Bo & Luke Nation,

We hope this email finds you well. In our latest podcast episode, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jeff Jacques, Chief Medical Officer at Virgin Pulse, who shared an inspiring story about his experience as a full-time academic physician and his journey towards reinventing himself in the healthcare industry.

Jeff proposed a white paper and a model to support NICU families after going through a difficult experience with his own son in the hospital. The proposal was successful and Jeff received $2 million in funding, built a 40-person team, and served 3.5 million lives over 3 years, both inside and outside of Aetna's Book of Business. This experience inspired Jeff to find ways to solve complex clinical problems using human expertise and technology to improve whole person health.

Jeff later joined a healthcare startup in New York City in 2000 and learned about employer benefits, health insurance, and growing products and services that engage people. The startup struggled to communicate the value proposition to potential buyers until the company was acquired by Aetna. Jeff learned more about the insurance side and struggled with engaging only 3% of the population in condition management.

Jeff was drawn to Virgin Pulse because they claim to engage 50% of a population persistently, which is seen as mind-blowing compared to his previous experiences. Virgin Pulse has built modular components that are platformed to encourage users to log in and improve their overall well-being. Engagements on the platform average over 19 a month with over 50% engagement in the population, making it best in class.

The company's approach to employee well-being is essential for attracting top talent in competitive job markets. Dr. Jacques, who has experience teaching medical students, helped HR professionals and their clients by sharing their clinical knowledge and helping them communicate the purpose and benefits of wellness programs effectively.

We hope you enjoyed this episode and found the insights helpful. If you would like to learn more about Virgin Pulse and connect directly with Jeff, let us know and we'd be happy to make the introduction.

Best regards,

The Bo & Luke Show Team

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