Inside a Startup Acquisition: A Clinical Leader's Perspective with Hannah Lowe, DNP, FNP-C, RDN, CDCES
- Aug 12
- 30 min read
Hannah Lowe, NP, RD, CDCES, is a nurse practitioner, registered dietitian, and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist whose career spans both frontline clinical care and digital health startups. After joining one startup as its first nurse practitioner and growing into the Director of Advanced Practice role, she stepped into a clinical leadership position at another company just before it was acquired by a larger healthcare organization.
In this conversation, Hannah and Helen reflect on two very different startup endings: walking away from a company she helped build and leading a team through the uncertainty of an acquisition. She shares what those transitions felt like from the inside, how she supported her team when answers were limited, and why career resilience comes from more than your job title.
Along the way, she offers thoughtful perspectives on networking, maintaining clinical expertise, and building a career that can adapt to change. This episode offers practical insights into leading with confidence when the future is uncertain.
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Startup careers require embracing uncertainty while staying grounded in transferable clinical skills.
Clinicians can build startup leadership paths by expanding beyond patient care into cross-functional collaboration.
Early startup roles often evolve faster than job descriptions, creating opportunities to discover new strengths.
Formal titles matter when clinicians take on leadership responsibilities because they validate expanded scope and career growth.
Acquisition transitions require rebuilding trust as teams adjust to new structures, processes, and expectations.
Small startup cultures often shift toward more established systems after acquisition, requiring new leadership approaches
Networking should happen continuously before uncertainty appears, not only when career changes become urgent.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
" We have these bends and flexes, knowing that we can go back, and I think about it a lot on how to maintain my clinical practice." - Hannah Lowe
" We may be giving care to people outside of our home, relatives, chosen family. And so sometimes people just needed to be reminded of their value outside of the chaos of that.” - Hannah Lowe
”Every part of startup and leading people through uncertainty is just how much you have to kind of be introspective to know how you can show up.” - Hannah Lowe
“I held so much of the responsibility internally, whereas I think if there had been more of an emphasis on boundaries to myself and taking a breath, I think there would've been a little bit more freedom and less heaviness to it.” - Hannah Lowe
“Networking is never a one-time event. Knowing people, knowing how to add value to their life, no matter your circumstance is vital. So change is the only constant..” - Hannah Lowe
“ In clinicians navigating startups, there's the good side, and then there's the scary side, and then how you navigate that scary side with as much protection as possible for your career.” - Helen Tanner
“You just start to become comfortable with the risk because there's a little bit of contagious, high working in startups, even though it's very chaotic and difficult.” - Helen Tanner
“You can only do so much. There's a risk, but that doesn't have to be such a fall if there is a change that doesn't go in your favor.” - Helen Tanner
“It shows what kind of leader you are to look at all those different perspectives.” - Helen Tanner
“When you have to make decisions about letting people go, and you have to share unpleasant news. There's a type of armor or protection that you as leader need to put on to be able to share that news in a clear, direct way.” - Helen Tanner
Mentioned in the episode:
About Hannah
Hannah Lowe, DNP, FNP‑C, RDN, CDCES, is a nurse practitioner, registered dietitian, and certified diabetes care and education specialist whose career bridges direct patient care and the unpredictable world of healthcare startups.
She has lived through two very different endings: choosing to leave one company she helped build, and stepping into another as a clinical leader while an acquisition was already underway. In both, she carried the responsibility of guiding clinicians and patients through change, balancing honesty about uncertainty with steadiness for her team.
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Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Helen Tanner: Hi, I'm Helen, your host of The Early Hires. There is more than one way a startup chapter ends. Some end when you walk away from something you helped build. Some end when a much bigger company shows up to buy the one you're in. My guest today has lived both. Hannah Lowe is a nurse practitioner, a registered dietician, and a diabetes care and education specialist.
She joined one startup early and built with it, and then that chapter ended. We'll get into that story together later, and I will be hearing much of it for the first time right alongside you. Her second chapter is one that almost no one gets to describe from the inside. She stepped into another startup as a clinical leader while an acquisition was in motion, before she had even really learned the place, and she led her team all the way through being bought by a much larger company.
So that's where we're going today, both endings. What it takes to walk away or change, what an acquisition actually feels like from the inside, how you keep a team steady through uncertainty you do not control, and what changes for the clinicians and patients in the middle of it all when a big company shows up.
I'm so glad she's here to share this perspective and her expertise with us. Welcome, Hannah.
Hannah Lowe: Thanks so much, Helen. It's a pleasure to be here with you.
Helen Tanner: All right. So a quick context, before we get into the heart of it. but short version, how did you get from clinical practice as an NP, dietician, and into startup work?
And give us the two startups kind of at a high level. When you joined, where were they? What was your role? Like, give us some insight.
Hannah Lowe: Absolutely. So startup had been something that I sort of stumbled upon a couple of times. So preemptively, I had done some consulting work for a truck stop startup, actually- Oh
with really the goal of building clinics out. Very fun as just a contractor, and that was my first taste. And then cue COVID, right? The moment for everybody in some fashion. So COVID occurred. I had my daughter, my job that I had had while I was on mat leave, folded. it was at an employer health site, and that was not gonna be the case after life returned to what normal was going to be.
And while I had great respect for that company, it was a natural opening. So on my maternity leave, I often say I was not thriving, and happened to see a diabetes startup that really intrigued me, and I applied to be essentially their first NP, not knowing legitimately we were gonna build from the ground up.
So that was really a metabolic health company that is still fantastic and does amazing work, and now I'm more in the chronic illness post-acute space. So, both similar, both different. And the first startup was... really had just acquired Series B funding, so early, scrappy, heading into Series C. The one I'm in now had a round or two and was very clearly sprinting towards some type of exit when I joined.
So very different places.
Helen Tanner: So you kind of explained especially how you came into, the role that you had, first in a startup was the truck stop. that's so interesting. So basically they were, like mobile medical clinics for those who are truck drivers and on the road all the time?
Hannah Lowe: Yes. So that was kind of wild. I literally thought it was an interesting deal to use my FAMSHA certification to do- Yeah ... DOT physicals. And that group was really trying to launch. I think they had kind of bootstrapped, had some- Okay ... good funding, and they were looking for this opportunity to provide improved health outcomes across the US.
The idea was really cool. Unfortunately, it did not take, but it was really good intentioned. And so they would essentially, just kind of fun fact, put a single wide trailer near a major truck stop brand, and really try to get the trucking companies to pay into this idea of improving metabolic health and doing those DOT physicals while they were on the road.
Helen Tanner: Interesting. I find that fascinating. so you went from there, and then you went to the diabetes startup, and then you are now in more chronic care space.
Hannah Lowe: You're correct. Yes.
Helen Tanner: What, made you move from the diabetes, kind of metabolic wellness space into what you're doing now?
Hannah Lowe: A couple of things really occurred, personally and professionally for me. So really digging back to the beginning of my career was in Appalachian care. And not only had I been in, like, rural access hospitals, I also started my NP career at a federally qualified health center.
Mm-hmm. So even within the metabolic health space, we had attempted to launch a Medicaid product, and I had really targeted some work with FQHCs that I think was dynamic, and I'm still proud of to this day. But I think that left me really understanding that while I have deep care for metabolic space and may go back there one day, the FQHC really severe chronic illness palliative care space was deeply intriguing to me.
And I think when you think about next opportunities, Helen, I think often you're thinking, "What really makes me wake up in the morning and go with mission?" Because we work so hard at what we do, right? So I really wanted to go back to chronic illness because while I love diabetes and metabolic health, there's so much in that space that's going well.
Right. Whereas we are still trying to figure out how do we both tackle social determinants of health while holding someone's personal and cultural beliefs in hand while giving them an improved quality of life. And I think many people are trying to tackle that, and we're all still figuring out what best practice is.
So there was some, like, nugget of this is awesome, I love metabolics, but I love serious illness as well. And so there was some part of me that feels like both play, but that was the next right space for me at the time
Helen Tanner: So when you were at that startup, were you a practicing clinician, or were you in a leadership role, or did you have kind of a combination of both?
Hannah Lowe: Yes. So at the first startup, that was my true W2 first startup, I went in as, the jack of all trades. Really, I came in under an NP title and was very excited about that. I think my child was four months old. I was deeply intrigued as a CDCES NP to how we're gonna think about a new model of care, so was very happy as an individual contributor.
But what really occurred, Helen, is not only did I love seeing the patients, I quickly learned the collaboration cross-cross teams, cross clients, was super intriguing to me, and there was so much opportunity there to grow as a leader. And so while I came in as an individual contributor, opportunities quickly arose.
We were just so young, so scrappy. We had so many needs, and so a lot of great opportunities opened up strictly by being at that right place and being open. And also learning about oneself, that, I love being a strong clinical person, but maybe I enjoy collaborating with finance. So it allowed me to grow into roles over the three and a half years that I was there in a progressive manner.
It also allowed learnings of what I didn't love as much. Right.
Helen Tanner: So, did you ever receive or, earn an official kind of change of title or leadership title, or did you stay in a nurse practitioner title and role and then assume more and more duty and leadership?
Hannah Lowe: That is a great question So essentially, I kind of came in under that individual contributor role.
Mm-hmm. And then probably, oof, 16 months in, there was an opportunity to run learning and development and onboarding. And so that became one of my first, titles in a direction. And then within that second year, I became the director of advanced practice, and that's the title that I ended up leaving that organization from.
So I did receive title with those added responsibilities, which was very nice and appreciated.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. You know, I think that's really important. there's a lot of people and clinicians that, stepping into and assuming additional roles, want additional roles, are getting additional roles, but not necessarily, you know, earning or getting the titles that they deserve from those additional roles.
you know, whether that's not sure what to ask or how to ask, you know, what it should be called. The organization has never had an APP in leadership role. I always think it's really interesting and fascinating to find out, you know, did you have the official title, and if so, and that's great.
And then that's so important, right, as you move forward in your career that you have that to put on your resume. Because if you don't, right, and you, stay in a pure clinical title, but you've assumed all these administrative and leadership duties, it gets really tricky to kind of, clarify that on resumes and stuff as you wanna get...
move forward. And so anyway, I think that's great. I appreciate you sharing that. So you leave there as a director role, a director leading APPs, and then you join, this startup i- that's focused on chronic care. what did you enter in that role? And, did you know about the acquisition?
what did you know at the time that you were entering?
Hannah Lowe: Sure. What a great thought there. So there was- Very little indication outside of, like, what any typical consumer would know about the company that it was going to be acquired. So I believe a year or two before, it had been known as the fastest privately held company in the US, by a pretty known entity that you would read about.
So just reading the tea leaves and enjoying the analysis from that side, I joined thinking, " Okay, this is gonna be awesome." My scope was expanded. Essentially the types of folks that would be on my team were expanded, and that was really intriguing to me. But also, this looks like a unicorn.
It's probably going to sell. But there was absolutely no hint of that, and I had no, stake to understand that any sooner. it's funny looking back now just how much of the writing could've been on the wall, but it was not... I clearly went in, I think, probably just expecting my chaos from previous to just continue, that we would, may continue on that way for some time.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. So you're there. you join this company. You know, you're there. You've, entered in a leadership role. is that right?
Hannah Lowe: Yes, I came in as a director.
Helen Tanner: Okay. Correct. And then you find out you're being acquired. So walk us through that a little bit. how did that feel on the inside?
Do you remember what was kind of going through your mind? And, you know, there's a lot of us that, obviously this is for clinicians and startups, so- this is probably happening to a number of people here or will or has. So tell us from your experience what that was like.
Hannah Lowe: Yes. So I will say I remember the day it had been announced on an earnings call, and I remember thinking, "This is gonna go one of many, many ways." And I'd had a mentor who really sat me down in my very earliest startup days and said, "You know, are you really prepared for the risks that you're taking by leaving a traditional practice?"
And this person is excellent. They've got something coming out of stealth. I mean, they are just the real deal on so many levels, an NP leader. and I think in that moment I thought back to that advice, Helen, because there's two things going on. One, we're all human, so there's the, " Wow, I wonder what next is.
What will a job be like six months from now," right? Like, there's that. Then there's the logistics of how quickly can I learn how they've acquired other companies. And then finally, how am I gonna show up for the people that I have the pleasure of leading and caring for? Because it was a mixed emotion sort of day.
Not my lowest or highest day in a startup, but a little daunting, for sure.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. Did you, talk about risk, and I do feel like we've talked about this a couple of times on this show in past episodes about the risks of joining a startup. And I will say I think if you're in that space for a while, you just start to either become comfortable with the risk because there's a little bit of a contagious, you know, high working in startups, even though it's very chaotic and difficult.
but then on the other side, you know, there is, so much risk. I mean, there's acquisitions, there's layoff round. I mean, it's just very uncertain. as a clinician, I think we have a very unique cushion of keeping our clinical practice up to date because, we're always gonna be needed.
I know there's a lot of, you know, "Oh, yeah, it will replace us," but we're gonna be needed in some way, shape, or form. And so I do think, when I hear that now, I kind of rest a little bit more in the fact that it may not be something you wanna go back to full time or it may not be on your cards, but there is that protection, a little bit of job security, at least in that sense.
Hannah Lowe: It may look different, I often will agree, and I have seen that through my career. I saw it more in academia, to be honest. Like, people would keep- Oh, yeah ... an interesting amount of clinical practice, and then they would go back to it. But I very much align. Yeah. Another mentor of mine, she maintains a very, very active clinical practice, and it's probably one of the things that she emphasizes most, and she's been incredibly successful C-suite level now and still sees patients on the weekends.
And she's like, it's part of how we kind of have these bends and flexes is knowing that we can go back, which is true, and I think about it a lot on how to maintain my clinical practice.
Helen Tanner: Yeah, because if you're in a certain path for a leadership career, you don't necessarily be flipping back and forth, per se.
Yes. But-
Hannah Lowe: Yes ...
Helen Tanner: so there is that. But on the other hand, there is the job security of, like, keeping your skills up and maybe having that PR in there while you're building. So yeah, I do think there's some give and take there, for sure. But okay, so take us back. Were you leading a team when you found out about the acquisition?
Did you have a team of, ... under you? Yes. Okay. So were you all told at the same time? Did you get this information first on this call? And, you know, how did you handle that? Was your team asking you questions? What was going through your mind as far as the team?
Hannah Lowe: Yes. So we were all told at the same time.
you know, I'll just be honest, I was used to town halls being somewhat spontaneous in my past life, but this one was pretty clear, and then the company's major, so the earnings call had occurred and the announcement had occurred, and then we were told If you follow health news, there were some that they had particular sequential events.
Very much thought about the team. It's funny that we were just discussing this about employment, because one thing I've found post-COVID sometimes I worry that people don't understand their value and worth, Helen, in individual contributor relationships within a clinical space, within the startup space.
And so there was, I would say, a tangible feeling of both, like, pride, like my goodness, look at what was built and what a great job we've done, and then the human side. Oh, we had this small startup feel. We know each other by name. What will this mean? How will control look? And so all these things are super human and very normal, but one thing I found myself saying over and over was, " We're here for your success, and remember all of your amazing skills, and we're gonna walk through this together."
' Cause every question will we be able to work in the environment we work in now, what will this mean in 6 to 12 months, anything that you can imagine came up and continued to come up for some time. Because the other thing about an acquisition That I think logically, like if I'm speaking it out loud makes sense, is it's sort of like anything else, like maybe an engagement to a marriage.
Like, there's like you're engaged, there are events, things are changing in various levels in a relationship, and then when that final dot is sealed, there's some different assurances perhaps. It's not maybe the best analogy, but there is a lot of that. Yeah. And there's a lot of events that lead up to it.
So, you get this news, which for many people was happy, for many people had uncertainty, and then there's kind of the sequelae that you're gonna deal with, A really tangible example was retirement plan changes. I work with a very intellectual group, and they were all worried about their 401, and, you know.
So it was interesting what felt heavy and what felt big. the other thing that I would share with anyone who might have this experience, or as I like to say, add it to their startup bingo card, is that the internet is a very powerful tool, as we all know, but the day of an acquisition, the Google begins, and every bit of laundry about the acquiring entity comes out, and that can also begin to reflect in what people are asking you.
and so that was the other thing I would say I learned and tried to really navigate through at that time.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. I think, maybe you can speak to this, but just to kind of generally break it down, when a company acquires another company, typically or commonly, right, there are layoffs and there are certainly changes of structure, you know, org structure changes because, for example, there could be a manager of HR at this company, there's a manager of HR at this company.
One acquires the other, so which manager of HR is gonna stay? And that's very simplistic. very, very simplistic, but we see it, we read about it all the time with acquisitions. and I think, you know, there's a sense of excitement with that, you know, that's an amazing feat and typically accomplishment
I mean, there's obviously sometimes it's because somebody's in trouble, you know? But for the most part, they've been acquired to c- be able to continue to grow and, and reach and scale bigger, right? And so sometimes that means jobs need to be, what, reduced or streamlined. And so the job security isn't as much there.
I have never been through an acquisition, and like you have, and you have a lot more expertise, and I love reading about it. I find it interesting, and I think a lot of people, are curious. You know? And there's all different levels and you are... There are some leading and then there are some that are not, and I think what I wanna normalize here is that's normal, right?
You know, like, that's normal. Like, when something's acquired there is a sense of uncertainty. Would you say that's true?
Hannah Lowe: I would say so. I've thought a lot about the psychological pieces of this because, again- I always wanna be very thoughtful around how I show up and who I show up for- For sure
and who I am in the space. But like I said, the bingo card, I sort of say that jokingly, but I hope I have another 20-plus-year career doing something amazing with amazing people, like I am now. And so you have... Like, there is a psychological. there's like, depending on the trust you had with that entity that got acquired, that speaks one volume.
Like, okay, I felt really comfortable. They've never had... So I came from a background where we had had risks previously in other works I've been a part of, right? So there, was a little bit of that, okay, clinical had escaped that. And then, when this happened, there was a sense of, how is this gonna go?
What is the thought? You know, what happened to other orgs? And so it's almost like rebuilding a trust in your acquiring entity, and then the environment that you find yourself in. And also kind of thinking through, One thing I'll share with you, Helen, that I think is an interesting dichotomy that I often think about is my life before I ever went into any startup, consultant or W-2.
And I think I was sharing this with my leadership coach recently. I said, you know, you go from being an advanced practice provider, which is providing a significant portion of the care in the United States right now and will, continue to, and so you're incredibly marketable. And what does good look like?
It looks like excellent patient outcomes, clinical acumen, being a team leader in really tough moments in the clinic. And then you real- So there's a deep security, like, oh, I can see this many patients in a day. I'm gonna find another role. so there is this, like, knowing who you are as a clinician, and then you enter the startup space, and then you enter the acquired or the unknown startup space, and you really have to redefine, to me, who you are in uncertainty.
Because in clinical settings, I found the uncertainty to perhaps be, wow, that's a really odd hemat process. Was all this correct? You know, was that the correct thing to do for the patient? In this setup, it really becomes, okay, if the end result is X, how am I still okay as a person? How do I know who I am as a person?
How do I take my amazing skills to the next place? And how do I empower my colleagues to do the same? I don't know, I've also been humbled in the current environment outside of, any employer I have, of the friends across organizations that have suffered changes, in Fang and clinical, and so it's really redefined my view, and it's been humbling in an acquisition as well.
Helen Tanner: I really appreciate that perspective. And to be honest, that shows what kind of leader you are to look at all those different perspectives. You know, is there something specific that you did within the first few months of the announcement of that acquisition to kind of calm any uncertainty of your team?
You know, how did you lead through that with maybe one or two things, if you can recall, something that to really help calm and lead through that, to get everybody- Sure ... mm-hmm.
Hannah Lowe: Sure. So a couple of things. We had some pretty intentional internal small team meetings of the group that I am fortunate to work with and lead.
So, you know, sometimes we would do just a pulse check with emojis or like, "How is everyone doing?" Or we'd have one-off conversations if someone just seemed very, very concerned about something. So some of it was just deep intention and saying, "I'm really not sure how that's gonna work, but here's what I know is going well."
Not to be toxically positive, but when, things are uncertain, it's also the winter season, okay, so we're headed into, like, seasonal affective halo- ... and we've gotten this news. a lot of it was pointing back to truths of what we did know. And then I would say the other thing was just keeping really clear and simplistic communication.
And back to the retirement accounts, it's funny that's what I remember, but it would be like, "Okay, the day of the merger, the new retirement account is this day, and here's how to do it." And so it just felt like keeping things really streamlined and thoughtful with the information that we could give and was known kept everyone a little bit more even.
And I think also reminding people of who they were. You know, I find a lot of the folks in the environment that I work in, we're sandwiches. We may be providing for a family and multiple people at home. We may be giving care to people outside of our home, relatives, chosen family. And so sometimes people just needed to be reminded of their value outside of the chaos of that.
I think endorsing, like, I care about you as a person, we're all going to be okay one way or another, and I wanna remind you, like, what an asset you are and this amazing skill set that you have. So that was also a really important grounding activity that is not one that you broadcast when something big happens, but kept the humanity and just the structure going forward when things were not as clear
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
it's bringing to mind for me, when you have to make decisions about letting people go, , you know, people moving on, and you have to share, you know, kind of unpleasant news. There's a type of kind of armor or protection that you as leader need to put on to be able to share that news in a clear, direct way.
But you also cannot be emotionally avoidant either. I mean, there's that fine line where you still need to have a little bit of that empathetic tone, but then you also have to have the boundary of, here's the news, and then here's what we're going to do, and then, thank you, and, you know, whatever that may be.
so that just was coming to mind, where you have to be emotionally protectant, but then you also just can't be to the emotions that it is going on around you. and that's a hard, thing to figure out. It takes some time, takes some skill. Yeah.
Hannah Lowe: It does. I think the most humbling thing, Helen, to be honest with you about every part of startup and leading people through uncertainty is just how much you have to kind of be introspective to know how you can show up because there are days that you too, I mean, I have not had to do exactly, you know, a round of RIF or anything like that, and for that I am grateful and thankful that things have been how they've been.
But I think just the emotional fatigue of trying to take care of yourself and do the best job that you can with the information you're given is tiring, and it's emotionally tiring. And you really have to figure out where your grounding outside of work too, I think is so important.
Helen Tanner: So, as the acquisition moved forward- Mm-hmm
um, was there anything that you had to let go of, or did your job t- change?
Hannah Lowe: So I would say that I deeply had to understand how one goes from a very agile, small, growing entity to really readjusting back to a little bit more of a structure, and that is a great thing to learn. I had worked in both the acute inpatient side and, you know, more of a hospital rigor system, and had worked for a large on-site employer that I have deep respect for.
And so both those places had that structure. But I had been over here in, you know, startup land, throw spaghetti at the wall and see if it sticks. Not with my current place. It's was incredibly established. and gosh, I've learned a lot. So to that point, I think the biggest thing is just readjusting to what's essentially the serenity prayer.
What's within your control? Yeah. What's gonna take some more time and process because of the size of the org? And those were really good things to learn and force some healthy boundaries and slowdowns at times.
Helen Tanner: You know, What's one thing that maybe you wish someone had told you before the acquisition started moving?
and would it have changed at any way you led through it, or how you experienced that?
Hannah Lowe: A couple of things there. One thing would be honestly take a deep breath and go for a walk.
Helen Tanner: Yeah.
Hannah Lowe: Because in my head there was so many questions, like, all the time. Like, have I done a good job? Did I tell everybody the best to tell that I could?
And I held so much of the responsibility internally, whereas I think if there had been more of an emphasis on boundaries to myself and taking a breath, I think there would've been a little bit more freedom and less heaviness to it, which would probably have been better portrayed to the whole team.
Helen Tanner: So, you know, for a clinical leader inside a startup right now who is feeling a change coming, you know, an acquisition, a reduction force, a pivot, do you have any advice about maybe what they should be doing today?
I have some thoughts, but I'm curious, you know, if you have any thought, what your thoughts would be.
Hannah Lowe: So I have, like, the personal self-care thoughts and the functional, like, how to make sure you're succeeding professionally thoughts. And That doesn't mean they have to be different. So first, I would say networking is never a one-time event.
Knowing people, knowing how to add value to their life, no matter your circumstance, is vital. So change is the only constant. One of the beautiful things about the startup community, the clinical community, is camaraderie and care. And so I would say even if things appear sunny and a high of 75 and no riptides, always a good time to make friends, always a good time to figure out how to help other people and have a very, very healthy established network.
It's not good when you feel like you have one day before something huge is coming and you're suddenly scrambling to figure out who that is. just respectfully, I think always keeping in mind relationships, and truly healthful relationships, collaborative or key. Personally,
This is a little off the side. I'm a really big fan of, financial preparedness, so I probably fall into the fire movement a little too heavily. I respect many people's financial decisions. I think the last thing you wanna feel when things are a little shaky is that you're gonna have trouble making a payment or making a need that your family has.
So I think when things start feeling uncertain, it's the time to reevaluate the financial plan if you don't have one. and then personally remind yourself of what your passion is and how you got here. Because even if everything gets a little shaky, even if things wake up and you have a different day tomorrow than what you ever anticipated, I think really grounding in who you are and what you bring to the table, regardless of what happens to your org.
While you can care deeply and wanna be the right person and the right thing, it's very important that you have a life outside of your job, that you know who you are outside of the startup, because sometimes that passion and that care can quickly become a part of your identity that can look very different in a very short time
Helen Tanner: Yeah, um, you said really, some really good, key things there. You know, and on the s-side of, you know, financial readiness, I wanna take that and talk about, career diversification. And we talk about diversifying your finances, right, to withstand changes, right? You have savings, you have retirement, emergency fund.
You know- Yes ... it can look like a d- a number of different things. Yes. But you're diversifying your portfolio, right?
Hannah Lowe: Yes.
Helen Tanner: and diversifying your career and your professional life is very important. I think right now we're seeing kind of this huge resurgence of individual contributors. You know, there was a while where, everyone was like leader, leadership, and you have a team, and needed valuable skills, so great.
some people love that, some people don't. And it used to be like, "Oh, I'm just an individual contributor. I'm just an IC." But now the ICs are where, you know, it seems to be like that's where it's at, that's where I wanna be. Yes. You know? There's a lot more- Yes ... control in that. There's a lot less, you know, you don't need to manage a team.
You can just perform, and you're performing, and you're adding your value. and of course, there's pros and cons with all of that. But, one thing to think about diversifying your career as a clinician is kind of on that same vein of what I was saying earlier. Maybe you do keep up your peer and clinical skills.
You know, if you're an L&D specialist, you know, maybe you do start to create a few courses on clinicians and learning and development. If you're, you know, an export or, you know, you've been an NP and, or D- PA in nephrology for 12 years, maybe you're starting to, you know, teach some of those CME courses in nephrology on the side.
You know, there's, so many people out there who are creating these resources for side gigs for clinicians to diversify their career portfolio to make them safe, you know, within the fluctuating career path. Especially if you wanna be in an innovative space of entrepreneurship or startup, 'cause that's exciting, but there are changes that happen.
And even corporate, even very safe corporate, even, hospital systems right now. So I think, diversifying your career portfolio, I am such a fan of that, and I just think it gives people a lot more financial security to know that you're not just putting all your eggs in one basket. Just like your finances, right?
and then the other thing I wanna say about networking- There is an auctioneer who I love to follow. Her name is Lydia Fenet. I don't know if you know her, but she's- No ... from Louisiana. She lives in New York City. She was with, I believe, Christie's, for, like, 25 years, and now has her own auctioneer company, and it is booming off the charts.
She has written two New York Times bestsellers. She is fascinating to follow as a leader, as a speaker, as an influencer in the sense of leading, you know. And, she has a saying, " Network or die." and I... You know, her sense is, you know, you're networking at all times, right? and it doesn't have to be this in your face, you know, annoying, you know, like, "Oh, she's always networking."
But you're always meeting people, learning about them, learning what they're doing, and you know you're establishing these re- You're getting lunch even when you just got promoted and you're sitting in what seems a sweet spot. Find the mentorship. keep networking 'cause then when things, right, aren't going so hot you're not reaching out for the first time in five years and say, "Can you do me a favor?"
and I know a lot of this we all know, but it always is good reminders 'cause when you're sitting in a sweet spot, it can be hard to put some priority on that.
Hannah Lowe: I would align. And I think I love meeting people. Like, I think working from home has really driven me to do that more than maybe I would have six years ago.
So I think it's just deeply fun. I know it is difficult. I know it is not everyone's forte. It... And so I... But I still think it's so interesting. And e- even just setting us a challenge, Helen, like, of meeting one new person a month or two new people a month. I started about four years ago going to Women in Tech in my local community, and it's been incredible, and I've met some of the most fascinating people.
And I think as life, maybe I'm getting a little too sage-y and middle-aged here, but I'm like, you know, life was not about always the rat race. And so there's something beautiful about learning things about people, and how much, frankly, you learn about yourself. Like, "Oh, I would never do that," or, "Oh, this person needs this assistance in their product build.
I would love to be a part of it." And it's, uh... But yeah, it is not one of those like you go to Target in the last minute in an emergency. It's when you've, you've been... And, and vice versa. It's... I think people have been so gracious to me as I built this career path that have given me time, and I'm always looking to get to know people and pay it forward because it was such a monumental part of my story.
Helen Tanner: Yeah. And, uh, you just both being fairly extroverted, or it sounds like at least, you know, partially extroverted, we don't get so afraid of networking. But for all of our introverted or, or really deep introverted friends, um, thankfully now with, you know, with LinkedIn, with, um, you know, some of the online, you know, and virtual networking, it kind of gives that safe space but still allows, you know, for some of that networking.
And I, and I say this, you know, I think acquisitions are exciting, and they should happen, and everyone should be... you know, we should be a part of them and experience it and all the good things. But I... thinking of what this podcast is about, about clinicians navigating startups, there's the good side, and then there's the scary side, and then how you navigate that scary side with as much protection as possible for your career.
You can only do so much. There's a risk, but that doesn't have to be such a fall if there is a change that doesn't go in your favor. And so that's kind of, you know, where, what I'm, obviously what we're sharing here. But, um, but it sounds like, like looking in your space, you are... I mean, you have navigated that beautifully.
I mean, your team has navigated that well, and, um, I think that speaks a lot. Um, so that's fantastic. Um, so as we close, um, these are two questions I ask everybody at the end of the podcast. What was the single most helpful resource for you when you first, um, started in startup world or maybe when you were going through your acquisition?
You choose. It could be, you know, person, tool, book, framework, community, mindset, you name it.
Hannah Lowe: Yes.
It may be super cliche, but I'm going for it. So I opted to do leadership coaching within six months of joining my first startup as a W-2, and I will name drop, uh, to let it cows come home. Please. Rob Followell, uh, with the Followell Leadership Group and Leadership Coach Group out of DC was an integral part of everything I have been through as a leader.
Either he prepared me, I was still deeply kind of in my IC world, or he sat with me through some really interesting days in my career. And so I would say that Rob was probably the resource that I think of when I think about, wow, this last five and a half, six years, this is deeply the partnership, the collaboration, and the psychological safety of growing and learning as a leader in multiple environments was deeply aided by leadership coaching.
Helen Tanner: And how has being a clinician shaped the way you operate in startups and vice versa? How do you think startup work has shaped the way you think of as a, as a clinician?
Hannah Lowe: I think clinicians bring this really unique lens of both reality, of experiential learning, and of curiosity to startup that is incredibly unique. You know, I think many people will come into market or want to market something, and maybe we saw that 10 or 15 years ago, and maybe we saw how that worked. So I tend to try to not say, "That'll never work."
I don't like never and always as terms necessarily. So I think there's just a reality of what the average consumer may be up for that even with the best intentions, folks outside of the clinical space may not understand unless they did tons of user research. And so I think it's a really beautiful perspective because as a clinician walking through life with so many people, thinking about their day, thinking about how they showed up in your clinic across the strata of socioeconomic status culture, you name it, you have a very interesting lens.
I think startup has shaped me, as someone wisely told me, we're not running a charity. And so I think everything respectfully, and that was done in the best way, forced me to think about how we both optimize life, how we optimize care, and we are able to provide for the greater good because we have an acumen that balances both need or expectation clinically along with safety in conjunction with what durability of a product looks like and viability based on finances.
And so My family probably gets exhausted, but a lot of times when something's discussed or a new idea rolls out, we, we analyze it from every angle. And I think that there's something about a new angle and view, even market fit, that I would not have had, had I not entered the space of startup.
Helen Tanner: Even the term market fit.
Hannah Lowe: Oh, yeah. Right? Like, that's in my dictionary somewhere back there.
Helen Tanner: So thank you for that. Um, and as we wrap up, is there anything that you'd like to share, anything you're working on? Any, any, you know, any place that you would like people to reach out to you in case they have further questions? Any last-minute, um, things that you wanna say?
Hannah Lowe: Sure. So I probably overemphasize this. I'm always up for a coffee chat. It can be about anything. It can be about your idea or what you've experienced. I think sometimes people need a space to be safe and talk about their experiences. And what's working right now, I think, is I'm kind of continuing to build through kind of where we're at.
Uh, I would love to... I still have a dream of developing my own little personality out there, um, more with, like, my hobbies, but I'm not there yet, Helen. Maybe one day. Um, and feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or catch my email that we can put somewhere. I'm always happy to have a conversation through anything that would be helpful.
Helen Tanner: Perfect. Yeah. And, uh, your LinkedIn will be on the show notes. And so, um, very good. Well, thank you so much for your time today, Hannah. I really, really appreciated your perspective, and we will talk soon.
Hannah Lowe: Sounds great. Thank you, Helen.
Helen Tanner: Sure.
