The founders of Blacktech want to change the culture of healthcare with one click at a time.

When Ashlee Wisdom launched an early version of her health and wellness website, over 34,000 users (mostly black) accessed the platform in the first two weeks.

“It wasn’t the most fully functional platform,” recalls 31-year-old Wisdom. “It wasn’t sexy.”

However, the launch was successful. Now, more than a year later, the Wisdom company Her shade healthNationally connects black women and other colored women with culturally sensitive doctors, doulas, nurses and therapists.

As more patients demand Culturally competent care— Awareness of the heritage, beliefs and values ​​of the patient being treated — a new wave of Blacktech founders like Wisdom wants to help. Just as Uber Eats and Grubhub have revolutionized food delivery, Black tech health start-ups across the United States want to change the way people exercise, eat, and communicate with doctors.

Inspired by the experience of parents and grandparents, in addition to their own, black entrepreneurs set up startups aimed at bridging the cultural gap in healthcare with technology while at the same time creating profitable businesses. I’m raising it.

Unity Stoakes, President and Co-Founder of, said: Startup healthHeadquartered in San Francisco, the company invests in many health companies led by people of color. He said these leaders “have an essential and strong understanding of how to solve some of the biggest challenges in healthcare.”

The platform created by the black founders for the black and color community continues to blossom as we often see problems and solutions that others may miss. According to business experts, without diverse opinions, a category or entire product would not exist in an important area such as healthcare.

Kevin Dedner, 45, founder of a mental health startup, said: hurdle.. “Mission alone is not enough. We need to solve the problem.”

Dedner’s company, headquartered in Washington, DC, has paired patients with a therapist who “respects culture rather than ignores it,” he said.He started the company three years ago, but more people turned to the hurdles After the murder of George Floyd..

In Memphis, Tennessee, 33-year-old Erica Plybeah is focused on providing transportation. Her company, MedHaulWork with healthcare providers and patients to secure low-cost vehicles and get people in and out of their healthcare appointments. A caregiver, patient, or healthcare provider fills out a form on MedHaul’s website to help Plybeah’s team schedule a ride.

MedHaul is for everyone, but Plybeah knows people of color. Low-income people and rural residents are more likely to face transportation hurdles. She founded the company in 2017 after years of watching her mother, who lost two limbs due to type 2 diabetes, take care of her grandmother. They lived in the Mississippi Delta, where transportation was scarce.

“My family had a hard time transporting us because my mother was her main carrier for many years,” said Prebear. “Trying to schedule all of her doctor’s appointments around her work schedule was just a nightmare.”

Plybeah company recently received Funding from Citi, Bank giant.

“I’m proud of her,” said Annie Steele, Prebear’s mother. “I’m surprised at every step. What she’s doing will help people for years to come.”

Her hue health began in 2018 and there are only 6 doctors on the roster. Two years later, users will be able to download the app for free and scroll through about 1,000 providers.

“People are always talking about the poor health of black women, where the conversation stops,” said Wisdom, who lives in New York City. “No one was building anything to empower us.”

As her business continues to grow, Wisdom is inspired by friends such as Nathan Pelzer, 37, another Black Tech founder who started the company in Chicago. Clinical health We work with community health centers and independent clinics in poorly serviced areas. The company analyzes medical and social data to help doctors identify patients who haven’t seen the highest-risk patients for some time. By focusing on providing preventive care to those patients, healthcare providers can help them improve their health and avoid traveling to the emergency room.

“Clinify Health can be thought of as a company that supports triage outside the emergency room,” says Pelzer.

Pelzer said he started the company by printing his online slideshow and throwing it into the trunk of a car. “I drove around the South Side of Chicago, knocked on the door and said,’Hey, this is my idea,'” he said.

Wisdom came up with the idea for an app because he was stressed and hives while working at graduate school.

“It was really bad,” Wisdom recalled. “My hands just swelled and I couldn’t understand what it was.”

The breakout also confused her allergist, a white woman. A white woman told Wisdom to take two Allegra daily to manage her discomfort. “I remember thinking that if she were a black woman, she might have shared a little more about what was happening in my life,” Wisdom said.

At that moment, she began to build an online community. Her idea started with a small one. She found health-related content in academic journals, searched for eye-catching photos that complemented the text, and posted that information to. Instagram..

Things started from there. This fall, Health in Her Hue launched a “care team” for users who want to discuss their health with doctors and other women interested in the same topic.

“The last thing I want to do when I enter the office is that I feel like I have to wear armor and fight that person, or I feel like I’m in conflict with someone who should. We are helping you on your health journey, “said Wisdom. “And it’s often a position that blacks, and mostly black women, have to deal with when navigating healthcare. And that shouldn’t be the case.”

Black tech founders Wisdom, Dedner, Pelzer, and Plybeah are looking for ways to support each other by exchanging advice, chatting about funding, and looking for ways to get together. Pelzer and Wisdom met a few years ago as participants in a contest hosted by Johnson & Johnson. They decided to reconnect and help each other at another event for the black founders of the tech company.

“We are therapists of each other,” Pelzer said. “As a black founder, you can be lonely here.”

In the future, Prebear wants to provide transportation services and additional support to those who care for older families. She also wants to expand her services to include running grocery stores and pharmacies, training in the gym, and dropping customers for other basic errands.

Pelzer wants Clinify Health to make tracking healthcare more enjoyable. Perhaps there is an incentive to keep the user interested. He has a plan and wants to take advantage of the same competitiveness as a fitness company.

Wisdom wants to help doctors try to improve their relationship with color patients. The company plans to build a library of resources that professionals can use as a guide.

“We are not the first people to try to solve these problems,” Dedner said. Still, he and the other three feel the pressure to succeed, not just themselves and the people who came before them.

“If I fail, I feel it could close the doors of other black women trying to build in this space,” Wisdom said. “But I try not to think too much about it.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. This is an editorial independent program. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation It is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.