Career Path: Nolan Kelly, Director of National Hospital Growth at PatientPing

What do the career path and day-in-the-life look like for a Director of National Hospital Growth at PatientPing?

We connected with Nolan Kelly to find out!

Also, PatientPing is hiring! Click here for all of the company’s job openings!

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?  

Boston College, Carroll School of Management with a Marketing concentration.  My initial job out of undergrad was at a consumer marketing agency in Boston. I was fortunate to align myself with one of the SVPs who was starting a healthcare practice within the agency.  Both my parents and my older brother are clinicians, so there was this innate interest in joining this emerging healthcare marketing group. I quickly got plugged into client assignments across health systems, pharma, payer, policy work, and medical devices.  I’d say that diversity of work was the catalyst for my desire to learn more about how these disparate areas all worked together to deliver positive patient experiences.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?  

In the first few years of my career, I had the opportunity to work for incredibly smart, committed, and hands-on leaders. I was young and impressionable, and they were willing to help me learn, bring me into many c-suite and senior executive meetings and strategic planning initiatives.  It forced me to mature professionally very quickly, exposed me to higher-level thinking, and definitely shaped how I approach business. It also had a lasting impression on my management style.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Director of National Hospital Growth at PatientPing?  

At its most basic level, I am responsible for building and managing the team that sells PatientPing’s solution to hospitals and health systems across the country.  We have growth goals to hit and I need to make sure the team is organized, aligned, and ready to achieve the goals. More broadly, I have the responsibility of helping inform our cross-functional teams about market trends, customer needs, product opportunities, where we should prioritize/invest, and more.  

Any tips for someone considering a career in sales for a high-growth organization?  

Step outside the concept of a comfort zone - you can’t have one if you want to be successful in sales for a high-growth organization.  Ask questions and be studious. Absorb as much as you can. Be flexible, courteous, respectful, and live up to your word. Every customer is different, every opportunity is different, and it’s your job to assess those dynamics quickly, pivot where needed, take punches, and solve problems.  Always take full accountability. On our Growth team, everyone has a specific job to do. If you can’t get it done, no one is there to do it for you. Lastly, find your own motivations and stay true to them. Success is binary - you either got it done or you didn’t - so you need to find wins and celebrate them along the way, it’s the only way to keep energy and optimism while moving forward.

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Coffee, splash of milk. I generally stick to 1 cup a day.

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

1. Building the team that’s going to win deals and build our customer network.  

2. Helping the team win deals and build our customer network.

3. Feeling the incremental progress each day that is contributing a much bigger mission.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

• I have 3 little boys, so everyday starts by 6 AM with someone jumping on me in bed.

• Once I’m awake, I’m on email and slack. I’m not really proud of that, it’s a bad habit. I prob do 10-15 min of work before getting out of bed.

• When I can, I try to sneak in a few miles on the treadmill.

• I live south of Boston, so I take the Commuter Boat up from Hingham. It’s some of the most productive time of my day.

• Once in the office, it’s a race, my calendar is filled with meetings that support the growth of our team and business. I consider my commute time my “blocked” time where I get an hour at the beginning of the day and an hour later in the day to catch up on any open items.  

• I try to sneak out of the office early so I can get home for dinner with my wife and kids.  This is one of the only non-negotiables for me. I’m going to get home to spend some time with my family and, at the very least, be a part of dinner and bedtime.  

• Read books to kids and get them in bed

• Hang with my wife - catch up - might be over a show, a drink, or a sports game on TV.  

• Emails and unfinished work before calling it a day.

Any productivity hacks?

There are no hacks to hard work.

What are the two apps that you can’t live without?

1. LinkedIn

2. Spotify

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I’m most proud of what we’re building at PatientPing. This is no small feat - engaging and connecting the largest and most respected health systems and the community of providers who help them care for shared patients. What we are doing is transforming healthcare and I’m so proud of that endeavor.

Colin Barry is the Content Manager on VentureFizz. Follow him on Twitter @ColinKrash

Images courtesy of Nolan Kelly