That's Unusual

My guest today is Dr. Milena Adamian - a Cardiologist turned venture investor who hustled her way to the top. As the founding member of Azimuth Ventures and Life Sciences Angel Network, Milena knows a thing or two about what it takes to succeed as both a health investor and entrepreneur.br /

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On this episode, Milena shares what it was like to make the transition from practicing physician to investor. We also we explore the key qualities of what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur, discuss the evolving landscape of healthcare investing, and delve into what it's like being both a female and immigrant in a predominantly white, male driven industry. br /

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All this and more on today’s episode.br /

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Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT DR. MILENA ADAMIANbr /

Milena Adamian, MD is Managing Partner at Azimuth Ventures as well as the Life Sciences Angel Network (LSAN). Both of these early stage funds focus on investments in technology-enabled health care solutions, medical devices and bioinformatics.br /

Dr. Adamian began her career as a cardiologist in Moscow. Her father’s heart attack led her to seek out the best team to perform his angioplasty, and she found those surgeons in Milan. Impressed by the advanced science and high level of care her father received, she offered to volunteer there for a period of three months – and stayed for three years!br /

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An opportunity to further her education at Columbia University next brought her to the United States where she earned her master’s in clinical research and biostatistics and continued to practice medicine until 2003. She then transitioned to the corporate world, taking a position at Boston Scientific where she was part of a program to bring drug-eluting stents to patients on a large scale. It was there that she discovered a desire to facilitate startups as they turn an idea into an operating business.br /

This interest took her to Lehman Brothers where Adamian served as a Medical Technologies Analyst and then Easton Capital Investment Group where she was Managing Director. In 2010, she established LSAN and then Azimuth to provide quality opportunities for startups in the health care space. Described by a friend as a “badass with a heart,” Adamian seeks to bring revolutionary medical treatments to the world.br /

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To read all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep024

My guest today is Dr. Roni Zeiger - a physician turned entrepreneur who was the former Chief Health Strategist at Google. Currently, he is the co-founder and CEO of Smart Patients - an online community where patients and their families learn from each other. Roni has been a leading voice for patients having shared his views across prominent stages like TEDMED.br /

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On today’s episode, we get up close and personal where Roni shares his journey from a practicing doctor to leading the charge in health at Google. We discuss the importance of rapid experimentation and willingness to fail along the way. Roni also shares key intrapreneurial lessons learned from his tenure with Google, including those associated with Google Flu Trends and Personal Health Record; and how that ultimately helped shape his networked community model for his current venture, Smart Patients.br /

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All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT DR. RONI ZEIGERbr /

Roni Zeiger, MD, MS, is the former Chief Health Strategist at Google. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Smart Patients, an online community platform where patients and families affected by a variety of illnesses can learn from each other's knowledge and experiences. Roni earned his M.D. at Stanford University and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco. He has served as a clinical instructor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and received a master's degree in biomedical informatics from Stanford. Roni is also a Community Staff Physician for urgent care patients at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.br /

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To read all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep023br /

Many can claim to be doctors. But only one can officially claim the moniker “The Doctor of the Future”…and that's my good friend and guest for today, Dr. Jay Parkinson. He has graced the covers of some of the most recognized magazines and presented on the worlds most prestigious stages. He possesses an unusual blend of doctor, technologist, and designer, and combines them in unusual ways to help heal our ailing medical system.br /

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Over a decade ago Dr. Parkinson took a leap of faith. Having just wrapped up his residency in pediatrics and preventative medicine, he entered a strange universe where technology was becoming deeply integrated into the fabric of our daily lives. The iPhone had just been released, and video technology was just starting to gain mainstream adoption.br /

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So what does a fresh-out-of-residency doctor do? Using only his laptop, email, Google and a friendly personality, Dr. Parkinson did what most others could not imagine…he made medical house calls out of his apartment in Brooklyn. Overnight, Dr. Parkinson became a media sensation as the face of the future of medicine, and is considered a pioneer in a burgeoning billion-dollar market called, telemedicine. Today he is the Co-Founder of Sherpaa, an on-demand, next generation medical practice.br /

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Today, we get personal and discuss it all in this episode. Dr. Parkinson walks us through his early influences on design, his infamous backyard parties in Brooklyn, the untold struggles and obstacles he faced for his early ventures, what he believes to be the doctor of the future, and even delve into the future of primary care. So sit back and enjoy the conversation as you listen to today’s episode.br /

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Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT DR. JAY PARKINSONbr /

Billed as the Doctor of the Future, Jay Parkinson, MD, MPH is the Co-founder and CEO of Sherpaa, an on-demand medical practice that allows patients to reach out to a personal health navigator online before making a costly visit to a primary care physician, emergency room or urgent care center. Sherpaa doctors read the patient’s case, ask questions, order tests if necessary, then diagnose, treat and follow-up. They can even e-prescribe through the platform.br /

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Dr. Parkinson trained in pediatrics and preventive medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The last day of his residency fell one day after the launch of the iPhone in 2007, and he leveraged this new technology to conceive the world’s first internet-enabled house call practice. This concept went on to become Hello Health, a cloud-based electronic medical record that enables doctors and patients to connect in and out of the office via email, IM and video chat.br /

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In 2010, Dr. Parkinson co-founded The Future Well, a design firm specializing in health care for clients such as Sanofi, Planned Parenthood and the National Health Service in the UK. Through this venture, he created Omnio, the most popular iPad app for physicians. An authority on the new frontiers technology creates for health and medical care, he has given talks at 50-plus conferences including TED, Google’s Zeitgeist, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Aspen Institute and Pop!Tech.br /

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To read all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep022

Shhhh. Listen. Do you hear that sound? It's the sound of crickets. For most of us, the sound of crickets chirping conjures up memories of calm summer nights by the campfire. For Leslie Ziegler, that same noise is the sound of an untapped business opportunity to allow her to both do good and do well at the same time. As the co-founder of Bitty Foods, Leslie is making headlines by using crickets as a source of healthy, sustainable foods.

While this may sounds disgusting on first blush (as it did for me), what few realize is that crickets (and many other insects for that matter) is a common source of nutrition in many other parts of the world. I’m not taking about eating crickets whole (although many folks do prefer it that way), but rather crickets ground up into flour that can then used for baking various treats.

So why isn’t it a staple food source in the US? I dig into this question and many others in my conversation with Leslie today. We uncover how she stumbled upon this unusual opportunity, explore the health and environmental benefits of eating crickets, and the question we all are wondering…what does it taste like?

Well, I couldn’t do this interview without first giving it a try for myself. So I went out and bought a bag of Bitty Foods signature product, the cricket flour. Baked up some chocolate chip cookies…and did the ultimate taste test. Had my kids taste it and see if they noticed any difference. You know what? To my surprise, they LOVED it…and so did I.

SPECIAL OFFER:

I’m so confident you will love it too, that we are offering a special listener-only discount for you to try it for yourself. Go to Bittyfoods.com and enter the code unusual20 to receive a special, one-time discount just for you - my listeners. Trust me, it will be an experience and a story you will love to tell at your next dinner party.

All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.

Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.com

ABOUT LESLIE ZIEGLER

Leslie Ziegler is the Co-founder of Bitty Foods, a company introducing edible insects to the western diet. To date, Bitty has developed gluten and grain-free flours fortified with cricket protein, as well as a line of award-winning, all natural chips made with lentils and cricket flour. The company has been featured in the New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Zagat, Food & Wine, Outside and TED, and Bitty Foods was named a Top 100 Brilliant Company by Entrepreneur magazine.

Ziegler got her start in advertising, serving as Art Director at McCann Erickson and Tribal DDB where her clients included Starbucks, Microsoft and American Airlines. Wanting the opportunity to make more of a hands-on impact, she got involved with a small startup in the field of education. It was at this point that Ziegler was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and an interest in health care, specifically the health tech industry, was born. She was a part of the founding team of Rock Health, the first startup incubator dedicated to digital health, where her role as Chief Evangelist gave her the opportunity to oversee marketing, social media and curriculum for startup classes, as well as assist companies with design and branding.

In documenting her own health journey, Ziegler discovered that the single biggest trigger that made her feel well or unwell was food. At dinner one evening with friend Megan Miller, who had just returned from a trip to southeast Asia, they discussed insects as cuisine and whether the western world was ready to embrace this healthy, sustainable food source. Bitty Foods was born shortly thereafter in Miller’s kitchen.

In addition to her position at Bitty, Ziegler continues to serve as advisor to several health and technology startups. She has been named one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company and speaks internationally on health,

Do we need to reform our government? That’s an understatement. World renowned geopolitical strategist and 5 times best selling author, Dr. Parag Khanna, shares insights from his latest book, Technocracy in America, for a radical overhaul of the US government system. Dr. Khanna draws upon his personal experiences as a global citizen having traveled and studied dozens of political systems from around the globe. On this episode, Parag and I discuss how our current system has failed us, why technocrats are better served to effect change in an administration, why the office of the Presidency needs checks and balances with an executive oversight committee, his ideas on why the Senate and House needs to be re-configured as an Assembly of Governors, and much much more.br /

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In light of the recent transition of power in the White House, the timing of this conversation could not be more relevant. Regardless of what side of the isle you sit on, we can all agree that its about time we re-think how our government operates to serve the peoples’ needs. br /

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All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT DR. PARAGE KHANNAbr /

Dr. Parag Khanna is a leading global strategist, world traveler and best-selling author. His latest book is Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State. A widely cited global intellectual, Dr. Khanna provides regular commentary for international media. His articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, TIME, Forbes and The Atlantic, among many others, and he has made frequent appearances on CNN, BBC, CNBC, Al Jazeera and the TED stage.br /

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Dr. Khanna lectures frequently at international conferences and gives executive briefings to government leaders and major corporations on global trends and scenarios, systemic risks and technological disruptions, and market entry strategies and economic master planning. He has worked as an advisor to the US National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030 program and as a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation. His resume also includes a stint in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving as senior geopolitical advisor to United States Special Operations Forces.br /

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Born in India, Dr. Khanna grew up in the United Arab Emirates, New York and Germany. He is an accomplished adventurer who has traveled to every continent, visiting more than 100 countries. Dr. Khanna holds a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Among his many honors, Dr. Khanna was awarded the 2017 Richard von Weizsaecker Fellowship of the Bosch Foundation, named one of Esquire’s 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century and featured in WIRED magazine’s Smart List. He currently serves as Senior Research Fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.br /

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To read all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep020br /

Esther Dyson is perhaps one of the most coveted investors of our time….Not only does she have an impeccable track record (including investments in MeetUp, Evernote, Square, 23andMe, LinkedIn, Facebook, Startup Health, HealthLoop, Patients Like Me, and dozens of others), but her insatiable thirst to explore the impossible and the undiscovered makes her un-matched in her ability to identify opportunity where others do not. On this episode, we get into the mind of Esther’s core investment philosophy, explore the influences of her upbringing, and discuss her quest to make health profitable through her latest venture, Way to Wellville. We discuss why asking the right questions is key to solving the mysteries of business, why our health system is so broken, and what we can do to help course correct an industry that has repeatedly failed us. br /

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All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT ESTHER DYSONbr /

Esther Dyson is a Swiss-born American journalist, author, businesswoman, investor, commentator and philanthropist. She is a prominent angel investor focused on breakthrough startups in healthcare, government transparency, digital technology, biotechnology, and space.br /

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Esther Dyson is currently focusing her career on health as the Executive Founder of WaytoWellville, an initiative focused on investing in health as an asset. The goal is to build networks through community organizing to increase access to and use of beneficial services, activities and resources to improve the health of residents in five model communities. Ultimately, Dyson hopes to utilize big data to demonstrate the economic value of investing in health and affect large scale change.br /

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After graduating from Harvard with a BA in economics, Dyson began her career as a fact-checker for Forbes before heading to Wall Street where she worked as an analyst. This led to a partnership with Ben Rosen in the emerging personal computer and online world. She bought Rosen Research in 1983 and renamed it EDventure Holdings. After 25 years with the company, Dyson sold it and pursued an interest in angel investing and health care.br /

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Dyson is unmatched in her ability to identify opportunity where others do not, and she is currently on a mission to make health profitable.br /

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To read all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep019

On this episode, Larry Kopald shares his life’s crusade to tackle global warming by putting carbon back where it belongs…underground in the soil. Larry and I discuss the ground-breaking work being done through his latest company, The Carbon Underground. He gives us a brief history of the evolution of industrial agriculture, the role carbon plays in our climate, the implications of climate change if not reversed soon, the challenges faced by the new administration, and much more. We even get up close and personal by delving into his childhood revealing the influences that shaped his current thinking; and explore how being a veteran advertising executive created a natural evolution from converting his powers of persuasion into a world movement . All this and more on today’s episode. br /

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Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.com br /

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ABOUT LARRY KOPALDbr /

Larry Kopald is the Co-Founder and President of The Carbon Underground, an organization committed to reversing climate change by restoring the soil of our farms, ranches and grasslands so that it can draw down carbon from the atmosphere. The company works to educate stakeholders about the value and benefits of soil restoration by crafting campaigns that motivate people to act. The Carbon Underground has created partnerships with corporations, governments, universities and food organizations to avert catastrophic climate change. br /

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Kopald spent the majority of his career as a communications and branding professional, working at some of the world’s top advertising agencies. He helped launch multibillion dollar brands like Acura, Oracle and Huggies and managed campaigns for top companies including McDonalds, American Express and Honda. As technology gained significance in the late 1990’s, he started his own agency, THINK New Ideas, which succeeded in putting 40 of the Fortune 100 companies online.br /

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Kopald is also a lifelong environmentalist serving on the boards of Oceana, the National Marine Sanctuaries, 1% For the Planet among others. He has realized the environmental communications for both the UN and the Olympics, and he has been nominated for both Emmy and Grammy awards. Kopald’s background and experience make him uniquely qualified to communicate The Carbon Underground’s message of sustainability to the world. br /

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For all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep018

Every stem cell think it's a fetus.”br /

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On today’s episode, Dr. Bob Hariri shares his personal story on how being a pilot, film producer, and neurosurgeon sparked his interest in stem cell research to help solve the mysteries of aging, and how to live longer with dignity. We cover a lot of ground, including the breakthrough work he is currently researching as co-founder of Human Longevity, Inc, alongside his business partners Dr. Peter Diamonds and Dr. Craig Venter. We discuss everything from moonshots in medicine, to the convergence of cell therapy and genomics, to the realities and implication of what it means to live longer. Dr. Hariri believes we will see this research deployed in our lifetime, and shares his thoughts on the hurdles we need to overcome to make this vision a reality.br /

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One thing is for certain…we will all die. But what if we are all able to live 50 years longer? how will that impact you? How would you live those extra years? What is the science driving this?That pipe dream of living longer is closer than you think.br /

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Join us as we explore unchartered territory and dream of what's possible.br /

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All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT DR. ROBERT HARIRIbr /

Dr. Robert Hariri is a neurosurgeon, biomedical scientist, serial entrepreneur, aviator and film producer. The Founder, Chairman and former CEO of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, he pioneered the use of stem cells to treat a range of life-threatening diseases and made transformative contributions to the field of tissue engineering. Hariri is also the Co-founder and Vice Chairman of Human Longevity, Inc., a genomics and cell therapy company with the mission of identifying the mechanisms responsible for age-related human biological decline and applying this intelligence to develop innovative solutions that interrupt or block those processes in order to meaningfully extend the human lifespan.br /

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Dr. Hariri began his career as a pilot. While working for Pan Am, he discovered a proficiency for science and applied to medical school at Cornell. It was there that he worked with a partner to explore the lethal nature of traumatic brain injury and discovered that the swelling and resulting pressure could be managed by sinking a drainage system into the brain. They turned this innovation into a company, and Hariri’s interest in the biotech industry was born.br /

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Recipient of the Thomas Alva Edison Award in both 2007 and 2011 and the Fred J. Epstein Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Hariri has received numerous honors for his many contributions to biomedicine as well as aviation. He is a jet-rated commercial pilot with thousands of hours of flight time and the producer of several feature films and documentaries on global societal issues.br /

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To read all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep017

This week on Part 2, Dr. Alex Jadad and I continue the conversation where we left off. We discuss his life work and movement to re-imagine the definition of health not just the absence of disease, but being inclusive of our entire wellbeing, such as love, happiness, and no suffering. If you missed Part 1, I suggest you listen to that episode (Ep015) first and then come back to this week’s episode.br /

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Dr. Alex Jadad, is living his life as a love story. He is also daring us to imagine a world in which everyone could enjoy a life full of love, healthy and happy, until the last breath, as part of a thriving planet. As soon as we meet Alex, we will recognize the curious inner child, the teacher, the learner, the physician and the healer who live in him, urging us to think of ways to make it happen, while marvelling at the wonderful mysteries of life.br /

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With Alex, we will learn about possibilities to re-design our lives as love stories, and to bring love to our families, to our workplaces and to our communities, so that we can discover, recover and uncover our capacity to love ourselves and the world, no matter what happens.br /

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He will ask us very deep and unusual questions about who we are, questions that will help us to embrace the liberating power of love.br /

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Come along. There is no reason to worry. After all, nobody else will ever be able to hear us.br /

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All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT ALEX JADADbr /

Physician, educator, researcher and public advocate Dr. Alex Jadad is the founder of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation and Director of the Institute for Global Health Equity and Innovation at the University of Toronto. His research seeks to improve the capacity of humans to imagine, create and promote better approaches to living, healing, working and learning as part of a sustainable planet as he identifies and connects the best minds, best knowledge and best tools across traditional boundaries to eliminate unnecessary suffering.br /

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Dr. Jadad has received numerous awards, among them Health Canada’s National Health Research Scholars Award, the New Pioneers Award in Science and Technology and Health Canada’s Distinguished Lecturer Award. He has been featured by Time magazine as one of the Canadians who will shape the country in the 21st century, and as one of the leading medical researchers in Canada.br /

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Dr. Jadad is also the author of The Feast of Our Life: Preparing to Flourish Through Self-Love, a text that furthers his mission to enable people to live healthy and happy lives, full of love, until the last breath. Inspired to live his life as a love story, Jadad advocates that we, too, reconnect with ourselves, eradicate regret and embrace the liberating power of love.br /

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To read all show notes and resources for this episode please visit: www.drgautamgulati.com/ep016

Today, we will meet Dr. Alex Jadad, someone who is living his life as a love story. He is also daring us to imagine a world in which everyone could enjoy a life full of love, healthy and happy, until the last breath, as part of a thriving planet. As soon as we meet Alex, we will recognize the curious inner child, the teacher, the learner, the physician and the healer who live in him, urging us to think of ways to make it happen, while marvelling at the wonderful mysteries of life.br /

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With Alex, we will learn about possibilities to re-design our lives as love stories, and to bring love to our families, to our workplaces and to our communities, so that we can discover, recover and uncover our capacity to love ourselves and the world, no matter what happens.br /

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He will ask us very deep and unusual questions about who we are, questions that will help us to embrace the liberating power of love.br /

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Come along. There is no reason to worry. After all, nobody else will ever be able to hear us.br /

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All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.br /

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Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.combr /

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ABOUT DR. ALES JADADbr /

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Physician, educator, researcher and public advocate Dr. Alex Jadad is the founder of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation and Director of the Institute for Global Health Equity and Innovation at the University of Toronto. His research seeks to improve the capacity of humans to imagine, create and promote better approaches to living, healing, working and learning as part of a sustainable planet as he identifies and connects the best minds, best knowledge and best tools across traditional boundaries to eliminate unnecessary suffering.br /

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Dr. Jadad has received numerous awards, among them Health Canada’s National Health Research Scholars Award, the New Pioneers Award in Science and Technology and Health Canada’s Distinguished Lecturer Award. He has been featured by Time magazine as one of the Canadians who will shape the country in the 21st century, and as one of the leading medical researchers in Canada.br /

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Dr. Jadad is also the author of The Feast of Our Life: Preparing to Flourish Through Self-Love, a text that furthers his mission to enable people to live healthy and happy lives, full of love, until the last breath. Inspired to live his life as a love story, Jadad advocates that we, too, reconnect with ourselves, eradicate regret and embrace the liberating power of love.br /

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KEY INTERVIEW TAKEAWAYSbr /

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Selfishness and self-love are opposites rather than synonyms. Though Jadad concedes that we often assign self-love a negative connotation, it is impossible to love others if you don’t love yourself. Much like the flight attendant’s instructions to put on your own oxygen mask first and then assist others, we must protect ourselves before we can adequately protect the people we love.br /

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The opposite of fear is love. Because we are afraid of what we might find if we engage in serious conversation with ourselves, we choose to avoid dialogue with our inner voice and miss out on the most important relationship of all – the one with ourselves.br /

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Of the five fears (death, failure, vulnerability, ridicule and disappointing others), the anxiety of letting people down fuels the idea that there is a gap between what others expect us to be and what we are, creating yet another barrier to self-love. Only by pressing the pause button and connecting with ourselves can we discover, uncover and recover our capacity to love ourselves first.br /

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Who would you invite to be a part of your personal board of directors? Nobody can hurt you more than you, so it is important to establish a cadre of people you trust “to love you most when you deserve it least,” protecting you from you and supporting you at your weakest.br /

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