Michèle Mianza is a multi-skilled woman who has worked within the brewing and food industry for 2 years specializing in quality control analyst, The cosmetic industry for 4 years specializing in sales, team building and marketing. She is in charge of Yajte, a non-profit organization promoting Young Talents and Entrepreneurs worldwide. With her biotechnology background, Michèle is very passionate about new technologies.
Michèle is a dedicated person who is willing to hustle through the struggles to be the best at what she does because she believes that passion is proven by dedication. She has been making her own website with nearly 15K visitors per month since 2017. She defines herself as a newborn web developer in charge of 2mk Healthcare, the smart solution to quickly find nearby healthcare professionals or benefit from first aid in an emergency.
”I started 2mk Healthcare to connect patients and their relatives to healthcare professionals, so they can more easily in case of an emergency alert nearby health services through our digital tools, access healthcare and manage their health journey.” Michèle Mianza
The platform dedicated to monitoring patients with chronic diseases. 2mk HealthCare is the interactive platform manager, which aims to connect patients with chronic diseases with healthcare professionals and their family members or loved ones.
Purpose: The aim of the 2mk Healthcare platform is to improve the daily monitoring and management of the patient’s health using digital tools (Website, Web Application, and Connected Bracelet). In other words, digitizing the monitoring of chronic diseases. This link will be possible thanks to the connected bracelet that the patient will carry on him and who will be able to send the information as real to the platform as well as to the health professionals and other people of reference.
How did you get started, how did you come up with the idea?
The idea behind 2mk Healthcare came from a very sad moment It all started with a sudden impulse I had, after seeing a young girl with sickle cell anemia having a crisis at the mall, while I was waiting for a friend who had to take my painkillers from the pharmacy to calm my endometriosis crisis.
While I was in severe pain, the young girl on the other side was also between life and death. It was a wake-up call for me to alert her relatives and the available health services near the location for medical treatment.
After this incident, I immediately began my research on chronic diseases and investigating the business idea in order to offer strategic solutions that meet the needs of patients and their loved ones.
This was midway through 2017, and I started pitching it to my friends and families. The feedbacks were positive, We officially launched in 2018.
Actually, my associate and I are enjoying the entire process. Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast.
What investment did you need to make in order to start?
We all know that a basic application costs around $25,000 and It’s not a secret that the average cost of app development varies depending on geographical location.
So, I started with very little capital. It was my money saved from multiple sources of income. I began with as little as $500 to $2,000.
Can just anyone become a member of this app?
Yeah!!! Anyone can become a member. The world has changed, the technology has advanced, and all of us live in the mobile era including healthcare professionals.
2mk Healthcare App is a great source of information and it allows users to improve quality of life and more.
Who do you recommend the app membership for?
- People with chronic and rare diseases
- Elderly and people with disabilities
What do you like about what you do?
I love a lot of things about what I do as an entrepreneur:
- The freedom to be self-employed, the freedom to create and do what I want when I want or to live and work in a different place when I want.
- The hope to change the world with my vision
- The anticipation. It’s like playing basketball and You have no idea if it will be early or late to score and possibly not at all.
- Finally, the person I have to become in the process of entrepreneurship.
Every industry is experiencing a wave of digitization. What do you think will separate the winners from the losers in health tech?
Every entrepreneur will give you a different answer, but I will definitely mention four:
- Knowledge
- Creativity
- Strategy
- Hard work
What is a common misconception people have about what you do?
- First Misconception: App development takes little time. This is not true. Generally, app development requires at least 4 to 12 months.
- Second Misconception: We should develop a paid App.
Personally, I think It’s not a good idea to charge for our new app because the majority of users are on the lookout for free apps. But if we aim at generating revenue, it is better to start with in-app advertisements. - Third misconception: Adding more features is beneficial. I think it is not important to add extra features that aren’t necessary at all.
The purpose shouldn’t be making our app stuffed with unimportant features. Instead, focus on making our app user-friendly (easy to use and operate).
What is most challenging about what you do?
- Getting everything in place especially for our product was complicated. I am not from a technical background, I had to learn a lot and collaborate with experts to launch our prototype.
- Not having enough role models to look up to and funds. But guess what, if you’re determined to make a dream reality, you will smash any obstacles you get in your way.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Helen Hayes: “The expert at anything was once a beginner.”
My advices:
If it’s something you’re passionate about, Start Now, Start small and don’t sit around waiting for funding, hoping someone else will come along to help you execute your idea.
You need to enjoy what you do. If you view your venture as something solely for the purpose of amassing wealth, it’ll be more difficult to truly enjoy.
Do not wait until your product or service feels perfect. If you wait, someone else will already be doing a better job of helping your customers solve their problems.
If you are lucky enough to have a job, do not quick your job to start a business unless you have multiple sources of revenues
Find a way to be unique and add value to people
Lastly, Believe in yourself !
How would you describe your leadership style and what has made it so effective?
My strengths as a leader are effective:
- Leading from the front
- Délégation
- Communication
I always take action demonstrating what needs to be done and why and also try to delegate tasks to whoever is best equipped to perform well in the task in order to eliminate mistakes and end up saving time as a project advances.
Busy startup entrepreneurs have lots of demands on their time and are often pulled in lots of different directions, do you have any tips for effective time management and what to focus on first?
- Firstly set your goals
- Plan your month, week, and days based on the goals you have set for yourself, and the work that needs to be done.
- Know your priorities
- Take time to clarify what your priorities are and schedule the time to do your most important tasks when you are most productive.
- Track your time throughout the day to increase productivity. It’s can keep you focused on the task you’re working on right at that moment or give you a picture of exactly where your time is being spent.
- Lastly, Delegate by determining what tasks you can pass on that are not essential for you to do personally.
How do you stay motivated?
- I create a morning routine
- I set personal goals
- I read books and newsletters
- I listen to podcasts for entrepreneurs
- I focus on the positives and I enjoy small rewards.
What traits do you look for when building a team?
- Firstly, Commitment. Being committed to our vision will help us get through turbulent times.
- Secondly, communication. I think, the best teams are always open to feedback and actively promote positive communication.
Any advice for entrepreneurs on moving beyond a failure?
If you are an entrepreneur, you need to get comfortable with failure because it is inevitable and happens even to the best of us!!!
My advices:
- Do not be hard on yourself
- Take the time to mourn your losses
- Rediscover yourself
- Rediscover other aspects of your life you may have neglected.
- Surround yourself with people who genuinely care about your well-being
- Take the time to learn and to build up knowledge in the areas that led to your venture’s failure
- Lastly, Reinvent yourself
What are your goals/dreams for the future?
As the future of 2mk Healthcare, We will be going through various improvements and additions, the most notable will be to launch our connected bracelet “Connectcare “with the goal of being the leading marketplace of its kind in Europe and Africa.