Ernani Omar Cruz founded Stash to fix inefficiencies in healthcare services in the Philippines. The JFDI Discover program gave his team confidence to execute fast, knowng that even in a healthcare environment, failing and learning would be OK, writes Cui-Lyn Huang.
JFDI Discover is JFDI’s 21-day online pre-accelerator course that runs every month. JFDI Discover teaches founders how to apply and get results from powerful startup tools such as the Lean Canvas, Pirate Metrics and OKR (Objectives & Key Results).
Ernani Omar Cruz, founded Stash with an ambition fix inefficiencies in healthcare services in the Philippines. The team took part in the May Discover program and shared what they have learned in the 21 days.
1. How did you hear about JFDI Discover?
I was browsing for startup news and came across JFDI. I checked out the site and was interested in the quality of programs they have. Soon enough, I found myself applying for the JFDI Discover program and asking my sister to pay for it! *laughs*
On a more serious note, I wanted to find a framework that would help me and my team improve on focus and efficiency. JFDI Discover offered that framework (lean methodology with an instructor) to develop our company and establish a common understanding of what we’re trying to achieve.
2. Tell us about your startup and team
Stash was founded by Tristan Angelo Babasa, and myself, Ernani Omar Cruz. I was Tristan’s Technical Manager and he was my senior developer/team lead for a project at our previous place of employment. We were noticeably different to most of the other team members.
Eventually Tristan left to another company, and I started my startup. With the encouragement of my wife – a licensed nurse and a current medical student – my idea was validated and I got in touch with Tristan to convince him to help me on a mission to innovate healthcare in the Philippines.
3. Why did you start this business?
We were fed up with the inefficiency of structure here in the Philippines, particularly in the healthcare sector. It is very common to waste a day of your life merely waiting for a doctor to arrive at the clinic, and get the treatment you need.
“Here, I was waiting for about 2 hours at the time this photo was taken for the doctor to come in. I waited for a total of 5 hours”
There was one occasion where I had gone to a nearby hospital to see an orthopedic surgeon after sustaining a knee injury. The doctor’s proclaimed clinic hours were 1-3pm, but I arrived at 12:40pm to ensure I was ahead in line. The doctor only arrived at 4:15pm. As a crowd of distressed and impatient people formed, the doctor hurriedly tried to see everyone as fast as he could. My consultation only lasted for about 3 minutes, and I was charged P800 (USD50/SGD70.) His diagnosis? Buy painkillers and come back again.
Aside from my own personal negative experiences, I saw that doctors need to manage their own clinics (and patient records) better. Many of my family members are involved in the healthcare industry, which influenced me to consider conducting more research. It’s close to home.
4. What were some of the challenges you faced before joining JFDI Discover?
Our biggest challenge was interviewing our target customers. We felt that we already had a valid service for an unserved market – we’re connecting a disconnected system – and conducting another set of interviews felt redundant.
Now that we’ve finished the program, our challenge is to build on what we’ve learned during JFDI Discover.
5. How did JFDI Discover help your startup?
The JFDI Discover program helped us learn how to structure our thinking. We learned to be more systematic and efficient. The healthcare sector is complex, with a variety of different wants and needs, that it’s easy to get caught up and overwhelmed. JFDI Discover helped us to find our focus, and to be lean.
JFDI Discover helped me to keep myself in check with the essentials, and to stick to the meat which is especially vital at this point in our startup.
Stash to fix inefficiencies in healthcare services in the Philippines
6. What was your favorite and least favorite part about Discover?
My favorite part of the JFDI Discover program was when you start to gain understanding and validation of what you’re doing. It’s nice to get feedback and see that some of your initial assumptions were correct, and some incorrect.
However, my least favorite was sharing your lean canvas to someone who might be a potential competitor or might take your idea and run with it. I guess it’s normal to feel that way right? You’ll never know.
Also, as I’m not based in Singapore, I wasn’t able to attend meetups – which I really wanted to do. I would’ve liked to meet other passionate entrepreneurs from the program.
7. What is the one thing you learned or did at Discover that you think other founders should know too?
Personally, JFDI Discover, was the process of refining your initial thinking and planning phase before execution. JFDI Discover is great as it lets you think but not too much. It lets you execute fast. It lets you fail fast to learn faster. JFDI Discover lets you venture out of your comfort zone and have other people validate your ideas. In a way, it also brings you down to earth and back to reality. That’s important. You are trained to move fast and move smart.
8. Where is your team planning to go from here?
We are now executing the fruits of our labor as a result of JFDI Discover. But we are not stopping there. We enjoyed the process (even with its difficulty, and we feel it may sometimes be easier to go without any validation). We have applied to the 2015B batch of the JFDI Accelerate program, now that we’ve made a considerable amount of progress compared to when we first applied.
Thanks to JFDI Discover, I had good source material already when I chanced upon the GIST Tech-I Competition last March. Out of 792 applications from 74 countries, Stash is of the 76 semi finalists. Our success encouraged us to go all out with this. We are working hard to get into the finals where the top 30 semi-finalists will compete at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya this July.
Please vote for Stash here!
9. Which resources do you look to for startup related advice? Have you read any books on startups?
Off top of my head, I regularly read TechInAsia articles. I also frequent JFDI’s blog and check if there are any updates. I follow the startup blog by Sam Altman.
For books, I’ve read books by Malcolm Gladwell such as Outlier, David and Goliath, and currently The Tipping Point.
I’ve read books by John Maxwell (too many to mention).
I’ve read books by Charles Swindoll such as David – a man of passion and destiny, Joseph – a man of integrity and forgiveness.
I’ve read Good to Great by Jim Collins.
And of course, I’ve read the Bible.
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Thinking of starting your own business? JFDI Discover will help you find out if you really want to be an entrepreneur. It will reveal if your team is aligned to deliver results. And it will show you how to solve a real problem for customers who are willing to pay thus moving closer to a “problem-solution fit”.
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Cui-Lyn Huang is on the Editorial team for JFDI Asia. Currently pursuing a combined major in Computer Science & Journalism at Northeastern University in Boston, and after growing up on the little red dot. She loves to write, she loves to eat, and loves to write about eating.