Growing up in a family of doctors inspired Jillian Cohen to start her virtual healthcare company, Virtual Health Partners. After graduating from college, Cohen started her career working in finance at a Fortune 500 company, but she realized that something was missing. “I was used to seeing my dad go into the emergency department for patients at all hours of the night. While working long hours on a merger and acquisition deal, I realized that all of my hard work was not helping people like my dad did all of those long nights in the hospital,” she told me.
She made a career transition, shifting into the health care industry shortly after, where she worked at Johnson & Johnson followed by Novare, ElectroCore and Apollo. Throughout her career path, Cohen specialized in development, implementation, growth and marketing for new medical procedures with a focus on non-invasive weight loss before founding her own company. In 2015, Cohen launched Virtual Health Partners to create a platform that gives people access to live, digital weight loss and wellness coaching around the clock. They offer private nutrition coaching, virtual fitness classes and workout plans and lifestyle modification courses that are accessible on their app and website. We discussed her career path and advice.
What has been the biggest reward of starting Virtual Health Partners?
There is no better reward in life than knowing that your vision has helped to make lives better. Additionally, watching the Virtual Health Partners platform evolve to eight different verticals including fitness, wellness, weight loss, oncology and women’s health has been very rewarding.
What advice do you have for other women who hope to start their own businesses?
Learn from as many people as possible. It is as important to learn what to do as what not to do. Do not let gender guide you. Yes, as a woman there are more challenges, but do not let that be your defining force. Be defined by your ideas, hard work and perseverance.
Congratulations on closing your next round of financing. What are three pieces of advice you’d give to other founders who are raising funding?
Thank you! It will always take longer than you anticipate and want. Stay the course. It will sometimes feel like people are calling your baby “ugly” and that most investors will not invest in your company. Keep an open mind, embrace criticism and cherry pick sound feedback and advice that an investor gives you, even if they don’t invest in your company. It is important to remember that you have customers, other investors and that not every product is a fit for every consumer. Think about the number of sneakers Nike offers and the variety of customers they have for each shoe type.
Make sure your messaging, value proposition and business model are clear and concise. Being able to clearly communicate all of these items in just a few sentences will engage the investor and show that the model is well thought out.
What are the most important characteristics someone needs to have to be successful in your role?
The ability to not give up. You are going to have great days, and you are going to have bad days. The key is knowing that the great days will always prevail if you do not give up and you follow through. The second is thoughtfulness. Life at a startup moves very quickly. It is key to be thoughtful while moving at a warp speed. This includes ensuring that your employees feel their voices are heard, that customers’ voices are heard and that you are making smart decisions, not rash ones.
What are three characteristics you look for when you’re hiring a new team member?
Dedication, experience and a willingness to advance are the three most important characteristics. Building a team, especially when it is your own company, is a science and an art. I have found it important to keep in mind that you can be a solo rockstar CEO, but without the band, or your team, behind you, the company will not grow and flourish.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned at work and how did you learn it?
I’ll never forget a sales call I was on with an interim vice president at Johnson & Johnson, whom I admired. It was a tough day all around. We were working with a trauma surgeon, new products were being trialed, and the patients’ wounds we were seeing were pretty severe. He said to me, “Always control your controllables in life because you cannot control the uncontrollables.”
Every time a new feature has bugs, an employee unexpectedly leaves or I am waiting tirelessly for a big contract to close, I think of his words and spend 30 minutes replaying all of the pieces of the puzzle. I reflect, I figure out what I could have controlled or done better and I decide what steps can be taken to make things better. I then determine everything that is “uncontrollable,” which helps lead to a clearer and more effective path forward.
What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?
I wish I learned earlier in life the importance of taking more time away from work and focusing on family. Having lost my dad in September, I am constantly reflecting on how I was always running out of his office to get to a work meeting when I would stop by for a quick hello or how I was “too busy” flying out for work on a Sunday night to make it to his house to watch the Giants game. Time is precious. Having fun and working hard is important, but you only get one dad – make time for everything! Balance is key.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
My dad said, “We all put our pants on one leg at a time.” Treat everyone, no matter what their role is or what they do, with respect. Saying thank you costs you nothing.
What is your business advice for other young professional women?
I felt as if I was most often fighting my age and not my gender. Because I became a director of sales before I was 30, I was definitely a book judged by my cover and age. I had to fight even harder for people to listen to me, believe in me and follow me.
Do not let age, gender or anything else get in the way of your dreams or goals. It is key to have friends who are in the same position as you are because you can use them as sounding boards without being judged. Lastly, ask for feedback before it is offered. It will not be expected, and catching someone off guard can definitely help to gain respect quickly.
