What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Two Local Veterans
Veteran’s Day Spotlight: Serving in the Army Prepared Joshua Lawton & Michael Dougherty to Become Entrepreneurs
by Faith Vera at Sputnik ATX Accelerator
Joshua Lawton & Michael Dougherty, veterans and co-founders of Health Hat, are working together to bridge the gap between healthcare and business. Both previous Army medics and long-time friends sat down with Sputnik ATX to talk about their experience as veterans and entrepreneurs.
Dougherty and Lawton’s journey as medics started soon after September 11, 2001.
“Both of us lived right outside the Pentagon, so when the plane hit, it was really gripping. That was the motivating force for both of us to serve,” said Lawton.
Lawton (serving from 2002–2009) and Dougherty (serving from 2002–2013) were both stationed in Fort Hood, TX and met during a medical training course. Both were in the same unit and eventually went to combat together, where they became good friends.
After returning from the service, Lawton asked himself what was next. Inspired by Disney’s Davey Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier, he had a long-time dream of going to the University of Texas at Austin.
“In the book, Crockett says, ‘Texas, there she is. Man can do anything, things can happen.’ In Austin we really encompass that because this is a place where people try. There’s something about Austin in particular that brings people down to The University of Texas to start their lives and to build,” said Lawton .
After being accepted into the Master of Science and Technology Commercialization (MSTC) program at UT Austin, Lawton bought a truck, placed a UT flag and a Texas flag on it and headed down to the 40 acres.
After seeing the local growing startup and technology scene, Dougherty and Lawton decided to use their medical experiences from the field to improve health care back home.
“We got into the army before electronic health records, so we were using really old systems,” said Lawton.
“Vietnam era,” said Dougherty.
Having noticed how inefficient it was for medics to figure out how to treat a wounded soldier, Lawton and Dougherty knew that there had to be a better way.
“Seconds actually count tremendously when it comes to emergency care,” said Lawton.
Taking from that experience, Lawton and Dougherty started their healthcare business called Health Hat.
Health Hat observes the business of medicine by using data to help doctors and practitioners effectively and efficiently treat patients.
“Health Hat brings 16 minutes down to much less time, which will have a direct result on the patient but also on wait times in hospitals,” Lawton said.
“We are giving hospitals and healthcare systems the tools they need to make sound business decisions instead of going off of gut feelings,” said Dougherty.
Being in the military prepared Lawton and Dougherty to become entrepreneurs by providing the skills required to fearlessly put their heads down and “go for it.”
“In the military, even if you’re not the one that packed the parachute or the one who checked the parachute, you just jump,” said Lawton.
“The military has a saying: ‘Make it happen.’ That means regardless of how you choose to solve the problem that you’re confronted with, it has to get done. Open your bag and see what you’ve got and make it work,” said Dougherty.
Dougherty and Lawton are using resources around Austin, TX to help them learn and achieve goals for their business. On top of getting an MSTC degree from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, Lawton enjoys to attend events at Impact Hub, Capital Factory, and be part of the conversation on the Austin Startups Facebook page and Austin Tech Alliance’s Facebook page.
“For us, primarily, our biggest hub of information really comes from Health Tech Austin”, said Lawton.
For veterans who are looking to become entrepreneurs, Lawton suggests Bunker Labs and Patriot Boot Camp.
For more information about Health Hat, check out their website here.
