Jared is the Founder and CEO of Chanl Health. Prior to starting Chanl, Jared spent many years as a software engineer and solution architect, working with research teams at universities across the country to design, develop, and evaluate new digital health solutions. Outside of work, he is kept busy chasing around his two young daughters alongside his wife, Erin. Jared holds a BS in Physics from Gustavus-Adolphus College, and an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Give us Chanl Health’s elevator pitch.
Each year over 7 million patients with heart disease are recommended to participate in cardiac rehab after a major cardiac event. Despite the proven benefits, a staggering 80% of them do not even enroll. The result is unacceptably high levels of follow-on complications, readmissions and premature deaths.
To fix this, Chanl Health has developed a virtual cardiac rehab program, which gives patients the same benefits as an onsite rehab program, but allows them to participate on a more convenient schedule and from the comfort of their own home. The 3 month program is comprehensive in clinically addressing the major risk factors of the patient’s condition (exercise, diet, medications, stress, smoking, etc.), and layers in modern technology for remote tracking of vitals, intelligent feedback and care plan management. It also utilizes proven behavioral change methods to keep patients motivated in building long-term skills for better health.
What led you to found Chanl Health?
After working many years in the digital health research space, I saw the great potential that virtual care solutions offered for improving access to care and reducing costs. I also saw the huge unmet need of patients dealing with heart disease to get the proper care and support after a life-changing event. Having built many of these solutions for research studies, I decided to leave research and try to get these solutions in the hands of actual clinicians and patients.
As a leader, how has your role changed during COVID-19?
In contrast to many other sectors of business in the past year, virtual care/telehealth companies have seen significant growth, along with shortened sales and implementation cycles. In addition to expanding the team, we have had to adjust our processes to meet these changes fairly rapidly, which required our leaders to fluctuate between low-level “in-the-weeds” work and high-level strategy and planning.
How have you pivoted your company to address the needs that have risen since the onset of COVID-19?
2020 was a real turning point for not just Chanl, but telehealth services in general. When COVID hit, many hospital systems were forced to rapidly adopt telehealth options in order to reach patients who would not visit onsite. Cardiac patients are one of the highest risk populations with COVID, and with our virtual rehab program we were able to keep those patients safe at home while ensuring they got remote care and support.
In response to the struggles of the pandemic, in March of 2020 Chanl decided to offer our virtual cardiac rehab services for free. It was quite a stretch as a small business, but in 3 months we were able to implement at over 40 hospitals who had to shutdown their onsite rehab programs. Since then, the industry has continued to migrate toward telehealth options and interest continues to grow.
What are the big milestones to come in the next few years for Chanl Health?
Chanl has big plans for growth in 2021, and some exciting business partnerships that we are working on to extend our reach. We are also beginning several partnerships with prominent health systems across the U.S., in order to continue enhancing accessibility and engagement of our program and technology. Locally, we are hiring many roles here in the Twin Cities and are excited to ramp back up with the local tech community.
How do you balance leading a startup with your everyday life?
The best thing I can do is be protective with my time and try to stay as efficient as possible. It is tough with a never-ending list of To Dos, but I make daily exercise and time with family a priority.
What’s one thing people get wrong about startup life?
I think startups are often portrayed as being a bunch of 20-year-olds right out of college. In reality, there is a lot a benefit from having worked in the field for many years, first, and some of the most successful people joining startups are near the end of their career.
What is the best advice you have received in your career?
I have received so much good advice over the years, but one thing that really helps me recently around time management is idea that “work expands to fill the time allotted.” If you collectively focus to structure your priorities and goals with this in mind, I find you can get a lot more accomplished in a shorter amount of time.
What is one personal goal for the upcoming year?
One of my goals is to just spend more time outdoors and in nature. There are so many benefits associated with that.
How do you relax / decompress?
Spending time with my kids helps me unwind and not focus on work (which is lucky, because I would have to do it even if it didn’t).
What do you enjoy most about the Medical Alley community?
What I have found most impressive is the passion and knowledge from so many of the members. The conversations I have organically at MA events are some of the most insightful and valuable ones I have. I am really looking forward to when those in-person events can start up again.
