William Leonard
Catalyst by WellStar is a uniquely constructed global digital health and innovation center created and operated within the WellStar Health System. Catalyst by WellStar was designed to drive meaningful innovation by intimately understanding the complex problems of patients, community members, physicians, doctors, and partners all within the healthcare ecosystem. On today’s episode, I’m joined by Stefanie Diaz, who is the Manager of Industry Discovery and Research at Catalyst by WellStar. In today’s conversation, we’ll dive into the focus areas for Catalyst. We’ll talk about many of the initiatives they’ve launched, and some of the early impacts that they’ve seen. And lastly, we’ll touch on how founders tuning in today can get involved with Catalyst by WellStar. Before we begin today’s episode, let’s touch on some of the happenings occurring in Atlanta’s Startup Ecosystem. Coming up on Wednesday, November 16th, from 6 – 8 pm. You can join many entrepreneurs, investors in ecosystem stakeholders at Atlanta Tech Park for an incredible night of networking amongst the Who’s Who in Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. And at the event, you’ll find many venture funds, accelerators, incubators, workspaces, and organizations that make up Atlanta’s vibrant ecosystem. You can learn more and register online at hub.tie.org/events. Startup Runway is literally just weeks away. We’ve got some finalists who are already solidified and who will be on stage at the Woodruff, one of Atlanta’s most beautiful venues pitching for the opportunity to win a $10,000 non-dilutive grant for their startup. If you’re interested and want to be on stage December 15th, you can learn more details and submit your application at startuprunway.org. And speaking of Startup Runway, this edition is going to be incredibly special is being held on December 15th in conjunction with Valor’s VC day, and Valor is bringing together many leading investors and founders in early-stage technology at the Woodruff Art Center in Midtown Atlanta. And if you’re going to be in attendance, you can expect thoughtfully curated conversations between successful founders and investors around succeeding at one of the most difficult stages, but also most lucrative stage of VC investing the seed stage. And to learn more about the Valor VC day, you can go into your browser and type in VC.day where you can learn more details and learn how to register. We look forward to seeing you there. Now let’s begin today’s episode. Let’s dive right in.
Stefanie Diaz
I’m thrilled to be here. Thank you so much for having me. Excited to dive in.
William Leonard
Likewise. I’ve seen some fascinating and exciting announcements for this that you’ve made on LinkedIn regarding Catalyst and WellStar. We’ll definitely dive into that a bit more but I would love for you to just level set here for our audience and tell us a little bit more about Catalyst then we can dive into your background and more of your role within the program.
Stefanie Diaz
Perfect. Before I dive into Catalyst, I’ll set the stage with WellStar. WellStar is Georgia’s largest healthcare system employing nearly 25,000 team members, and 10 hospitals in more than 300 locations. Fun fact: WellStar has a personal meaning for me. My mom was a WellStar nurse for like 16 years when I was growing up. The WellStar name is a household name for me. And in this time of lots of change in the healthcare space and lots of innovation coming into the forefront, WellStar made the decision about a year and a half ago to launch Catalyst by WellStar. I love to look at Catalyst by WellStar as equal parts corporate innovation and corporate venture. We’re tasked with understanding the problems that exist in healthcare systems and the healthcare industry, identifying the best path for a solution, and then we have the ability to source startups and technology and bring them in-house through pilot and proof of concept. We have the ability to stand up a business internally and launch it into the market. We have the ability to make strategic investments and be a part of the conversation around the tech that is disrupting healthcare at a much earlier stage than we would have otherwise.
William Leonard
That’s so fascinating. This is a very robust and dynamic program that is identifying and understanding the problems in the healthcare industry, identifying now tech-driven solutions to solve these problems. You all have kind of free rein to understand and to take these solutions however you all best see fit through the program. This is really fascinating. Tell us more about your background and how you got involved with Catalyst by WildStar.
Stefanie Diaz
When I came out of my MBA, I actually landed in the pharmaceutical industry. Within a pharmaceutical startup, we ended up growing that company to over 100 million in annual revenue in four years. That was definitely a formative experience for me when it comes to my understanding of business and my confidence when it comes to entrepreneurship. I was reporting right to the owner. With any small team, you have a role, but you wear many hats. You touch everything. With that experience early in my career, I was excited to put it to work in a meaningful way. What that looked like in the short term, I started helping friends and family launch businesses. Eventually, I said I think this helping people launch businesses is part of what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m an OG podcaster. Back in 2015, I launched my first show and started interviewing business owners and someone said, hey, you should go down to this place. It’s called Atlanta Tech Village. They’ve got a lot of really cool founders there. The rest is history. I started going to ATV, understanding more about the tech world, and using the experience that I had to help tech founders position themselves in the market and grow their companies. I started leaning into working with women specifically as well, even though I come in through male-dominated industries, I felt really called to serve that community. A lot of doors have opened for me since then. I ended up joining a fintech company as Head Of Investor Relations which really started to open the door into the VC world and that’s what led me to Catalysts by Wellstar.
William Leonard
Nice. When did you join Catalyst? What year?
Stefanie Diaz
This year. Catalyst is a young and budding team. We’ve really been forming the team throughout this year. I joined in March, and just celebrated six months, not too long ago. We have someone today who celebrated 10 days. Building the team is definitely been part of the focus of 2022 for Catalyst.
William Leonard
I love that. I love the perspective that you bring from working in several startups in this space and kind of thinking about how innovation can take shape and the perfect wedge for innovation in this space. As you think about your day-to-day role as the Manager of Industry Discovery and Research, what does that practically mean? What does a typical week look like for you, Stefanie?
Stefanie Diaz
Well, no two weeks are the same. Right now, the way I look at our group is keeping an external lens on all things, health care, tech, and venture. Fortunately having been a part of the Atlanta ecosystem for a while, I have access and I’m a volunteer mentor at Atlanta Tech Village. I’m a portfolio manager for Goodie Nation. Understanding what startup founders are out there building technology and then bringing them into Catalyst however I can is a big part of my role. We also have a lot of projects going on internally that require research. We do landscape reports, and try and get a really deep understanding of the lay of the land in the industry. The cool thing about the Catalyst team is that not all of us come from healthcare, some come from tech, some come from venture, and some do have a more formal healthcare background. Providing the resources that allow the entire team to have a really big-picture view of the problems that we’re looking to solve is also a part of what we’re doing within the industry research team.
William Leonard
You’re keeping your ear to the ground and you’re really trying to understand the entire landscape and understand how technologies can fit within the Catalyst mission. You mentioned that you’re connecting with founders, you’re immersed in the ecosystem, and bringing startups to Catalyst. Can you tell us more about how this practically works and what types of startups are most suited to collaborate with Catalyst?
Stefanie Diaz
There are a couple of different ways, at least in this early phase we’ve been bringing startups in. One thing that is a part of my role is that I host think tanks within WellStar for our senior leadership around our different focus areas throughout the year. When we do a think tank, which is really allowing our senior leadership to get a peek into what’s going on and maybe plant some seeds for some disruption that we’re looking at, I like to use that as a platform to bring in startups at various stages. We’ve had some pre-seed startups come in to share what they’re thinking and how they’re looking at the industry differently, put those ideas in front of senior leadership, and get a conversation going. Sometimes you have very differing views on what the future of the industry looks like and those are some of my favorite conversations. But something that I’m really excited about too, is the fact that Catalyst is now accepting applications for funding. If a startup is looking for investment then that’s also a part of what my group does. We manage the deal flow process. Startups are able to go to our website, https://catalyst.wellstar.org/, and submit an application right there. We look at early-stage and late-stage companies and apply for funding. From just a general conversation and getting you in front of healthcare system leaders, which can be game-changing for an early-stage startup, to piloting technology within the organization to funding. Those are some of the ways that we’re bringing in startups right now.
William Leonard
That’s so fascinating. Is there a deadline for founders who may be listening for them to apply?
Stefanie Diaz
No. We are open for business. This is pretty new. We have made one indirect investment to date and that is with Engage VC via their fund, we’ve made 30 indirect investments to date. That has been an incredible experience for Catalyst. I look forward to seeing our direct investments begin in the near future and in a cadence from there on out. It will be an ongoing rolling process.
William Leonard
Wow, congrats on the early investments and partnerships there. You mentioned that early-stage and late-stage startups can now apply for funding on the website. I have a question do startups have to be particularly focused on how healthcare or can it be some type of adjacent technology like cybersecurity that can have a healthcare application?
Stefanie Diaz
That’s a great question. I have to share one of the thesis statements that Catalyst has had from the beginning and that is not all healthcare problems are solved by healthcare solutions. We love looking at other industries to see who’s doing what and then seeing how we can apply it back to the experience for our team members and for our patients. I would say, as long as there is a relevant application to healthcare, and obviously, there has to be an understanding of the dynamics within that, then yeah, we’re excited to explore it. That may be for investment, maybe WellStar is the place where you test that. Those are the conversations we want to be having.
William Leonard
That is incredibly helpful to know. And I can just say, on a personal note, I love the energy of Catalyst. I see a lot of the faces that are on the Catalyst company page, you see the same faces active at events in the community. I can definitely give you all kudos and props for being boots on the ground here in this ecosystem. Relative to that, what events or big things did you all take place in 2022? Springboarding off of that, what do you are looking ahead to in 2023?
Stefanie Diaz
Definitely. I will say that 2022 was about building the team that you just mentioned and thank you for picking up on the energy that we’re looking to bring. We describe our culture in Catalyst as kind but scrappy. That has definitely been the case. We’ve got some incredible team members and we just hired our new Head Of Venture, John D. Cooper. Catalyst originally was stood up by Dr. Hank Capps, our EVP, and Jamie Clark, our Director of Innovation and Venture Strategy. I can’t name every single team member but we are having a ball. I think that was a really important focus for 2022. But also especially thanks to the engaged investment, we were able to pilot some technology and really start to put our processes into place. We did a pilot with Moth+Flame which is all about virtual reality leadership training. We were able to bring in 100 leaders, have them test the VR experience, and then give us feedback on what are your thoughts on implementing this moving forward. We have implemented wellness rooms that were an initiative system-wide. We were able to really double down on the technology within the wellness rooms implementing spatial, which is a sound immersion technology that is just incredible. We’re really excited about that partnership, as well as MetaCX, which allows us to track the benefits of the wellness room and really keep an eye on how we can optimize that experience for our team members. Another engaged company that we have partnered with is Bee Downtown. They installed beehives in our facilities. There’s definitely a sustainability and climate tech focus to that but it’s been a really incredible experience to explore just really different ways that we can partner with startups, bring them into our ecosystem, and change the experience for our staff and our patients.
William Leonard
That’s awesome. Stefanie, you all have looked at so many different types of companies since you all started investing. I want to hone in on some of the focus areas that are most attractive for you all right now from a Catalyst perspective, but then also from a personal perspective for you as well.
Stefanie Diaz
Definitely. We have identified our focus areas. There’s a lot of innovation out there and it can get really exciting and overwhelming and so to make sure that we are having as much impact as possible, we’ve dialed it in for six different focus areas. They are digital health, customer experience, data analytics, insecurity, sustainability, supply chain, and future of work. I’ll say that future of work is definitely one that’s near and dear to my heart. I mentioned that my mom is a nurse and my dad is also a doctor. I have seen them work inside of healthcare. Especially my mother’s experience as a nurse and a nurse manager, and just hearing her talk daily about her work, there’s a nurse shortage right now. Nurse retention is a conversation across the board. We’re really excited to be working on that. And then for me personally, women’s health, femtech, and also the concept of women building for women. I’m a big fan. And so, to that extent, I’m really excited to see us focus on that as well.
William Leonard
Those are all great areas. So founders, if you’re listening, please, if she mentioned one of the focus areas that you’re building in, definitely reach out to Stefanie or somebody at the Catalyst team to see what type of synergies may exist. Stefanie, as we’re kind of rounding out this conversation here, I know you mentioned you started podcasting a few years ago. I would love to understand what you talk about on your podcast and some of the themes that you dive into. Tell us more.
Stefanie Diaz
She Conquers Capital was started in 2022. The premise of the show at its core is that it’s a podcast for anyone who is curious about venture capital, the place to learn, and the place to hear stories about how to enter venture capital. If you’re looking for a career in venture, a place to learn about how to close capital, whether you’re raising for a startup or for a fund, and getting strategies for raising while staying true to your authentic voice as well. That’s a big part, especially for women. But for me, it’s a place for anyone to come and learn. It’s just the subtle oh, by the way, these are the voices of women that you’re hearing. That plants a seed that lets you know that this industry is filled with women who are knowledgeable, capable, successful, and doing big things. That’s really the spirit of She Conquers Capital. I also describe it as capital meets spirituality. We talk a lot about the inner journey. I do a lot of interviews, but I also do solo episodes where I just talk about the inner journey when it comes to confidence and growth. A lot of times we talked about what it takes to start, but there’s also an entirely different evolution of once you’re there, like, who am I next? I got where I thought I could never be and now how do I keep taking it from here and so many other parts of my life start to change around me? How do I handle that? How do I give back? There are so many different conversations to be had. It’s really the energetics of capital. It’s a lot of fun.
William Leonard
Definitely sounds like it’s a lot of fun. It’s an encompassing resource for whether it’s fundraising breaking into VC and amplifying the voices of women founders in this space. I love the overall theme and mission of the podcast there. This was a really insightful conversation because Catalyst is pretty new and getting exposure to resources that are amplifying and impacting our ecosystem here in Atlanta is so important. I’m glad that you could come on today and share more about the focus areas, the themes, the type of investments, and the partnerships that Catalyst does provide for our listeners.
Stefanie Diaz
Thank you. I do have one more thing to share about Catalyst. The work that we’re doing and an invitation. One of my favorite aspects of Catalyst is called Catalyst Voice. Voice is a platform that we’ve created and soft launched. It’s our way to listen when it comes to our staff, our patients, and really the industry at large. We have done a soft launch in the last few months, but we have more than 100,000 patients who have opted in to join Catalyst Voice and within Catalyst Voice in that platform, there are questions and conversations that help us understand the future of healthcare that people really want to see. I would definitely encourage people to stay close to Catalyst Voice because we want to hear everyone has a healthcare experience. It is something that touches every single person. We don’t want to build inside of a vacuum. That feedback loop is super important and so definitely want to make sure that I shout out Catalyst Voice.
William Leonard
Yeah, shout out to Catalyst Voice and shout out to Catalyst as a whole. Will you remind us one more time of the website where we can find out more information about Catalyst initiatives?
Stefanie Diaz
Yes, it is https://catalyst.wellstar.org/.
William Leonard
Awesome, Stefanie. This was an incredible conversation. I appreciate your time and look forward to continuing to see you at some events out in about in the ecosystem.
Stefanie Diaz
Likewise, many thanks for having me.
Lisa Calhoun
We’re thrilled to have you as an Atlanta Startup Podcast listener to help you get the most out of the experience. Let me invite you to three insider opportunities from our host Valor Ventures. First, want to be a guest on this amazing show. Reach out to our booking team at atlantastartuppodcast.com. Click on booking, It’s a no-brainer from there. Are you raising a seed round? Valor definitely wants to hear from you. Share your startup story at valor.vc/pitch. Are you a woman or minority-led startup valor sister program? The Startup Runway Foundation gives away grants to promising startups led by underrepresented founders. The mission of the Startup Runway Foundation is connecting underrepresented founders to their first investors. Startup runway finalists have raised over $40 million. See if you qualify for one of these amazing grants at startuprunway.org. You can also sign up for our next showcase for free there. Let me let you go today with a shout-out to Startup Runway presenting sponsor Cox Enterprises and to our founding partners, American Family Institute, Truist, Georgia Power, Avanta Ventures, and Innovators Legal. These great organizations make Startup Runway possible. Thanks for listening today and see you back next week.
