Two years ago, my life took a dramatic turn. As a summer intern at a dental office, my plan, upon returning to school in the fall, was to continue following the pre-medical track at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One request changed that. My boss at the time asked me to explore the possibility of having a patient portal built for the practice. I will forever have plenty of reasons to thank him. As I delved into research, I found myself particularly drawn to the concept of digital health -- that is, the convergence of health care and technology. I was disappointed by what I considered to be a shortage of innovation, and at the same aroused by the room for potential. Specifically, I felt that health care was lagging behind other industries in the sense that it lacked a simple, engaging digital platform for consumers to manage their well-being. I believed, furthermore, that something needed be changed.
I spent the next couple of months bouncing ideas off family, friends and anyone else who would listen as I developed a framework for a product that would re-imagine the digital health management experience. The problem, as I saw it, was that existing consumer health information portals did not go far beyond offering broad information, tools and services. What I mean exactly is that there seemed to be little to no emphasis on providing consumers with an experience that catered to and was meaningful to them as individuals. Yet passionate as I was about the concept, it was not until an inspiring conversation with my best friend, Rick McMahon (who is now also one of my senior advisers) that I decided personally to pursue the venture.
I learned over time that the problem is much deeper. Thus I continued to polish my ideas as I met and spoke with hundreds of professors, entrepreneurs, physicians and researchers over the next nine months. Eventually, I was able to recruit a team of folks, who were not only equally passionate about improving the digital health landscape, but also incredibly talented.
What was once a frustration has now evolved into a promising digital health company called Euddle (pronounced yoodle and based of the Aristotelian concept of eudaemonia). We exist to help people discover, connect and share all things healthy and happy. The experience we are building has been designed to revolutionize the way people engage with health and lifestyle content, whether they are creating or consuming it. Specifically, our platform gives people power to discover -- based off location, interests and goals -- a diversity of products, information and services, ranging from articles, apps, online TV channels, recipes, classes, appointments, deals, doctors (via an interactive three-dimensional symptom finder) drug prices and more. Euddle also enables people to connect and share moments.
Our mission may be big, but it certainly has started small. We have focused the improving people's everyday health and lifestyle choices. Why? Because we sincerely believe by helping people make healthier choices, we can help them lead happier lives.
As Founder, Chairman and CEO of Euddle, I am incredibly excited about what lies ahead. We believe in our vision, our path and the progress the company has made thus far. We feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to align ourselves with some truly brilliant minds that will help us grow us into a world-changing brand. On a personal note, I hope that our story can inspire others to follow their hopes and dreams whatever they may be. With that, I would like to reaffirm the commitment we have made as a company. We will serve people as best we can and work everyday to provide them with the best tools to manage their well-being. Moreover, we will continue to improve the service and build new ways for people to lead healthier, happier lives better than any other company on earth.