NOTE: Orlando Tech News has partnered with Veterans Entrepreneurship Initiative to highlight the veteran-owned businesses that constitute the first cohort for the VEI’s SPEAR Accelerator program. More details and stories to come.
It is no accident that David Franklin has surrounded himself with military veterans at his company, KnowRX Health.
The U.S. Navy vet said service members share traits that allow him to create something of a dream team at KnowRX, which provides personalized, data-driven health records and tools.
The skills developed in the military translate almost perfectly to entrepreneurship, he said.
“There is resilience and grit,” he said. “It’s just, ‘This is what we have to do and you don’t stop.’ We don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
KnowRX leaders will be part of the Veterans Entrepreneurship Initiative’s SPEAR Accelerator, a development program that launches its maiden voyage next month.
SPEAR helps entrepreneurs learn on the fly while building their skillsets, exposing them to experts and connecting them with others who served.
Franklin served in the U.S. Navy from 1988-1996 on the U.S.S. LaSalle and was also part of submarine communications in Bermuda.
He’s excited to see how SPEAR can help the company.
“There are not a lot of resources like this for vets or, at least ,they are not well publicized,” Franklin said. “As entrepreneurs, you are trying to be resourceful and looking for programs. It was exciting to learn that SPEAR has that veteran support. They see the value in who we are.”
KnowRX generates consumer health records, falling within the recent transformation and expansion of digital health.
As it grows, it’s intended to become something of a database for everyday life events related to a person’s medical history. This will create more complete records for doctors to check during hospital visits.
For instance, an official medical record wouldn’t include data from wearable devices already in use by consumers around the world.
The idea is that this, in turn, would reduce time spent in the hospital because data will be at doctors’ hands immediately.
The company has about 10 people working on it.
“When you get these moments of success (the SPEAR Accelerator acceptance), it reassures the alignment that is so important to founders,” Franklin said. “It’s encouraging to know we are on the right path.”
KnowRX started after Franklin’s father passed away in 2018 because of side effects of a medication he was taking.
The hospital had no “real world” data, instead, as is customary, relying solely on clinical data.
That meant they had no idea he was skipping medications nor could they get a handle on his dietary and lifestyle choices.
“He is very much a part of the application,” he said. “That’s why the passion has turned into a purpose. My dad is still teaching me.”