S1 EP31: CHARLES GELLMAN

There's value in EVERY experience and CEO and FOUNDER of HIDO HEALTH CHARLES GELLMAN knows this better than most! Not only did his own life experience drive him into his passion around saving lives in the world of TECHNOLOGY and HEALTH CARE, he is trying to help everyone own their own health so their LIVES BY DESIGN are more fulfilling and SAFER than ever before!  Charles takes time to educate us by connecting the idea of accessibility and the significance of the technology he and his team are bringing to market at HIDO HEALTH.  PLUS  he shares some words of wisdom from his roller coaster ride as a start-up leader, too!

Learn more about the impact of this powerful behavior modification tool known as HIDO HEALTH HERE!

Charles  was recently featured in a full feature documentary, "AI Robotics... The HiDO Story." He publishes his analyses regularly in the newsletter, "The Future of Care."

HiDO Documentary Trailer - Feel free to download and edit for podcast

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Amn_88h3FqeyzZemGsQNFi0Bg1t98hSb/view

Future of Care

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1shFxzGFYryPqxerWRHo87L3d3HoeMrMM/view

Buy your copy of YOUR LIFE BY DESIGN: A Coffee With Nicoa Self-Care Coaching Journal
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Transcript

Nicoa Coach: 0:01

Grab your coffee and join me Nicoa For a caffeinated conversation about life I'll be talking to people who have chosen to walk their own paths and just like me, are creating a life by design. I hope it will give you the inspiration you need to do exactly the same. Charles Gilman, use you stopped me on in Elon, LinkedIn? I think it was. Is that right? Is that how you found me?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 0:31

I couldn't get enough. I saw you guys drinking coffee. I was super jealous. And I was just wondering that the type of brew and and what you guys were putting inside and so you enthralled me in the conversational topic. And I just couldn't get enough. So

Nicoa Coach: 0:44

that's what it was. Because that's all I talked about. It's coffee. Right? I did have some Komodo dragon this morning from Starbucks. I'd love a sponsorship. Anyway. Charles, thanks for joining me. And you've had a handful of podcast experiences over the past year and a half since you started your business. I'm going to give a quick update. And then you're the master. We're just going to play with this have a great conversation and learn about your life by design and your phenomenal product. So you're in Northern California, and I think you got your degrees from was it UC Davis? Is that right? Yep. And your background includes working with companies like j&j. Wolters Kluwer Microsoft, and about 1012 months ago, I think you jumped into this startup as the new CEO and founder of hydro health. Talk to me a little bit about though, who Charles Gilman is, and then we'll find out how you became that CEO. So where are you originally from? And who are you?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 1:49

So I'm originally from Southern California born and raised. And my parents were in real estate. So from a very young age, you know, they were educating me about different real estate transactions, competitive swimmer, older brother and sister very, very competitive. And being the youngest, made me even desire more to compete against brother and sister. So we were, we were pretty athletic, went to the Junior Olympics, and wow, you know, excelled in water polo and swimming, and then made a transition to other sports. But yeah, just had a fantastic childhood growing up. And I was very grateful for the opportunities that I had.

Nicoa Coach: 2:29

Oh, my gosh, you're the baby just like me, I've got two older brothers. And that does kind of give you this perspective on life that's a little bit more freeing. I think there's maybe the first two. So but you were competitive. Did you compete in college? Like how did you even get into this space of healthcare? Or was that part of your motivation to come out on top? Well, I

CHARLES GELLMAN: 2:50

was actually gearing down a different road trajectory in my life. So following my brother again, he was an investment banker. So I was looking into finance and I was working at Wells Fargo. But then I had a medical incident that happened. So I was misdiagnosed with the the physician thought it was a kidney stone, it was actually ruptured appendicitis, so a pretty big scar from here to here on my belly. And I spent some time in the hospital. And that changed the trajectory of my career, because I spent time in the ICU, and was just grateful to be around. And then shortly after that incident, I made a transition from banking to healthcare to dedicate myself to impact as many people as possible.

Nicoa Coach: 3:34

Yeah, tell me what that experience was like, did you start having just a new perspective on the healthcare industry, when you were in the hospital? Or tell me was there like an aha moment

CHARLES GELLMAN: 3:44

was pretty well, I was definitely young and naive. So I didn't truly understand exactly what was going on.

Nicoa Coach: 3:50

How old were you? When that happened? I was 20 years old. 20. Okay.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 3:56

So it took me some time to really, truly understand what happened. And then, you know, I think over the course of life, and truly understanding the nitty gritty details of health care, then I started to be able to reflect later on some of those challenges and impacts and how I could essentially deviate some of those behaviors or variabilities, that currently, other folks are being exposed to right now with the healthcare system.

Nicoa Coach: 4:24

Yeah, I have a lot of clients that I work with, and you and I have, I don't know, couple dozen common connections. We both have been in this field for a while. But as you started designing your career after you left finance you it looks like you went into the healthcare world was it because of that incident and that that experience or?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 4:45

Yeah, it definitely. The trajectory of my career changed after that experience. You know, when you're in the hospital and you really spend you know quite a bit of time in there, you really start to question you know what you You're doing and make choices based upon, you know, the types of, I guess, gut instincts that you have.

Nicoa Coach: 5:08

Yeah, I think we, if we could keep questioning everything, I think we can find tons of opportunities to solve problems. Right. So you went into j&j, you started doing sales? How? How did you feel being new during that time period? Because I mean, you, you've been in roles for like, two to three years stents. And then you you grew fast. I mean, I love looking at somebody that's gone through a path like that, and then is now doing startups. So what was it like to be you tell me a little bit about that experience, as you went from one position to the end, I know, you're also a father, you've got three kids married and this beautiful family. So that must have all been happening during that progression of your life by design? Yeah, so

CHARLES GELLMAN: 5:52

my, I guess the my current trajectory was, is really intellectual curiosity. So he's questioning what was going on around me, but also absorbing as much knowledge as I could, while I was there. My thought process is, you know, trying to understand my particular role, and then the others around me, and then my impact on the folks that I touch, you know, on a daily day to day basis, but also the type of impact that they're making on me based upon the types of conversations that we're having together. So developing those relationships, and really starting to learn, based upon everyone's unique experiences, and their, you know, life lessons, is really what I took from each role. So it was an eye opening experience, because I was able to touch communities and people and providers that otherwise I was never exposed to. So you know, you listen, I learned from a lot of folks, so each, you know, each stop, or each, you know, educational experience that I had at each company, it was a different type of set of experiences and learning lessons to kind of grow myself and the people around me,

Nicoa Coach: 6:57

I love it. Because that's really living in a perspective of this is happening for me, I have an opportunity here versus it's just a means to an end or, you know, I'm just here to get the paycheck or do my job and move on. So there's a lot in your background, though I couldn't quite pick up on it. I used to be in human resources, if you didn't notice. So I couldn't quite pick up on your background. I was like, How in the world? Did you become this voice in the world of artificial intelligence? I didn't even put that label on you when I introduced you, but you're a prominent voice in AI. Was this a side interest? Or did you learn it in in your jobs.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 7:37

So this is, you know, again, not life by design. This is this, you know, stuff that happens in in my life. So I happened to be sitting in a room a meeting room with a company, and they were discussing data science. And I remember that the book that they had a study in, which was a health information systems book. And it came across myself, and they had a study it soup to nuts. And then we were tested on it. And I was thinking myself, this is the exact same book that they're teaching clinical informatics at the School of Medicine, if I'm already doing this, I might as well be taking the classes also, and getting paid for it. And then it just kind of opened, it opened up a new realm of data science, before AI and machine learning were a hot button term. So I just started to explore that particular arena, because I figured that if I was going to make an impact on people, it's going to be through technology, it's not going to be through the one on one conversations that were alluding to earlier, because there's only so much one person can do, you can touch the the immediate people around you. But there's levels, you know, that are circling around you the second, third, fourth, fifth dimension. And in order to impact millions of people, it has to be through some type of technology or means where others can proliferate that yes, impact.

Nicoa Coach: 8:57

Yeah, I remember when I was working at all scripts, back in the day, the whole concept of connected community. And that was the big endeavor, like how can we get these, you know, healthcare systems talking to each other on behalf of that one patient? And, you know, it was confusing, maybe if you could help people really understand where we are today around maybe this AI concept, and we'll get to your to the product for sure. But how are we connecting community today with AI or just what is HSAs? Maybe you could give us a summary for those people listening who are like What the What the hell y'all talking about?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 9:35

So within I'll make a very, very simple so within electronic medical records, you know, when you see your doctor, you see your nurse or pharmacist, they essentially have you know, specifics around your background, so age, gender, race medications, bloodwork labs, etc, etc. And all that information is compiled together. And within the medical arena, there's a bi directional connection and transmission of communications. And the idea behind that is to make sure that no matter where you go, and who you see that is accessible for the provider so they can care for you in the best light. Now, in theory, that sounds very simple. In reality, this had to be forced by the government with many incentives in order to make it happen. And it's taken many, many years, 1520 years to actually proliferate throughout the United States,

Nicoa Coach: 10:29

is the ultimate vision. And really, what you're talking about is, we're, you know, I've got a UNC Health Care card, when I go into a UNC Health Care experience, they know everything about me of all of their connected organizations, doctors, specialists, they can see me on that card, I no longer have to fill out forms necessarily in that one system. But aren't we talking about a US system like where you will be able to track me and my issues and find the very best resources in any sis any network? It I'm tired of filling out forms? By the way, Charles, can you can you fix that?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 11:06

Yeah, I think there's, there is a huge opportunity for AI system robotics, where you can actually care for people at home for a fraction of the cost outside of the sterile four walls of the hospital or the clinic. So the the focus of healthcare, it's pretty interesting, because 99.9% of your time is spent in the home, away. So if we are only concerned about that point, 1%. And nobody else is tracking everything else that's happening. That's not a very good sample of how you're living. So yes, they might know what's already happened. But you have to look at the precursors. And this is where, you know, AI technology comes in, is you have to look at the inputs of the person. So, you know, not just nutrition, you're looking at exercise, you're looking at diet, you're looking at different choices, is this coffee? Or is this something else I'm drinking? You know, you have to look at all of those precursors. But generally speaking, you know, as we, you know, live in the United States, people struggle with diet, they struggle with exercise. And if this happens, if you struggle with the first two, you generally are on some type of medication. But if you're having issues with the first two, you're usually having issues with a third. And if you're not taking those medications to stabilize you, then you have huge fluctuations and variabilities that exists. But right now, nobody has any understanding of what's going on at home. And that's the opportunity that we have right here.

Nicoa Coach: 12:34

And when you transition, so let's do it. Let's talk about you and this startup, how did you take this knowledge around AI this this need in the healthcare world? And say, Yep, I'm signing up for a startup. Because for those people listening, there's a lot of my, my listeners who are like, I want to be in the startup, I want to leave my corporation, I want to go and, and do something brand new or on my own. That's a little scary, right? I mean, how did you find yourself there?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 13:02

Yeah, so a startup is a rollercoaster ride. And you have to be able to weather the ups and downs of this endeavor. It's not, you know, the grass is not always greener. And you need to have a team of exceptional individuals that are surrounding you and are supportive of your vision, and do more work with less pay. So if you want to jump on that road, you know, go after it, but you've got to be very passionate about it persistent. And you know, it's going to take a lot to overcome the probability of failure, which most to come to.

Nicoa Coach: 13:35

Well, how did you have that conversation with yourself before committee? And what was your family say?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 13:42

So my wife was skeptical for, you know, we started this and 2018. And I'd say, for the first four years, you know, her focus was unless there's $1 in the bank, then it's not real. So when the money started to come in, then it became real for her. So as an idea person or somebody who's focused on commercializing evangelizing new technology, I could see it because I was having these conversations with people and seeing the impact to the patient. So we have a series of videos from people that we've touched in the impacts of their lives. And when people are, are communicating to you that without this, they want to be around. That's significant. That's the type of stuff that drives me to work 24/7 Because I know what's possible, but not everybody else can see that because they're not having those, you know, into writing assertions.

Nicoa Coach: 14:35

Well, that's an important takeaway to people need to, if there's something you're interested in, go research it, go talk to the people. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and say, Hey, I just want to have an informational interview with you about you know, ABC, whatever your interest is. So how did you find Hi, is it Hi, do I say it correctly? How'd you create this? Did you design it? Did I know you have a co founder tell us a little bit out the product and how it came to be.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 15:02

Yeah. So my artistic ability is absolutely terrible. I like it to hieroglyphics and chicken scratch combined together. So that is my artistic acumen. So I Yes, I had some rough, rough chicken scratch, you know, drawings. But I am fortunate to have some artistic on the other side of the family that could sketch it out the way that I can vision in my head. So we had drafts and my co founders, a biomedical engineer, which actually is much better at design and electronics than I am. So he was able to get the first working model together. But to bring you back a little bit more as you know, since I was interested in the space, I did work at you know, as a mentor for startups med which is a Stanford based accelerator, which gave me another opportunity to network with individuals that had startups, I was an advisor for Tusshar, which is specializes in computational data drug discovery. I'm not Stanford alumni, but you know, your listeners need to know that if you want something, and you go after it, anything is possible. But you have to be willing to take that step forward and not doubt yourself in your ability. And if you can create values for others, then value will come back to you.

Nicoa Coach: 16:22

So your confidence came from, you'd had enough of these conversations with people in this world, in this industry, your own insights into AI, you knew what could be created? And then, you know, that gave you that ability to just have the conversation and say, I can do this, I can go forward. Cuz I mean, had you always been that confident you guys weren't raised as athletes, you have to have a lot of confidence to be an athlete.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 16:45

Yeah, I think it's better that I didn't truly think about it deeply. If I if I would have really known what I got myself, then maybe I would have second guessed it, but you know, my guess philosophy is just go just, we'll figure it out. You have enough smart people around you. I think any almost anything is possible.

Nicoa Coach: 17:06

And like you said, it is a rollercoaster ride. I mean, I worked with Dr. Jacob rider, and he just went through startup and then you know, a merger and then a dissection. I mean, it was a roller coaster. And he handled it beautifully. It's hard, you know, but you've got to have that self talk and that self dialogue along the way. I mean, how do you keep yourself motivated? When when you're, you know, going into your 100 and 20th podcast interview, and you're like, Please let this thing hit.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 17:34

Right? Well, to me, it's more of just, you know, seeing how people respond to the type of impact that we're making. Every single time I, I speak with people, and they get energized, and they they actually understand the type of impact that can be made to millions of people. That's what keeps me going every single day. So it's more of, you know, spreading the news about what we've been working on so hard. And again, I don't want to, you know, I'm glad that there's more or not engineers around here. But you know, they are doing exceptional work. And it's always better that their work is being seen and talked about than collecting dust, and patients that are benefiting from their work, it's having such a, you know, sustainable impact to their lives and changing their trajectory. And I'm going to throw some numbers out for you just so you understand the types of impact. But we've done a pilot with a Medicare Advantage plan in Northern California for congestive heart failure patients, and they saw a reduction of 80% and hospitalizations, and a 67% decrease in the cost of care for those individuals. So completely transforming the way they live. And when you take these medications with heart failure, there's a thing called Heart remodeling. So you can actually improve the function of somebody based upon just simply taking the medications. And that's the type of stuff that when you start, you know, you start wrapping your head around it, you're like, Well, what if we did this with stroke, or dementia, or other disease states? What if it works? Yeah, well, that's what we did. We said, Okay, well, what if it does, and then we started investigating those things, and then they started to work. So what about something that's much bigger than we ever initially anticipated, which it is, and it's working out. So, you know, I just want as many folks to know about what Heito does, and the type of impact that we can make them. You're following the

Nicoa Coach: 19:23

passion, your purpose, you know, you're making a difference that keeps you going every day. And, and the people that are dreading driving in are walking to their computer with their resume. If they're dreading it, and there's something you're passionate about, it's worth making the jump, I promise you. And I did the same. You know, it wasn't a startup, but I did start a company once where I was like, we were bringing coaching into the corporate world as a benefit. And I was like, we're creating world peace, one employee at a time. And the more well being that they could create, the more effective they were in their jobs. So you're making a difference in people's lives. Tell us what the product is. Tell us is how it works. And I'll then I'll tell you about the dream I had about it last night,

CHARLES GELLMAN: 20:05

I think hearing about your dream is probably going to be more entertaining than showing you the product. So the product is anything particularly fancy, I'll just show you kind of what it does. So this is the photo device.

Nicoa Coach: 20:16

Okay, let me describe it to people. So you're looking at, it's kind of a plastic designed product with a screen on it. And some buttons, it says Hi, though, and it has a dispensary. And it looks like it's something that would fit on your countertop. And it's very sleek, and it looks very intuitive and easy to use. So tell us what it does. So you

CHARLES GELLMAN: 20:38

walk up to the device, you use face ID, and it unlocks. Then it dispenses the the medications according to dosage frequency and pill count, then what it does is it does a recording with the medications, and it pushes that to the back end. So clinicians can actually monitor dose by dose, whether or not you're taking your medications. And if you deviate from those medications, and it's something that is disease specific or life threatening, then somebody can actually intervene at point of care remotely before an event happens. So what's unknown right now is that the third leading cause of death in the United States is due to medical related errors. And these can be solved not completely. But we can drastically reduce the unnecessary hospitalizations and ER visits that happen at home due to people making medication errors. So I won't say we fully solved it. But we are dramatically improving the situation at home. And you

Nicoa Coach: 21:47

really are. Yeah, I love the sorry, I love the remote p. So what you're saying is, is that there? Is there a clinician on call 24/7 that's aware that's monitoring, or they're monitoring the results of me walking up to the machine, having the facial recognition and taking my meds. How does that work?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 22:08

Yeah, so this is where AI comes in. So the first is you get multiple reminders based upon your behavior. This looks like a pill device. This is not a pill device. This is a behavioral modification tool. This is to alter your behavior to make sure that you are living the best life you can at home without having to go to the hospital or the ER, the majority of our patients want to enjoy their life and not spend it within the hospital or the ER. So

Nicoa Coach: 22:39

that's right. Oh, not only does that impact their their life, their health, their well being the cost of care, it also impacts the climate change, right, I'm not in a car, here we are. If I'm spending this much time at home, I have access to support. And I'm not going to mess it up. Yeah.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 22:56

Also their mental health and their independence and freedom, we already know that there is a substantial labor shortage. So now what you're doing is instead of people depending upon their caregivers, or their loved ones, or their family or friends, they can assist themselves because they have a technology in the home. That does it. And so this is a monitoring device that's on a loop. So if they deviate, then they get a text message or reminder to their phone. And then if they don't, then the next and this is where things become real smart, is it goes to a loved one or a family member and they get a text message that cost literally next to nothing. So you keep them away from doctors and nurses and other people, because it doesn't even need to get there because they can take care of themselves. If the technology is enabled correctly.

Nicoa Coach: 24:16

This is fantastic. And and I think, you know, I mentioned when we first kicked off that I happen to be visiting my mother, my 83 year old mother this week, and I was here so that I could be with her at a doctor's appointment to listen to the doctor, I could be there on the phone call when he called in to make sure that I was hearing what she was hearing. And she doesn't fortunately, she's not on a large number of medications. But I could see the value in us not needing to be here. Right? And having that kind of resource. So we know she and I took a picture of her meds that she is on. While I mean she doesn't even know I did that. I'm like, What is she on? Like? I want to know, so that the intersection with the iPhone and or whatever phones and the technology. I think that's fabulous. This is definitely the future. How do you help people not be afraid of technology though and how to leverage that for their and I do see technology as a key to a life by design. So how do you help them overcome that? So

CHARLES GELLMAN: 25:18

this is where we're going to actually weave it in with the coffee example. Okay. The hydro device essentially is a hybrid of a Keurig coffee machine and a ring device. Ice, what we've done, which is interesting is with a coffee pod that you normally put in the Keurig device, we use a cap that has an embedded RFID chip within this. So when you put it in the device,

Nicoa Coach: 25:46

so he's flipping over a pill bottle that has this cap on it, it's a unique looks like a really large cap, and you flip it over and set that in the device.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 25:55

Yes. And with his embedded RFID chip, it knows medication, dosage, frequency and pill count. So patients no longer have to utilize the normal Monday through Sunday, Kill Box pill box, and everything is automated for them. And because everything's automated for them, that makes their life easier. But also, it's sustainable. So just like, you know, you have your microwave, or you have your refrigerator, dishwasher, what we wanted to create is something that was easy to use for many millions of people, not make the lift higher, but make things easier. So, you know, folks that haven't gone to medical school, they may not know why they're taking their medications, they may not recall the frequency, you got to make things easier for everybody to use, then it can widely impact masses.

Nicoa Coach: 26:48

Absolutely. So I can, you know, just from a business perspective, I'm sitting here thinking, wow, how are we integrating this with the pharmacies? How are you getting those caps is that you plug it in, and they are FTDI chip actually gets updated. I'm just so intrigued so

CHARLES GELLMAN: 27:03

that the integration, you know, that's probably a whole different type of podcast, but probably it is. The great thing is that with this type of technology, we can completely alter the way that we care for people because there is source of unique datasets that exists now to get out ahead of anything happening to those folks. And that is the potential impact that can completely alter the landscape of care, not just within United States, but in many other countries throughout the world.

Nicoa Coach: 27:38

Oh, absolutely. And I can imagine that people listening, if you've got anyone in your family has multiple medications. I mean, I have two family members that have cystic fibrosis, I mean, they're taking 40 Plus pills a day, and be making sure that they've integrated that effectively. And they don't have to carry the knowledge of when is my next pill, you know what I mean? It's almost like that to me. I talk a lot about carrying everybody, I did a little espresso shot about it the other day. And if I didn't have to carry, oh, don't forget, one o'clock, I gotta take my next pill. Oh, my God, my life by design is so much more fulfilling and relaxed, and I am being taken care of by this technology.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 28:21

Well imagine it. Imagine if your life has altered because instead of worrying about you know specific aspects of your health, you could just focus on the things that make you happy. Why are we putting the burden on all these patients to recall these complex subjects and expect them to be able to carry out the instructions of somebody that's gone to medical school. So if you really start to peel it back and think about it, it's almost like we're setting people up for failure, because you think about the many millions of people that maybe they went to the hospital, maybe they had a stroke, maybe they have dementia, you know, the expectations are that they'll be able to carry things out to a standard that's so high. But in reality, that's just not plausible.

Nicoa Coach: 29:11

And you talked about that about you don't know what's happening in their home. I mean, you don't know what the dynamic is. My mother has just spent the last year under the shroud of grief. My father passed a year ago this month. And we talked a lot about that. She said I have to have a Cisco I asked her before this interview I said, How do you make sure you remember your medications because I have a system. She's I've got it written down. And it was all on the counter. I mean, everything is like it turns you into this strange hospital. It makes you feel like you're not capable. Like I'm I'm sick I have to focus on these pills. But I like the way it's really sleek. Like you said, it's kind of like a coffeemaker, it's just another part of your resources and your technology in your in your kitchen or wherever you want to keep it. The mental health piece though is big. And I glanced at an interview that you had done with a another podcast and you were talking to the guy said, why do people lie to their doctors? And we don't, you can't pick up the whole lifestyle the whole world that the person is living in and in a 30 minute doctor visit, right be able to articulate you know, they lie because they are embarrassed, they might be ashamed that you know my mom forgets she's like, I just told him, I've got it. I'm on top of it.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 30:36

Well, that's that's a problem is that providers have a limited time with each patient, everyone's in a hurry. So to understand what's going on and 1520 minutes, if you have that, you know, is complex for a provider? Because if the patient is not being 100%, honest, how are they going to treat you, they treat you according to the conversation that occurs, they may or may not work, look at your lab work, and then it's based upon that conversation. So how are you doing your meds? I'm doing great. Okay, well, it looks like nothing has changed. We're going to up your dosage now. So now you have a higher degree of adverse events happening because they continue to give higher dosages, or they're adding more medications because they think you're not responding to the medications. And if people were honest, right, then that wouldn't be but right now, what we've seen from going into people's homes is you've seen years of medications from unopened bottles, you're seeing expired medications you're seeing, you know, medications that are there, that people don't understand why they're even there, why they're taking them so that, you know, it's a whole different story, when you step inside someone's home, to your point versus going into a clinic, and seeing that conversation occur,

Nicoa Coach: 31:56

I think this was is really going to be beneficial for the children of these adults, too, for those of us who are in that sandwich generation, where I'm, I'm now in the space of caregiving for my parents at the same time, caregiving for my children, you know, we feel out of control. And it would give us a sense that the kids, my brothers and I a sense of reassurance, and we feel like we have a lifeline with her to make sure she was okay, she wanted to take a drug recently over the counter and my brother was like, Don't know, don't take, let's talk to the doctor first. And then she, of course, doesn't want us telling her what to do. She's 83 She can do whatever the hell she wants. She wants to buy something over the counter. She'll buy it and I can I see her, I would be that I'd be like, What do you don't tell me what to do. And so the whole dynamic there can be affected by such a beautiful technology.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 32:52

Well, just imagine this, imagine if your refrigerator knew when the food was missing. So some refrigerators right now have cameras to understand when the medic when the food is gone, or when it needs to be replaced. And then there's smart ordering to in order to make sure that the food is back in there. But if you knew the behaviors of your mother, and any deviations that occurred, then from a caregivers perspective, you can understand well, is she okay? She just missed three days of medications that is abnormal, I need to check on Mom, if I have, you know, if I know every single day that she is taking her medications, and she's not deviating issues within a 15 or 30 minute window. I know mom is okay. I don't need to remind her and then she's taking care of herself instead of you having a nag her about you know, is everything okay? You know, just yelling all the time. And she

Nicoa Coach: 33:44

maintains her her dignity and her independence and, and she feels, you know, probably some pride in being able to maintain that on her own without her her meddling children. Well, let's take a quick little five second coffee break. And then when we get back, I'd love for us to shift and really tap into your experience as a leader. And maybe you could share with us some more advice and words of wisdom about leading a startup and anything you'd like to tell our listeners. Okay.

Jennifer Gardner: 34:16

We hope you're enjoying listening to this episode of Coffee with Nicoa. Make sure to subscribe so that you never miss an episode and follow Coffee with Nicoa on Instagram to find inspiring content that will help you begin creating your life by design.

Nicoa Coach: 34:30

So let's talk about leadership. And in the end, we'll we'll give everybody resources so they too can tap into this product and share it with their family members and friends. But you're a CEO. How's that going?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 34:45

Yeah, so the startup rollercoaster ride is definitely there. You know, I have huge responsibilities, not just commercializing the product, but managing the team raising funding. There's a lot of responsibility that is involved with being the CEO of a startup.

Nicoa Coach: 35:00

Well, tell us what you're learning about yourself as a leader. I mean, you know, I know not all leaders spend a lot of time reflecting on how am I showing up, you know, what's my legacy? How do I want to leave it behind and, and, you know, but tell us some truths. Tell us like when you're what's waking you up at 3am?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 35:19

Great question. Yeah. So there is a there's a lot to do. And there's not a lot. There's not enough people to get all those tests done. So what I would say what is the story Sir, for me, and what's challenging is that getting enough, completed and milestones completed in order to continue to fall forward. And we don't have to be perfect. And some people can't operate that way you people are usually designed by, I need to get a, b and c done today. But with a startup, that's not going to be A, B, and C, it could be a to W to D. C, you know, back to a, you know, you're all over the place. But we have a goal that you start at, you know, you put your pole in the ground, and then you move forward. And the poll never stops moving. So getting a team of individuals bought in on the same page to move forward, no matter what gets thrown at us. That is the art of being a CEO at a startup.

Nicoa Coach: 36:23

And so when you wake up at 3am, you're thinking about challenges like, how am I going to have that conversation with that one employee? Or what am I going to do now that, you know, we don't have enough capacity in the next month to get the product out? Like we wanted to? Or is that what's happening? And how do you manage that anxiety at 3am? Or are you sleeping like a baby? I mean, I don't want to, I don't want to

CHARLES GELLMAN: 36:44

assume, yeah, so to me, everything is solvable? You know, so if there, let's just say there's a contract manufacturing issue, or if there's a software issue, or if there's some quality or customer service, everything is solvable. Now, is it ideal? You know, is it stressful if a problem comes up? It depends on how you deal with the problem or the challenge, and if you make it a stressor or not. So I think it just depends upon the type of person that's dealing with the situations, I feel like we have a very talented team, we are looking to expand, and we'll continue to expand in time, but it's bringing the right people with a similar type of mindset, and different skill sets that combined together to make up for all of the areas that I'm deficient, and I'm deficient in many more areas than I'm good at.

Nicoa Coach: 37:36

What would you tell yourself today, if you would, if you were just starting now that you've been in it for a few years? What advice would you give yourself?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 37:46

Hmm. Well, I like the idea of staying blind. So what I mean, staying in blind is, if you actually knew the length, and the amount of heartache that it's going to take in order to be successful, then I think there'd be a bit of trepidation from many sure to ever enter in. So I liked the idea of just being intellectually curious about new ideas and exploring the abstracts of the what if scenarios. So, you know, going back, if I was to give myself advice, I would say, you know, continue to be curious and explore. And, you know, could I have done things faster? If I would have known in retrospect, yeah. And that was, you know, but you don't know until Yeah, dive in, and figure it out. So it's going through that natural progression of deviating in what they called pivoting in the startup world, of what works, what doesn't work, when something doesn't work, make a change to make it better. And then right, when something works better, make another change to improve upon that change. And it never stops, you got to continue to fall forward, move the flag forward, and then get everybody, you know, moving towards those goals. Well,

Nicoa Coach: 39:06

that's just life by design. At the end of the day, you just got to keep moving forward. And if it's not serving you change it and change it quickly. I think that is probably a big lesson for make tough decisions fast, and be willing to make mistakes, and recognize that again, it's figured out, everything's figured out. Well, everything's solvable. And I like what you said a minute ago, when you said, and you can make it stressful or not. That is the power of thought and that ability to say, What am I making this mean? And how can I make it mean something that will continue to move that stick forward? Right? Oh, my gosh. I mean, you're you must be learning a lot. Howard, how would you say your leadership of other people had you had teams of people in the past that you had to lead? So what's your leadership style? How would they describe your leadership style?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 40:01

Well, I think it depends upon the you know, you have the day, no matter the messenger and the receiver, right, you always have, you know, you have two sides to it. So I believe in outcomes based leadership. So we may have a good conversation or poor conversation depends upon your individual performance and what you're contributing and what your role is within the defined team. There's different components of the team. There's senior operators and executives. There's management and There's other folks that support different areas. So everybody has a different role within the team. And there's different performance metrics. If you're at a senior level or a leadership perspective, expectations are high. And if you're not meeting those expectations, that's an issue. And do you have to address it. So I try to be as honest and forthright as possible, some people are able to, you know, understand that, and they're able to, you know, behave or receive it, or Yeah, and others cannot. Now, with our specific team, it's an open conversation, we're doing five to 10 different roles. And that's not you, then you can't be part of the team. And that's fine, you know, in an environment that you would just want, you know, go from A to B to C, that's perfectly acceptable. But that's not the world that we live in. So I think it really comes down to making sure that your team is a good reflection of where you want to go, and where your vision is, working at larger corporate companies in the past and leading teams across the country. You know, those were much more regimented, defined roles and responsibilities with job descriptions. When you go into the startup world, you have multiple roles and multiple hats. So you're looking for individuals that have an understanding, or they're open to taking on those roles. They're curious to expand their knowledge and their base, and they want to have this type of experiences. So it really just depends upon where you're going, what you're doing, and the types of people that are surrounding you.

Nicoa Coach: 42:10

Yeah, and you're, it's key, if people understand the game they've signed up for, then it works a lot better. But if they come into a game, and they're like, I don't like these rules. I don't like the way this game plays, then you're in the wrong place. Learn the rules of the game and play it as best you can. And you'll learn to ship time. But if you're, if you're like, Yeah, y'all should do it this way. Well, hey, you give me your input. But if you're not willing to be flexible, especially in a startup, I'm sure. I'm sure a lot of people still get shocked. But when I did a startup that I took from cradle to grave, and about four years, and I remember thinking cheese, that was something and I was really feeling bad about, like having to shut its doors. And my father said to me at the time, look, how much money did you spend on that startup? And it was high figures, right? It was 5060 grand, probably at that point, and which maybe for some people, that's not a lot, but it was a lot for me. And he said, how much the NBA cost? I said, Oh, I see where you go in there, dad, he goes, Yeah, you just paid for an MBA. He's like, people that are willing to go into a startup and get exposed to every role there ever could be in that company. They're getting an MBA, so it's just a real on the job training.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 43:26

Yeah, and you gotta be open, you know, you don't know what's going to come out of those experience, whether or not successful or it closes down, you have taken away some lessons learned. And that will alter the course of your future, if you are open to reflect upon those experiences, and grow from them. So it really comes down to the person. And if you're open to that, and then maybe you start something different. And that goes wildly different based upon the network, and the connections, the lessons learned, and all the pain that you've suffered prior to you have grown as a person to overcome that the future.

Nicoa Coach: 44:03

Absolutely. You got to go through the pain to know what it is that you really want. Right. And you're learning from it. We're speaking the same language, Charles, and we didn't we didn't even know what we were going to talk about today. Hardly. I see you, this is awesome. Well, I know you're a busy startup CEO. So I'm going to let you take the remainder of our time to share with us any, any other tips that you maybe I didn't ask enough questions, maybe there's something you want to make sure you share as a leader, but also how they can find the product, how they can support your startup, etc.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 44:37

Yeah, thank you. Yeah, so Heydo specializes in AI SR robotics. And if you'd like to learn a little bit more about to go to hydro health.com. We have plenty of testimonials from patients and you can learn a little bit more about the technology or free feel free to go to our YouTube website, just query in hydro health and you can see a plethora of different videos in regards to my final words of wisdom. And I'm not saying I have a whole lot of wisdom yet. But it's more of you know, if you if you're going to chase an idea if you're going to chase a career trajectory with you know, a corporation, just stay curious, stay persistent. And always be open minded to learning from your experiences, and then pivoting accordingly. If it's the right fit, or if it's not the right fit, then jump don't waste your time. You know, make sure whatever you're doing, you're chasing your passion and you're learning from those experiences.

Nicoa Coach: 45:30

Charles, what do you love most and are most proud of about where you are now in your life by design? That's a big question. What do you want to celebrate about you?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 45:43

Yeah, so I typically don't spend a lot of time thinking about me, it's more of a reflection of my family and seeing them grow. So what I'm most proud about is, you know, celebrating the time that I have with my family and kids, and just spending any time so I spoke to you a little bit about swimming. I'm exceptionally proud of my children's swimming now. My little girl, Amelia is five years old, and we're just going over diving. So just seeing them grow. And you know, just celebrating their experiences. That's what's a joy for me to to celebrate.

Nicoa Coach: 46:20

How old are all your kids?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 46:22

We have a pretty big range. So yeah, the youngest is five. My son is 10. And then the oldest are 18. And 20.

Nicoa Coach: 46:31

Oh, I love that. Yeah. So you're right, you're right behind me. I've got six kids 26, next week, down to 18. So we just kind of overlapped. So do you need any advice there? You know, just call me.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 46:44

Anytime you want to come and babysit, just let us know.

Nicoa Coach: 46:48

Well, I'm excited for you. I'm proud of you. This is a phenomenal product. And I can't wait to share all the details with everybody. People. Don't forget to also go watch your Heito documentary, AI robotics, the Heito story, you can look for that, I think through YouTube as well. And you know, if you have any questions, I'm sure Charles would be eager to respond. Thank you, Charles. You're amazing. I appreciate the time.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 47:11

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Jennifer Gardner: 47:16

Thanks for joining us for a caffeinated conversation. Subscribe to Coffee with Nicoa. For more stories from people living a life by design, you can also find inspiration on Instagram, just follow Coffee with Nicoa. And check out our website Coffee with nicoa.com. And that's Nicoa N I CoA. We look forward to talking with you soon. And enjoy your coffee between now and then.

Nicoa Coach: 47:42

Okay, so we're laughing. And and I will you know, Charles, you just said to me, I know you wanted me to talk more about my personal life and my background. But that's just not what I'm used to doing. And that's okay. And I think at the end of the day, people just want to know that you're human just like they are. And that was kind of my dream last night that I forgot to share with everybody. So I'm dreaming about the product. And then there's a girl standing there and she does the face recognition because I was doing my homework. And she the person there was like a person talking from heida, which is not the case, right? Does nobody's talking to him. Okay, right. Right. So and they said, Okay, take your pill. And she took it. And she didn't want to swallow. And it was like I was combining some sort of movie where you send some kid to rehab, but she won't take the meds they're trying to force on him. And the person on Haida was like, No, now open your mouth and prove to me that you took the pill. So we can only do so much with technology. Charles, right. Is that what my dream is telling me? I don't know?

CHARLES GELLMAN: 48:51

Well, maybe your dream is saying suggesting that you need to have your behavior modified by utilizing a device such as this. But interesting enough on your voice component. We actually were doing research with Russia university with dementia patients, we've actually altered the design to make it more ADA compliant. So what you're actually saying is actually, in fact, true with the voice and directing people to what could be with moderate and severe dementia, because they have issues, some of the patients that we've had have issues seen, and they need that type of direction. So in fact, your dream is actually reality. Yeah. You just weren't aware of that. So is validation future?

Nicoa Coach: 49:37

Yeah. Could you put that at the top of the upgrade list that like, you know, we need to add that into the system, please. Charles, thanks for listening. And thanks for sharing. I appreciate you.

CHARLES GELLMAN: 49:51

Yeah. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Nicoa Coach: 49:52

All right. I'll talk to you another day, I'm sure