Finding your own way

From that moment on, we had a company in mind that was going to transform our health care system. A project that was going to change the way everyone approaches their own health. Ha! Nothing less. We were more than motivated to create this great change together. Right from Braver's earliest beginnings, we laid out on paper its vision, mission and values. We tried to dive deeper into ourselves to truly understand what our core motivation was and why we felt that passion when we talked about it.

But as with any dream, its achievement is only possible when we decide to actually do something about it. So, we worked like any good entrepreneur should: by doing our homework. We studied our market, we validated our hypotheses, we went to meet people (lots of people) in the field. Then we started again. Again and again. And finally, BOOM! We found the real value proposition. One that suddenly makes so much sense that you have to wonder why it took so many months to get to that point. In January 2019, after all that work and reflection, we could truly feel that we were on top of it.

However, like any business, Braver's survival is only possible if it is profitable. What I mean by "profitable" is that its revenues cover its expenses. And with a little extra on the top. By that time, another round of fun was about to begin. A game I wasn't used to playing. In fact, what really challenged me was not putting numbers on paper to show how we were going to build a profitable business. No, what really challenged me was the sales process. And as you read that, you may have the same little voice inside you that is slowly shouting, « THE SALES PROCESS (oohhhhhhhhh) ». The very thought of knocking on the doors of healthcare professionals to convince them to use Braver evoked conflicting emotions in me. A mix of « I want to show you how cool Braver is » and « I want to run away ». I didn't want to « fragment » or « convert » customers - I was looking to talk to humans.

But it was when I thought about this mix of emotions, my values and Braver's values, that I realized I could do this my way. And when I say what I mean by that in my own way, it's with my heart. And in all honesty, I think you can be very convincing in your role as a salesperson if you speak from your heart and in line with your values. So I decided not to run away and instead go knocking on the doors of health professionals. Not to convert them into Braver clients, but to open a discussion and establish a two-way communication. To collaborate with them rather than using their commitment to achieve my personal goals. I have the desire to develop a relationship of trust based on a genuine human-to-human interaction. I want the professionals who embark on Braver to be not just Braver users, but people who feel part of the mission we carry out on a daily basis.

And do you know what else? In a world where « business » rhymes with « growth » and not « empathy », I sometimes have doubts that one can really build a company out of one' s heart. But then again, who says that doubt isn't part of the road to success?