Oh sh*t, I launched 2 weeks before the virus! w/ Dr. Tony Rocklin
What happens when you launch a product just weeks before a pandemic hits? You learn to pivot, and pivot well, or you risk getting lost in the noise of COVID-19.
Innovators who are used to in-person interactions with clients and prospects face a new challenge in the new COVID economy: being unable to utilize tried-and-true outreach. This poses many problems. Not only do you have to rethink how to get your message out, but now you have to get creative in order to get your message heard while trying to navigate digital options you might not be familiar with.
However, what may seem insurmountable at first glance, becomes navigable with a little creativity and a bit of priority-shifting.
In this episode, MedRock founder and CEO Dr. Tony Rocklin tells us about his experience launching a product at the dawn of COVID-19 and how he’s using creative solutions to get his message heard and place his company in a stronger position when the post-COVID shift occurs.
Here are the show highlights:
Why unplanned marketing tactics trump planned marketing tactics (9:57)
The trick for spending more time with your family, engaging your audience, and growing your business at the same time (10:27)
How to not have your business crumble before your feet when the pandemic takes you from 50 clients per day to 4 clients per day (13:27)
Bootstrapped hacks for raising money without giving up equity in your business (16:44)
2 reality-altering changes that will happen as we move into a post-pandemic world (20:44)
How to position yourself as a leader in your field — especially if it makes you queasy with discomfort (26:32)
The “journal method” for creating content that instantly eliminates your natural insecurities (27:57)
I've spoken with dozens of health innovators, and nearly everyone is trying to figure out their best pivot strategy. But they don't know what to change, how to pivot, or if their new pivot strategy is the right move.
So I went into overdrive putting together a clear, actionable 5-step worksheet that will help you quickly define your most viable and profitable pivot path through the COVID crisis. And I’m giving it to you for FREE — no strings attached at legacy-dna.com/pivot
Guest Bio
Dr. Tony Rocklin is the CEO of MedRock, a company that designs and manufactures medical devices and sports medicine products that “get people moving and keep people moving.” Leveraging his 21 years experience as an orthopedic and sports physical therapist, Dr. Rocklin recognized an opportunity to fill a physical therapy need and designed HipTrac and HotRock, just two of the products developed by MedRock for use in rehabilitation sports performance-enhancement and personal well-being.
In addition to his credentials as a CEO and physical therapist, Dr. Rocklin is also the father of two and a husband who’s learning to balance work life and home life with healthy, positive approaches.For more information, reach out to Dr. Rocklin on MedRock.com
Episode Transcript
Welcome to COIQ where you learn how health innovators maximize their success. I'm your host, Dr. Roxie, founder of Legacy-DNA and international bestselling author of ‘How Health Innovators Maximize Market Success.’ Through candid conversations with health innovators, early adopters and influencers. You'll learn how to bring your innovation from idea to startups to market domination. And now let's jump into the latest episode of COIQ. [00:36.1]
Roxie: Welcome back COIQ listeners, on today's episode I am speaking with the CEO of MedRock, Tony Rocklin. Welcome to the show.
Tony: Thank you so much for having me.
Roxie: I really like that MedRock Rocklin.
Tony: Yeah.
Roxie: That's nice.
Tony: Thanks.
Roxie: That's on purpose.
Tony: That was not an accident.
Roxie: Yeah, yeah. So before we get started and get into all of our questions, tell our listeners a little bit about your background and what you've been innovating. [01:08.2]
Tony: Sure. So I'm in Portland, Oregon. I went to Oregon State University for undergrad and then, Pacific University, for grad school for my Masters and Doctorate in Physical Therapy. And you know, I've always wanted, I was always involved with movement. I played basketball at Oregon State and I knew I wanted to do something involving human performance and helping people to get moving. And so been a Physical Therapist for 22 years now. And then, of course as it relates to MedRock, I had this idea for a way that people, we can help more people at home. So the Genesis of my company, MedRock, was founded on this first medical device that I invented about 10 years ago. [01:49.4]
Roxie: Wow. Okay. So tell us just a little bit about that device.
Tony: So it's called HipTrac and you know, not to go too deep into too many details, I don't want to put the listeners asleep, but we basically have, when people get hip osteoarthritis, it's a incurable pathology and it's going to slowly progress towards hip replacement if you know, if it goes on long enough. And hip replacements today will only last about 30 years at best. And so we really only want to do one per person because the second one is you can do it successfully, but it's harder for the surgeon, there's less bone to work with. The results are varied. So we want to get people to 60 to 65 years old before their first hip replacement if we can help it. Well it used to be a grandma and grandpa back in the day getting hip replacements, but now it's 37 year olds, 42 year olds, 50 year olds. And so my passion, my expertise came to helping people bridge that gap from diagnosis to hip replacement. [02:45.0]
Roxie: Hmm.
Tony: Or maybe they can make it without hip replacement. And one of the techniques that we do is called Long Axis Traction and you know, basically it's as simple as it sounds, you just pull on somebody's leg. Now what we're doing there, there's, it does certain things; it does give lot of pain relief, but it starts to mobilize or stretch this tissue that gets really tight. And that's one of the problems with arthritis; you can't move your leg. And so people will say, Oh, can you just do that for a half hour? That helps so much. It's like, well no I can't just stand here and pulling your leg in the clinic forever, so well, why don't we get something at home? And so I thought there's gotta be something out there. And, you know, we have cervical traction and lumbar traction for back and neck. I'm like, there's gotta be something, couldn't find it. And I thought, well, somebody will invent this, I don't even know how, where to begin. And finally, after about 10 years of putting that off, you know, I'm like, this is ridiculous. People need this. There's about 20 to 30 million people in the U S that need this today.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
Tony: And so I just basically went out and, you know, long story short, invented it and now it’s a.
Roxie: Yeah, yeah. I know.
Tony: And now it's a.
Roxie: Somebody gotta do it. [03:48.2]
Tony: Yeah and I'm really proud of it. It sells in 26 countries now and you know, it's just this kid from Portland, Oregon made something to help change the world in some little way, you know.
Roxie: That's what this show is all about. How each one of our guests and listeners are changing the world, shaping healthcare in their own small way.
Tony: Yeah.
Roxie: So speaking of change, so the, the conversation that we're having today is, you know, going to be slightly different than maybe we talked about a few weeks ago because there's something that's really on the minds and the hearts of every entrepreneur, every health innovator out there. And it's, it's kinda diving deeper into what does this, COVID crisis mean for healthcare entrepreneurs as a whole. And then just to hear your story and how it's impacting your business. So first just kinda tell me, you know, or our listeners, what your take is on, like how do you think this is impacting entrepreneurs in healthcare? [04:48.4]
Tony: Yeah, it's, I have so many levels, so many feelings about this personally and professionally as we all do. And, funny but not funny, you know, my second product, HotRock, I launched about a week and a half before the crisis really hit.
Roxie: Wow.
Tony: I did not, I did not write pandemic in my business plan as one of the risks associated with launching this product.
Roxie: Yeah, that's what I said. Like nobody had that as like spot threats, prepare for global camp, pandemic.
Tony: Right. And so, you know, so it's, it's all you can do is smile about that. I'm like, only I could launch something during a pandemic. You know, this is fantastic.
Roxie: Right, yeah.
Tony: And so from a, from a personal level, you know, I, I fly around the country quite a bit. Well, I can't fly to meet people face to face and that does impact my, my business. We can do things like Zoom calls and whatnot, but, I'm kind of a feeler person. I'd like to look the person in the eyes and be in the room and kind of sense that nonverbal communication. I can't do that.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So we're all learning. Zoom is really blowing up in the, in the world right now as you can see.
Roxie: Zoom is our best friend. [05:53.3]
Tony: Oh…my kids have Zoom calls with their classmates every week. So anyways, so, you know, that's one aspect. One way that it affects manufacturing, so I have stuff made in the US, I have stuff made in China. And you know, I was lucky in the sense that I was in a manufacturing mole for about the 40 days or so, that my team over in China was, was limited, they, you know.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
Tony: They couldn't go. And so by the time I would needed to start doing more manufacturing type stuff, it just, the timing worked out great. But I can't, I just feel for those people that their business is impacted because they can't get certain supplies.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
Tony: You know, and just, personally trying to homeschool, I'm trying to run a business, launch products and teach my kids how to do math that frankly, I can't even remember how to do it myself. And so it's, uh, you know, it's all about just the family time.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So it's been, it's been really tough in that way. [06:49.6]
Roxie: Yeah. I think a lot of, a lot of folks are asking themselves, am I smarter than a fifth grader? Why can't I figure this out? I have degrees, I have multiple degrees. Why is this so hard?
Tony: Exactly, right. We go through that all day long.
Roxie: Yup, yup. And I say, you know, probably putting the broadband to the test as well and we're all fighting for, my business, your business, homeschooling gaming to entertain them. [07:18.3]
Tony: Yeah. It's tough with the, we don't want our kids on technology, but so much of the education is on technology when you're during the pandemic crisis and you're at home. So we're, we have to get really creative.
Roxie: Hmm.
Tony: And it's, it's been, I mean, if, if there's anything that positive that comes out of this, it's going to be a lot more of this family connection time. We're around each other so much more. Learning how to manage these times and then learning how to be creative with learning without technology for the kids. So their, the screen time is limited.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So we, it's really the first couple of days, the first week was tough. You know, there was a lot more red wine at night. [07:53.1]
Roxie: Yeah, yeah.
Tony: But we were just trying to keep that from sneaking into the middle of day after noon now.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So yeah, creative stuff is happening.
Roxie: You have a really great example, I think of how you are, maybe integrating family, the personal life in the work life right now, talk about that a little bit.
Tony: Oh man. I mean it's, one thing that, with HotRock, it's, the second product it’s a heated foam roller. And so it's, it's the first of its kind in this way. And you know, we launched this that week and a half or so before the major crisis hit in the US and so I'm looking at now most of my products are things that people can, you can do at home. And we want to keep people moving at home. And a lot of people, they have more time, they're not moving and exercising as much. It's a very, it's a great irony.
Roxie: Hmm.
Tony: And so what I decided to do was let's, let's film a couple of videos and with and show people in three to five minutes, what can you do with a foam roller for example, any foam roller, even if you don't have a foam roller, there's other ways of doing it. [09:03.4]
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So that the kids are running around here, this is, I'm filming in their play area. So I decided to bring my daughter into it. And anyway, so we do this video. No one cared what I had to say. They loved my daughter, they loved, they loved the blooper reel. And so now everybody wants to see more of my daughter. So now I'm going to have to figure out how to tell my wife that the kids are dropping out of school permanently and they're just going to be YouTube heroes.
Roxie: Right, right, right.
Tony: So now my son's in it, now I got my wife into it, you know, last night. And so now we just want to keep growing this little family business and just, I think all of us, we're a very active family.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: And so I want to share that little bit of, it doesn't take a lot of money. It doesn't take a lot of time. Get moving, get outside for your family, but stay away from people and here's what you can do at home in just a few minutes. [09:50.3]
Roxie: I think that that is just so brilliant. You know, so prior to the COVID crisis, there's a, you know, a practice called real-time marketing, right? And the idea is that, you know, in any given day there's things happening that create these little opportunities for us, as you know, entrepreneurs to, seize that opportunity, and, and create some marketing magic, if you will. And a lot of times it's, you know, not something that you plan. It's something that you just do on the fly. And that's, that's a brilliant example of real-time marketing and being able to, you know, create a family experience, engage with your audience in a really powerful and meaningful way because who doesn't like kid videos, right? [10:40.2]
Tony: Yeah, thank you, I appreciate that feedback. I, I, I think the kids are learning something too. They're, they're learning by modeling.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: And they asked me like, why are we doing this? So there's so much, there's so many educational opportunities just within the family. [10:55.4]
Roxie: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So a lot of what I talk about is, you know, how, how do health innovators rise above the noise? And you know, right now it's like we are, because there's this huge migration to all things digital and virtual. It was like, I don't know about you but my inbox is like tripled, quadrupled and clutter. Right?
Tony: Yeah.
Roxie: Every company that I forgot even had my email addresses messaging me now and so rising above the noise was always important. But it's even more critical of how we are getting creative to break through that clutter. And I think that you just provided a really brilliant, easy, affordable example.
Tony: Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, it's, it's, it's true there. My inbox, there are, I'm receiving so much information right now about how you get this to help this and get this to help this and I, and I really don't want my mission to get lost in that as well. [11:52.9]
Roxie: Right.
Tony: Because I feel like on one hand it's like, okay, do people need this heated form roller? This, is it a luxury item? Is it? Is it? Is it too much? But on the other hand, one visit with, with myself and the clinic or, another physical therapist, there's chiropractor, it can be over a hundred dollars. And so to have this item at home that is so motivating and feels so good to help the people get moving, it's a medical necessity.
Roxie: Hmm.
Tony: And I'm just trying to make sure that my message doesn't get lost in a lot of these, you know, and you see quite a bit of stuff that's like, okay, well I can critically appraise that, that is not something people need or you're trying to take advantage of a situation, but I just don't wanna get lost in that noise.
Roxie: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a really, really good point. So let's kind of just take, pull back a little bit and take a broader look at how, how is this, you know, epidemic or pandemic, affecting your business? You know, we can look at it in multiple different multitude of different layers, you know, financially, from economically, operationally from a, from a leadership standpoint with your teams being global. Let's talk about that and you know, what's different for you today? [13:06.8]
Tony: Yeah. So as soon as a lot of my business happens, HipTrac, I get, I sell a lot of units to the VA physical therapists and physicians in the VA as well as private clinics all around the country. You know, there's about 75,000 PT and chiropractic clinics in the country. Well, all those businesses are so down right now.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: Even at my own clinic, you know, we went from seeing, about 50 people a day to four to eight to 10 people a day.
Roxie: Hmm...Hmm.
Tony: And we're, you know, obviously we're jumping on the telehealth and telemedicine type thing too but…
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: Which is critical to help so many people. But you know, so my referrals for HipTrac for example, you know, the fax machine has been very quiet the last two or three weeks. And so it's definitely impacted us financially. And of course, as we were joking, not joking, but talking about before launching HotRock, literally the week before, we started a crowd funding campaign for that on Indiegogo. [14:05.2]
Roxie: Hmm.
Tony: And I thought, okay, here's a great way we're already in full production, but here's a great way to create some awareness and you know, through a Indiegogo campaign.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: And so we did that and the first week was fantastic and then it just took a nosedive.
Roxie: And so we're like, well, that's a bummer. But fortunately we've met our goal on there and we have extended the campaign. We weren't, we weren't planning to extend the campaign, but now that we've been educating people, they, it started to pick back up again and people are really appreciating that.
Roxie: Hmm.
Tony: And so we're getting a 50% discount. So we extended the campaign another, four weeks and but it's, it's really effected it. People, you know, don't, number one, a lot of people understand crowd funding. And then the second thing during this, they're not thinking about helping other companies, you know, they're thinking about themselves, you know, rightly so. And so, financially it's really effected the business quite a bit. You know we're going to be okay, obviously we're going to get through this, but the, I never thought I'd ever see a time where physical therapy as a whole profession during the worst economic times. [15:11.3]
Roxie: Hmm...hmm.
Tony: We're always busy.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: It's really shocking for the first time how that's affected. My work is so intertwined with the, with medical doctors and therapists, so it's been tough.
Roxie: Yeah.
Hey, it's Dr. Roxie here with a quick break from the conversation. Are you trying to figure out what moves you need to make to survive and thrive in the new COVID economy? I want every health innovator to find their most viable and profitable pivot strategy, which is why I created the COVID-proof your business pivot kit. The pivot kit is a step by step framework that helps you find your best pivot strategy. It walks you through six categories you need to examine for a 360 degree view of your business. I call them the six critical pivot lenses. As you make your way through this comprehensive kit, you'll be armed with the tools, tips, and strategies you need to make sure you can pivot with speed, without missing out on critical details and opportunities. Learn more at Legacy-DNA.com/kit [16:12.1]
Roxie: So for our listeners, just explain what crowd funding is and how you're using it? How you were using it before, as an entrepreneur, and then what motivated you to extend it?
Tony: Yeah, so a lot of people know they've heard of Kickstarter, a lot of people have heard of Indiegogo, but the, you know, GoFundMe. There's all these platforms where whether it's something tragic happened and people you know, need help financially, but also musicians who want to launch an album or artists who you want to do certain things. Or like myself, I, I thought, well, here's a way that I can raise money and not give up any equity.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
Tony: Mob mentality, people really want to be part of something. And so a lot of us at our level can't be part of a, you know, the Amazon's and the Nike's and all these big companies launch when they first start as artists, as a startup.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: And so you can go on these platforms and you can look through all these thousands of businesses and see, that's so cool. I really liked that. And so what you basically do is it's a donation or a contribution, you know, it's not a purchase. [17:17.9]
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: In fact, effectively you're going to go on there and say, I'm going to help this company meet its financial needs and go into production and in exchange I'm going to get a perk. And those perks range from you get, you know, in my case, the perk for HotRock, which is the name of the heated foam roller, is you get 50% off. The caveat is you're not getting that delivered tomorrow; you're going to have that delivered in two months, six months, 12 months or whatever. In our case, we were already in production.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So people would get it in May. And so we're pretty lucky, but I've, I've purchased things of Kickstarter and forgotten about it. And about a year later, the same shows up, I'm like, Oh my gosh, they finally did it. But it's so fun to be part.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: To be a backer and to help this company and say, I was part of that when it first started out. And for the company, we're not giving up equity. It's like presales, preorders.
Roxie: Right, yeah.
Tony: Usually beneficial, program. [18:08.4]
Roxie: That's a great hack for our listeners, especially for those that are bootstrapped. And, you know, maybe those that were in the thrust of raising money and, you know, their whole world just crumbled because now all the pitch competitions and all the conferences are gone. So I think that's brilliant.
Tony: Yeah.
Roxie: But yeah, glad to hear it.
Tony: Thank you.
Roxie: What about, from a leadership standpoint, you know, do you have a team that is, you know, spread throughout the country? Are you being kind of challenged with, helping them eliminate fear or keep up morale and kind of have confidence in this down-market, or, or is that not something that you're facing? [18:50.9]
Tony: Yeah, it's a big, it's a big part of it. You know, you're as a leader, you have your own feelings and your own needs and requirements, but you're only as good as the people around you and you really have to take care of your people and each other. I'll tell you one thing that has, especially in the, in the physical therapy business, we're all leaning on each other quite a bit. There's way more open communication.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
Tony: About how we're feeling and stuff. And so, as it, you know, my, my, what I think I need to help in my contribution to help people with this pandemic is just be an educator and make sure we, we stop the spread of misinformation and just help people to stay moving, get moving, and stay moving. So I've really taken on the challenge of just trying to be an educator, which I naturally am as a physical therapist.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
Tony: And so talking to my team, there's a few of us around the country and just turn and say, Hey, in our little area, let's just try to be a stable, positive force and just try to help educate people and just really keep them moving. [19:50.7]
Roxie: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I was talking to a friend of mine in one of these women's groups that we were meeting via zoom a couple of nights ago. And so she is the VP of leadership for a global company. And so she's exposed to a lot of different cultural dynamics and kind of a lot of different things that are happening around the world. And so she, she was talking about an Asian meeting that she just had and you know, there, there are several weeks or maybe even months ahead of us. And so she said as they were kind of starting to just the really early stages of coming out of this, they were talking about two things that have, are different now prior to. And so I was, you know, I think all of us kind of leaned in and were like, we're really anxious to find out like what's going to be that new normal and um, almost kind of bracing ourselves maybe for, you know, the negative part. And it was really surprising. So the first she said was that, you know, people have a tendency to be more open-hearted, have their hearts open more and listen and really value and appreciate what the other person was saying and them as a person. And I thought, well, if that's what comes out of this.
Tony: Right. [21:02.5]
Roxie: That's really good. Right?
Tony: Hmm…hmm.
Roxie: And the second thing, was this sense of global solidarity. And I thought that's a beautiful thing as well, you know, kind of thinking if those are the two things that rise out of the ashes, you know, I think it's really for the first time ever, everyone around the world, we're all facing the same thing in a lot of ways. You know, there's certainly some nuances that are different, but we're all facing this in some form or fashion. And so it makes you feel like, you know what, no matter what country, no matter what ethnicity, no matter where you come from, like we're all people and we're all dealing with the same thing. Yeah. [21:43.7]
Tony: Yeah. You know, I’ll tell you what makes me, what comforts me personally, and I, I sort of wasn't aware of this until you know, about a week and a half ago, but it feels comforting that I'm not alone now.
Roxie: Hmm…hmm.
Tony: We have our family, we're not alone or we have friends, but it's like as a, as a human, it feels good. We're not alone. It doesn't matter. You know, Republican, Democrat, doesn't matter how, how wealthy, how poor, you know.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: Whatever, no religion, you know, it, it just doesn't discriminate.
Roxie: Hmm...hmm.
Tony: And so we're, we're literally for, for me, first time as a, as a species, we're in this together.
Roxie: Yeah, right.
Tony: That comforts me that everybody's going through this; Jeff Bezos is going through this.
Roxie: Right, right
Tony: We're all going through it.
Roxie: He’s looking for toilet paper too!
Tony: Yeah. It’s just been really, really crazy in that, in that way. And I think what you said, you hit, you hit the nail on the head. What comes out of this? I can already feel that we just were getting, the kids are more openhearted, they're more sensitive. They're talking about their feelings. And my wife and I were looking at each other like, okay, don't move. Don't say anything. Let them keep going. This is fantastic. And uh, you know, it's been, it's been a if the, if, if that can, if this can come out of that, and especially in, in our country now where there's a lot of divisiveness and whatnot, it, it, it really is pulling people together. [23:04.2]
Roxie: Hmm…hmm. Yeah, yup. Couldn't agree more. So, so let's kind of just get back to the strategy component. And so what other things are you looking at when you are considering how you might pivot around what's happening? You know, I think that there's a number of different lenses that entrepreneurs have to look at. You know, how we sell, how we market, how we message, how we position. All of those things may be different. It doesn't mean that we've got to change everything. But I think just taking the time to look at all of those things is, is really important. Kind of triaging. And seeing where are we, what does, what needs to change? What are some other things that you're trying to figure out right now? [23:50.2]
Tony: You know, one of the big things and has a couple of layers to it is, I'm so used to flying around meeting with people, providing educational, like clinical in-services, which is a big part of, of my company. And, learning how to be more comfortable on these zoom calls, learning how to do more webinars, how to reach more people. And really of course we need to do that all alone. And that's one of my personal challenges is that I just don't like being on webinars. I like to be in person. And so that has really pushed me more into that comfort zone of doing that and, helping to create the awareness. We've been talking as a team and there's two parts to this, but even, even before the pandemic, we were already talking about we need to, we need to check these boxes. One of the biggest things was I was still working in the clinic. So, I mean, this is, it could be a whole another conversation, but I'm trying to start this business MedRock while working 60 hours a week in the clinic. And you know, like a lot of us who are starting something and this is great for other clinicians who really want to try to start, you know, do something that I've done is you have to tolerate a certain amount of discomfort. Like you can't just quit your job, which has all your income. You know, in my situation I didn't have, you know, all these investors and money. [25:06.4]
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So you have to do both. Can you tolerate the discomfort until you can get to a certain tipping point where it's still a huge risk. But now you can peel that away. So just this last year I retired from ownership of Therapeutic Associates, that's the company we have in the Northwest and stopped directing my clinics. I still go on Mondays for a few hours just to, I still enjoy it and it really helps with my current business. And so now my marketing team is like, finally this guy can now start doing marketing one on one. I'd never had time for any of this stuff, they wanted me to do. So, so in my personal situation pivot, it's almost like let's start. You know, I was able to succeed in so many ways, but they're like, you need to write more, you need to be a professional, you need to do all this stuff. And so we have a tactical marketing plan that we're really going to attack. It was going to be January, 2020 now we're going to look at January, 2021 but we'll do what we can for the rest of this year to create that awareness for all the products and, and, and things that we do. But man, I'll tell you, it's, it's go time, but not quite yet. [26:11.3]
Roxie: Yeah. So I mean that's another silver lining, right? Is that we have time to do the things that, you know, maybe the team's been telling us we need to do for a long time.
Tony: Yeah. I've written a lot of articles this last two weeks. I've written a lot of blogs. I've, I've made these phone calls and they're always, you know, I, I'm, I'm a little, in the beginning I was uncomfortable. Like, you need to put yourself out there as an expert in your field. You have a lot to offer. And I'm like, I don't want to be that. I don't want to, it's arrogant you know. And they really taught me like, it's not arrogant. You have to be confident. You have to be a, a thought leader. You need to share what you have and, and make yourself that expert that you are. And I'm like, all right. So I've really worked on that this last couple of weeks of trying to try to put myself out there more. [26:57.9]
Roxie: Yeah. So here, here's, here's an idea. And, and maybe your team's already thinking about this, but, this might help you even just with the comfortability of it, is that if you sit down and you write what your beliefs are and what your opinions, about the industry, about the product, about, you know, just, well, it could even be your personal opinions. You know, you just kind of categorize those and then you're creating content to help attract people that have the same opinions and beliefs as you, or you're creating that to shape their beliefs and opinions that then all of a sudden it's like, I believe this so strongly, I need to get the word out and it doesn't feel like it's a business thing that I have to do.
Tony: That’s right.
Roxie: Or even a marketing thing. It's just kind of part of your DNA and who you are. And it may give you just a little bit of extra comfortability with that. Like, I believe you need to do this hip roller. [27:57.4]
Tony: It's fantastic. I mean that's, that's the best advice, to receive because, you know, we all have our natural insecurities. Like, well, no one wants to hear what I have to say. I mean, why would they want to listen to me? And so I can't tell you how many times, we're in a meeting, we're just talking and, Eric, one of our marketing guys just slams his fist down and goes, did anybody record that? That's like beautiful content, we need to…you know, so there's, if you just look at it like almost like a diary, like a journal.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: Just journal your thoughts on this topic.
Roxie: Right.
Tony: Now give, give that to me. We're going to put that out there. You're so right. You hit the nail on the head Doc [28:33.3]
Roxie: Yeah, yeah. The, the other thing is that, you know, we don't have to do all the things right. So like from a marketing, I mean it's just creating awareness and demand. There's so many strategies and tactics out there, right. And there seems like there's another hundred tomorrow and another hundred the next day.
Tony: Yeah.
Roxie: And so, you know, as the leader of the company, it can be overwhelming. I mean, it's like that for me at times too. It's like, well I don't want to do that, that and that. So I have to figure out what is it that I do want to do? Cause we've got to do something.
Tony: Yeah.
Roxie: But not feeling pressure to, you know, spread myself or our resources so thin that I'm trying to do everything and I'm not doing anything well. [29:12.7]
Tony: Yeah, I really, I really took that away from; I think it's Peter Bregman who wrote 18 minutes. It's fantastic. You can get okay, so when I'm in the clinic night, entire day is scheduled down to the minute. I know where I'm going, where, what, you know, when I'm going there, what I'll be doing, it's all scheduled. Now imagine that for 22 years, your, your entire life has been scheduled to the minute there's no, should we work on this or should we work on that? And so now I start MedRock, I'm sitting in my basement office and I have 4,000 things to do, but no one's structuring me how to, how to do all this. And I've really had to learn that. And that book really helped me, you know, create these three to five things and just work on these things deeply and not everything superficially. But it's so hard because you're sitting there, you have to turn your email up. Because an email comes in, and for me personally, I need to solve that problem right now in that email thing.
Roxie: Yup.
Tony: You think you know, it's 5:00, 6:00 PM and you're like, I did not even do anything I needed to do [30:11.5]
Roxie: Yeah. And especially, you know, depending on where you are in the stage of your company determines really how many hats you're wearing. You, you know, I mean, if you're really, really early stage, you're wearing maybe all the hats.
Tony: That’s right.
Roxie: And you know, as you progress and you're able to hire people and kind of start to build your team, you can delegate and kind of offline some of that stuff. But there's, there's still gonna always be those shiny new objects that are trying to lure you away from that focus of what you have before you.
Tony: That's exactly right. Yep. For sure.
Roxie: So, you've shared so much incredible wisdom with our listeners today. Is there any other advice, you know, I normally want to say like lessons learned, but it's like not past tense. It's like more like ING lessons learning.
Tony: Yeah.
Roxie: Both from a personal or professional side. Is there anything else that you want to share with the health innovators like yourself that are in the trenches right now? Listening? [31:12.4]
Tony: Yeah, there's, there's really so much thank you for that opportunity. You know, I don't want to go on for about two more hours here, but there's, there, I can relate to those clinicians who are in the trenches who have great ideas and they want to do them, but they don't know how. And you know, we learn how, in medicine, you learn by doing, you know, you call it a practice and people don't like hearing that. Patients don't like hearing that. But you're literally trying things. Yes, we've, we've read all the chapters in the textbooks. We know how the human body works in so many ways, but you literally learn by doing and that and that kind of bounces, this science and this art of how to care for another human. And so for me, so all these years I'm learning by doing. So then when it, when it came to starting MedRock, it was like, okay, well I don't know anything about patents. [32:02.8]
I don't know anything about how to raise money. I don't even know where to...so you just start learning by doing. And it's really scary and daunting for a, a medical provider to think it's not possible to do this. And I guess I would say to them, it's totally possible. Your ideas are important to get out there. Innovation is critical to, to help. And so instead of just having the big research institutions that, you know, the academia, the, the clinicians who have this time, we need all of the clinicians in the trenches to, to speak their voice because there's so many brilliant ideas. And so, there's a lot of lessons to be learned through that and a balance is one of the most important. You're in the clinic all day and now you're working on your, your idea on evenings and weekends and when you have a wife and two kids that are staring at you, you can really get lost in that balance. So I, me personally, I learned a huge time management and balance component, but it is possible and you can raise the funds to do that. That question is a whole another podcast. [33:04.8]
Roxie: No, no, no I think it's awesome because you know, our listeners need to hear that and be encouraged because you're right, there's so many clinicians, nurses, doctors that have been witnessing and being personally frustrated by all of the pains of the current system and ecosystem and have a million different ideas that they haven't acted on because they, for a number of different reasons. And so being able to share your story I think is really important and it's inspiring and encouraging our listeners. And I also think that, you know, you touch on something that's really dear to my heart is that when we have these ideas and passions that it's really not an accident and we have a social responsibility to go out and build the solutions, build the companies, and impact the world. Because a lot of times the ideas that we have and the way we have them are unique to us and no one else is going to be able to birth that company or bring those solutions like we will. So I feel like there's a social responsibility with that. [34:09.2]
Tony: I love that. I could probably listen to you all day. That is really, really beautiful because you may not be aware of the social responsibility, but in the clinic we always kind of joke with each other about did you get the teary-eyed hug or did you get the handshake when you discharged them? Right? We're always going for the teary-eyed hug and like, thank you so much for changing my life. And it's just the most beautiful thing to get that. And with HipTrac, especially now when people can't go to the clinic, I am getting emails from all over the world saying, thank you so much. So you're imagining this teary-eyed hug of an email, you know, thank you so much for changing my life. It's like this did not exist. I did this, I created this, and I'm responsible for helping all these people, whether it's not taking opioids, whether it's they're not exercising and they have diabetes and so they're having trouble controlling the diabetes. So speak your voice because you have something that can be great and people do want to hear about it. I'm really proud of that. [35:03.8]
Roxie: So Tony, how can folks get a hold of you if they've got some questions they want to learn more about the HipRock or MedRock or Tony Rocklin. [35:14.1]
Tony: There's a lot of rocks in there, huh?
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: So our website is MedRock.com and so it has all the products on there. Right now. We do have an active campaign with HotRock, which is the heated foam roller, but you can see all this information on MedRock.com and we have a couple, I think we're going to do 30 days left. So people want to get that 50% discount and also help be a backer for launching this company.
Roxie: Yeah.
Tony: That's, that's the way to do it. But you can definitely find me. I love hearing questions and receiving all kinds of, whether it's medical questions or business questions on email, it's, it's really awesome to connect with all these people around the world who have this shared vision or these ideas and, and just helping people. It's wonderful.
Roxie: Absolutely. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Tony: All right. Thank you so much Roxie. [35:57.9]
Thank you so much for listening. I know you're busy working to bring your life changing innovation to market, and I value your time and your attention. To save time and get the latest episodes on your mobile device automatically subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app like Apple podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. Thank you for listening and I appreciate everyone who's been sharing the show with friends and colleagues. See you on the next episode of COIQ. [36:26.1]