Geno.Me | Milwaukee
Founded: 2021 | Employees: 8
Funding raised: $500,000 (seed), $2.6 million (seed II)
yourgeno.me
Geno.Me is a data exchange platform that allows patients to control their health data at scale. Contributors make their information available to researchers by linking their electronic health records and genetic/genomic reports and opting in to be contacted for clinical trials. When an institution purchases a contributor’s data, the individual receives a payment.
What was the point where you knew you would launch Geno.Me and what was the biggest hesitancy or concern you needed to overcome?
Britt Gottschalk, founder and CEO: “My first company was a management consulting firm, and I had to make the choice to close its operations and pivot to health tech to focus on Geno.Me full time after receiving our first round of funding. I had cultivated a career of helping teams with their process improvement, project and change management needs in the corporate world, and deciding to start a new journey as a startup CEO was the biggest concern of mine. I overcame it by realizing that I love learning and I got to this point in my professional development because I am a curious person that enjoys figuring out solutions to complex problems. Eventually, I figured that I could figure out how to do this, too, especially with my network of amazing people that believed in me, and had my back, no matter what.”
What needs are you addressing with Geno.Me?
“Overall, we’re creating easier access and transferability of health data for patient populations, and for the institutions that can do the most with it. The platform generates an awareness for all people that use it (whether they’re suffering from illnesses or in good health) that we all are responsible for advancing the future of medicine.”
What’s been your mindset when overcoming setbacks?
“If you’re not challenging yourself, then you’re not learning. There’s always a pathway forward, even though you might have to take a detour. I view setbacks as opportunities for reflection and improvement, so I take an optimistic approach to addressing them. They’re inevitable, and in my experience, the more positive my mindset, the easier it is to overcome them.”
What’s your biggest lesson learned since founding your company?
“Everything takes longer than you think, but that it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m an action-oriented person that needs to remind myself to be patient because not everyone or everything can move as fast as I do. In learning that lesson, the time that it takes for things to get done has given me more space to think before acting, which has benefitted me when making major decisions about business operations, my team, etc.”
