S10: #094: Glen Tullman of Livongo Health on building a consumer-first digital health company
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Berlin Germany for the Bayer G4A Signing Day event. This was their official launch of the 11 inspiring companies that are the most recent additions to the G4A family. While I was there, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with their keynote speaker for the evening. From the stage, he shared the story behind the success of his company, the impact it’s having in real and powerful ways, and the focus on the company following their IPO in July of this year.
That speaker was none other than Glen Tullman, the Executive Chairman and Founder of Livongo Health.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few years, you’ve heard about Livongo and the work they’re doing as a consumer-first, digital health company that’s committed to empowering people with chronic conditions to live better and healthier lives. Glen and I spoke about his mission to finding a cure for diabetes and other chronic conditions, and to keeping people healthy until these cures are found.
Before Livongo, Glen previously ran two public companies that changed the way health care is delivered, and he is the author of a book entitled: On Our Terms: Empowering the New Health Consumer. In that book, he proposes new solutions to address the chronic-condition epidemic we’re facing.
And while he’s achieved great success in business, he’s also a strong advocate of philanthropic causes. He was honored just this year with a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award for his career focused on improving the safety, empathy, and efficiency of our healthcare system.
He also serves as a Chancellor to the International Board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and as a Board Member of the American Diabetes Association.
In addition to all this, Glen is a father to three amazing children that inspire him every day. I was inspired by our conversation, and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
Today’s Topics:
- The importance of the recent announcement and what improvements and benefits can Livongo get from this new partnership
- What was the experience like building a new company from the ground up after having been a CEO of larger ventures
- What were the challenges faced along the way and why choose diabetes as the main focus for Livongo
- What was the experience like turning an applied health signals company into an IPO and, what does it mean to the brand and the challenges that came with it
- Glen’s plan for Livongo for thier international consumers and creating more global partnerships
Links and Resources Mentioned:
- Glen Tullman on LinkedIn
- Livongo on Twitter
- Livongo on LinkedIn
- Livongo on the Web
- On Our Terms: Empowering the New Health Consumer
- American Diabetes Association
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
- Health Podcast Network
- Digital Health Events
- Dan Kendall on Twitter @HealthTechDan
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