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In this episode Shanel and Dan discussed:

• What it's like to grow up with a volunteer EMT
• How she reverse-engineered her MBA
• Why 911 system challenges can mean life or death for underserved communities
• A different perspective on where to visit Santa during the holidays
• Why MD Ally had to be envisioned through the lens of an underrepresented founder

Episode Shout Outs:

• Techstars Seattle

Shanel Fields grew up around EMS and first responders. And early in her career she realized that health tech was a place that fed her desire to make an impact. So it makes sense that she combined these two influences when setting out on her MBA journey. She was able to mold her business school experience completely around what would become her startup - MD Ally.

Listen in to hear how!

The problem MD Ally solves seems so obvious: 911 dispatchers aren't licensed medical personnel; if you have a health concern, they can't officially diagnose your situation. So, if you need a band-aid or a defibrillator, they send an ambulance either way. Shanel's startup is trying to fix this. She wants to make sure EMS responders aren't tied up with band-aids when time is critical for that defibrillator!

The company now has major momentum, having recently:

• raised a $1 Million seed round
• completed the Techstars accelerator program
• been featured in the New York Times

MORE on SHANEL and MD ALLY

SHANEL:

linkedin.com/in/shanelfields/

New York Times feature

MD ALLY:

mdally.com

twitter.com/mdallyinc

linkedin.com/company/mdally/

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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

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