Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Hector Bremner, CEO of Avricore Health Inc. (TSX-V: AVCR), located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Avricore Health Inc. (TSXV: AVCR) is a pharmacy service innovator focused on acquiring and developing early-stage technologies aimed at moving pharmacy forward. Through its flagship offering, HealthTab™, a wholly owned subsidiary, the company's mission is to make actionable health information more accessible to everyone by creating the world's largest network of rapid testing devices in community pharmacies.
HealthTab™ is a turnkey point-of-care testing solution that combines best-in-class point-of-care technologies with a secure, cloud-based platform for tackling pressing global health issues. With just a few drops of blood from a finger prick, the system generates lab-accurate results on the spot, reporting data in real-time. The test menu includes up to 23 key biomarkers for screening and managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease (e.g., HbA1c, Lipid Profile, eGFR). HealthTab™ has also recently added capabilities for bacterial and viral tests, such as strep and COVID-19.
The HealthTab™ network model is unlike anything in pharmacy today. It gives knowledgeable and trusted pharmacists a greater role in primary care delivery while empowering patients to take more control of their health. It also reduces costs and waiting times and provides many potential revenue streams, including equipment leasing & consumables, direct access testing, disease prevention & management programs, sponsored health programs, decentralized clinical trials, real-world data (RWD) sets, and third-party app integration through API.
Tell us about yourself
After a career in the private sector, I was asked to join the BC government, where I served under the Minister of International Trade and then as the Deputy Premier. After this period, I advised local government, First Nations, and industry on how to advance their issues.
However, I was compelled to rejoin politics and became a Vancouver City Councillor. After being asked to run for Mayor, which I was honoured to do but not successful, I returned to private life satisfied with what I had done. Still, I wondered if I could again have the same passion for anything in the private sector. Then a friend asked me to support Avricore with some advice on the next steps, which turned into me assuming the CEO role.
I took this role on with great excitement because I genuinely believe HealthTab is more important than anything I have worked on in my career. It makes the solution to access preventive care and chronic disease management (a major public policy issue, given the impact on healthcare budgets and the government being able to deliver care effectively today) possible by using the underutilized professionals in pharmacy.
It is the great equalizer, as anyone can walk into a pharmacy. We generate insights and data to make healthcare delivery more efficient and effective. So, I'm inspired every day to get up and do this work and make sacrifices because I know that we are changing lives for the better.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
While Avricore is publicly traded, I do own part of it. I encourage others to participate in it because my most significant accomplishments have always been creating opportunities for others. Being a leader is not about getting. You have to be the Giver in Chief because if you don't see yourself as responsible for everyone, you aren't leading.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Responsibility. Not only can it be the most rewarding aspect of what you do, but it can also really weigh on you. The trick is keeping a perspective where you balance that responsibility and not let it crush you.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Well, I'll give the best advice I've heard, and it's from a really amazing book called Good to Great. In it, they lay out a bunch of evidence-based reasons businesses are successful but then distill it down to three points that are critical to success:
- Be the best at ONE thing (specialize, don't spread in areas you aren't strong at).
- Love doing that thing (have the passion for the mission, not just the money).
- Make sure there is actually money to be made. (Be honest and understand the market).
There's a lot behind each of those statements, but if you ask yourself those questions at every decision-making point, whether just starting or whether you are already operating, you will base your decision based on proven criteria that will see you and your organization over-perform.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://avricore.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Avricore/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/avricore
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avricore/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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