Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur is Giancarlo De Lio, the Chief Visionary Officer at iUGO Health, a Toronto-based startup focused on patient care co-ordination and collaboration among family members and care professionals….
WORK
1. Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
My job is to create the vision and blueprint for healthcare tools that make a difference in the lives of patients and their families.
2. What was the inspiration for your career route?
Art. Life imitates art in almost every way. When I was just starting out my career in tech at 18 years old (just before the dot com bubble), I was very much into art: graphic design, sketching, sculpting, painting. Luckily I was able to port those talents and creativity into projects that ended up being my first early exits, which gave me the capital and confidence to launch new and subsequent projects. Art always inspires me. You can look at a piece and get lost in the way it makes you feel, the things it makes you think. I have an MBA and a Computer Science degree, but art is what helped me develop my creativity and approach to executing ideas.
3. What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
Selling CareKit to Moseda Technologies, then having Moseda acquired by Reliq Health. It was a crazy deal that just happened so fast! As soon as news broke that CareKit had been acquired, we received a lot of interest from other groups who were interested in investing or acquiring the technology. There were some big players who came to the table and one of them liked CareKit so much that they acquired the parent company, Moseda. Definitely one of the craziest deals I’ve ever done. The biggest milestone to date with Reliq following the CareKit Health acquisition is landing a contract with the City of San Antonio, Texas, worth $1.22MM.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
Probably still working on startups. It’s a passion of mine and something I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. Venture capital could also be fun, but nothing I have seriously considered. In 20 years my son will be almost 25, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that in 20 years I’ll be helping him with his own startups.
5. Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Take risks. Turn mistakes into lessons learned. Work hard. Be kind. Don’t let the challenges get you down, just keep on going. Be grateful for all your blessings and good things in life. Most importantly, invest in your own professional development.
6. Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
I support the Red Cross. They do so much great work around the world and need our support more than ever. I’m also a huge supporter of Doctors Without Boarders for the work that they do in providing medical care to people who need it the most in areas where that medical attention would otherwise not be accessible.
7. What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
In business you’re always faced with challenges and problems that need solving. There hasn’t been one major challenge that I can think of, but that doesn’t mean that building companies from scratch is easy. There’s legal issues you have to be mindful of, choosing the right partners, financing the project, sales, developing the product – there’s a lot that goes into getting a company off the ground properly.
8. What does the word notable mean to you?
Means that you’re doing something meaningful, of value, that benefits many people in the community, and maybe even around the world.
PLAY
1. Where is your favourite place to wine/ dine in your city and why?
Carbon Bar is one of my favourite places. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, but the drinks and food are worth the travel. I also love Sotto Sotto. I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad meal or experience there. These two are my favourite places because of the quality of the food. I know I can always go into Carbon Bar or Sotto Sotto and have a fantastic meal any day of the week.
2. What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your phone?
LOL incognito mode? I’m kidding! Most visited website: probably Fast Company or The Financial Times. Most played song on my phone: Raspberry Barrett – Prince.
3. Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
Startup L. Jackson, duh.
4. What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?
I have an apartment in the south of France. It’s my personal getaway, and I also love French food, so France for the win. Next country I will probably be travelling to is the US since I do a lot of business down there.
5. What gives you the greatest FOMO?
Drones! I wish I got in early. They’re everywhere now from pizza delivery to recreational racing.
6. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
My mother’s homemade pizza. I can eat it hot or cold, all day, every day, for the rest of my life.
7. What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?
I wish I spent more time and money travelling when I was younger. I made up for a lot of that in recent years, but that’s something I definitely wish I would have done sooner. In the end though, life turned out okay.
8. And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise…
Building something meaningful that will make a difference in the life of others. That’s the true reward of being an entrepreneur.