and pay their bills to do that. I’m particularly inspired around that before I move to my next question, I wanted to ask, like, what made you call it Swishvo? Like, what’s the story behind the name?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Yeah, so, oh, that. I love this question because one, so my original name, when I wrote it in 2013 was called Womb, and the number two, womb to two, and because I wanted it to be from start to finish, like alpha and omega of your life, like I wanted people. It was more programmatic but I wanted it to be a spot where people can get life from birth to the end. And so when I decided to quit full-time, I found my business plan from 10. Years ago, and I was just presenting it to my son, who’s 12, and I’m like, it’s going to be womb to two. And he’s like, I don’t like that name. “I don’t know what that really good name, mom”. Um, so I think you should call it Swishvo. That my 12-year-old said that. And I was like, really, why like that? But where is that coming from? And he said, swish, makes me think of fluid movement like swish or swish. And then Vo means voice and vitality. So it’s like you’re trying to give people a fluid movement through their life, which, again, is still end to end, but it’s a Gen Z way of saying womb to two.
Nwanyinma Dike
It sounds like you’re sending the blessing in multiple different ways. I love that I will no shade on the original idea. But I do think Swishvo has a different, new, vibrant energy. I love that. I love that. So I would be remiss to not ask you have great success so far, and there may have incredible momentum, but I would love for you, the sake of the audience, for folks who might be earlier in their founder journey than you are to share a bit about some of the challenges you’ve had along the way and how you’ve been able to navigate around them.
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Oh my gosh, so many challenges, and it doesn’t but very resilient. So I would say the top three challenges that just have kept me up at night and almost made me like question myself almost every single week. I would say the first thing is funding. I think that when you say you’re going to pursue something full-time, you have to make sure that at the bottom of your Maslow’s hierarchy, those needs are met. And I will say just for myself, personally, I didn’t think that. I just went for it. I was like, I’m ready. I have a little bit of savings, I’m going to go for it. And luckily, I do have a partner. I did get married last year, so I do have a partner called the household responsibilities down, but it’s still a sacrifice, right? Because you were making a certain income, and you need that income, maybe like your first angel investor to get the platform up. So if you’re pursuing it full-time, you got to figure out a way to make that funding make sense. So I would say funding has been a huge component. But for me, because I’m starting VC funding wasn’t an option right now, because of how early I am, how I really want to prove traction, and you just want to be careful. Who do you get in bed with when you’re doing this type of when you’re going for funding rounds? So I took it upon myself to solve the funding problem. Was I going to pitch? I was going, that’s the one thing. I did, Toastmasters. I just really tried to participate in programs to perfect your PowerPoint, just pitch or apply for grants for non-dilutive funding. And it has, right now, I’ve put in probably around $50 – 60,000 of my savings, but around $40 and 50,000 more has been from pitch competitions and grants. So all that to say is that funding has kept us up at night because I wanted. After all, I needed funding to start the technology company. But it doesn’t have to be something that stresses you out. You just put the work forward and apply for some of these grants and pitch competitions like this one to help, help get that funding in. So I would say that’s number one. And then I would say the second thing will be being technical. If you are a non-technical founder trying to start a tech startup, there are a lot of expenses. There are a lot of things you don’t know. Like, how do you build a product roadmap? How do you decide which features should come first versus second? And I would say mentorship has been key, because, again, I can’t pay engineers, but I connected with a lot of them on LinkedIn. I connected with people who were founding technical people for different companies, and they’re willing to talk to you. Everyone loves talking about themselves. So seeking their advice, asking them, do they have examples of product roadmaps, and ask them, what features would they recommend, first. I think that is important to get over that hump. And then the last thing I would say is, after the funding and the technical aspect is just also getting your founding team. Because, right now I’m a one-woman army full-time, but I had to learn how to get contracts with people so not everyone has to be hired on full time. Like some of the funding you get from grants or your savings, try using Fiverr or different types of ways to hire people part-time where they’re just doing outreach or customer support two days a week, all that helps you get things off your plate so that you can operate at the top of your license when you’re building this business. I’m sorry that was a long answer. I just there’s so many challenges, but to get it down three things that have challenged me, but also three ways that I’ve been able to figure out how to make it work if that makes sense.
Nwanyinma Dike
That is so spot on. I think that your first point is something that I mean, I think needs to be said, more especially in this space where you have founders that are going out there. A lot of folks get so honed in on VC funding, but they don’t recognize how important it is to you have to have something before you can become attracted to VC, and not only just from the angle of being attracted to them but even being able to make the right choices about who you might accept investment from. A great way to bridge that gap is brands and non-diluted funding and coming to a start a runaway pitch competition and doing the work to do it well so that you win. I love that. I love that, and I want to keep encouraging you at that point. Anyone who might be listening and who’s seeking funding in the very early stages of their business, look for grants. They are out there. It takes a little bit more legwork, to get really good at telling your story, but it’s worth it to kind of fill out your friends and family round before you go and become venture-ready if you will. So thanks for that. That was really, really good. I want to ask you a bit about how your experience was with this, this Startup Runway showcase that you want to think it’s a unique and unique one because it’s one of our virtual ones. But I would love to hear a bit about how your experience went that day.
Georgina Dukes-Harris
I think it was so cool. I mean, for better words, because I was just talking about this last week, one of the things that I felt like this pitch competition did that was different from any other one I participated in was the mentorship at the beginning. Like, I love that. I mean, I took, probably, like, four or five pages of notes with the two mentors, because it was around Robin and the things that the mentors told me, because, again, you had us make an agenda. Having kind of a board meeting with them, I felt like was the game changer that also helped me kind of think differently about my answers and when the competition at least or when the judges did have questions, because they asked some of the same questions that the mentors had aligned and said, you need to get clear on this part of your business model, or this is how you’re going to acquire users to your platform. So, I would say from start to finish, it was an amazing experience. And one of those key differentiators for me was the mentorship conversation, because talking to leaders, especially they were located. Most of them were located here in Atlanta. I think the two I had, connected me to different groups in Atlanta because I’m new to the Atlanta area. I moved here about a year and a half ago, and they just really helped me think differently about my idea and kind of question me in a way that helped prepare me to walk into the pitch competition If that makes sense.
Nwanyinma Dike
That’s good. So you took really good advice from our program. I think I selfishly, really like this question, because I want to hear how people receive that part. I think that’s we are we pride ourselves in that differentiated part of the pitch competition like this we say the founders come for the money, but they leave with the insight, they leave with mentorship, they leave with connections. And so I’m glad to hear from you that’s what you’re getting, what you got. So, yeah, yay. I love that one thing you touched upon this. But do you prepare for a pitch competition for the benefit of people who might be listening, who want to do the same thing you did?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Yeah, so one of the things I do, well, first you have to get the slide deck together. So I use Google Slides. There are so many other tools, like Canva out there, where you can design a nice slide deck. I will say that in every pitch competition that I’ve done, I start with the slide deck to make it understand who the target audience for the pitch competition is, and how I need to frame my slide deck to tell my story. But also make it effective for the audience and the judges in the competition. So I would say, start with the slide that the second part is practice. You’re right. I, for me, I have to write out my script because I’m very country. If you can’t tell, I’m already and so if I have a script that’s written out, I will everything will be wide and light, and alright, like, because I cannot coat switch unless I have it memorized. So I would say, practice understands the time frame. Because I was pushing it, they had to say 10 seconds and practice that, because you don’t want to go over your time. Once you go over your time, you’re not ending with you. With your most solid takeaway. So I would say practice in that time frame as much as possible. Some tools offer that you all offer. I didn’t even know was there. I think it’s called Wistia. Yeah, that was a game-changer. I’ve used that tool so many times since. Yeah, because it allows you to present, and then you can see your facial expression. You can just under. It just helps you practice even better, because it times you, it cuts off the script. It gives a teleprompter. So I would say, that’s the second thing is, I practice a lot, and then the third thing I would say, just practicing beside the slide deck, and practicing and getting in the time frame is understanding your story and your why is really, that is the main I feel like a sauce for doing a pitch competition, because when you get up there, you only have, like, 20 seconds to get people caught into your why. Like, you need those head nods in that first 20-30, seconds. And if you can’t do that, then you have to sit. I feel like you have to sit with that and say, “Why am I doing this?” Like, why should everyone care? And once you get clear on that, I feel like the timing and the pitch deck will come together. But most importantly, just really practice that. Why I practice how you can get people to understand why this work is so important. So those will be my three pieces of feedback about preparing for a pitch competition.
Nwanyinma Dike
That’s good. That’s good. So you have a few minutes, but I want to ask you, what’s next for Swishvo?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
So what’s next? Excited. So once we have our website is now live again, thanks to the grant, we’re so excited. So you can go to swishvo.com you can sign up as a provider. You can also sign up as a client now and get access to our portal. We also have just nice to know, like, if you just want to be on the list for when other features come live, maybe you’re not an early adopter right now, and that is fine. I wasn’t the first person to get the iPhone when it came out, either, so, you can sign up and also be on our newsletter and our listserv to just learn more. So right now, what we’re working on building out is the community-facing part of the portal. So we were onboarding our doulas and other holistic health providers, getting them used to the actual platform that allows them to manage their clients and reimburse and now we’re going to start opening it up so that clients, people like us, can book services with these holistic health providers. So we’re starting in Georgia, just because that’s where our home base, that’s where a large percentage of our providers are located, and then we hope to spread across the southeast. So if you’re located in Georgia right now, we would love for you to sign up to find some holistic providers, whether it’s acupuncture, whether it’s a doula service, or whether it’s a herbalist service. We want you to reach out to us because we believe that in order to revolutionize healthcare, we have to elevate the stance of holistic health in the American healthcare system. So that’s what’s next.
Nwanyinma Dike
Love that, very well said. So do you have any final thoughts for the audience?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
My only final thought is that I’m so grateful for this opportunity that started Runway it was life-changing. I think that I learned so much about myself in that process and my business idea and it just took it to the next level. Not only again, the funding piece take it to the next level, but the mentorship really helped me think differently, and honestly, it opened up different revenue streams that I didn’t consider so all that to say, I would encourage people to be connected to startup runway and organizations like this, who are trying to empower marginalized founders so that we can change equity in our community. So I’m grateful for you all, and thank you so much for even allowing me to talk to you today.
Nwanyinma Dike
Oh, that’s awesome. It’s our privilege. And so last point, how can people get in contact with you and what you have going on with Swishvo?
Georgina Dukes-Harris
Yes, so visit our new website, swishvo.com or you can email info@swishvo.com, so we have support there, you can find out a lot of information from our website now and register to some of our events and subscribe to our newsletter.
Nwanyinma Dike
Awesome! So good. So good! Again, thank you so much for the time. This has been a great conversation. Best of luck and momentum with Swishvo, Georgina, and thank you to everyone listening. Have a great day!
Thanks for being a part of the community of courage by listening to the visionary founders and investors on the Atlanta Startup Podcast. Subscribe now so you don’t miss a single episode of the over 200 investors and founders sharing their insider tips and secrets to growth. Our regular listeners tell us we’re the briefing room for the innovation economy in the fastest-growing region of the country, the South –and when you subscribe, you become part of the inside circle.
The Atlanta Startup Podcast is proudly hosted by Valor VC. Valor is a venture capital firm that leads seed rounds in AI and B2B SaaS startups. If you like the podcast, check out more of Valor’s programs for courageous founders and investors, like Startup Runway.
Over $100M in early-stage venture capital and counting is catalyzed through Startup Runway’s grant-making program for pre-seed startups. Go to StartupRunway Dot ORG to learn more and apply directly for non-dilutive capital.
Valor celebrates VC DAY, the largest early-stage private capital conference in the region, at the end of the year. The top founders in the region, leading VCs, endowments, and family offices focusing on venture capital outperformance attend. Learn more at VC.Day.
At Valor, courage is the currency of innovation and the heartbeat of our culture. Thanks for listening and come back next week.
