2X Exit Entrepreneur Shares Lessons to Scaling American Healthtech
Tahasin Alam, CTO and Co-Founder of Belong Health, maps his journey from Bangladesh to a career in American healthcare entrepreneurship.
We recently caught up with Tahasin Alam, CTO and Co-Founder of Belong Health. He’s had significant startup successes, including one startup being acquired by a major US health insurer while another went public in just 3.5 years.
With 23 years in healthcare, Tahasin excels in scaling tech-driven healthcare startups. His ventures secured funding from prominent healthcare VC firms like Bain Capital Ventures and NEA, showcasing his industry impact. Beyond entrepreneurship, Tahasin's health insurance and healthcare delivery expertise drove innovation in primary care and population health management, solidifying his role as a healthcare thought leader.
We heard from him on:
His personal background and how he came to be in this space
Going through his career, key health-tech companies he was a part of, experience building teams, products, businesses
Current role and the venture studio model for health
His approach to advisory work
His plans for Bangladesh and emerging markets
🔴 Listen on Spotify.
💼 Actionable insights
Here's a summary of our key takeaways and highlights from the episode:
My journey began in Bangladesh, shaped by a passion for community impact. Moving to the US in 1991, I embraced an entrepreneurial mindset instilled by my parents. I started my career as an engineer at IBM but soon ventured into startups. Notably, Luminos introduced me to high deductible health plans and health savings accounts (HSAs) in the US healthcare arena. Luminos excelled in this space and was acquired by Anthem Health for its innovative products and expertise. I joined Anthem to lead the nationwide rollout of consumer-driven health products, driven by my commitment to transforming healthcare.
I joined the early-stage team at healthcare startup Evelyn, which secured a substantial $140 million seed round and rapidly went public in just 3.5 years with a $1.9 billion initial market cap. The company shifted its focus to health plan management, currently boasting a market cap of approximately $1.5-1.6 billion. Subsequently, I co-founded Vera, aiming to streamline value-based activities for small health systems. Our integrated platform eliminated the need for multiple point solutions, fostering a gradual transition to value-based care.
Belong Health [my current company] was founded with the aim of improving healthcare services for Medicare and Medicaid-eligible populations, including dual-eligible individuals. Our unique approach involves a 50/50 joint venture model, where both Belong Health and the health plan contribute to funding and share profits and losses. This model enables us to provide intensive care management services. Additionally, we assist health plans in launching and operating Medicare Advantage plans and managing dual-special needs care management programs.
My time allocation is quite strategic. Over my years in the industry, I've built valuable connections, allowing me to bring in the right people at the right times. I handle the architecture and design aspects myself due to my software engineering background. For core work, I hire full-time employees, but for more tactical tasks like UI development, I use offshore teams. My teams are not excessively large; I prefer a lean approach. The key challenge lies in ensuring that technology leaders understand the project's requirements, allowing for strategic planning and proactive talent acquisition rather than costly last-minute hires.
Working with software developers and companies from countries with significant time differences like Bangladesh is manageable, given the experience in offshoring models. The real challenge lies in finding developers with domain-specific expertise, especially in health tech. Offshore companies, particularly in Latin America, often excel in healthcare because they work extensively with US-based healthcare firms. It is essential to have this domain knowledge within offshore teams to streamline collaboration. Culturally and discipline-wise, these teams should align with Western companies, making guidance and exposure crucial for building robust software organizations in places like Bangladesh. It's undoubtedly a more complex endeavor than it may seem.
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