Struggling to find people who will embrace your culture and commit to your goals? Stop trying to “convert” them – find people who are already motivated because they believe in what you do.
Groundbreaking technologies – and groundbreaking companies – often seem to come out of nowhere. We often have no sense of what the next big thing will be until the next big thing is already upon us.
So I thought I’d go behind the scenes at several companies building the technologies – and industries – of tomorrow and see how that works: not just the science, not just the technology, but the process, the decisions, the goals, the iterations… not just the nuts and bolts challenges of creating tomorrow but also the leadership and management challenges.
To find those companies I collaborated with and got support from Intel Capital, the global investment organization of Intel Corporation. They made finding the right companies easy: figuring Intel is much better at predicting than me at predicting what will be next, I simply chose five technology startups Intel Capital recently invested in.
This time I talked with Dr. Travis McDonough, the CEO of Kinduct. Kinduct is a Halifax-based startup that provides cloud-based data and analytics software that derives insights from multiple sources of health data for sport organizations, military and public safety units, physical medicine clinics, and health and wellness institutions.
Oh yeah: they also work with NBA, NFL, MLB, and teams.
Let’s talk about “quantified self,” and how what you do with professional athletes applies to regular people like me.
Our goal is to pull together data into one place so it’s useful.
Think about it: there’s an explosion of tracking devices and wearable data solicitation devices. That creates a two-fold problem. Your data is separate and silo-ed, and your data is in no shape or form connected to programs that can help you drive better results.
So like you told me earlier about how you use a power meter for cycling. Say your peak acceleration is X. Great… but what does that mean? What can you do with that information?
We try to pull all your data into our fleet of programs and interventions: exercise, rehabilitation, sleep, nutrition planning… so an athlete, or soldier, or person who had a knee replacement can see the exact molecules they need to eat, or the workouts they should do… based on all the information that was pulled together.
That makes what you’re trying to do incredibly complicated.
It does. We’re not going to solve it in the next few months. We started out working to provide content like nutrition plans and fitness plans… but all that falls on deaf ears until you really understand the individual you send that information to.
So we did that. We pull all that into one spot. We have a database that allows us to use that data. But now we have to truly understand it: trends, relationships, disparate data sources… we’re trying to close the gap between artificial intelligence and outcomes.
That brings up an interesting point. Like any company, you don’t have unlimited resources. How did you decide what approach to take?
You’re right. We don’t have unlimited resources. And the human performance market is so big.
Initially we moved in the healthcare space, but the procurement cycles are so long. So we went to professional sports because they’re incredibly eager to use everything they can find to drive results. They’re innovative, they’re happy to share their data, they give us plenty of feedback… it’s incredible to be exposed to frontline, innovative thinkers. We’re being paid by people who are helping us create our product roadmap. We’re working with some of the most intelligent and innovative thinkers and outside-the-box people in the world.
That approach has really paid dividends. And in time that will create a bubble-wrap of credibility that will help the broader market embrace what we do. We don’t want to dilute our focus, but if we can figure this out in the high-performance arenas, the lower performance markets will be more receptive and actionable.
Early adopters are sometimes hard to find, but they can be like gold when you do.
My first gig was in Ireland, where I started a clinic. I was willing to stick my neck out and try. I found a NHL (National Hurling League) team that said, “We see where you’re going and we’re willing to help you.” That was when we were just about to throw in the towel… but fortunately someone else saw the vision.
Early adopters are the people we really embraced. They were pivotal. After that, we started to polish the tool and the programs and then it became a brushfire. Now we’re getting into the NCAA, international teams, international developmental programs…
My first clinic was a mediocre success. My orthotics business was a mediocre success. My fitness facilities didn’t work out well at all. They were all failures to some degree, but they became pieces of the puzzle we have now.
With work ethic and persistence and a willingness to keep trying, you can figure things out.
I read where you say what you call your ADD is actually a strength.
I do think the fact I’m easily distracted is a strength because it’s inherent in the product we built and the way we’re working to empower people. We don’t try to help people by using complicated medical nomenclature or physiological terminology but by delivering information in a way that people can easily see what they need to do.
I was the kid in the corner who needed the dunce cap, and that was one of the things that became my passion: transferring information in a way that can be understood. That’s why we use rich iconography and digital assets to help transfer information. Data presented with numbers is one thing, but when you can depict data in graphs and bar charts and tables, that gives you meaning and context… and is much more powerful.
Around the company the saying is, “If Travis can understand this, anyone can.”
How do you pull off being named a Best Place to Work?
Our people really embrace and support the power of the platform and our program. They’re into it.
Plus, we try to use a lot of these things we provide in our own company. Everyone uses our journal, and we know Tuesday is the worst day for our employees in terms of stress and fatigue, so we do certain things on Tuesdays to lift spirits. We have an amazing leader in the people area who is incredible at bringing things to the group on Tuesday morning to change the experience.
We also make sure that exercise is a key component of what we do in our office. We encourage it, we provide points through our platform… that’s been really positive for our culture.
I think our people also feel they’re a part of a family or tribe that we have started in a region that hasn’t traditionally had massive economic success. We’re doing it for the company and for the region, and that binds us together.
But it all starts with finding people who are already into your passion. There are plenty of people who gravitate towards what we do, and we’re very focused on hiring people from our region.
I like to ask people how they define success, because I think everyone’s definition should be different. What’s yours?
If we’re only providing information to, say, the NBA, then I think we’ve failed. Our goal is to change the lives of the masses.
With that in mind, profitability is not the goal. Innovation is the goal. We want to revolutionize a market that badly needs an update, and you can’t do that if all you focus on is money.
Our barometer is change. That’s how we judge success. We want to develop something transformative. Sure, we want to make money, but if you build something great, money will follow.
Speaking of transformative, you’re working on an initiative for children.
We’re big believers in influencing children in the next generation. And we’re taking a different approach.
Technology like games and devices are seen as a causal factor in sedentary behavior and obesity. We’re trying to fight that by using technology as an advantage for children.
We’re partnering with a government organization where every child will get an assessment, and the data will be mined to find correlations between those who can’t do certain exercises and linking that to conditions like diabetes, obesity, etc. We think it’s the biggest physical literacy effort of its kind. The goal is to create programs and interventions and tools so kids can use technology to their advantage instead of having it work against them.
Project out a few years. What will I see?
You’re going to wake up, click an application, and see your exact nutrition plan and meal preparatory explanations for the day -- and even have the food you need delivered if you like. The information won’t be generic, but will be based on your fatigue index, your sleep score, the intensity of your prior workouts…
When you go to work out, you’ll see the workout plan down to reps and sets and length, based on recent data and results and your electronic medical record data… so maybe today you’ll avoid doing lateral lunges because you tweaked your ankle recently.
You’ll have the right supplements at your door because we saw your blood tests and know you have extra inflammation, so we’ll mitigate that. We’ll tell you when to go to sleep so you can maximize restoration and energy levels for the following day. Or if you had a knee replacement, or have Type II diabetes, or are significantly overweight… whatever your condition, you’ll get programs tailored to you and your unique needs.
In short, we’ll take in your data, understand that data, and deliver it back to you in programs that you can easily follow... and that will make a huge difference where your health and fitness are concerned.
KINGSMITH.
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