Each week in the New Tech Newsletter we feature a Spotlight Q&A with founders, angels, New Tech alumni presenters, and other people or companies in our community we believe you’d like to learn about. Reach out if you’d like to recommend a startup, founder, angel, accelerator, or New Tech alumni presenter for us to spotlight for the PNW tech community!
In this week’s spotlight we caught up Melinda Yormick, Founder and CEO of CWTCH.
Why do you do what you do for a living?
I am the Founder and CEO of CWTCH, Inc. – a company on a mission to make hospital campuses safer and smarter. I have served in healthcare as a surgical nurse and perioperative leader over the past 10 years. My clinical background has allowed me to identify an unserved portion of digital healthcare and my leadership and business education has supported strategy to build a unique product to solve critical pain points. At the end of the day, I do it because I love it. I have always been incredibly proud to advocate for my patients and teams in healthcare. I now have the greatest opportunity of my life to create something truly remarkable, build something massive, and support hospitals and patients on a scale I had not previously imagined. Mark Twain famously wrote, “the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you realize why.” I do what I do because now I know ‘why.’
Why did you start your company?
I started my company because I realized this is where I could make my greatest contribution.
My patient lost his life as a result of 3 wayfinding issues that came together at the same time. I quickly realized the real question needed to be – how many patients are impacted and is there something we can do about it? Turns out, this is not a one-off scenario. Common challenges exist leaving today’s patients at risk of the same fate. Lack of digital support impacts the capital budget as well as patient safety. Since founding the company in September 2022, I have been on a mission to build a product that will digitize the built environment of healthcare through real time location services.
What is one of the greatest lessons you’ve learned from being a founder/CEO?
I have learned to be unapologetic about my expectations for advancement in care – no one will shake my resolve.
What is the one piece of advice you would share today with your younger self before you started your company?
Every relationship matters, including the ones that don’t exist yet. Go hustle.
What is something interesting and unexpected that people would be surprised to learn about you?
I have my black belt in Kosho Shorei Ryu Kenpo and my 5th degree black in Balintawak Eskrima. I love to fight. There are so many similarities between business and martial arts and it gives me a unique perspective on competition, preparation, dedication, grit, relationships, and leadership. I am bringing it all to the table to win the long game.
Reach out if you’d like to recommend a startup, founder, angel, accelerator, or New Tech alumni presenter for us to spotlight for the PNW tech community!
