https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-humble-hang--7158525
The Humble Hang goes looking for the ones nobody has found yet. Every week, the show sits down with a misfit, a maker, or a quiet revolutionary — someone in healthcare, technology, or somewhere in between — who decided the world as it existed was not good enough.

Not a complaint. A blueprint. No panels. No platitudes. No breathless coverage of the last funding round. Just an honest conversation about what it takes to build something that matters, from people who are actually doing it.

The guests are different every week. The question is always the same: what do you see that everyone else is missing? Some are building new tools to fix a broken system. Some are tearing the system down entirely. A few are not sure yet. That uncertainty is exactly where the best ideas live.

This is not a show about success. It is a show about the work before success — the stubborn, unglamorous, occasionally ridiculous work of people who cannot stop themselves from trying. Come as you are. Hang for a while.]]>enBusinesshumble ventureshttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/bd894c5ebd1b27955ad789c410542858.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-humble-hang--7158525Mon, 28 Sep 2026 04:20:06 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelShuchi Rana & Ritesh Patelthehumblehang@gmail.comMost business podcasts talk to the already-famous. The Humble Hang goes looking for the ones nobody has found yet. Every week, the show sits down with a misfit, a maker, or a quiet revolutionary — someone in healthcare, technology, or somewhere in...
The Humble Hang goes looking for the ones nobody has found yet. Every week, the show sits down with a misfit, a maker, or a quiet revolutionary — someone in healthcare, technology, or somewhere in between — who decided the world as it existed was not good enough.

Not a complaint. A blueprint. No panels. No platitudes. No breathless coverage of the last funding round. Just an honest conversation about what it takes to build something that matters, from people who are actually doing it.

The guests are different every week. The question is always the same: what do you see that everyone else is missing? Some are building new tools to fix a broken system. Some are tearing the system down entirely. A few are not sure yet. That uncertainty is exactly where the best ideas live.

This is not a show about success. It is a show about the work before success — the stubborn, unglamorous, occasionally ridiculous work of people who cannot stop themselves from trying. Come as you are. Hang for a while.]]>false74c3044c-bded-53ec-8de0-364fc6595c66episodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-digital-health-startups-miss-their-revenue-targets--75404362
Kirk Barnes has sold in healthcare for over 25 years. He was employee #126 at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in the U.S. He sold for Johnson & Johnson and for the biotech business that is now part of Pfizer. He built the first health tech program in the 40-year history of Georgia Tech's incubator.

Today he runs the Digital Health Sales Institute, which teaches founders how to sell to hospitals, pharma, payers, and the VA.

In this episode of The Humble Hang, we talk with Kirk about what startups get wrong about healthcare sales, and how to fix it. You will learn:

• Why your first sales hire should not be a VP of Sales. Kirk calls it the half-million-dollar mistake.
• How to tell a suspect from a prospect, and why FQHCs and independent groups may pay the bills before AMCs do
• Why a typical 12-month healthcare deal involves only five or six hours face to face, and what to do with the rest of the time
• How to build internal champions who will spend their political capital on you
• Why the decision about your deal will be made when you are not in the room

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/75404362Mon, 28 Sep 2026 04:20:03 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelMost digital health founders expect an academic medical center to sign within six months. The data says 15 to 30 months. That gap is where revenue projections go to die. Kirk Barnes has sold in healthcare for over 25 years. He was employee #126 at...
Kirk Barnes has sold in healthcare for over 25 years. He was employee #126 at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in the U.S. He sold for Johnson & Johnson and for the biotech business that is now part of Pfizer. He built the first health tech program in the 40-year history of Georgia Tech's incubator.

Today he runs the Digital Health Sales Institute, which teaches founders how to sell to hospitals, pharma, payers, and the VA.

In this episode of The Humble Hang, we talk with Kirk about what startups get wrong about healthcare sales, and how to fix it. You will learn:

• Why your first sales hire should not be a VP of Sales. Kirk calls it the half-million-dollar mistake.
• How to tell a suspect from a prospect, and why FQHCs and independent groups may pay the bills before AMCs do
• Why a typical 12-month healthcare deal involves only five or six hours face to face, and what to do with the rest of the time
• How to build internal champions who will spend their political capital on you
• Why the decision about your deal will be made when you are not in the room

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>1967digitalhealth,growth,sales,startupfalsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/making-healthcare-autonomous-ganesh-padmanabhan-on-ai-token-economics-and-the-real-roi--75404077
His idea was simple. Healthcare doesn't lack solutions. It drowns in point solutions. Nobody built the plumbing. So Autonomize built an AI infrastructure layer instead of another app — one system that handles prior authorization, care gaps, and payment integrity for payers, providers, and life sciences companies alike.

The numbers are the story. Cigna now makes certain coverage decisions fifty times faster. Token costs have jumped 10 to 20x in a year, so Autonomize published its own research, RLM-Opt, to cut that spend. And a stat that stopped us cold: seventy percent of older adults would rather get a text than a phone call. Every dollar poured into voice AI for seniors may be pointed the wrong way.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/75404077Mon, 28 Sep 2026 03:28:01 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelGanesh Padmanabhan came out of COVID with no healthcare background and one question: what's the point of AI if it just sells more sneakers? Four years later, his company, Autonomize, powers four of the five largest health enterprises in America. His...
His idea was simple. Healthcare doesn't lack solutions. It drowns in point solutions. Nobody built the plumbing. So Autonomize built an AI infrastructure layer instead of another app — one system that handles prior authorization, care gaps, and payment integrity for payers, providers, and life sciences companies alike.

The numbers are the story. Cigna now makes certain coverage decisions fifty times faster. Token costs have jumped 10 to 20x in a year, so Autonomize published its own research, RLM-Opt, to cut that spend. And a stat that stopped us cold: seventy percent of older adults would rather get a text than a phone call. Every dollar poured into voice AI for seniors may be pointed the wrong way.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>2235ai,digitalhealth,healthcare,priorauth,tokenfalsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/provenance-first-ai-second-dr-maryanne-rizk-on-the-humble-hang--75403867
Dr. MaryAnne Rizk does. She started as an engineer in quality assurance at Merck during Y2K. She went on to Oracle, IQVIA, Medable, and the applied AI science team at AWS.

Today she advises biopharma companies and startups on how to put AI to work without losing the rigor that regulated science demands. We ask her where the industry has made real progress, and where it has not.

You will learn:
Why "provenance first" beats "AI-first"
The four trade-offs every biopharma leader must weigh: speed vs. rigor, exploration vs. execution, science vs. market, build vs. buy
How to move AI from pilot to production
Why incentives for AI must start in the C-suite
The Amazon "working backwards" exercise, and why just because you can does not mean you should

It is not man versus machine. It is man and machine.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/75403867Mon, 28 Sep 2026 03:08:41 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelEvery pharma company wants to be "AI-first." Few know what that means. Dr. MaryAnne Rizk does. She started as an engineer in quality assurance at Merck during Y2K. She went on to Oracle, IQVIA, Medable, and the applied AI science team at AWS....
Dr. MaryAnne Rizk does. She started as an engineer in quality assurance at Merck during Y2K. She went on to Oracle, IQVIA, Medable, and the applied AI science team at AWS.

Today she advises biopharma companies and startups on how to put AI to work without losing the rigor that regulated science demands. We ask her where the industry has made real progress, and where it has not.

You will learn:
Why "provenance first" beats "AI-first"
The four trade-offs every biopharma leader must weigh: speed vs. rigor, exploration vs. execution, science vs. market, build vs. buy
How to move AI from pilot to production
Why incentives for AI must start in the C-suite
The Amazon "working backwards" exercise, and why just because you can does not mean you should

It is not man versus machine. It is man and machine.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>2609falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/beyond-the-hype-digital-health-is-growing-up--74811871
For more than a decade, Galen Growth has been tracking the evolution of digital health through one of the industry's most extensive proprietary datasets, giving Julien and Sara a unique vantage point into not only where capital is flowing, but where healthcare innovation is actually gaining traction.

Nearly 2 billion data points. More than 17,000 digital health innovators. And a healthcare innovation market that is starting to tell a very different story than the headlines might suggest.

And the data points to an important shift: digital health is growing up.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74811871Wed, 02 Sep 2026 13:18:36 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelIn our latest episode of The Humble Hang, we sat down with Julien de Salaberry, Founder and CEO of Galen Growth, and Sara Schmachtenberg, who leads the company's research and thought leadership. For more than a decade, Galen Growth has been tracking...
For more than a decade, Galen Growth has been tracking the evolution of digital health through one of the industry's most extensive proprietary datasets, giving Julien and Sara a unique vantage point into not only where capital is flowing, but where healthcare innovation is actually gaining traction.

Nearly 2 billion data points. More than 17,000 digital health innovators. And a healthcare innovation market that is starting to tell a very different story than the headlines might suggest.

And the data points to an important shift: digital health is growing up.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>2733digitalhealth,digitalhealthinvesting,digitalhealthventures,galengrowth,healthcare,healthsystems,healthtech,healthtechfunding,hospitals,innovationinhealth,thehumblehang,venturecapitalfalse15fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-empty-chair-is-not-enough-craig-lipset-on-putting-patients-at-the-center-of-clinical-research--73993470
Clinical research is built to answer extraordinarily complex scientific questions. But for the person deciding whether to participate in a trial, the questions are often much more immediate: How far will I have to travel? Can I take time away from work? Who will care for my children? Will I understand what is happening? And will anyone listen to what I need?

In our latest episode of The Humble Hang, we sat down with Craig Lipset, a longtime clinical research innovator whose career has spanned academic research centers, biotech, pharmaceutical leadership, patient advocacy, and nonprofit drug development. Formerly the head of clinical innovation at Pfizer, Craig helped pioneer the first fully decentralized clinical trial under an Investigational New Drug application and led an early initiative to return data to research participants. Today, he is co-founder and co-chair of the Digital Trials & Research Alliance (DTRA) and works across a number of initiatives seeking to make drug development more accessible, efficient, and responsive to patients.

Yet Craig’s perspective is not shaped by professional experience alone. His own patient journey managing a complex diagnosis, navigating health data, and seeking greater flexibility and agency in his own care has deeply informed the innovation he has pursued throughout his career.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73993470Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelHow lived experience, decentralized trials, nonprofit drug development, and AI could reshape the path from scientific discovery to the patient. Clinical research is built to answer extraordinarily complex scientific questions. But for the person...
Clinical research is built to answer extraordinarily complex scientific questions. But for the person deciding whether to participate in a trial, the questions are often much more immediate: How far will I have to travel? Can I take time away from work? Who will care for my children? Will I understand what is happening? And will anyone listen to what I need?

In our latest episode of The Humble Hang, we sat down with Craig Lipset, a longtime clinical research innovator whose career has spanned academic research centers, biotech, pharmaceutical leadership, patient advocacy, and nonprofit drug development. Formerly the head of clinical innovation at Pfizer, Craig helped pioneer the first fully decentralized clinical trial under an Investigational New Drug application and led an early initiative to return data to research participants. Today, he is co-founder and co-chair of the Digital Trials & Research Alliance (DTRA) and works across a number of initiatives seeking to make drug development more accessible, efficient, and responsive to patients.

Yet Craig’s perspective is not shaped by professional experience alone. His own patient journey managing a complex diagnosis, navigating health data, and seeking greater flexibility and agency in his own care has deeply informed the innovation he has pursued throughout his career.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>2986clinical,pharma,pharmaceuticalsfalse14fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/signals-before-the-headlines-why-the-future-belongs-to-the-curious--73558738
Most people wait for the future to arrive.

John Licata spends his career looking for it before everyone else sees it.

As Director of ServiceNow Futures, John's role isn't simply to predict what's next. It's to identify the subtle signals that eventually become major shifts in technology, business, and society. Those signals might come from a government investment, a customer conversation, a research paper, or even an overlooked news headline. The challenge isn't finding information; we're surrounded by it. The challenge is recognizing which signals actually matter.

That ability to "look around corners" became one of the central themes of our conversation.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73558738Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:08:20 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelA Humble Hang with John Licata - Futures Director and Quantum Lead at ServiceNow Most people wait for the future to arrive. John Licata spends his career looking for it before everyone else sees it. As Director of ServiceNow Futures, John's role...
Most people wait for the future to arrive.

John Licata spends his career looking for it before everyone else sees it.

As Director of ServiceNow Futures, John's role isn't simply to predict what's next. It's to identify the subtle signals that eventually become major shifts in technology, business, and society. Those signals might come from a government investment, a customer conversation, a research paper, or even an overlooked news headline. The challenge isn't finding information; we're surrounded by it. The challenge is recognizing which signals actually matter.

That ability to "look around corners" became one of the central themes of our conversation.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>1596false13fullhttps://www.youtube.com/@TheHumbleHang
Together, we explore why healthcare has become one of the most complex systems in the world, the role AI can (and can't) play in improving care, the challenges facing rural communities, and how better incentives, not just better technology, can drive lasting transformation.

Kat also shares the deeply personal story behind the Zorya Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting women working in healthcare through childcare grants, helping them stay in the workforce while advancing their careers.

This conversation is a reminder that while policy and technology matter, the future of healthcare will ultimately be shaped by the people willing to show up, listen, and make a difference, one community at a time.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73260642Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:26:37 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelIn this episode of The Humble Hang, we sit down with Kat McDavitt - President & Founder of Innsena and Founder & CEO of the Zorya Foundation, for an honest conversation about the future of healthcare, the power of community, and why meaningful...
Together, we explore why healthcare has become one of the most complex systems in the world, the role AI can (and can't) play in improving care, the challenges facing rural communities, and how better incentives, not just better technology, can drive lasting transformation.

Kat also shares the deeply personal story behind the Zorya Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting women working in healthcare through childcare grants, helping them stay in the workforce while advancing their careers.

This conversation is a reminder that while policy and technology matter, the future of healthcare will ultimately be shaped by the people willing to show up, listen, and make a difference, one community at a time.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>2562healthcare,hospitals,ruralhealthfalse12fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-conversation-with-grace-cordovano--72848803
Most people encounter the healthcare system and walk away grateful it exists. Grace Cordovano encountered it and decided to fix it.

Grace Cordovano is a patient advocate for cancer patients — the person who shows up when the system gets complicated, when the jargon becomes a wall, and when families need someone in their corner who actually knows the room.

In this inaugural episode of The Humble Hang, hosts Ritesh Patel and Shuchi Rana sit down with Grace for an honest conversation about what drives her, where she came from, and why she cannot stop doing this work.

This is not a polished origin story. It is the real one. Grace talks about how she got started — not the LinkedIn version, but the version with friction in it. She talks about what patient advocacy actually means when the stakes are a human life. And she talks about the quiet, persistent outrage that turns a person into a champion for strangers.

No spin. No slides.Just three people, talking about the things that matter. If you have ever felt lost inside a system that was supposed to help you, this episode is for you. If you have never felt that way, listen anyway. Someday, someone you love will.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72848803Tue, 07 Jul 2026 04:06:20 +0000Shuchi Rana & RItesh PatelOur inaugural Episode: Most people encounter the healthcare system and walk away grateful it exists. Grace Cordovano encountered it and decided to fix it. Grace Cordovano is a patient advocate for cancer patients — the person who shows up when the...
Most people encounter the healthcare system and walk away grateful it exists. Grace Cordovano encountered it and decided to fix it.

Grace Cordovano is a patient advocate for cancer patients — the person who shows up when the system gets complicated, when the jargon becomes a wall, and when families need someone in their corner who actually knows the room.

In this inaugural episode of The Humble Hang, hosts Ritesh Patel and Shuchi Rana sit down with Grace for an honest conversation about what drives her, where she came from, and why she cannot stop doing this work.

This is not a polished origin story. It is the real one. Grace talks about how she got started — not the LinkedIn version, but the version with friction in it. She talks about what patient advocacy actually means when the stakes are a human life. And she talks about the quiet, persistent outrage that turns a person into a champion for strangers.

No spin. No slides.Just three people, talking about the things that matter. If you have ever felt lost inside a system that was supposed to help you, this episode is for you. If you have never felt that way, listen anyway. Someday, someone you love will.

A podcast from Humble Ventures]]>1875false11full