IAM2101 – Innovator Creates a Virtual Wellness Platform Helping People to Conquer Health Goals

In this episode, we have Jillian Bridgette Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Virtual Health Partners Incorporated. This results-based virtual wellness platform provides live one-on-one nutrition appointments, fitness classes, and lifestyle modifications by a team wellness specialist.

In May 2016, Jillian launched VHP to create an ecosphere of wellness support available anywhere and anytime. With over 15 years of experience in the medical industry, Jillian was responsible for the multi-million dollar growth of three start-up companies with a strong focus on the non-invasive weight loss space. Starting a career at Johnson and Johnson and moving to Novare Surgical, ElectroCore, and Apollo, Jillian specialized in development, implementation, growth, and marketing for new medical procedures.

The conversation highlights the importance of creating a fun and inclusive work culture, treating all team members equally, and taking responsibility for stakeholders.

Website: Virtual Health Partners
Website: VPHGO
Linkedin: Jillian Bridgette Cohen

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Jillian Bridgette Cohen Teaser 00:00

We offer the same thing on the fitness piece where the fitness instructor is able to see all eight or twelve clients that she or he or is working out with on the platform, and they can hear each other and still see each other. So it's totally privacy protected.

Intro 00:16

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, start ups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:42

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Jillian Bridgette Cohen of Virtual Health Partners Incorporated. Jillian, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 00:53

It is so awesome to be with you. Thank you so much for having me.

Gresham Harkless 00:57

No problem. No problem. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Jillian so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing and accomplishing. And Jillian is the CEO and co-founder of Virtual Health Partners Incorporated, a results-based virtual wellness platform that provides live one-on-one nutrition appointments, fitness classes, and lifestyle modifications by a team wellness specialist. In May of 2016, Jillian launched VHP with the goal of creating an ecosphere of wellness support available anywhere and anytime. She continues to develop both the brand and her team working closely with partners and their clients to provide a VIP experience. With over 15 years of experience in the medical industry, Jillian was responsible for the multi-million dollar growth of three start up companies with a strong focus in the non-invasive weight loss space. Starting career at Johnson and Johnson and then moving to Novare Surgical, ElectroCore, and Apollo, Jillian specialized in development, implementation, growth, and marketing for new medical procedures. Jillian received her Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University Business School and believes the key to success is having a great team. Jillian, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Jillian Bridgette Cohen 02:10

I am so excited. Thank you so much.

Gresham Harkless 02:14

No problem. Thank you. And what I wanted to do was just ask you a little bit more about your CEO story and hear what led you to start your business.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 02:21

Absolutely. So I think like all CEOs, you have a vision and you have ideas and it's really about taking that idea and bringing it to life as, some slogan say that we're all familiar with. And with VHP, it was really the fact that I spent so long in the medical device arena and seeing the need that people had for the ability to have access to nutrition. And originally started with weight loss surgery procedures, such as the Obalon Intragastric Balloon, which is a balloon you swallow that's temporary for weight loss, all the way through to big procedures like surgical procedures for weight loss surgery.

And we've now evolved to be able to work into eight different verticals and we support patients who are unfortunately fighting cancer and patients who are working with orthopedic and fertility specialists to be able to get pregnant or to be able to have surgery and lose weight for surgery. And plus, we also have a whole area within the fitness and wellness space with MediSaws, and we're working with this great partner, LightRx as an example. And then the fitness clubs, we're also able to offer a whole wellness package that includes their own programming in our nutritional component.

So how I saw this whole thing evolve is the fact that when you do need nutritional care, it's very hard to access and we also can only take so much time off for our jobs and we'll do that to go see a doctor, right? But we wanted something that can be at the fingertips and that also combined the whole program so that you'd have nutrition, you'd have lifestyle modification, and fitness at the touch of your fingertips all live. And that's really how everything came to fruition.

Gresham Harkless 04:00

That makes perfect sense. And and it's great foresight of you to be able to see that pain point, but also to see the holistic pieces of the virtual health, the puzzle, so to speak, and be able to fit all those things together so that you can help serve and and and help bring a solution to your clients.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 04:14

Well, thank you for that. I look at Uber and we've all what would we do without it now? Could you imagine not being able to get a car when you want it or not being able to order something from Amazon when you need something? And really that's how we see ourselves fitting into the wellness arena.

Gresham Harkless 04:31

I love that. I love that. And now I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper in here a little bit more. I know you touched on kind of some of the aspects and ways that people can interact with, what it is that you built in your platform. Could you talk a little bit more about that?

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 04:43

Absolutely. So we are a business to business to consumer company. So we partner directly with everyone from doctors and hospital systems to medi spas and fitness clubs and fitness equipment companies to be able to enable their clients to access our services through an app, so and platform. And what we are able to offer includes things like one on one appointments virtually for nutrition or for virtual fitness training. We have live stream classes so you can literally take a class about trends shopping for your family on a budget live on your phone. Those are also record so that you're able to listen to them at a later date and time if you're not able to make it, just like a podcast.

And they're interactive where you can ask questions on the nutritionist or psychologist or fitness instructor that are leading the class. We also have a huge array of fitness classes offered through a lot of our partners where you're able to do live streamed fitness classes in your own home or apartment or on the go if you're a business traveler like me. You can do them in your hotel rooms. And then we also have this really unique offering called support groups. So if you think about the fact that, God forbid, you or your family member is battling with cancer, you're able to actually join a trained professional, nutritionist, health coach, or social worker, psychologist in a group to gain support whether it's from a nutritional needs, emotional needs, both you and or your family.

So you're in a group that's completely privacy or HIPAA compliant where you're able to share your stories and gain support from others plus a professional and be able to really get that positive vibe that one needs to be able to continue through and have peer support with a professional. It's very cool. The professional is able to see you. And then on the flip side, we offer the same thing on the fitness piece where the fitness instructor is able to see all eight or twelve clients that she or he or is working out with on the platform, and they can hear each other and still see each other. So it's totally privacy protected. So if you're a business traveler and you wanna be able to work out with your yoga instructor and your normal yoga class time, that yoga instructor is able to actually instruct you in your hotel room.

They can see you and adjust you and you're also be able to get the energy of working out with others. A really popular feature that we have that's live is Messenger, who does not text message in today's day and age. So we have a Messenger that's supported around the clock by our team of nutritionists and fitness specialists, and they're able to message you back. So if you're on vacation and on a cruise and you need to take a picture of the buffet, you can snap it and say, hey. I'm having trouble. What can I eat? Or you can also send a picture of a favorite recipe and then ask how I can tweak it to make it healthier.

We also have a substantial media library that people are able to access at all times anywhere and they can do everything from fitness videos to download recipes that are are healthy, that fit within a meal plan and that's really what our users were able to interact with. We also adapt, I should say, or we interface with lots of Bluetooth devices such as Fitbit, Samsung Watch, MyZone, iWatch, and Bluetooth scales as well.

Gresham Harkless 07:59

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. I love that. And it sounds like it's like your health Swiss army knife, so to speak, where it is connected to everything that you need to make sure that you're living a health in a holistically health lab style, seems like.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 08:09

I might need to steal that line. I really love it, the Swiss army watch. I hadn't thought of that. Since they stopped letting those go through security, I totally stopped thinking about switch Swiss Army watches.

Gresham Harkless 08:19

Okay. Now I wanted to ask you what I call your secret sauce. And this is essentially, like, what you feel differentiates you. I know you guys are obviously changing the industry and doing a lot of awesome things, but are there some things that you touch on that you feel makes you different or distinguishes you or your business?

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 08:34

Absolutely. I think the biggest piece other than just what you made me think about that I will never check a bag when I travel for pleasure. No matter how long I go for is two weeks nice alone check. Made me think about that with a Swiss army knife. Anyway, no. But the secret sauce of VHP, I think, is the fact that one, we are B2B2C, where we're able to adapt exactly what it is that our partners need. So if it's a nutritional supplement company or a medical device company, and they need specific programming to be able to educate those consumers that are using those devices or that pharmaceutical drug, we are able to provide that at a program to program level. We're also treatment agnostic.

And what I mean by that is that we're able to derive programming that is specifically in line with the needs of our partners for their consumers. So if it's a meal supplement or meal replacement that we're working with, we wanna make sure that all of the programming that someone sees is one branded for that company, but two, that it is also in line with what the necessary lessons and support are that are needed to support that meal supplement. Same thing goes true for anything in the fitness industry or the wellness industry too with many spas.

Gresham Harkless 09:49

Awesome. Awesome. I love it. I love it. And now I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app or a book or a combination of things or a habit that you have that makes you more effective and efficient as a CEO.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 10:02

Yeah. So I think the first habit is that I'm constantly multitasking. My team jokes around when they all first start working here and they think that I'm not listening. And even if, like, my door is partially cracked, I overhear conversations. My parents would tell you probably started when I was a little girl. I used to sit down on their stairs and listen to them doing bookkeeping and hear, like, multiple things at once that I was always some people might say it's ADJ. Hey, it works for me.

Gresham Harkless 10:27

Yeah. But it's working.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 10:28

Definitely multitasking, get back to people immediately is biggest piece. There is a book that I absolutely love that is about a Pike Fish Market in Seattle, and it talks about how these workers at this fish market are actually able to have fun during the day and what they're able to do and accomplish. And they're working with smelly fish, yet they've somehow built this team environment that is known throughout the world. And I really truly think about that every single day.

So what is it that you can do to create a fun culture no matter how stressed people are and when deadlines are and our business has grown so quickly and we have so many partners and our deadlines are always really tight, but our team still has fun together. And I think that's the biggest piece, like, making sure that there's laughs during the day, that no matter when somebody is stressed around deadline, there's always that pause to add a personal sense of relationship in the work environment.

Gresham Harkless 11:24

Yeah. I would definitely echo that. And I think that's a phenomenal those are two phenomenal CEO hacks no matter whether you're like you mentioned, you're at a fish market or you're actually creating an app that's changing things in the health industry. You wanna make sure that you have a really good environment so that your team can make sure that they're successful and happy at what it is that they do.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 11:41

Thank you for that. Yeah. So I think happy team is a happy company, leads to a successful product.

Gresham Harkless 11:49

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 11:51

It’s like a Chinese food order.

Gresham Harkless 11:53

There you go. There you go. So, now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And a CEO nugget might be something that you would tell your younger business self or a word of wisdom or piece of advice that you might have for entrepreneurs.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 12:06

I think I've been really reflective, and you and I had spoken about this when we first met, about my dad and the lessons I learned from him, as I lost him in September last year, it's been almost a year. My dad used to teach me that every single person, no matter what their job is in life, puts on their pants one leg at a time, unless you're an acrobat and able to apparently do flips to get them on or something, but it's a true fact about people, right? Where we're able to relate to people and to think about everybody as being equal and the same on the same playing ground.

So I treat everybody on the team no matter what their level is the same. So I will have the most junior person on our team in with our senior leadership team if I think that they have a good idea or something to add. So the concept of levels, really, it's important when it comes to management and structure. But when it comes to product development and also having people feel as if they're all owners of the business, I think it's key to hear every person's voice and involve them in all facets as much as possible.

Gresham Harkless 13:07

I agree with that. And I think that's a incredible CEO nugget that you were able to learn from your dad and carry on through your business as it is now. So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is good definition of for what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different CEOs on this podcast, but I wanted to ask you specifically, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 13:25

Hey, Gresham. I love this question. I have listened to a lot of your podcasts and think it's really a meaningful one. So I think the first and foremost one is it's responsibility. So it's not just responsibility where, yes, you have external investors and a responsibility to want to grow the business and make profit and a profit for your investors, et cetera. You have a responsibility to your employees. So as you look and start a company, you originally, it's just you, and then you have a few additional people. And now when you have 20 and 25 people and more that are directly related to what you're providing them in a company and plus all of our consultants as well.

We have 200 across the world. They are reliant on us when it comes to being able to provide for their families and to be able to grow their own careers. So I think when I think about being a CEO, it's a responsibility factor and it's a responsibility to all of your customers. So your employees, your investors, your direct partners and their customers as well. And that to me is the most meaningful part of it. That every single day I come to work and it's what is it that I'm going to do to make our product and company better for all four of those customers.

Gresham Harkless 14:37

Very true. It's a holistic kind of mindset as well and that's your role, and it's great to hear that you're dialed in with that. So, Jillian, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out. What I want to do is actually pass the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to tell us, whether it be words of wisdom or pieces of advice and anything additional about VHP and also how best people can get a hold of you?

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 14:57

Thank you so much for that, Gresham. So I think my first word of advice is I hear a lot of great ideas, and I wouldn't be scared to take that plunge, but make sure you have a true business model that you know that can be sustained based off your initial business model, and then recognize that model is probably going to change and evolve and become things that you would never expect it to be and don't be scared by that because it's the evolution of business and it will truly equate to success if you're able to evolve with it.

So that's the biggest piece that I could probably lend to anybody. As far as virtual health partners, would love to hear from anyone who is listening to this podcast, whether they're interested in working with us at a consumer level, we can gladly connect you with a partner. And you're able to go to www.vhpgo.com or download our app and get connected to one of the partners where we can make sure that the services offered are specific and tailored to what your needs are. Or if you're interested in working with us from a business perspective, we're available at virtualhealthpartners.com. Apparently, I still say www, which I know my tech people tell me I'm not supposed to say anymore, but I do. So thank you so much.

Gresham Harkless 16:09

No problem. Thank you. I truly appreciate you and for taking time out of your schedule and all the awesome things that you're doing. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Jillian Bridgette Cohen 16:17

Appreciate it, and look forward to hearing the end product, Gresham. Cannot wait to, speak to you some more soon.

Gresham Harkless 16:23

Awesome. Sounds good.

Outro 16:25

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by CBNation and Blue16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase. It's a community. Want to level up your business even more? Read blogs, listen to podcasts, and watch videos at CBNation.co. Also, check out our I AM CEO Facebook group. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless, Jr. Thank you for listening.

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