Transcript – Tend Health – transforming a traditional sector with business innovation

[Text on screen: Cecilia Robinson, Founder and co-CEO of Tend Health, ANZ Business Customer]

Cecilia: My name is Cecilia Robinson and I'm one of the founders and co-CEO of Tend Health. 

[Text on screen: How did you identify that there was a gap in the market?]

Cecilia: So, Tend came about after having our first child. We had some issues having our second child and struggled with that process, and in the end, we found that the system really wasn't equipped to deal with us, and we got Telehealth through Australia at that point.

That’s our first experience having Telehealth appointments and accessing a specialist overseas, and so after that we thought there must be something here, surely we can do this better, differently. 

We realised quite quickly that there was a gap in the sector, and that we could resolve that gap for implementing world-class technology, and improving healthcare delivery in New Zealand.

[Text on screen: What drives you as a forward-thinking CEO and founder?]

Cecilia: What really drives me as a CEO and founder of Tend is to make a difference, right. We're here to improve healthcare outcomes, and that's really our purpose. And we believe that we can really make a huge difference to New Zealand, to our entire population for lifting health outcomes and improving health equity.

[Text on screen: Dr Mataroria Lyndon Co-Founder and Director of Health Equity]

Mataroria: Ko Mataroria Lyndon ahau. I'm Co-Founder and Director of Health Equity at Tend. 

[Text on screen: How is Tend making a difference?]

Mataroria: We know particularly in healthcare, all of the challenges and the pressures within the health workforce and for customers to be able to access health services. So, I think it's time to reimagine what healthcare can look like and that's what Tend is trying to achieve. 

[Text on screen: How has Tend disrupted a traditional sector?]

Mataroria: In healthcare there's been a lack of technology, and Tend has disrupted the health sector through bringing technology into healthcare so that our patients or our customers can access us online, or in person, all through the convenience of the Tend app. 

[Text on screen: Why is diversity important in a business?]

Mataroria: Diversity is important so that our customers or patients can access clinicians that they can relate to, and it's also important for our team culture to have different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, bringing different skills into our team.

[Text on screen: What is Tend’s purpose and has it been successful?]

Mataroria: That's part of our purpose, is to help Aotearoa be the healthiest people in the world through smarter, more accessible and equitable primary healthcare, and we're seeing the results of that. 

One recent example is with our newest Tend medical centre, we've seen a higher enrolment of Māori, Pacific and other underserved communities accessing healthcare with us. 

[Text on screen: Tend (verb) to look after; watch over and care for.] 

[Text on screen: What tips would you give your past self if you were to do it all again?]

Cecilia: The tips that I would give to my past self would be to just do it. You know, get started and that's been something that's been really important.

The second one would be to surround yourself with amazing people. You know, really having people that believe in you and want to be part of your journey, and then third I'd say, leaders think and talk about solutions and followers think and talk about problems. So, make sure that you're a leader.

[Text on screen: How has ANZ helped on your business journey?]

Cecilia: ANZ has been phenomenally supportive to us as a business, and they have been from day one. You know, they've really believed in us and believed in our story, and they're going to be part of our story for a long time to come, and we're really grateful for everything that they've done for us.

[Video: ANZ logo]