Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with James Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder of Nevvon, located in New York, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Nevvon is a global healthcare education company with an advanced e-training platform designed to simplify mandatory annual education for caregivers. Everything takes place through our simple, intuitive, and user-centric app that lets your caregivers easily educate themselves at their own pace and schedule. Our platform simplifies and streamlines your regulatory requirements in any state so you can focus on what matters most: running a successful business.
Tell us about yourself
Nevvon was born out of a clear need in the marketplace. Every year, healthcare companies spend countless hours and thousands of dollars to ensure that the caregivers they hire and place are skilled, trained, educated, and certified according to the precise requirements of the state they operate in. I know because I used to be one of them. This antiquated process is inefficient and expensive, not to mention the fact that there are a host of other issues that often occur along the way.
Once upon a time, I owned and operated a home care agency with thousands of caregivers on our roster. Managing the certification and continued education of every one of them was a cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly process. I realized that this very real pain point wasn’t only experienced by our company; it came part and parcel with the trade. I set out to make a change.
We started by building a comprehensive education platform exclusive to caregivers, which covers a wide range of subjects, including dementia care, respiratory diseases, fall prevention, etiquette, sexual harassment training, and many more. After performing market tests, conducting surveys, and running focus groups to gain valuable data, Nevvon identified the precise user app preferences of our target audience. We took this information and developed our own mobile app to cater to these very preferences.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
During the height of the pandemic, Nevvon had a goal to train over 100,000 health care workers on how to protect themselves and their clients, the most vulnerable people in our society. Within two months, Nevvon's reach spanned three continents and educated healthcare workers, patients, and their families. This was an arduous task as the guidelines for safety often changed at the height of the pandemic.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing about being a business owner is juggling the many aspects of the business while doing my best to keep Nevvon's employees happy and engaged in the company's culture. Shifting from a start-up into a scaling company requires different skill sets from myself and Nevvon's employees.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Build out an MVP and be ok that you will receive negative feedback for lacking features. It is better to build out a mini version of your product or service rather than a full-scale one, only to later find out your clients are not willing to pay for it.
- Listen to your client's problems; they will tell you all you need to know.
- Work harder than anyone else in your company, and lead by example.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.nevvon.com/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3K4CVrN
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescohenadvocate/
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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