Joe Created A Medical Information Tech Platform For Doctors and Patients
What’s your story?
I have been living and working in different countries for the past 15 years. Whenever I need to see a doctor in a new city, I need to educate the doctor about my past medical history, what type of prescriptions work for me, and what doesn’t.
Over the years I came to realize, as an individual, we have very little access to data about our own wellness. There is no comprehensive resource for doctors to see my medical history and medications. While there is Facebook for families and friends and LinkedIn for jobs, I wondered why there wasn’t a secure online resource that is easily accessed by both patients and doctors?
I also realized the reality that there is a global shortage of doctors and nurses. In some cities, a doctor has to see up to 200 patients a day. Overstretched and understaffed, time is crucial. To mitigate this situation, I created a platform to house individual wellness records to provide consolidated health information that is available to both doctors and patients. It also saves valuable time for the doctor and the patient during their initial appointment and follow-on appointments.
This is how I came to start POD, a tech company that focuses on unmanned healthcare solutions to bring Personal Online Dockets online.
What excites you most about your industry?
Despite the availability of advanced AI technology and smart sensors for the past decade, the healthcare industry has been slow to adopt autonomous solutions and cloud computing. However, things are changing rapidly in Asia, especially in emerging markets, where there is a constant revolutionary call for digital healthcare transformation to improve better patient outcomes. Combining good design and technology, we have introduced new and effective tools to bring better healthcare accessibility, affordability, authenticity, availability, and automation to the people.
What’s your connection to Asia?
I started my career as a young graphic designer in Singapore in the late 1990s. I was always curious about other developing cities in Asia. However, most mainstream media didn’t seem to paint a good picture of other amazing and developing cities. It was a business assignment to Shanghai, in 2002, that opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities.
From Shanghai to Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City, I have enjoyed 15 amazingly fruitful years living and working in these wonderful cities filled with vast cultural richness and diversity. I have made many great friends along the way and they have been the best “money-cannot-buy” rewards of my journey.
Favorite city in Asia for business and why?
It is very difficult to pinpoint a particular city for business because every city’s offering is unique. I have my own favorite cluster of 3 cities where I bring my ideas to life.
1) Singapore – Low business tax and the best reputable venue to launch new products.
2) Shenzhen – Speed of research and development, and a powerhouse for production.
3) Vietnam – Key emerging market in East Asia with one of the biggest appetites and openness to embracing new digital transformation. And yes, also a great place for coffee and pho.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
The Purpose of Life is to live a Purposeful Life.
Exceed yourself every day. Don’t wait, life is short.
Who inspires you?
What inspires me is the great traits of humanity. I like reading the amazing stories of ordinary people who achieve the extraordinary with deeds of bravery, kindness, strength, and gracefulness. After all, life is never defined by wealth, title, or status, as those are temporary.
What have you just learned recently that blew you away?
Covid-19 is the best trial for modern humanity. It exposes the weaknesses of leadership, tests the limit of our sanity, and pauses time for us, so we can reflect, reboot, and refresh our lives.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would go back in time to buy a pack of fries and share it with my late granny. She was often curious about the product but never tried it. It was a simple promise I made time after time but never fulfilled. Her passing had a huge impact on how I value family and love in my life. Family comes first. Always fulfill the promises you make at home before the ones at work.
How do you unwind?
Getting lost in new cities without a map. I like to vlog and blog with my drone and camera.
I also let my son beat me in all types of digital games just to see him smile.
Favorite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
On any remote island in the Maldives – that is where I find the best unity of diverse activities below the vastness of the sky above.
Everyone in business should read this book:
“A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success,” by Maye Musk, the mother of real-life Iron Man, Elon Musk. There is a pervasive essence in her book that resonates with me. She states that one should always do things that no one else is doing. Success smiles upon adventurers who dare to be different and stay relevant.
Shameless plug for your business:
We are opening our first creative and technology space in Shenzhen Nanshan in August 2020. And, we have a lab full of gadgets with a really crazy bunch of talent in Ho Chi Minh City. If you are around the corner and have interesting ideas to share, do come and visit us. Drop me an email at [email protected].
How can people connect with you?
Share with me anything interesting at [email protected]
Check out my projects at www.unigons.com and www.epod.life
Twitter handle?
I don’t twitter. I enjoy in retaining the best parts of my life here: www.wahbiang.com
This is my most precious memory vault. Nothing else matters.
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To hear how entrepreneurs around the world overcome their challenges, search your favorite podcast platform for ‘CallumConnects’ to hear a 5-minute daily breakdown.
Callum Laing is an entrepreneur and investor based in Singapore. He has previously started, built, and sold half a dozen businesses and is now a Partner at Unity-Group Private Equity and Co-Founder and CEO of MBH Corporation PLC. He is the author of three best-selling books ‘Progressive Partnerships’, ‘Agglomerate’, and ‘Entrepreneurial Investing’.
Connect with Callum on Twitter and LinkedIn
Download free copies of his books at www.callumlaing.com
