TechTalk: Grant-Funded Startup Revolutionizes Breast Cancer Care with Digital Health

Jennifer Johnson:

Thank you for having me

Janina Teoxon:

In a few sentences. Jennifer, could you introduce JennJ to our listeners?

Jennifer Johnson:

Absolutely. So JennJ is actually a consulting company that was really established with the effects that it would help improve health outcomes for patients using digital health solutions. Just recently, we launched our first flagship product, FitnessCan that provides digital health fitness solution for breast cancer patients.

Janina Teoxon:

That's amazing. So tell us about a specific problem that JennJ aims to solve.

Jennifer Johnson:

One specific problem is really about closing the gap with health equity and access for all patients. Particularly FitnessCan really closes the gap for digital fitness solutions for breast cancer patients. I really saw a gap in the market based on my own experience of having a place to have a one-stop shop for all of our digital health data as breast cancer patients.

Janina Teoxon:

And that's such an important issue, and it's amazing that you recognized the need for a solution for something like that and took action, actually took action on that specific problem. So before diving into the technology and the FitnessCan digital health solution you mentioned, could you share a bit about your personal journey and how it led to the creation of JennJ?

Jennifer Johnson:

Absolutely. So my journey started as a healthcare operations leader. I have over 15 years of experience in this space, but it became deeply personal. In 2021 when I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, I was under the age of 40, what I considered to be very active, healthy, and fit at the time. So it really came a surprise to me. But during my treatment and recovery, I realized how important fitness was to not only my physical health, but my mental well-being as well. And so I really decided to start drawing and closing on that gap in digital fitness solutions by creating what is now called FitnessCan for individuals like me.

Janina Teoxon:

That story is incredibly moving for somebody who survived such a devastating disease and use that personal journey or experience and transform that into something beautiful like this, FitnessCan, to help others as well. So that's fantastic. Can you explain the technology behind JennJ and how that enhances the solution to the problem that you just talked about?

Jennifer Johnson:

So JennJ is really about digital health solutions and what FitnessCan does as a product, it really leverages AI and data analytics to offer personalized fitness recommendations based on the patient's medical treatment. So this includes the chemotherapy. For me, I had to go to 22 rounds of that. Also, radiation for whatever that treatment plan looks like for the user. So it really tracks that as it progresses over time. And then by tracking metrics like activity levels and fitness, their energy, FitnessCan provides insights to both the patient and also for the healthcare providers. So it connects with your wearables. So I use Apple Watch, but it connects with Fitbit as well as Garmin, but it really pulls that information all together in for the patient to have to help guide and empower them, but also to share with their healthcare providers to help encourage and tweak their treatment along the way.

Janina Teoxon:

Wow, that's fascinating. I guess a lot of entrepreneurs who've built different platform software out of a specific technology, and it's just impressive how technology or AI, for example, can be used to address this specific needs and actually make a lasting impact. So that's impressive. So Jennifer, I understand that you've received grant funding from Johnson & Johnson. Congratulations on that significant milestone. What advice would you offer to other entrepreneurs seeking grant funding?

Jennifer Johnson:

Yeah, so the grant funding that I received from Johnson & Johnson was prior to the launch of FitnessCan, and it was really developed around digital advocacy and help. So Johnson & Johnson had a program called Healthy Voices, so I was already amplifying my voice online on Instagram, LinkedIn, wherever. And so I was able to partner with them to help build out other solutions like I did with Breast Cancer Hub as well as the FitnessCan app. From the design perspective, some of advice I would give to other entrepreneurs that are interested in this is to focus on building relationships and networks within the industry that you're focused in. And for me that was around oncology, breast cancer, advocacy, health equity, equity. But the connection with Johnson & Johnson really started through my advocacy work and the health equity initiatives. And so I recommend if you do apply for a grant, just to be very clear about the impact of your solution will have, whether it's big or small, and then whether or not you'll be able to reach the intended audience you can based on your designs or what your project plan is. So just when seeking grants I just recommend you show your product and service how it addresses critical needs and how it has the potential to scale to wide-reaching more positive outcomes.

Janina Teoxon:

Thanks for sharing that. For sure your perspective is valuable, especially for those that's just starting out. What I can see here is that you've put so much passion in this whole project of yours. Jennifer, what does success look like to you?

Jennifer Johnson:

It's not what most people will think. So it's not really about how much money I can make or anything like that. My biggest KPI is really about improving health outcomes and changing the numbers. For me, looking at the data, knowing that I had triple negative breast cancer, and knowing that because I'm a black woman, I was 40% more likely to die. And that was astounding numbers to me. And I was like, "What can I do to change that?" And that's really how I measure my success. So it might look different than what I'm trying to do with my own business day to day, but more so about how as a whole and we can improve outcomes for everyone. And that really falls right back into my passion for advancing health equity.

Janina Teoxon:

Appreciate that, Jennifer. Thank you for taking the time to have a conversation with me today.

Jennifer Johnson:

Absolutely. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to use my voice to share about my business, but also to just raise awareness for breast cancer overall.

Janina Teoxon:

Thanks to our listeners for tuning into Tech Talk, the entrepreneurs and innovators who turn to EisnerAmper for audit, tax advisory, outsourcing solutions to help propel their business forward. Subscribe to the EisnerAmper podcast to listen to more Tech Talk episodes or visit eisneramper.com for more tech news you can use.

_{Transcribed by Rev.com}