HolonIQ-Vernon Baxter (Long Post)

[jaahmuhl]

Raw Content: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1As-xdl63lOXgweI4o6LWvCYcwvVqPN5H?usp=sharing

Transcription: https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/IL9_xJCvpZYhCZ7T7fMiIh-_Brg2w7XbEEyFWAzfb9sekczBLEgPR0dQs2TY4KVKfINXDMy1_6RKI7y28G-3ISnJfkE?loadFrom=SharedLink

[howie-emond]

CAPTION How as a student/young professional do you gain the experiences, discover your specific interests, and broad your skillset early on in your career? Sometimes when taking those first steps in your career path, it’s hard to find the right place to start, where to look, or who to talk to. Luckily for us, Vernon Baxter, VP of Health at Holon IQ has the answers. In this interview, we learn all about his views on the matter, how he faced those struggles, and how he thinks students can do the same today.

[howie-emond]

CUTS 0:00-0:13 (intro) 21:06-21:32 (connection error) 59:29-end (closing thanks)

Intro Clip 17:26(I must say)-17:57(grasp for them), 18:24(if you,), 18:36

(Intro)
Hello hello everyone  (EXCITED AND WITH ENERGY) welcome back to Office Hours. A show about how to make a successful jump from college to young professional life. We know that landing your first job can often be an intimidating, complicated and stressful process, but its not impossible! (UP ENERGY) And we’re here to help by giving you access to some of the brightest minds in business to get their advice for how to build a successful career. Take what you can (short pause), pick what you like and listen for that stroke of brilliance that you can use to help you get hired.

I'm your host, Howie, and on the show today with my co-host Brett we have Vernon Baxter the Vice President of Health at Holon IQ. And while he may work today at the intersection of technology, venture capital and healthcare, Vernon actually started in a much different and somewhat unexpected spot when he started his career....an international journalist. It was in this occupation that he became intrigued in the Healthcare industry, and a career it soon followed.

(Background) As a young man and college student, Vernon studied literature in Edinburgh, Scotland. His interest in writing was the beginning of his journalism background, and his experiences there led him to the Middle East. Dubai more specifically. because his girlfriend and now wife was studying Arabic and they both thought it would be interesting to start their careers internationally. That was in the mid-2000s, and Dubai was just on its first initial stages of becoming a global hub for business and finances, which made the experience even more captivating because he had a front row seat to all the development. As one could imagine, being an international journalist there can have its challenges, but it’s how he found the healthcare space. While reporting on the inefficient and unequal healthcare in country, it activated the solution-seeking side of his mind, and his passion was born. He returned to London, England not long after, and made the jump to reporting on healthcare while back in the UK.

His current role as Vice President of Health at Holon is similar to his prior work as a journalist, except now not only does he have to report the trends, he is helping identify and create them. In addition to this strategy work, he also works to help HolonIQ become the global data source and market intelligence platform in healthcare tech.

HolonIQ, the company he works for, is fast becoming a powerhouse in the startup scene. They saw there was a growing gap to provide high quality data and analysis on impact sectors (think healthcare, education, climate, etc.) and they have been powering the growth of these industries by helping capital find and connect with top companies over the last several years.

(Analysis) In this interview, we’ll start out by discussing his background as a university student and his initial move to Dubai. As we continue, we’ll discuss his experiences abroad, as well as his views on gap years and their importance. Then, we discover how he went from literature to journalism to healthcare, and the ways in which he went about narrowing down his career interests. Finding your specification is no easy task, so he gives some advice on finding mentors and company cultures which can benefit you. He also has some great information on how you can expand your skillset as a student while the world automates in every industry. There’s plenty of advice and stories in here which give a great idea of how you can prepare for your career in an evolving world. Lets dive into it…

[jaahmuhl]

@howie-emond Ready to record the intro

[howie-emond]

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1FnkoCoxyJIrhFyKkxs9gAor54iP_g0Cg