Please tell us briefly about your background.
I worked as an actor since I was a child and premiered a film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. My experience and passion for telling stories has informed my work as a Founder.
My company is I-Ally. I-Ally is a community-driven app that saves millennial family caregivers time, reduces stress, and enables informed decision-making by providing services and support they sorely need.
I became my father’s primary caregiver at a very young age. I experienced a lack of support from my family, community, and any government or healthcare system. I knew I could help others like me and decided to build I-Ally to unite and provide support for millennial family caregivers. I didn’t want anyone to go through what I went through.
They are talented in the areas that I am not, which is the whole reason to have a team! My CMO, Matthew Yaroch, is a social media butterfly rockstar, and my Chief of Staff Sabrina Johnson brings in a whole world of experience with patient advocacy. We all have an undying dedication to the same mission.
I would be working in mental health.
Our company measures success by combining a qualitative and quantitative metric - did we change someone’s life for the better and did that action also make someone money? Was that something only we could uniquely do? Then it’s quite valuable.
We are able to see our roadmap laid out in front of us and know how we will get to the next several steps.
Technology that helps a family caregiver provide care remotely, like Hero Health which tracks medicine adherence, is most exciting. Technology that provides a false sense of connection to one’s doctors or care team is dangerous. It seems to solve all of the potential problems, but when it is needed, no one is on the other end.
I love the passion, energy, honesty, and raw talent that is celebrated on HackerNoon. The power belongs in the hands of the people.
Don’t be afraid of making changes or trying new things. You aren’t tied down.
If we trust ourselves and band together with confidence, telling our stories and shouting from the rooftops, we will be heard. We have the power to build our future. Advocating for each other and supporting each other will work. We have to trust it.