There is a significant gap in terms of diversity in representation between healthcare leaders and the general population. For example, while 32% of hospital patients are minorities, only a modest 12% of executive leadership positions at healthcare institutions are held by racial and ethnic minorities. Fostering diversity in the next generation of healthcare leaders is critical to not only bettering this underrepresentation but also improving healthcare outcomes. Humanity Health is a talent solution that is dedicated to closing the gap. The company offers a two-pronged approach – the company has built a best-in-class talent network that provides the resources in order for advancement in the field including knowledge sharing, coaching, connections, and job opportunities. On the recruitment side, the company serves as a traditional executive retained search firm focused specifically on healthcare and life science leadership opportunities. In addition, Humanity also offers a number of engagement services for both potential and hired candidates.
AlleyWatch caught up with Humanity Health CEO and Cofounder Ron Mitchell to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise? Was it seed, Series A, B, etc?
We raised $6M in a Series A led by Jumpstart Nova with follow-on participation from Deerfield Management, which provided the initial seed capital for our launch.
Tell us about the product or service that Humanity Health offers.
Humanity serves two different types of customers: members and partners.
For members, we have created the Humanity Talent Network (HTN). HTN is a private membership network of underrepresented leaders in healthcare and life sciences. HTN seeks to amplify, connect, endorse and support experienced and talented women and people of color to enable them to access and excel in highly competitive executive positions, board roles and entrepreneurial ventures. HTN is available to members through proprietary native mobile applications. Some features of the platform include:
- Curated Opportunities – HTN members receive career-accelerating opportunities and introductions that can only be found in HTN, curated to their preferences and expertise. Opportunities include board positions, executive roles, speaking engagements, consulting opportunities and investor introductions, and more.
- Executive Career Strategist – As an HTN member, you have access to an Executive Career Strategist to help you navigate and develop tactical career acceleration plans for the most challenging career transitions:
- Collectives – Curated small group forums of subject matter experts engaging with each other around professional, healthcare-related, and scientific subject matter. Collectives are available by Functional Role and Specialty Area.
- Career Studios – In interactive one-hour sessions, each career studio is led by experts in the field and prepares HTN members to achieve the next step in their careers.
- Career Resource Center – Designed by experts, the Career Resource Center contains all of the tools and resources you need to position yourself for professional growth.
For Partners, Humanity Health offers a suite of services that enable our partners to identify, engage, recruit and develop diverse talent in healthcare and life sciences. In addition to traditional executive search services, Humanity Health enables our partners to engage with high-potential diverse candidates earlier in the cycle to build more authentic long-term relationships. Our services include:
- Retained Search – traditional retained search offering targeted to organizations seeking to fill highly specialized, confidential, or critical leadership talent needs.
- Candidate Panels – a cost-effective alternative to retained search that delivers our partners 3-5 detailed candidate profiles for a specific role. This offering is targeted at internally managed recruiting assignments.
- Pipeline Engagement – subscription-based offering that enables partners to engage with high-potential diverse candidates earlier in the cycle to build more authentic long-term relationships; and present an authentic and inclusive employment brand that resonates with diverse leadership talent.
What inspired the start of Humanity Health?
The initial idea for Humanity Health came from Julian Harris, a partner at Deerfield Management and the current CEO of Concerto Care. Julian approached me to lead and design the framework through which Humanity can drive more inclusive leadership in healthcare and life sciences companies. I architected the operational and business model as well as designed the technical framework for the delivery of our products.
The inspiration behind the company and the driving force in what we do, however, is the critical issue of the underrepresentation of women and people of color in leadership positions in these industries. Improving the representation of leadership to more accurately reflect the communities an organization serves not only improves innovation within the organization, but it also improves health equity and ultimately outcomes for patients.
How is Humanity Health different?
No other company is offering the breadth of solutions that Humanity Health offers to both organizations and to individuals. While some other companies may offer executive development resources, Humanity Health is able to offer programming specific to those working in healthcare and life sciences, ensuring that material is relevant to these leaders’ careers. We also offer a diverse community of leaders so that our members can connect with peers and mentors who have overcome the same challenges and are on the same path, creating meaningful and impactful relationships. For partners, our model provides organizations with numerous options to develop meaningful relationships with highly qualified and talented women and people of color. In addition to helping organizations recruit talent for their highly competitive positions, we help employers retain that talent with custom offerings to help newly hired executive employees thrive in their roles.
What market does Humanity Health target and how big is it?
Humanity Health’s market is really any company working in the healthcare and life sciences industries, at any size. Our membership similarly comes from the entire spectrum of companies and organizations in this space and is comprised of women and people of color who are leaders in their fields. 41% of our members currently are in the C-Suite and 25% are at a Vice President, Senior Vice President, or Head of Department level. The potential market is limitless as new companies continue to innovate, expand, and become established in this industry.
What’s your business model?
Humanity has both consumer and enterprise customers. We have two tiers of individual membership for executive leaders that enables them to access and unlock personalized services in the Humanity Talent Network. For enterprise customers, we offer both a subscription product that allows them to engage with diverse senior leaders in Humanity Talent Network and we have more transactional services focused on our executive search and executive development offerings.
How are you preparing for the potential of a recession?
Unlike most traditional executive recruitment firms, we have a counter-cyclical business model in our HTN memberships. Traditionally, individuals invest more in their educational and executive development in recessionary environments. HTN is built to help those individuals that need assistance transitioning or identifying new opportunities. In addition, our subscription enterprise offering is a lower-cost recruiting option for companies that still need to recruit executive talent but are increasingly mindful of cost.
What was the funding process like?
Our fundraising process was very focused. We were looking for investors that 1) brought strategic value to the company; 2) had either a focus on diverse founders and/or had senior partners that were people of color or women. We found the perfect partner in Jumpstart Nova to lead our round. Jumpstart Nova has a specialized focus on black-led healthcare organizations. In addition, the investors in their fund are among the largest healthcare companies in the world.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
The biggest challenge is time. It is incredibly challenging to build an early-stage business and at the same time comb the market for investors. This is another reason why we were so targeted in our fundraising approach.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
The problem we are solving is both a major pain point for organizations large and small in the healthcare industry and a major priority. In addition, our approach brings technology, service innovation, and a personalized customer experience to an antiquated model that is prime for disintermediation.
The problem we are solving is both a major pain point for organizations large and small in the healthcare industry and a major priority. In addition, our approach brings technology, service innovation, and a personalized customer experience to an antiquated model that is prime for disintermediation.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We plan to grow the Humanity Talent Network by 200%, and we plan to onboard 100 new partners.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Cash is king in a downturn. The best way to manage cash is to better prioritize and only invest in areas where you see ROI. In order to do that, you need to have data. So, companies need to invest in tools that give them more visibility into how their operations are performing. Don’t be afraid to invest the $5k-$10k in tools that will ultimately help you direct your efforts and capital to the places with the greatest return.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We are not simply trying to become the best platform for women and people of color. I believe that we can become the premier executive recruitment and executive development solution in healthcare and life sciences. Our clients require us to deliver to them diverse slates of candidates, which include white men. We just approach our work with a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I don’t think you can be the best if you don’t approach the work with that lens.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
I’m a huge fan of Cosme and Sugarfish.
