When Jessica Harthcock was 17, her life changed drastically. She landed wrong while training for springboard diving with her gymnastics coach. She injured her spinal cord, was suddenly a paraplegic and was told she would never walk again.
Harthcock, now 30, is an entrepreneur who heads up a startup called Utilize Health. She set out to solve a need she experienced firsthand: Navigating the complex treatment process - from finding the best doctors for her particular condition to dealing with insurance companies. Utilize Health is a platform that matches patients with neurological disabilities like stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and muscular dystrophy with treatment programs around the country. As for Harthcock, she proved doctors wrong. After 11 years of treatments, she’s now walking unassisted.
What about your job most excites you?
I love the patients we serve. Hearing their success stories after they go through our care coordination program lights a spark in me. It drives me to create more innovative features for them.
How many hours do you sleep?
Ha – that depends. I try and get about 6-7, but lately, it’s been about 4-5.
What do you eat for breakfast?
Oatmeal or an English muffin with tavern ham and 1 slice of smoked gouda cheese with a dark roast coffee.
If you could pitch to one person, who would it be?
Melinda Gates.
What’s on your home screen?
My husband, Adam, and service dog, Ozzie.
How often do you exercise?
Well shoot … After being asked this question, I feel like I need to exercise more. Maybe two days a week? I really need to work the whole exercise routine back into my life. I go in spurts. Some weeks I am great and get five days in. Other weeks, work gets the best of me and I don’t work out at all. This week was one of those weeks where I have been working 14 hours days with zero exercise.
What app can’t you live without?
Asana and Slack. They help me stay connected to my team continuously.
What's your favorite city and why?
Nashville. This city has given Utilize Health so much support over the last several years. Nashville is growing quickly, and the entrepreneurial community is playing a role in that. It’s an exciting time to be a part of Nashville culture and growth. Not to mention, it has some incredible leaders and innovators that are always willing to share their time and resources. I am proud to call Nashville home.
What’s the most important company we’ve never heard of?
Well, if you or someone you love have a neurological condition, you need to know about Utilize Health ☺.
Are there any social platforms you refuse to participate in?
I don’t refuse to participate in social media platforms … I just don’t let them consume me. I participate in the basics -- LinkedIn for work, Facebook and Instagram for personal.
What are you reading right now?
The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
Do you think there’s a tech bubble? Why or why not?
Tech bubble … Maybe. Stock market tech bubble: Probably not.
There is some credence to the idea that private tech investors have flooded the market with capital, running up valuations. Health tech and life sciences are trending sectors of the tech market where traditional Bay Area investors are not as well versed. The complexity of the healthcare industry and burden of proof required for life science investments are new territory for these investors; however, far fewer tech companies are going public than they did in the late 1990s, reducing the direct impact of the broader stock market.
Best piece of advice you've been given?
Trust your gut -- it’s usually right.
What keeps you up at night?
Oh gosh, what doesn’t keep me up at night? Lately, I have been focused on all the patients we have yet to reach. I think about all the ways in which we can improve our services and programming for our clients (health plans and providers). I have an incredibly strong connection to the patients we serve so I am constantly thinking about ways to reach more of them.
If you could tell your 18-year-old self one thing, what would it be?
You. Will. Be. OK. I was paralyzed practicing gymnastics just a few weeks before my 18th birthday. So, I spent my 18th birthday in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital learning how to use a wheelchair and how to get dressed by myself. Fast-forward to 12 years later, I am married to one of the trainers that helped me learn to walk again. We started Utilize Health together and work side by side every day with an incredible team of passionate people. We have the most incredible people in our lives. It doesn’t get much better than this.
