Building Value > Vanity: Lessons from Medable’s 1:1:1 Vision

What is Medable? Medable is rethinking how clinical trials run—so effective therapies reach patients faster. Their north star is radical time compression across the trial lifecycle: enrollment, start-up, and conduct.

Who is Dr. Michelle Longmire? Physician (dermatologist), co-founder & CEO of Medable. She blends clinical rigor with operator pragmatism—and keeps the focus on patient value over vanity metrics.

Q&A with Dr. Michelle Longmire (verbatim) + My take

Q1: In an era where growth metrics can overshadow substance, how do you ensure that what you’re building creates lasting value, not just scale?

“At Medable, we measure our progress against our mission and vision as this is what we believe matters most to people living with incurable disease. Our mission is to enable effective therapies to reach patients faster and our vision is to radically disrupt clinical development by enabling 1 day participant enrollment (versus current timeline of months to a year +), 1 day study start-up (versus current timeline of months), and 1 year trial conduct (versus current 4-6 years). We call this our 1:1:1 vision. Every year we measure our progress on how our innovation stacks up to this goal. We know that this will result in extraordinary value to customers and to the ecosystem but most importantly to patients.”

My take: Quantify the mission. If an initiative doesn’t bend timelines toward 1:1:1, it doesn’t ship. Value = faster access for patients.

Q2: If there were another Michelle Longmire starting a health-tech company tomorrow, what problem would you direct her to—and why?

“I have a new idea every day, so it is hard to pick one but I believe that we will make meaningful progress in scaling access to high quality healthcare with AI. It is exciting to think about end-to-end AI enabled clinical care. This would require defining a regulatory pathway for AI as the physician but I see this as inevitable and a meaningful path to providing high quality accessible healthcare to the billions of people across planet Earth. As a dermatologist, I can see a future that is not too far off where our specialty care is available via AI in the diagnosis and even with robotics in some aspects of the procedural practice.”

My take: Build where regulation + urgency + data intersect. Pick a specialty beachhead, design the regulatory path early, and compound learning loops with real-world data.

Q3: Looking back, what was the single biggest mistake you made—and how should early founders avoid it?

“The biggest mistake I made was letting imposter syndrome convince me that others' perspectives were more valid than mine. The interesting thing about startups is they are a manifestation of the founders. With that comes an intuition about what is best for your company and how to achieve your vision. Even up to a few years ago, I would defer to the seasoned person with a strong CV over my gut feeling and it rarely worked out. This is not to say you do not want to listen and gather diverse and contrarian perspectives to your own but at the end of the day, intuition is a very powerful force that combines years of learning and a deep understanding of your company, team, and your vision - I now listen to my gut and really take my intuition seriously.”

My take: Gather contrarian input, then let informed intuition be the tiebreaker. Startups reflect their founders—own the call.

Q4: Did you ever feel you had to “code-switch” in rooms dominated by investors, clinicians, or executives—without losing authenticity?

“I believe that strong leaders can code switch but always remain authentic. In fact being authentic is really critical because to have people trust you, you need to trust yourself. In certain settings, I lean into specific attributes and strengths, but ultimately, I always stay true to my quirky, nerdy, driven, self.”

My take: Adapt the surface, keep the core. Calibrate tone; don’t compromise identity.

Q5: What role did mentors, allies, or even adversaries play in shaping your journey—and how can women founders build networks of strength?

“Mentors and adversaries play an important role for me. I am highly competitive, so the more people doubt me, the more motivated I am to prove that Team Medable can outperform any expectation. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé capture this well in their success and songs - both motivated by the haters. With that said, the motivation to prove myself is secondary to the motivation I have for our fundamental mission. Our mission and the love of Team Medable is what drives me day in and day out ... for a decade now. Mentors are invaluable. Early on, I became part of Springboard Enterprises and have found the network of women to be invaluable. I also have two incredible women mentors who are extremely successful in building phenomenal companies - Young Sohn and Maky Zangeneh. I would not have been able to do the things I have done without these two women helping me navigate the journey.”

My take: Be intentional about your network. Turn skeptics into fuel. Anchor in mission; secure 2–3 heavyweight mentors and a peer community.

Why this resonated with me

• Make the mission measurable (1:1:1) and review annually.
• Build where regulation, urgency, and data compound.
• Listen widely; decide with your founder gut.
• Adapt for the room without losing who you are.
• Curate mentors; let doubters sharpen your edge.

#DigitalHealth #ClinicalTrials #MedTech #AIinHealthcare #Leadership #Founders #WomenInTech #PatientFirst