Chris Hoyd, Director of Product Management at Vynyl, sat down with Sheena Franklin, Co-Founder and CEO of K'ept Health. K'ept Health is an early-stage startup working to improve skin care diagnosis and treatment for diverse patients through the use of an inclusive AI engine. In our discussion, Sheena shares her insights on the importance of diversity in the field of AI and how K'ept Health is working to address the needs of underrepresented groups in the skincare industry.
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For the full YouTube video: https://youtu.be/X1w8yZp2mn8
Chris Hoyd 0:07
Welcome back to Product in Healthtech, a community for product leaders in health care by product leaders. I'm Chris Hoyd, Director of Product at Vynyl. Today we talk to Sheena Franklin, founder and CEO at K'ept health, an early stage startup building an inclusive AI engine to improve skin care diagnosis and treatment for diverse patients. Let's jump into that conversation. And thanks, Sheena, so much for joining us today. I'm really excited to get the chance to talk with you and learn a bit more about your your background and this new project that you've founded and got going. So maybe we can start, Sheena, if you could just tell us a little bit about your background, kind of give us a sense of your story and how you got to your current position.
Sheena Franklin 0:49
Yeah, absolutely. Well, first and foremost, thank you for inviting me, I'm glad to be here. So before starting K'ept, I spent just about well over 20 years, just over 20 years as a healthcare lobbyists here in DC, so I primarily worked on the federal level. And a lot of the issues that I worked on, were surrounding patient privacy, engagement, a little pharmacy work with majority it was it was that considering I was working with Walgreens at the time. So a lot of our issues were both retail, and the healthcare space. So that was exciting. And I also had the opportunity to work with our innovation team. So there were a lot of different startups that were coming through the company, if you will, through acquisitions, partnerships, our mobile app, rolling that out into the market, and just dealing with a lot of the advocacy component of it, like going into Capitol Hill, different legislators wanting them to be aware of these projects that we're working on. And so that was my real introduction into how technology was playing a big part in healthcare, and then how all of this was going to change how we experience healthcare. So it's gonna be less in my vision, less practitioner focus, and more focused on us as the patient.
Chris Hoyd 2:12
Very cool. So deep background kind of understanding the inner workings of healthcare in the US, probably more than your average sort of health care person got a deep understanding of how the regulatory and legislative side of things affects trends and whatnot. So very cool, very excited to have that perspective in the in the Product in Healthtech community. So with that kind of as a backdrop, can you maybe tell us a little bit about what your new project is what K'ept is all about and what you're hoping to achieve with it?
Unknown Speaker 2:40
Yeah, so I like to tell people in the beginning, you can think of K'ept Health as maybe a 23 And Me, or flat iron health of dermatology. So what we're really looking to do is focus on skin health, when it comes to the microbiome, their environment, lifestyle, wellness. And so what we want to do is use clinical data and data science to translate patient experiences into real world evidence. So the ultimate is to make sure that we're improving treatments, products, and even research. So what that looks like is we use our telehealth platform as the main way that we can engage with patients as well as dermatologists, our first focus to market is are women. Um, just because women just a lot more health challenges that did impact the skin. So we're not just looking at, you know, dry skin, there's a lot of other different issues that we look at. And then that allows us to create what I like to call a skin imaging and health registry. So then we're able to catalog all that information and analyze it draw key insights and make recommendations.
Chris Hoyd 3:53
That sounds like a pretty big gap in the market right now since like a cool opportunity. It sounds like, you know, probably a lot of demand for that kind of thing. Can you talk me through sort of from a product or UX side of things? You know, as I'm a new patient, maybe onboarding with with K'ept, what's the experience like? And what's maybe different about it than, you know, other offerings out there?
Unknown Speaker 4:18
Yeah, so I'll start with the latter first. So what makes us different is that we're not just focused on cosmetic dermatology, right? So we're really looking at the internal factors and then how we deal with that when it comes to your skin. So our messaging from the beginning will be quite different. And so then once you're on the platform, we use AI so you can snap a photo of your skin, we'll analyze that give you some high level recommendations, right. And then from there, we give you two options, which we learned through our beta which was very important. So you can either have a skin health consultation with a licensed esthetician, right or you can start your virtual visit with a dermatologist. So we give you those two different pathways. A lot of time folks don't know if they should see a dermatologist or they had a bad experience before. So we're just want to make sure that we're aware of that. Another component of what we do is really make sure that the practitioners that we have on our platform are well versed in skin of color. So we didn't want to create a whole separate platform, we feel like if we're all women, we're all we all come to these diseases the same way. It's just when we go seek care, that that's where things start to change. And then the last thing that makes us different are the treatments that we give. So it's not just a diagnosis and a prescription, we do do that. But we also dig deeper and give you lifestyle behavioral facts or tips that you should incorporate to your day to day routine. And then we also look at wellness, especially for individuals who are dealing with like psoriasis, you know, chronic skin diseases, so we incorporate like meditations. So it kind of helps with like itchy itching, excuse me, like mindset. Yeah, that's what makes us different.
Chris Hoyd 6:08
Very cool. And, you know, I think there's a term that's being kind of used in the industry quite a bit these days, sort of this concept of culturally competent care. Would you say that K'ept has, you know, kind of emphasizes that? And if so, you know, how,
Unknown Speaker 6:27
Yeah, we definitely do. So, we, we look at it as the our DNA, the core of who we are less of a program that we should implement after the fact. So every, every feature, that's a big component of that, and that's also a big component of our skin registry, right. So a lot of the AI models today are 86%, white and male. So at least so many patients, regardless of their skin tone, or their health status, vulnerable. So we want to make sure that we are building an AI system that has equal representation of skin color, and all these other factors. So then, now we're able to provide physicians with recommendations. So that could be on skin tone, skin disease severity level, underlying health conditions, and then prescription effectiveness. So like, that's what's driving our AI. So our AI is the main component of how we look at being culturally competent.
Chris Hoyd 7:23
That's such a cool way to put that it's like culturally competent AI. I mean, that's, you know, a powerful differentiator not to get too, maybe technical here. But can you talk a little bit about how the, you know, the AI models, you know, how do you sort of tweak them or make sure that they avoid some of the biases that have come up in in previous uses of AI and machine learning?
Sheena Franklin 7:46
Yeah, so we really had to make a concentrated effort in the beginning with our plan of how we were going to collect the images. You know, I don't want to be flippant, but it was just basically saying, we're going to build something that has equal representation of skin of color. It was basically that simple. But not simple, right? So there's challenges with getting images of skin of color. And so we started, how can we do that? So we knew that going forward, we will work with dermatologists, who are you know, well versed in that area leaders in the industry, and we will begin to collect images that way. Another way that we do it is through our platform itself. So we're able to get a lot of the data. Naturally, obviously, we we are mindful of privacy, and we're very transparent. And then another thing that we're looking at is bringing a little bit of my like lobbying background more to it as an advocacy campaign, and encouraging women to participate in helping us to develop an AI that is built by them and for them. So again, just really being transparent and engaging the patient or which ones are the patient consumer and the entire process.
Chris Hoyd 9:01
So cool. That's, yeah, that's awesome. So thinking now, kind of through the lens of you know, this is Product in Healthtech, a lot of early stage companies, you know, it is common, right for the the founder and the CEO to be sort of leading the product management of the offering. Are you kind of wearing that hat now as well?
Sheena Franklin 9:22
I don't know what you would call it. I definitely have a great engineer on the team. 20 years of experience in AI and machine learning. We have some great developers on the team. So I think at this point, it's more of me just communicating what my vision is. But since we are early stage, I think I'm probably a little bit more annoying than what they would you know want, but it's like move that button, move that button, things like that, or this doesn't come up but I'm definitely not the lead when it comes to product management or just even designing at this point as I was during, like the MVP stage,
Chris Hoyd 10:03
So it sounds like still super early, still very collaborative with this, this team, so are you. And it sounds like there's a big enough sort of gap in the market, if you will, or big enough need for this kind of thing that you're probably getting, you know, positive, useful feedback, almost from a just an MVP offering, it doesn't need to be, you know, a super sophisticated, mature, like, complex piece of technology. It sounds like they're probably just happy to have a connection with, you know, the values that have kept in the AI technology that can help solve for this thing is, would you say that's kind of your experience so far?
Sheena Franklin 10:04
Yeah, it's definitely our experience. So it was from the women that we go out and talk to, I'm sure they're very delighted looking forward for for our product. But also, you have bigger I would say like life sciences, technology companies, big pharma, even skincare beauty manufacturers, who are very interested in what we're building as well. So like they have a need to use the data that we're analyzing to build better products. But they also are trying to find more ways to engage with that community, because maybe they have a lack of trust, historically. So lots of interest, which is great for us.
Sheena Franklin 10:45
Yeah, that's super exciting. Can you talk maybe a little bit about what's in the near term time horizon, maybe the vision for the next year, whether it's partnerships or new markets, or, you know, growing the clinical team?
Sheena Franklin 11:40
Yeah, so we're always trying to grow the clinical team, for this year, we're definitely going to be launching our skin health advocacy campaign, I'm really excited about that. And some of the partnerships, they're going to be working with us to make that make that happen, even a national effort than just a regional effort for us. So look forward to that, we're also going to be rolling out the first version of our app. So it's going to be the ability to have your own skin health journals, you can go in with your products, you can put in your prescriptions, notes, all those types of things, but also, you'll be able to have those skin consultations that I was talking about earlier, and then earlier, and 2024, then we'll roll out with a full telemedicine visit.
Chris Hoyd 12:31
The year ahead, that's awesome. Can you maybe share, either through through you or your team, just over the last few months as as kept just you know, kind of, sort of to grow? What are some, you know, wins that you've celebrated with the with the team?
Sheena Franklin 12:48
Yeah, so we just finished TechStars. And so that was that was a win, we had a lot of great introductions. One of the major partnerships that we're working with now came out of our experience at TechStars. And I think the biggest thing was that we were able to set up our image. I like to call it an image collection site tool that allows the dermatologist that we're working with, to come to the site, and to upload images that they already have that they already have prior consent for from the patients and begin to like label, so we're able to segments and label and start training our algorithms. So also, we were able to have 2000 women participate in over 10,000 images. So we're in a really good spot. So I'm really excited that we got that done. That was like a major lift.
Chris Hoyd 13:46
That's incredible. Congrats. Yeah. Cool. thinking now about kind of the maybe macro level sort of healthcare industry trends. I'm not sure. You know, too many people are better versed in how the, you know, legislative trajectories might influence something like a healthcare startup. What do you see on the horizon as far as you know, whether new legislation might enable new opportunities or, you know, create additional kind of gaps for you? Or could you imagine there, you know, maybe with a reduction in the telehealth capabilities that are sort of currently available, like, do you imagine there being some headwinds that you might have to work through?
Sheena Franklin 14:25
Yeah, so, I think those go perfectly together. So everyone talks a lot about telemedicine and the rollback that we experienced during COVID, I do think that's going to be continued to be a topic of conversation. What normally happens is even if the issue is important, if there's something much bigger, like Ukraine or the budget, like not passing a budget and inflation, like those issues, kind of get pushed to the side, but I think, you know, the Telemedicine Association they're continuing to to push for that. So that does create challenges for us, obviously going to how we roll out across the country. But I think we'll probably see more data of just how we're collecting data. I think right now, the health industry has a little bit of spotlight on how we collect data, but not a lot versus like a retailer or Apple, right? But I think that's coming eventually. Because there's gonna be more and more companies like me, maybe not in dermatology, but cancer or whatever that specialty may be, and patients being more willing to share their data, I think we're gonna see more legislation come out about that.
Chris Hoyd 15:38
Thinking now about sort of the future ahead of K'ept, you know, maybe we're three or five years down the road. And let's assume that, you know, things have gone really well for K'ept. What do you think that world looks like for you and for the company and for the patients?
Sheena Franklin 15:54
Yeah, so I like to tell people that our vision is to help women today on their mobile phones, and then in the future, we would love to be at your favorite retailer, right? Whether that's Sephora or Ulta, probably not both because their main competitors, but you know, or, you know, maybe even at your Walmart or your Walgreens or CVS. So that allows you to come into those stores, have a skin scan, and be able to get real solid advice. And then we can triage your care. So we can say, Oh, this is a condition that's less severe, we can treat it through telemedicine, or, you know, this is something that really needs to be seen in person by dermatologists. This is who we recommend you go to. I feel like in dermatology and skincare, we have a little bit more flexibility, maybe then the other specialties. So I really like to see K'ept health and those types of situation.
Chris Hoyd 16:53
Good point. Yeah. Okay. I'm curious, just kind of about, you know, sort of your story or your inspiration for, you know, leaving, it sounds like was a very sort of successful career with large healthcare players in a, you know, influential kind of lobbying role. You know, it was what was it like to sort of make this relatively big transition? And how are you feeling about it now?
Sheena Franklin 17:21
Yeah, I wish I could say it was like, Oh, yes. You know, I saved up I know, this is what it wasn't that it was little it was gradual, gradual of I explained before, with my experiences, that I have my own skin health challenges as well. And then it was right around that time. I'm not sure everybody on this call knows. But Walgreens was actually bought out by Alliance Boots. And so there was just a lot of transition. And it the opportunity presented itself. And so I said, Oh, yes, I'll take that. And then I'll go try to do this. So it's definitely been a struggle. I do wish I had the resources of Walgreens. But you know, we'll get there eventually.
Chris Hoyd 18:05
And are you getting kind of a steady stream of positive feedback from new customers and new patients?
Sheena Franklin 18:13
Yeah, we do. So we always try to keep in contact, just emails building out a community involving them in the process. So we we do we've definitely, that's something that we want to maintain throughout the company. But something that we're going to have to be just really hyper sensitive about, because we know as we grow and scale, sometimes you lose the on the ground feeling with your customers.
Chris Hoyd 18:41
Maybe that's kind of a good segue to think about the Product in Healthtech network is as you try to expand a bit this year, what might the network be able to contribute to you or what would you be looking for maybe as the team grows, maybe maybe, you know, product management help or partnerships with certain players in the industry like what's on your startup roadmap?
Sheena Franklin 19:03
Definitely want to hire more product people. I would definitely love a product manager. Looking at a data scientist is a big part for us, as we grow and a community engagement person is going to be hypercritical for us as well. And then if I just wanted to put it out there I would love to work like with a big company, like an Apple of the world because they have challenges with their products and darker skin tones those types of things. But yeah, that's the future.
Chris Hoyd 19:35
Awesome, very cool. Okay, well as we kind of wrap up here, Sheena, can you let the Product in Healthtech community know what the best way to reach out to you?
Sheena Franklin 19:47
Yeah, absolutely. So on all social channels you can find us at @KeptHealth. So it's K-E-P-T Health. And then our website is Kept.health, very simple and then obviously you can find me on LinkedIn at Sheena D Franklin.
Chris Hoyd 20:06
Sheena, thank you so much I know the life of an early stage founder is incredibly busy so you sharing a little bit of time with us today is - we're just super grateful it was really exciting for me to get to connect with you and hear about what you're up to with kept. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube or on our website productinhealthtech.com. If you have ideas or suggestions on what you'd like to hear about in a future episode, or if you'd like to be a guest, please just shoot us an email at info@productinhealthtech.com, thanks.