Keith Cline, VentureFizz
Amber. Thanks so much for joining us.
Amber Howe, Amwell
Thank you for having me, Keith.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
I'm excited to talk to you because we're going to talk about a company called Amwell, which I think about over the past couple of years is certain technologies that have really become mainstream in terms of adoption. And Amwell is definitely one of them. So talk about what Amwell does.
Amber Howe, Amwell
Sure. So Amwell is a telehealth company. It's telehealth as a word that people probably very much recognize today. And maybe they didn't a couple of years ago, but we are an industry leading telehealth company. Our platform provides everything from urgent care visits, specialty care visits, virtual primary care visits, and really Amwell goal is to improve the quality of health care, and the access to health care globally. And that is really something that we're tied to it's a mission that we are focused on a daily basis here.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
And it's a platform that, you know, it was a growing trend, it was becoming mainstream. But once the pandemic hit, that's when telehealth really became a thing and a norm as you highlighted for consumers. And it changed everything. And it's definitely something that I think about as a consumer, I would much rather do a telehealth appointment to go into a doctor's office if it's not truly necessary. So how did the idea come to fruition?
Amber Howe, Amwell
So, we have two founders, Ido and Roy Schoenberg. They started the company back in 2006. So again, like you said, you know, a couple years from now, or back a couple years, people now really know what telehealth is. But back in 2006, it was really a new concept and something that they really worked really hard to build. So over the years, they've worked to build a strong platform, we just launched a new platform this year called converge. Two years ago, it's been already two years that we went public. So we are publicly traded. Last year, we went through a secondary offering. We also acquired conversa, and silvercloud, Health last year, to really build upon our capabilities in our platform. So it's really taken off since 2006. And their vision, and they're watching their vision and mission come to light every day.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
I think that's important to know, because the company has been around and has been building this for a long time and has become kind of the standard, which as consumers, and how you're dealing with your customers. You know, if I was to jump on a telehealth appointment, I wouldn't see Amwell, right. So you're selling to customers, but you're powering behind the scenes of the experience.
Amber Howe, Amwell
A lot of the time, that's the case. So we do power to health plans, health systems. And some people may not see the unwell name behind those health plans and health systems. So a lot of times, yes, they're coming into a hospital or health system and seeing that name and not the MO name.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
And what's the current size of the company in terms of number of employees, you highlighted, the company is publicly traded, we just want to get a sense of the kind of the overall organization the size of it.
Amber Howe, Amwell
Yeah, we are growing. So two years ago, and I joined the company with 750 employees. And now we are over 1000. And we are headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. But we do have employees globally. So we are now in Dublin, Ireland as one of our other headquarters with silver clouds acquisition, Tel Aviv, Israel, and we extend all the way to the other side of the United States in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle. And so we are widely spread. We have employees across the US and globally, which is exciting.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
You mentioned you've been with the company for two years now. Like what was your background? And what led you to join Amazon?
Amber Howe, Amwell
Yeah, so I came from a behavioral health organization, beacon Health Options. And it was very meaningful to me to work in a company that had such a strong mission in improving the lives of others. And I loved working with clinicians in the healthcare space, and when Amwell this opportunity came up, it was a very meaningful opportunity for me to join. Amwell has such a strong mission that you would hear in any employee that you talk to you here, it's it's something that we're all striving for, we want to improve access to health care, we want to be a part of the change in health care. And it was something that really, really pulled me in and that's one of the biggest reasons that I joined the company.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
Now you highlighted the organization is global. So what are the plans in terms of growth in hiring?
Amber Howe, Amwell
We have We are hiring and hiring a lot. We have some really exciting opportunities that we're looking at, and we are looking to hire global. We also changed last year really the culture Amwell around virtual first. And so last August, we announced that we are now a virtual first organization. That means we can hire for our positions remotely so people can work in Kansas or Dublin, Ireland or in Europe. And that's just really opened the opportunities for us to hire more diverse candidates but also from communities that we weren't able to hire in before. And so it's really Really exciting on a weekly basis, we have a new hire orientation. And we see faces on there from all across the world. And that's been really exciting to see. And, you know, just gives an opportunity for our employees to work with other people from various backgrounds and communities, which is exciting.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
Now, once someone does join the team, what's the culture like the day to day environment like at Amwell?
Amber Howe, Amwell
Yeah, so the culture is another reason I joined the company, the culture is one of support. It's one of very mission driven employees. Like I said, Roy, and you know, have done just a phenomenal job of sharing their vision for healthcare. And you know why someone wouldn't want to be a part of changing healthcare for the better is something that I think is just really resonating with our employees. And so people are very committed, they're resilient, the company moves really fast, we have a lot of priorities, and a lot of very key clients that we're delivering for right now. And so, there's a lot on our plates on a day to day basis. But employees, again, are so driven and really focused on our mission, that it's great to see that they are just, you know, really impacting the customer on a day to day basis. So incredibly supportive, exciting, fast pace, but also very collaborative and working together as a team.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
Now, the job market is very competitive out there. It's very active, which is a good thing. So why is now the ideal time to join Amwell?
Amber Howe, Amwell
That's a great question. I would actually answer the question back, why wouldn't you want to join him? Well, I think, you know, from what we just talked about, the telehealth industry right now is really a hot market, we are experiencing and watching the change in health care, we are helping providers improve their access to their patients, we're helping them build relationships with their patients in a different a much different way than they have in the past. So to be a part of that change, and to see AmWell be a part of changing the environment in the healthcare space is just really exciting. Now, on top of that, I might I'll put my HR hat on and say that we have a very comprehensive benefits package. We have unlimited PTO. I as the chief people officer, I love listening to our employees. And so there's numerous programs and initiatives that we have launched in AmWell that have been focused on employee feedback. And you know, tuition assistance, for example, was a direct launch this year from employee feedback. We just launched a great reward and recognition program as a result of employee feedback. And so we do put our employees at the heart of everything we do. And they're the reason that we have a lot of exciting programs here at Mo.
Keith Cline, VentureFizz
Well, if you are interested in exploring opportunities at Amwell, I mean, this is a company that is disrupting healthcare, there's tremendous growth opportunities ahead still yet they're a platform that's been around for a while so they have that market leading advantage. And this is just something that I know as a consumer, I thoroughly appreciate because I'd rather do a telehealth appointment then have to go into a doctor's office if it's not necessary. So check out their job openings on VentureFizz, go to venturefizz.com/amwell. And that's Amwell. And you'll see all their listings there. Amber thanks so much for taking the time to walk us through all the great things happening at the company.
Amber Howe, Amwell
Thank you, Keith. I appreciate it.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
