288. Meet the Doctor Who Saved 2 Million Hours for Clinicians Through Agentic AI w/ Dr. Harvinder Power | Motics

14:48Dr. Harvinder Power:Not at all. In fact, there's a bit of an anecdote everyone in Motix knows, which is that we have a five-year clock, which we started in September last year. So it's been four months now, almost into that journey. And essentially, that's what we call D-Day for the business, where essentially we will want to all exit and call it time, whether we merge, whether we do an IPO, whether we do something somebody else. But we create this sort of very unique alignment through saying that that is the exit event for everybody in the business in five years time. And that's our goal. Whether it happens or not, different matter entirely.

15:19Dr. Harvinder Power:But it creates this sort of unique clarity of we know where the ending is, so let's work backwards from that. And I think that's where we're taking a bit of a unique spin on it. Whether it's the right one or not, let's see how it pans out. But it's because we know that ultimately we have lives to get on with. We want to have kids, families, all the sort of good stuff that we want out of life as well. And I think doing it while you're a startup founder is tough, right? It is really tough, whether we like to admit it or not. It is doable. And some people are amazing at managing that. I would say that for me, it's not the easiest thing to balance both.

15:50Dr. Harvinder Power:And so I made a bit of a choice to focus on business first. Let's get this period of my life done. I really want to get this delivered. And then let's focus on what comes after that. Enjoy the sort of good life after it with an amazing exit with amazing team so we all want to benefit we want to win and that's

16:05Amardeep Parmar:the timeline that we're working on hello hello i hope you've enjoyed the show so far i'm amadik palmer co-founder of bay hq and the host of this show for those of you who don't know bay hq is the community for high growth asian heritage founders and investors in the uk over 7 500 500 people have attended our events, 200 people have been for our impact programs, and obviously there's been over 250 episodes of this podcast. If you want to join us and take part in the program and come to the events, go to behihq.com forward slash join. We also just released our first ever book called Startups for Outsiders, which you can get on Amazon now, and the link is in the bio.

16:49Amardeep Parmar:Hope to see you soon at our event. Hope you enjoy the rest of the episode. it was uh all over linkedin last year either 996 and the debates around that and one of the things i find difficult right is that there's kind of the human level of me versus the reality of like actually i do work 80 hour weeks so i can want to be and sometimes it's hard because i can want other people to be balanced but then i won't do it myself and then it's trying to like navigate that sometimes too right especially in the healthcare space right so if you're working longer hours or you're stressed out and these things are happening then it's like well wait should I be doing that should be looking after myself but also in order to make this grow then I need to work hard and how have you been able to find that because obviously doing it part-time is one thing and now it's full-time you're trying to grow as fast as you can you've got this clock in five years and even with the best intention I imagine you probably don't have the best balance all the time how is that like now how are you navigating that right now it's tough I would say

17:50Dr. Harvinder Power:it comes in waves and troughs in many ways. And I'd actually throw the question back to you. How are you handling it? I'm curious to see how you see it. I mean, look at my eyes. So one of the things I look at is like the sprints in that with what we do,

18:06Amardeep Parmar:it's like kind of reaching different tipping points, right? So there's a sprint from September to November last year where I did over 50 events. We released the book, released the report. I did a TEDx, all these kind of different things, right? Just a small month. Yeah. But then I was completely burnt out by the end of it. I hated everybody and I could feel the irritation just in me all the time. Like I was just so on edge all the time. And I knew that, but I kind of had that deal in my head. I know that I need to do this for two or three months. And then most of December I took off and most early part of January.

18:45Amardeep Parmar:And then now it's like, so we're recording this early, mid-Feb. So end of Jan was a bit busier. Feb, we're starting to get into like, this is the flow now. But I know once we hit March, March or June, it's going to be healthy again. But I know that's happening and I kind of am aware of it. And then in some way, I'm going to slow down again. So I have this kind of peaks and troughs, but then every year the goal is make each peak and trough less severe, where it's just more normalized. And that's as we hire the right people, as we get the right systems in place. And I think that's what you talked about earlier about professionalizing.

19:20Amardeep Parmar:Is that we're at the stage, or we were at the stage, where it needed a huge amount of work to discuss off the ground. And the challenges too, it's like people like a year ago, oh, you're so amazing. You're doing so well. It's like, in my head, I know we're not. I know we need to do a lot more because it always makes financially sustainable versus the last of the next 30, 40 years. It can't, like, it's really difficult to kind of navigate that positioning where sometimes from outside people are like oh you're

19:46Dr. Harvinder Power:doing so well it's going to say amazing yeah but in the end i'm like i don't know how we're going

19:50Amardeep Parmar:to pay rent this month like and it's that's kind of the challenge where you're wearing these different hats and i try to be quite honestly open about that but it's quite difficult in that regard and like i guess for you coming back to it as well do you have that kind of seasonality to your work or is it kind of all year round is busy because we have summer is a bit quieter december is a bit

20:09Dr. Harvinder Power:quieter and gen is a bit quieter yeah i would say in terms of seasonality i think it's it depends because i think at the moment things are growing so fast that i think okay next quarter is going to be a bit quieter that's okay it turns out it's like a new record quarter and like it's we're in that sort of phase of our growth where growth is coming really quickly which is amazing for us and you know amazing that we're able to serve so many people but we i would say work-life balance is the one thing that it has been difficult and actually it's one thing we acknowledge on our team is like is probably the hardest thing for people to do.

20:39Dr. Harvinder Power:And so whenever somebody joins us, you say, just to pre-warn you, if you're expecting the work-life balance, we can't offer that to you at the moment. And that's just part and parcel of being at the early stage start of the VR. And that's okay. We're not always going to be the right fit for everybody. But for me, the way I sort of see alignment, the way I sort of see work-life balance is exactly as you described it, is just know what you're getting yourself into and know when the exit point is for that period. Because I think doing a 12-month burn constant, like thinking, that's going to get better, it's going to get better.

21:07Dr. Harvinder Power:but you don't know when that's tough man I've never been able to do that I think you just have to have some semblance of okay it's going to be tough but here's what we're going to do to make it better here's how I'm going to reward myself I think the one thing I've learned over years of doing startups is that it is important to be kind to yourself like it's a tough journey you know we do this because of our love for what we do and who we serve at the end of the day so the question is how can you then reward yourself in small ways right whether it's going to see a friend on a weekend going to watch a movie just having a nice dinner right small things but i think they just help you to just feel more balanced even if it's just a small gesture just to get you through the week and do you sometimes see the irony of with

21:46Amardeep Parmar:what you do is you're freeing up time for clinicians while making yourself work harder

21:51Dr. Harvinder Power:i i do i i definitely do in fact i was thinking you know we saved something like two million hours of clinician time by last year absolutely crazy numbers and i was wishing i could take some of back for myself but sadly not this year maybe next year i think you brought a book a point as

22:06Amardeep Parmar:well about the transparency but i think that's the thing that aware i think in anything right it's like if you're transparent about the expectations then people can't get too annoyed right so if somebody is starts working and working long hours but you've been very clear with them from the beginning that's what's going to happen this is what the expectations are if that's right if you join if it's not right if you don't join that's okay whereas if you kind of try and solve the dream of oh I saw going to be sunshine and rainbows and then all of a sudden they're working for you and now like why aren't you working at like midnight on a Sunday then that's where's gonna be more clashes and I think what I think is hard for me first-time founders early stage founders is they have the need to be liked so in the hiring process they over glamorize everything and sometimes they have the best intentions right but if you are at that scrappy stage where you don't know if you can pay for everything or these kind of different pressures you have on you then promising somebody when they start that they can have this comfortable lifestyle when you don't have the means or resources to do it you're setting yourself both up for failure for sure and with the hiring side you're doing now so okay you said what was your first hire that's how it goes yeah so marketing actually so a bit of an interesting take an engineering

23:16Dr. Harvinder Power:person wasn't that first i was actually a second hire first one was marketing and why was that so because to be honest our engineering efforts have been pretty good i would say internally right So obviously it can always be better. That's part of parcel being a startup. But Selena has been an amazing engineer. I mean, obviously I'm going to gush a little about how amazing she's been. But I think she's done a fantastic job of getting the platform set up and to the standard that it's at. I think the biggest need for us is that we knew our weaknesses and strengths, going back to your earlier point, one of our biggest weaknesses for both of us was actually marketing combined.

23:47Dr. Harvinder Power:We knew that we're very good technical people. We're very good at building whatever we need to build. But marketing and telling a story, Ultimately, that's something where I'd love to learn how to do that a bit better. And actually, I'm going to take some stories from yourself about how to do that as well.

24:01Amardeep Parmar:And what do you think that your marketing high has changed the way your story? What do you think you can see that they've really made a big difference?

24:07Dr. Harvinder Power:Yeah. So I'd say our marketing guy really has helped us to bring out what is already there. I think what we're very good at doing is working very quietly behind the scenes, very diligently, very methodically. What he's helped to do is tell the stories of what the amazing conversations are behind the curtain, essentially, and then bring them to the forefront and say, hey, look at the amazing work we're doing with our clients in x space or y space or this country or this country and i think that's really started to take shape and we're starting to see it you know we're getting more and more leads coming inbound because of this very simply where we're just telling the story of who we are what we're doing and people are really resonating with it they're saying hey you know i'd love to work with this sort of company i'd love to you know see what they can offer me and see how they can support so i think one thing i always give to like new founders as recommendations is don't underestimate the power of storytelling about telling your own story as well as that of your business and using it to help people come in.

24:59Dr. Harvinder Power:So what are you doing right now? Well, exactly.

25:01Amardeep Parmar:It's like proof in the pudding, right? Yeah. And you mentioned there about like different countries and things. So obviously I'm not a clinician, right? So with the software you do, does it make a difference where the clinicians are based? Is there any? Sure.

25:13Dr. Harvinder Power:Yeah, absolutely. So there's always regional differences. So it's very simple to think that essentially healthcare is the same in every single country you operate in. There are lots of big differences. So we operate in a number of different geographies, including the UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, some in the Middle East as well. So we've got a number of different locations we're working with, which is amazing. Again, testament to the inbounds and clients who want to work with us. But everyone has got slight subtle differences in terms of how they want to do things. But that's, again, part of what we love to understand is like, what's unique about them?

25:44Dr. Harvinder Power:How can we make it the best experience for them? And how do we then bring those learnings back and build them into the platform? So I think that way, it's still a learning journey. Every day is a learning day in startups, right? So we're still learning about how we can continue to build on that lead and make it the best platform across the world for all clinicians.

25:59Amardeep Parmar:So strategically as well, right? That's an interesting take because you could, for example, focus only on the UK, for sure, and make it the best possible product for people in the UK, kind of dominate the UK, then go and do other countries. But then also what you've been able to do is customize it for different countries at once. but I imagine that also makes your marketing effort and your sales efforts more split too. So did that kind of conflict or debate come up when you went through this process or was it more just like, demands here, let's go and do it?

26:26Dr. Harvinder Power:It's been pretty interesting. I'd say that the story we tell around clinics and the problems we have seems to be international, which is that definitely in the countries that I've described already, the challenges they have seem to be the same, which is that they're trying to grow businesses. They run like startups. They've got dreams. They've got ideas of what they want to be. They have the same problems around the amount of hiring they need to do, the amount of operations they have to deal with. And actually, essentially, it's the same solution. It's how do we make those processes more efficient at the end of the day?

26:56Dr. Harvinder Power:So in many ways, while there are definitely differences in terms of these countries, there are a lot of similarities as well in terms of what we can provide as value to our clients. And so that's where it's really interesting, where we take stories from the UK, for example, about where it's been really successful and take it to Canada. They're like, oh, that's a really interesting tape. We never thought about it like this way. So in many ways, we're also sharing lessons that we've learned on ways and giving it to our clients to say, hey, here's something you could try and think about and actually provide value to them.

27:21Dr. Harvinder Power:Even if they don't go with us or if they do, we provide value whatever we do.

27:26Amardeep Parmar:And where are you looking at expansion-wise the most right now? Is it kind of a global effort or is a particular region that you think are really right?

27:33Dr. Harvinder Power:Yeah, so I think there's a lot of opportunity for us in a few different markets. So Europe and the US, obviously the two big locations. I think we're allowing the market to almost dictate where we're going to end up going next. But I think it'll be exciting next year to see where we end up going.

27:47Amardeep Parmar:So rounding out, so we've got, we're going to start to go into a quick five questions in a moment. Sure. So one thing we're going to do, and it was before we got this bookcase here that I started making this plan. So we're going to get like a little TV here. But what might happen is might just be like a little AI TV where we replay this moment back in the future, right? So what we're saying is to people come back on in two years time. so if you were to come back on in two years time what would you love to be able to say that you've

28:13Dr. Harvinder Power:achieved in those two years in two years i would love for us to have helped 100 million patients to get better access to healthcare and better quality of healthcare i think it's a pretty lofty goal i'm sure but i think that's we've got to have big you know big dreams big ambitions so that's really ambition for the next couple of years no that's awesome and if you come back on

28:31Amardeep Parmar:here again in two years time and say you've done that oh for sure i'll be i'm very very happy i can

28:35Dr. Harvinder Power:I'm only going to look at myself and think, what on earth was it? 100 million is a crazy high number. But I think 100 million. Yeah, just keep going. I remember, funny story, so Salim knows the story and Selena knows the story. It's like, I remember the Textiles demo day. I made this promise to like half the NHS waiting list. It's really funny. Selena always takes the mechanism for it. And I look back and I'm like, ah, well, it was good. I believed in myself, but that's the key thing. And funnily enough, I'm like, well, actually, nowadays, We're going in the right direction towards it. So I'll hold myself to it.

29:09Dr. Harvinder Power:Whether or not we get there, that's another story. But you know the analogy, right? You've got to shoot for the stars. Otherwise, you're going to end up on the moon either way and have some fun. So let's see where we end up.

29:19Amardeep Parmar:And with that too, so you mentioned about how, like obviously your ambitions have changed over time, right? And what you're looking at. Yeah. How have you kept optimism up over like an eight-year period, right? Because you still have the big dreams and you've obviously, over the years, you've got different setbacks. and you've had to pick yourself up and different hardships. How have you kind of kept that resilience and kept going through everything?

29:40Dr. Harvinder Power:It is tough. It is really, really tough. And I think with resilience, I would say that it's not something that it's constant and always be there. There will be days where things will just get you down. And I think that's okay. And that's important to know is that there will just be tough days and that's okay. But I think the big thing for me is having the right people around you, surrounding yourselves with the right kind of energy the right kind of essentially motivation ultimately because people are really the motivators in this business that helps you get through the tough times and i think that's what i refocus on when we bring people into motix is what really drives you and what gets you out of bed in the morning and are you the right energy and the right sort of fit for us as a business and are we the right fit for you can we be the right right organization to help you grow can you help us grow because i think one thing that's crystallized for me over the last few years is more that startups are tough every day is going to be a new challenge as long as you've got the right mindset you know we talk in Sikhi about Jadlikala you know the right sort of mentality then you can achieve whatever you want to right you've just got to have the right sort of motivation right mindset and then everything comes you know through hardship or through good.

30:48Dr. Harvinder Power:What do you think you're most proud about of that journey? I think it's very easy for me to look back and think about all the good times and all the bad times and sort of focus on the bad times because that's what comes very naturally. I would say on the journey, I'm very happy that we've gone through all these sort of major milestones as a business, but also fundamentally like that we got it running, like we got it working. We've already seen patient impact. We've seen the, what the effect of our technology, what our, you know, AI can have on real lives at the end of the day. And that's amazing.

31:18Dr. Harvinder Power:Like all we're doing now is scaling that and like getting it to more and more and more people. So I think I'm really proud of our team for how we've done that already and how we've told that story, how we're really helping that sort of experience. And now I think I'm even more proud about how we scale that out. How do we help even more people? How do we provide that same effect, that same experience to so many more different clinics and so many different clinicians as well? So on that note,

31:40Amardeep Parmar:which is a good positive note there. Absolutely. Quick five question time. Go for it. So first one is, who are three Asians in Britain you think could do an incredible work? And do you want to shout them out?

31:50Dr. Harvinder Power:For sure, for sure. I think the first thing that comes to my mind is Nav Sohny. So I think he knows Nav. He's from the podcast. He's the first free-time guest. Amazing. Make him the four-time guest now. Nav, you've got to come back on. Absolutely. So Nav's doing amazing work. So for those who don't know, he started the Washing Machine Project, so doing his work over there. I think he, for me, from a Sikhi perspective as well as a practicing Sikh, I think he also embodies the concept of Sivar really well and really nicely, I think, for sort of modern-day Sikh as well. um so i really love that about nav like he's really you know testament to that uh second one is pam core so first group cfo at hsbc probably not well as well known i'd say as nav who gets a lot of publicity now but i think so pam was probably for me quite interesting she really broke that glass ceiling in terms of what's the heights that we can achieve you know as a as a society in terms of women and help women in finance and how we get to those positions but also then as a sick as well in that space so i think pan definitely gets up there for me and the third one i think um more recently has been vrun vrun abanot uh so he's done really amazing work as a startup founder like i think he's also proved like tenacity and how you know asian entrepreneurs especially they i'd say the grit is probably one of the highest like it's one of the best qualities you have just from upbringing just from culture and so i think he's done a really amazing job so I think those are my three.

33:17Amardeep Parmar:Awesome. So, well, now it's been on three times, Vara's been on twice. So I don't think I've met Pam yet, but soon. Soon, yeah. And if people want to find out more about you and what you're up to, where do they go to?

33:28Dr. Harvinder Power:Absolutely. So you can always hit our website. So it's motix.ai. So it's all about the business over there. You can find me on socials. I'll be on LinkedIn. I'm always talking about stuff in our space, healthcare and AI. And we're always active on Instagram now. So it seems to be our new big thing. We love to get on at TikTok soon, but not yet.

33:46Amardeep Parmar:And is there any way that the audience could help you?

33:48Dr. Harvinder Power:Ah, so in so many ways. So obviously we'd love to speak to more clinics. So if anyone in the audience is part of a clinic or in healthcare or in sort of hospital networks, we'd love to speak to you, see if we can help you in terms of operations. Can we help you scale that business without scaling that cost? The other way is also if you'd love to join the team. Like we're always looking for new people to join the team, especially on our side in terms of engineers joining and also in customer success to help our clients just get a much better experience, even more than they already are. and so if you're interested feel free to drop me an email so it's harvinder at motix.ai or head to the website and you can see more than roles that we have over there thanks so much for coming on any final words well thank you for having me and keep up the great work i think one thing that doesn't get enough credit and shout out is actually the work at bay and what the amazing worth of they're doing to help really advance the community so thank you for what you're doing