Nurse Entrepreneur Spotlight: Jenny Finnell
Jenny Finnell is the Founder and CEO of TeachRN, an online marketplace where nurses and nursing students can find mentorship services from experienced nursing professionals. Whether you need essay critiques, mock interviews, or transcript audits, our platform offers a wide range of services to help you achieve your nursing career goals. Read the below interview to learn more about Jenny’s journey and her advice for future nurse entrepreneurs.
Can you tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur in the healthcare industry?
My entrepreneurial journey in healthcare began unexpectedly. I identified a problem I could solve and, once I realized the significant demand, I set out to build a solution and team to make a larger impact. Unsure where to start, I relied heavily on podcasts, books and coaching to turn my dream into reality. As momentum grew and I saw many nurses achieve their goals, the success of our students drove me to keep building our business.
Understanding my own limited perspective, I sought community involvement in my products and services, recognizing that collective knowledge is invaluable. This led to faculty training, community input and student mentors in my first educational coaching and mentoring program. This became the foundation of TeachRN.
Entrepreneurship has been a journey of highs and lows. It's a monumental task requiring passion, resilience, and the willingness to take risks and make sacrifices. You must be adaptable, open to feedback, and focused on those who support your goals. Stay focused on your purpose and remember: simplicity scales, complexity doesn't.
What inspired you to start your own venture in this field?
I was inspired to start TeachRN when I realized the need for a better way for our student mentors to serve our community. Recognizing that nurses from all specialties could add value, I aimed to build a platform fostering peer-to-peer mentoring and career advancement. Given the current challenges in the nursing profession, I set out to create a supportive community through TeachRN to address these issues, promote growth within the field, and help fight the nursing shortage by guiding nurses toward more fulfilling careers.
What specific problem or challenge in healthcare are you addressing with your business?
With TeachRN, I am addressing several critical challenges in healthcare. I aim to provide new nurses or those new to a unit with peer-to-peer support and guidance, helping them acclimate and thrive in their roles. For nursing students, TeachRN offers a platform to explore the career path and make informed decisions about their future educational and career choices.
I also want to create a safe space where nurses can seek support during difficult career transitions or experiences, empowering them to overcome challenges with confidence. Furthermore, I aim to inspire all nurses and nursing students to give back to their peers in meaningful ways, fostering a culture of mentorship and support.
By empowering educators to have a larger impact and reach, and by facilitating the sharing of experiences from unique specialties and career paths, TeachRN enables others to take these leaps with confidence. Ultimately, my goal is to build a robust community that addresses the nursing profession's current challenges, including career satisfaction, advancement, and the nursing shortage, by guiding nurses toward more fulfilling careers.
How does your company's product/service innovate or improve upon existing solutions in the healthcare sector?
TeachRN is innovative in that it is the first educational and career advancement services marketplace created specifically for nurses, by nurses. Unlike other tutoring marketplaces, TeachRN exclusively serves the nursing community, empowering nurse coaches, tutors, and mentors to set their own prices and be discovered for their expertise. This unique approach allows mentors to give back in meaningful ways, often turning our customers into future mentors who have achieved their career goals through TeachRN.
Our marketplace not only fosters career advancement and support but also combats the nursing shortage sustainably, reducing financial burdens on the healthcare system. By building a strong community and encouraging a pay-it-forward mentality, TeachRN aims to create a positive culture shift within the nursing profession, making a significant and lasting impact.
What have been the biggest obstacles you've faced in launching and growing your healthcare business, and how have you overcome them?
The biggest obstacles I've faced in launching and growing TeachRN have been numerous and varied. Financial challenges, a lack of knowledge, and difficulties finding reliable help have all posed significant hurdles. From legal issues to scaling a team, I've made my share of mistakes. However, one area where I've succeeded is in establishing a culture of positivity and continuous learning. We embrace challenges and collectively learn from our "must-akes."
Currently, my two major obstacles are a lack of time and generating demand for our mentors. The time issue stems from my need to successfully scale back my involvement or look for acquisition in our first company, which is crucial since it generates our family income. Once achieved I will go all-in with TeachRN.
Generating demand for our supply of mentors is another challenge. It requires persistent effort, patience, and extensive testing to determine effective strategies. I believe in the power of persistence and word of mouth, trusting that with time, we'll see growth.
Despite these challenges, I remain committed to overcoming them, continually adapting, and pushing forward to achieve our mission with TeachRN.
Can you share any success stories or milestones that your company has achieved in improving healthcare outcomes or patient experiences?
While our product does not provide direct patient care, we focus on the success and education of the largest healthcare workforce—nurses. By fostering both personal and professional growth, we aim to strengthen the nursing profession, resulting in happier, more fulfilled caregivers. This, in turn, leads to better patient care driven by passion and career satisfaction.
One of our success stories is the positive impact we've had on our mentors and mentees. Many of our customers have achieved their career goals through TeachRN and have returned as mentors, eager to give back to the community that supported them. This cycle of mentorship not only enhances the careers of individual nurses but also creates a ripple effect, improving patient care across the board.
Our approach of caring for nurses first has shown that when nurses feel supported and satisfied in their careers, patient outcomes improve. By investing in the well-being and development of nurses, we indirectly contribute to better patient experiences and overall healthcare outcomes.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the healthcare industry with their own startups?
My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs entering the healthcare industry is to start by identifying a problem you wish to solve. Test this problem in the market to see if others recognize it and desire a solution. Next, determine if your target customer base is willing to pay for the solution or even for its development. If you achieve all three—identifying the problem, confirming the demand, and securing a paying customer base—you are on the right track.
One common mistake I see among nursing entrepreneurs is underestimating how difficult it is to gain market share. Many think that if they build a great product, people will naturally come. While this can be true if your product delivers immediate, significant results, many minimally viable products (MVPs) require adjustments. Without these refinements, you may struggle to generate word-of-mouth referrals and find yourself stuck in an unsustainable marketing rut.
To avoid this, focus on creating a community first. Build trust with your audience before trying to sell to them. By fostering a supportive and engaged community, you'll establish a strong foundation that can help you refine your product and ensure a successful launch. Building trust and community are key steps to achieving long-term success in the healthcare industry and entrepreneur landscape.
How do you stay informed about the latest trends, developments, and challenges in the healthcare sector, and how does this inform your business strategy?
To stay informed about the latest trends, developments, and challenges in the healthcare sector, I listen to industry-specific podcasts such as Radio Advisory, as well as startup-focused podcasts like This Week in Startups and Everything Marketplace. Additionally, I leverage LinkedIn as a powerful tool to stay connected and up-to-date.
Seeking key advisors early on has also helped me gain momentum and traction in my startup. Most importantly, talking to customers allows me to identify blind spots and innovate our products and offerings. This step is crucial for long-term success. Engaging directly with customers provides valuable insights that shape our business strategy and ensure we meet their needs effectively.
What are your long-term goals and visions for your healthcare business, and how do you plan to achieve them?
In the long term, I envision TeachRN becoming the go-to platform for nurse career advancement, peer-to-peer support, and education. I see hospitals leveraging the networking and peer support features to foster a positive workplace culture and create more fulfilled sticky nursing staff. I also foresee colleges of nursing using TeachRN to help their students explore the diverse career paths within nursing. Additionally, I aim for health tech companies to turn to TeachRN to find nursing-based consultants and freelancers, enabling them to develop better products tailored to the needs of our communities.
To achieve this vision, I plan to implement each phase strategically. The first phase will be a direct-to-consumer marketplace. Once this is established, TeachRN will become more valuable as a B-to-B marketplace for colleges and hospitals. I understand that marketplaces take time to gain traction, and we will face many challenges in fully executing this plan. However, I believe that with persistence, patience, and a bit of luck, we will achieve our mission in time.