4 min read time
This article is by Chad Brough, VP of Growth at CQuence Health. Chad brings more than 30 years of experience across the healthcare spectrum. In this piece, Chad shares five hard-won lessons from decades inside the healthcare system. Whether you’re building your first healthcare startup or navigating your next growth phase, this is real-world advice for how to scale intentionally.
Over the past 30 years, I’ve worked in nearly every corner of the healthcare system from rural community hospitals and large academic medical centers to home care. I’ve witnessed the evolution of the industry and had a front-row seat to the challenges and successful advancements of care delivery.
Now, working with startups and innovators, I have the opportunity to channel that experience into something I’m deeply committed to: helping founders grow their healthcare companies for a lasting impact.
Of all that I’ve learned over the years, one thing is certain: selling into healthcare is a journey. And it’s not for the faint-hearted. Here are five lessons I’ve learned that every healthcare entrepreneur should keep close, especially when the destination feels unreachable.
1. Build Relationships by Listening to Understand
At its core, healthcare is human work. No product or technology, no matter how innovative, can solve the challenges of this industry on its own. People do that. And if you’re selling into healthcare, relationships aren’t just helpful: they’re essential.
Many founders believe they’re competing with other vendors. But in reality, you're competing for time, attention and belief in a system that is stretched thin and under constant pressure. The innovators who succeed are the ones who lead with humility, show up consistently and earn trust.
That trust is built long before the first sale. It starts by listening to clinicians, administrators and decision-makers. And not just listening to hear, but listening to understand. What’s getting in their way? What’s keeping them up at night? Your ability to understand their world first and then shape your solution to fit into it is what creates traction.
In a crowded, risk-adverse market, a relationship rooted in real understanding isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s your biggest advantage.
2. Deliver a Solution, Not a Product
Selling into healthcare is hard. You’re competing for limited capital in an industry with notoriously slow decision cycles and overextended teams. No matter how innovative your product is, if it creates more work for your customer, it’s a no-go. (That’s why understanding their needs is so important.)
So, how can you lighten the load? Service.
Wrapping your product in service is the difference between selling a tool and helping someone succeed with it. Think implementation support, training, workflow integration, clinical guidance.
To help prioritize their needs, ask yourself:
- How will this fit into clinical workflows?
- Who needs to be trained and supported?
- What barriers to adoption can we remove?
- Can we help our customers succeed with less effort?
Build with their needs in mind, and you won’t be another vendor. You’ll be a strategic partner delivering results through solutions.
3. Commit to Your Mission, Not Your Plan
I’ll say it again: selling into healthcare is hard. The changes that are happening in healthcare today are happening more rapidly than ever. So you have to be willing to move with the tides of change.
You may start with one buyer in mind and discover the real decision-maker is someone else entirely. You may design your offering for one use case, only to find that the market needs something slightly different. That’s not failure, that’s just the reality of the industry.
It doesn’t change your mission; it just changes your strategy. The key is to stay open and be curious. Let the people you’re serving show you the path forward. If you can learn to adapt without losing focus on why you started, you’ll begin to see progress.
4. Make the Big Picture Small
In early-stage healthcare companies, it’s easy to get swept up in the urgency of the day-to-day. Resources are tight. Decisions come fast. But without structure, those decisions become reactive and momentum stalls.
Scaling requires you to be intentional and disciplined, but also pivot when necessary (see #3). That means breaking big goals into small, clear steps:
- What does success look like in three years?
- What milestones do you need to hit this year to get there?
- What does that mean for the next 90 days?
If you break the big picture down into bite-sized goals, then you’ll see traction.
Healthcare is complex. Progress will take time. But with a clear strategy and consistent discipline, growth will follow.
5. Don’t Go It Alone
Healthcare founders carry a heavy load. You’re thinking about product, customers, marketing, hiring and balance sheets all at once. It’s exhausting. And lonely. Don’t embark on this tedious road alone.
The most resilient entrepreneurs I’ve worked with are the ones who surround themselves with the right people. That includes strategic partners who can help you see clearly when the path gets foggy and a network of peers who’ve been in your shoes, people you can learn from, lean on and grow with.
Having others in your corner gives you perspective and strength. It keeps you focused on what matters most: transforming healthcare for patients and providers.
A Partner for the Long Haul
For me, this work has always been about something deeper: supporting the people who care for others in their most vulnerable moments. Healthcare leaders are doing sacred work, under immense pressure. And I believe that if they are equipped with the right guidance and services, providers will have the solutions they need to give patients the care they truly deserve. And that’s something we can all benefit from.
At CQuence, we walk alongside founders who are serious about improving healthcare access and outcomes. We know that takes time. We help sharpen the vision, strengthen the strategy and position your solution to meet the real needs of providers and patients, so your work doesn’t just stand out, it makes a difference.
If you have a bold vision and you’re looking for a partner who’s in it for the long haul, I’d love to hear your story.
