Naji Gehchan: Welcome to SpreadLove in Organizations, the healthcare leadership podcast where we explore leadership with purpose.
Naji Gehchan: I’m Naji your host, joined today by Christy Fernandez-Culle, CEO of DaVinci Wearables and former leader of sensing teams at Waymo Google. Self-driving and lifts, self-driving division.
Christy played a key role at Apple contributing to autonomous systems and releasing the first LID module in the 2020 iPad. She has spanned both the development of defense technologies at MIT Lincoln Lab and at scale consumer product technologies at Apple. Christy advises VCs and startups in mobility, autonomous vehicles and digital health, and serves on several boards.
She holds a PhD from Duke University and an MBA from MIT and lectures at Columbia University and MIT Christie, it’s just so good to see you again and have you with me today.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yeah. Thanks for having me. I’m delighted.
Naji Gehchan: Uh, I wanna first hear more about your personal story from childhood to tech and now being, um, an incredible, uh, entrepreneur in the health tech world.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Well, thank you so much. I mean, um, for me, my journey started as, um. A little girl. My parents, um, you know, this quote isn’t theirs, but it was something that we held true in our family. Um, outside of family always being first, um, and having a foundation on faith. Um, it was really, if not you, then who, if not now, then when?
So it was this notion of even if you see, um, doors closed, you know, build a doorknob or find another door. And so a lot of. Um, our family values is, is really what anchors me on a day-to-day. And, um, this notion of being a dreamer and trying to understand and, you know, really kneel into, um, information and data and knowledge, truth be told, knowledge being at the root of a whole lot of power with, of course not power over.
And, um, a lot of my creativity, you know, when I was a little child actually, um, I didn’t come from a family of engineers. In fact, um, they were a family and Stelara family of entrepreneurs and, um, uh, property managers, uh, leaning into real estate. But, you know, as, um, every child on a Saturday, what, what do they wanna do?
They sort of wanna wake up. Mom and dad, uh, run downstairs and start the day at the top of the morning, which for me was about 6:00 AM. Um, my parents worked in New York City and, um, lived, um, in, uh, New Jersey. And so you can imagine the traffic now, um, you know, it’s about two hours each way. The traffic then was not all that different, and so while I wanted to.
Get up. Mom and dad wanted to sleep, rightfully so, because they were two [00:03:00] very hardworking parents, and so at a very young age. Uh, long story short is um, you know, I was a little bit shorter, we’re a lot shorter, uh, more petite and I couldn’t reach, um. The door handle. Um, it was a little high, uh, nor could I reach, um, the location of where the bowls were.
And so that, to be honest, started my journey in, um, well, when I was in, I think it was like fifth grade, I decided to build a serial dispenser. I didn’t know how, uh, but, and my parents didn’t know how, but what they did know was there was a hobby shop. Over at the next town. And of course I imagine lasers and, um, you know, a variety of different mechanics and levers and pulleys.
Um, to, to be able to pour bowls, uh, or cereal into bowls and milk, into those cereal bowls for every little girl, right? That wanted to wake up on Saturday mornings. Um, but, but didn’t wanna wake their parents up because then they would, they would be told to get back to bed. Anyway, that was sort of, um. My, you know, small example of [00:04:00] how you can dream of something, want it to become a reality and not just solve it or resolve it for yourself from your childhood dream, but you know, for every other, you know, child or little girl out there.
Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: I love that. So did you do it? Actually,
Christy Fernandez-Cull: I did actually. I built, and, you know, my father helped me. Um, you know, I’m convinced, um, in another life he would’ve been an engineer. Um, he, you know, my parents have always been super patient. And, um, if they didn’t have the answers, they would try to find someone who could help me.
Um, and that persists to this, to this very day. So yes, I did build it, uh, for my, uh, fifth grade, uh, science fair. Um, and a lot of my teachers were in disbelief. They’re like, no, you didn’t build this right. Why would you build something like this? But yeah, that was my journey into, um, trying to understand physics and engineering.
Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: Uh, this is, this is awesome. And obviously you said like it’s engineering, uh, it’s very early and entrepreneurship practically as you, as you build [00:05:00] this, I don’t know if you, you sold it at school, but it’s, it’s a great, it’s a great way to start entrepreneurship journey too. And then you went, uh, to, uh, apple, worked on iPad, autonomous vehicles, and now wearable.
What is kind of like the common thread beyond engineering or the technical aspect of it? Is there any common thread in your journey?
Christy Fernandez-Cull: I would say, you know, I in some ways was reprimanded, not by my parents, but by school of always having my head, quite literally in the clouds. I would look at the window, outside the window during school and I would look up at the clouds because I was intrigued by how they cast a shadow on my, you know, white paper that I was supposed to be taking notes on.
And I’ve always been very curious and asked way too many questions. And while in middle school that was viewed as a. You know, you’re gonna get in trouble. And this is another example. My parents came in, right? And rather than, you know, saying, okay, Christie, you shouldn’t be looking at the clouds, they actually [00:06:00] questioned the teacher, right?
So I come from a home of that support and foundation of my voice matters, and that independence matters. And so the common thread here is this notion of perpetual curiosity really lends itself hand in glove into. Whatever folks might think is impossible to try to make it possible, and that certainly resonates with, you know, apple.
Right them counter eye acting IBM at the time of think, uh, versus think different, right? And so, um, a lot of the common themes and, and what I’ve been, had the privilege and been blessed to be part of is how can we think about the problem space differently? To leverage technology in order to create consumer facing solutions that can surprise, uh, surprise and delight.
So to me, that’s the common thread. So what was, what was a negative middle school all of a sudden became this, you know, ever flowing, uh, sense [00:07:00] of positive energy in creativity. Uh, which again, I, I hold with me, um, to this very day. Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: And, and this is, this is actually something, uh, unfortunately a lot of times we, uh, start framing kids, uh, and making them stop questioning, ask questions.
Yes. Like we’re, we’re both parents. Sometimes it’s so hard to ask like the answer, the 100 question during the day, but you’re bringing such an important example and reminder, right? Like this curiosity and asking questions and dreaming and looking up the sky is yes, can, can grow into who you are today.
Yes. So tell us, uh, and make us dream about what, about your work at DaVinci Wearables. I know we connected during, uh, school and I’ve seen it, uh, really boring, but it’s been a while we’ve been chat. Where you’re at with this journey and what you’re building.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yes, absolutely. So, you know, at 15,000 foot view, uh, we wanna be the body API, [00:08:00] uh, for, for better health.
And, and what that really entails is, you know, imagine if, you know, when we, when we wake up in the morning, right? Um, we really don’t think twice about. Putting on clothing, A, legally we have to wear clothes when we leave the building. But b you know, it, it’s, it’s almost like our source of comfort, right? Um, so when we think about how to align ourselves with body intelligence, right, because we lack the insight to this very day, there isn’t a user experience that allows us to know when we lack hydration, right?
We can all like. Go to the restroom and see the color of our urine, engage that. Right? But there isn’t this real time, um, feedback to say what is, you know, what are my hormones telling me as I age? Which is pretty critical in particular for females because we’re constantly in a state of change, post puberty, right?
And understanding your hormones, understanding your hydration, understanding your nutrition, um, you know. Us as little girls post puberty. There’s a huge focus [00:09:00] on how not to have children too early. There really isn’t this source of education and physical education of here’s how your body is changing.
It’s a beautiful thing. Here’s how you work out with your body from a mental, physical, and social standpoint. And so at Da Vinci, when we talk about being the body API, it’s. Aggregating data from what consumers are wearing today to bring them from the present into the future, where it’s not a question of if it’s a question of when.
Our closing will quite literally tell us a lot about our biomarkers so that it’s a persistent, proactive awareness instead of what it feels like today, which is something’s wrong with me. I don’t love going to the OB, GYN. I don’t think anyone does, and you’re trying to really figure out the root of how you feel.
And because you don’t have this file and data set that you can bring right to the medical professional, they’re also trying to [00:10:00] figure it out with you based on correlations and look of tables from their training, right? So imagine if you had. Garments, right? So as we aggregate data from smart bands, smart watches, et cetera, we’re also infusing a gateway where every day apparel, athleisure apparel is actually lined with, um, intelligence, right?
And that’s a gateway into the Da Vinci platform. So that’s, that was a mouthful, but that’s where we are. And that’s the vision that, you know, that’s the future that we, that we see.
Naji Gehchan: That’s a powerful, uh, vision, especially as you, uh, as you said, you’re really, uh, working for women’s health, women’s tech, which is for years and still is unfortunately, very badly studied because of all the biases and mainly men’s health, uh, being in all those, those trials.
So, uh, as your first, where, which stage are you? Do you have, are you starting to prototype? Are you starting to, any people using it? [00:11:00]
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yeah, so we’re chatting with, you know, a lot of the market segments that we’re focused on to date. And then I’ll, I’ll highlight the beachhead is, um, uh, the first is, um, universities and colleges, um, when those universities and colleges are also tethered to, um, health ecosystems and organizations as an example.
So one example would be Indiana University and Indiana University Health. Um, I’m choosing Indiana ’cause we happen to be headquartered, headquartered at Indiana and operations in Cambridge. Um, and then. So, so that ecosystem works hand in glove with a potential pilot with Elance Health as an example, right?
So, so it’s, it’s colleges and universities, it’s health ecosystems. Um, and, and, and then it’s, you know, we mentioned garments being sort of the gateway into the Da Vinci platform. So that would be athleisure. Um, partnerships. Um, so that’s where we are today. We have our, um, we’re B2B SaaS, a subscription as a service platform.
Uh, and so right now we’re, we’re [00:12:00] preparing for some pilots, um, with a couple hundred individuals. That are really aligned with that sort of flywheel that I just mentioned, right? A college, a university, um, um, a health, uh, organization within the ecosystem. Um, and, uh, so teachers bright for us we’re excited.
Uh, we do have our champions, um, that have get early access to our beta mobile application, uh, which is where we aggregate data, like I said, from smart bands and smart watches. Now, the activity tracker and the liners. Um, so that we’re lining, um, it’s sort of like an hourglass shape. Um, any sort of apparel.
Um, you know, that’s, we’re, we’re fundraising at the moment, so, so, um, you know, that’s, uh, we definitely have the patent moat. Uh, but in terms of the manufacturing, we have some prototypes. Um, this is
Naji Gehchan: great. This is great. Congrats for all those, uh, advancements. Uh, as, as you’re, as you’re thinking through this, because we talked obviously again about, uh, [00:13:00] important.
I, I love how you framed it like Buddy, API, uh, for, for better health, uh, for women. There, there is, uh, I imagine a lot around also the education about how to use this data because it’s, again, it’s like we’re not used to have such metrics. And what to do with it, what to do with them. Like have you, are you also providing, because immediately you get into like health, education, et cetera, which is another big topic obviously in this field.
Yes. Are you providing this too?
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yeah. Great. Great question. So when we think about the three things that the mobile application. Is, is doing not just endeavoring to do, it’s to understand right, to learn by asking questions and then to act. So at the top of our, our mobile application, um, we, we know where the female is in her menstrual cycle, whether it be 28, 29 days or otherwise.
Um, and we’re not only tracking, um, and this is human in the loop, right? [00:14:00] What have you been drinking? So we use computer vision, machine learning algorithms to automatically detect the cal a intake, uh, how much you’re hydrated. And then we do a corrected. Body mass index scan. Um, and then, um, we also have our Da Vinci Companion.
So our Da Vinci Companion knows your history because your wearables right, dictate not only your heart rate, uh, history, but your your physical activity history. And, um, we’re able to basically nudge and say, here’s some activities that you might wanna entertain because of where you are in your cycle Now, um, in terms of the education aspect.
We do have sort of a, you know, Reddit, not that you’re, you know, tagging, but sort of a Reddit for women’s health. Um, so we’ve created our own correlation engine, data mining, tons of resources in the internet, but having a human in the loop. So a medical committee looking in to see. You know, how valid is this research with regards to which topic associated with women’s health outside of the menstrual health topic?
And so you as the [00:15:00] individual can ask questions in private, ask questions anonymously in our groups. Riffing off of what to expect when you’re expecting, it’s what to expect going through puberty, what to expect in your twenties, in your thirties and forties. And you know, while they might not. No, that is the, the medical committee won’t know it’s Christie Cole asking this question.
They’ll know it’s a female in this age range. Who’s asking this question? Is it prognostic diagnostic? That’s not our intention at this point in time because we’re data starved. Um, but at least, you know, we have folks weighing in and looking at the questions being asked, so we call it our Da Vinci Companion.
It’s our own correlation engine, trained on questions, trained on data and research articles in a variety of fields for women’s health. So that’s, that’s added, that’s embedded is this educational aspect. And then you get rewarded for asking questions, for doing workouts, um, for reading articles. Um, so we, we, we marry the qualitative with the quantitative in a l lighthearted like emoji style.
Did you like your run? Did you like the article, et cetera.
Naji Gehchan: That, [00:16:00] that’s fascinating. So, and you, you said something de companion, like
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yes.
Naji Gehchan: Practically. That’s the vision, like getting and helping out as a companion women throughout their journey from puberty to uh, to adulthood.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yeah. We wanna democratize that right now.
To get a lot of these insights, you have to go to these technology first spas or proactively go to these sensor. Centers where you’re tethered to a variety of devices. And so in, in, in our vision and world, right? If you’re lining yourself with, with, uh, da Vinci and getting that, that body intelligence, I can write now on the phone with you, right?
Say, and, and we do have voice to text and text to voice embedded in the journal entry and in, in the article query it would say, Hey, hey, DaVinci, you know, I’m on day six. Um. What is the heart rate zone? Because I’m about to go, you know, on a run shortly after, after the call. Um, and it would do the voice to text, natural language processing.
It would analyze my data. It would analyze the [00:17:00] different heart, heart rate zones. Versus when I cycle, versus when I run. And it would say, Hey Christie, you should really hone in on, you know, heart rate zone two for this amount of time. And then peak at heart rate, zone three, just as an example, sounds a little more complicated, but you could also ask it, you know, Hey, what’s the day of my cycle and how much more hydrated should I be?
Or, or how, what should I eat? And that’s sort of the the use case goal, right?
Naji Gehchan: This is, this is great. Uh, I wanna ask you more a question about your journey as a, as an entrepreneur now, and is there any one advice you would give, um, a female founder in the health tech? Uh, in the health tech world?
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yeah. I mean, I’ve, I’ve had a lot of folks, you know, highlight, Hey, there’s so many nos, um, that, that you’re gonna receive.
And, and outside of just thinking about how many nos. I think if you know, if you’re being empathetic and focused on the customer versus the product of what you wanna [00:18:00] create. ’cause there are many products that don’t see the light of day, but ensuring that you’re iterating with your customer. And that, you know, your heart is in the right place is, is really all that matters.
And understanding how to fail quickly, as counterintuitive as that sounds. Um, and you know, when you need to feel inspired, this is way too many tidbits. But when you need to feel inspired, I mean go directly to your customer. A lot of the times where, you know, let’s face it, everyone has second thoughts. I, um, am no different like anyone else, which is, um.
There are these moments of inspiration where, you know, I’ll have conversations with our champions or uh, word of mouth, new folks that wanna be champions and they really hone in on, wow, I wish I had this like yesterday, or wish I had this in college. Um, and I’m excited to be part of this. Um, a lot of folks have just volunteered their time and I just feel like that’s a huge blessing and inspiration.
Uh, and a lot of, a lot of the times they don’t realize like they’re [00:19:00] inspiring me in that very moment, but try to find those, those, you know, nuggets of inspiration to keep you going. Yeah. And remember why you started, uh, what you were doing. Um. That’s what I would say that was, that was probably like five things in one.
And I know you asked for one.
Naji Gehchan: No, but this is, no, this is great. And actually you’re touching something super important, obviously in healthcare, as you know, like I’ve been in, in this field for years. Uh, I love how you framed that. It’s when you need to be inspired, go to your customer. Yeah. And, and it’s so true.
It reminds you of your purpose and it reminds you why you’re doing what you’re doing. And this is part of what you’re doing in the health tech world. Uh, a any, uh, learning or, uh, thoughts moving from you work for large corporations. You brought, uh, really breakthrough innovations, uh, in these and kind of futuristic views to now being an entrepreneur, setting up yourself by yourself, and now building a full, uh, a full team and company with this vision.
Any. Any major learning? [00:20:00]
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yeah, I would say, you know, it is hard. Um, and, and all the things that I’ve worked on, um, I would say starting a company, um, and sales in particular right, uh, is extremely hard. And so I think what’s important is, um, not just to think about your customer and the product that you’re trying to bring to, to, you know, however small or big, really change the world.
And in this case, women’s health. Um, it’s, it’s. A long time in coming to kind of flip the switch and script on how it gets funded and, and, and addressed, um, let alone just including women in clinical trials, um, is to understand your own individual differentiation, right? What is your unique value proposition and what makes you stand out as an individual compared to others who do what you do, right?
So it’s okay if at some point along your journey you’re like, you know what, this just is. For me, like I said, I think [00:21:00] introspectively, right? We should also assign ourselves objectives and key results and keep ourselves honest to our mission and vision. And I think equally important, if not more, is thinking about the selfless act of your putting this energy in for that greater good.
Um, and so part of that is being empathetic with others, but also being empathetic. To yourself, right? Acknowledging your own strengths and and weaknesses. And it’s okay to have weaknesses. Um, I have far too many to, to elaborate on this, on this call, but I think it’s really important, um, um, to really balance that with what you’re trying to achieve and, and acknowledge.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. I think it’s really easy to be hard on oneself, whether it’s body image or body mindset. Et cetera with the list goes on. Um, so that’s, you know, that’s another thing I would say. And whether it’s a big company, um, you know, fortune five, fortune 100, or a company that you’re [00:22:00] launching right in the hopes of an exit or a, um, um, or an IPO, um, knowing your value is critically important.
Um, because even if you don’t know, someone else is gonna see and know your value. Um, and, and maybe not be, you know. Equitable or equal in, in, in how they value your, your, um, insider service, et cetera. So, um, again, that was, that was probably five things or three things, um, than, than what you asked for. But that, that’s what I say.
Just having been in on both sides now.
Naji Gehchan: Well, thanks for sharing. Uh, Christie, I’m, I’m gonna give you now a word and I’d love your first reaction to it. Yeah. The first one is leadership.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Yeah. Um, when I think about leadership, um, I really think about, um, moral compass. So some folks call it servant leadership.
Um, others call it moral leadership. Um, and it takes me back again to, to, to my childhood and the foundation [00:23:00] that, um, really I grew from and learned about. So, um. Kind of riffing off of the last question in this question. It’s, you know, whether I’m in a big corporate, um, or small to mid, mid to enterprise company, um, you know, one thing that I’ve held with me is my moral compass, right?
And not only holding myself accountable, but holding also the leaders around me accountable and how we, um, you know, build others up. Right? Um. And empower others to grow alongside with us. So, um, yeah, that’s what I think about when I think about leadership. It’s that empathy, it’s that love, it’s that kindness, it’s that compassion.
And I’ve been on the receiving end of both folks that just amazingly were empathetic at, really at the top of, of the C-suite grid to, you know, the opposite. Those that may not, may not follow a moral, uh, or servant leadership style.
Naji Gehchan: What about women’s health? [00:24:00]
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Oh goodness. You know, when I think about that, I just, um, my heart just opens.
Why to I, I want change, right? I want more, uh, proactivity, whether it be funding. I mean, we’ve seen the executive order and the push not only at ARPA H but the executive order, right? Where a hundred million was allocated, tens of billion was, was requested. Right? And you can kind of see those numbers and, and think to yourself, well.
That sounds quite small. Um, but, but the point of the matter is changes upon us, you know, um, the importance, equal importance is the follow through, right? Uh, not just that one inflection, but the follow through of multiple inflections. Um, where, you know, we’re not, um. Still hearing the theme of, hey, women are not little men.
Right. Which, that’s by Stacey Sims. That’s not coined by myself. But, um, in saying that, she’s saying a whole lot, which is, you know, there, there is a difference physiologically and we really need [00:25:00] to pay attention. Um, so yeah, that’s what I think of is, is tons more change needs to be, it needs to happen. And I’m feel blessed to even play a little small role in, in, in helping that change or facilitating.
Naji Gehchan: Oh, you’re playing more than a small one.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: What
Naji Gehchan: about, uh, da Vinci?
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Oh, you know, well, so many words. I mean, he’s, a lot of folks don’t realize that he’s a father of wearables. Uh, granted he didn’t live in a digital era, but from an analog standpoint, he was the first to put together a step counter, uh, with pulley and so forth.
So, um, he’s an engineer, he’s an artist. Um, and contrary to his, um. Folks in his time, he, you know, elevated women instead of sexualizing them. Um, I’m neither saying that was right or wrong, it’s just a fact of what he did. And then when I think about, you know, what we’re building in our platform of, you know, empowering really just to be better, right?
Be [00:26:00] better for women’s health. Um, I don’t know. It makes me smile, gives me, you know, butterflies in my stomach for, for multiple reasons. Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: The last one is spread love in organizations.
Christy fernandez-Cull: Oh, I mean, I, I come from a family of so much love and compassion and it’s sort of focused on, you know, how you leave others with your words, with your actions, um, whether it’s by faith or whether it’s just by, um, what you stand for.
And so I think there’s a whole lot of. Love through mentorship, love through allyship, love, through just, you know, wanting folks to be better if they wanna be better, and giving them that, that, you know, that gateway right. Um, to, to, to be better. Um, so I think it’s a much needed. I love this, the, your, you know, your, your podcast and, and I love.
The message that it’s conveying. I think we need more of it, [00:27:00] especially in organizations because, um, we talked about moral leadership and servant leadership. The challenge to making that a reality is the ego, right? Of many individuals. So the more love that we can kind of springboard off of, you know, that naturally goes hand in glove to minimizing that ego.
So, um. Yeah, that’s what I think of. We need, we need more love in organizations.
Naji Gehchan: I, I certainly do agree. I need a final word that wisdom, Christie for, uh, healthcare leaders.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Oh. You know, I mean, I think find, you know, pay attention to the customer, find what you’re most passionate about with regards to the customer need and out of passion.
And to your previous question, love. Right. That really transcends, um. Or is a mechanism for transcending any blockers that you might have, whether it be in your organization or whether it be from a regulatory, uh, [00:28:00] standpoint, right? And we saw a lot of that, especially through COVID, right? A lot of organizations basically took their hats off of profitability.
Don’t get me wrong, they did make money, but the impetus and goal was how do we save lives, right? So now, if we think about today, how do we get communities? To embody that same sort of principle, not saving lives, but rather, which it could, it could ripple effect into that, but like helping communities blossom, um, and health is a great way to make that happen because lots of health solutions are not democratized, um, to the majority that, that, that quite frankly need, need.
Thank you. Another word I would say is thank you so much for having me, Naji. It’s been a delight and a pleasure.
Naji Gehchan: Know Kristi, thank you for, uh, being with me today. It’s, uh, it’s really awesome to catch up and have this, uh, conversation. So thanks, thanks again for being here and for your great words. I, I will, what, what you said, help community blossom.
This is powerful and I think it’s [00:29:00] our responsibility at healthcare leaders to make that happen. So thank you again for being with me.
Christy Fernandez-Cull: Thank you.
Naji Gehchan: Thanks for listening to the show! For more episodes, make sure to subscribe to Spreadloveio.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let’s inspire change together and make a positive impact in healthcare, one story at a time.
Follow us on LinkedIn and connect with us on spreadloveio.com. We’re eager to hear your thoughts and feedback. Most importantly, spread love in your organizations and spread the word around you to inspire others and amplify this movement, our world so desperately needs