Michael Weiss is the founder of MedForward, a digital marketing firm focused on helping medical businesses, including private practicing physicians, hospitals, and healthcare companies grow their businesses.
What inspired you to start your business?
I was inspired to start my business out of the desire to help other medical businesses and patients and make a lasting positive impact.
Nashville is being called the “It” city…. Why are you loving Nashville right now for your business?
I am originally from Baltimore and our primary reason for moving to Nashville was to join the Nashville Business Incubation Center in 2012. It is an affordable and very business friendly city. It’s the center of the medical industry which aligns with our vertical and also relatively geographically centered in the U.S. which helps us do business across the country.
What was the biggest aha moment you have experienced during your business journey?
There’s not a specific aha moment, but we always learn that one of the most important things to do is to hire the best people.
What are three things that you love about your NBIC experience?
1) The affordability of the space as we grew our business.
2) Networking with the other businesses in the center and attending NBIC sponsored events was a benefit.
3) Mentorship opportunities were very beneficial. Angela Crane Jones helped in coaching me on my business along with an introduction to the TN Small Business Development Center and connecting me with a NBIC board member who runs a similar company.
Name a barrier you faced during your business journey and how did you make it work for your good?
One barrier we faced was coordinating as a team. We implemented a ticketing system which really helped address this problem.
Is there one business resource or tip you would give to NBIC readers just starting out in their business?
I’d recommend that they don’t give up and keep trying. Make sure to keep an open mind towards your strategy and pay attention to market demands to pivot if necessary if at first you don’t succeed.
What would you say has been one of the challenges you faced starting a tech driven small business in Nashville and how did you overcome it?
I wouldn’t say this was one of our challenges but I have heard raising capital can be challenging outside of a Silicon Valley environment. Since our model focuses on selling directly to healthcare providers and Nashville is such a healthcare mecca, we did not see this as an obstacle for our business growth.
Lastly, what can Music City expect from your company in 2017?
MedForward will be growing, hiring in Nashville, and continuing to innovate by adding new features to our secure online medical forms and online medical marketing software.