Atlanta Founder Stories: Carl Hanna, PhD Co-founder of Evva Health
Ask anyone who has ever been a caregiver for an individual who has been diagnosed with dementia and you’ll likely hear a story of how challenging it can also be to those who help their loved ones manage this disease. Dr. Carl Hanna co-founder of Evva Health noticed this problem and worked with his co-founder to develop a smart caregiving ecosystem that helps solve for the fragmented, complex, costly, and stressful experience for family caregivers. Learn more about his journey building Evva Health, how COVID impacted his business, and how you can support him on his journey of becoming the #1 ecosystem for access to clinicians and professionals. #AtlantaFounderStories
Introducing Carl Hanna
Born in Haiti, Dr. Hanna now considers himself an “Atlanta man” after living in Atlanta for about 23 years where he came to finish his undergrad, masters, and PhD at Georgia Tech. Prior to starting this company, Carl began his career in consulting and has spent the last 15 years advising clients in several industries.
“Out of my 15 years in consulting, over a decade has been in the healthcare space working on strategy, workforce management and digital transformation. I’ve led multi-million dollars consulting engagements for large multi-hospital systems and community-based hospitals all over the US.
Besides being passionate about healthcare and technology, I’m also a caregiver for my mom and was a caregiver for my dad who passed away last year. As a caregiver, I’ve gone through the challenge of accessing care, finding the right support and information. With my co-founder, we are fusing together our personal and professional experiences to build Evva Health. Our AI-driven
solution is centered around the family and their loved ones with dementia. Our solution not only identifies the clinical needs of the person with dementia but also captures their family dynamics to determine what clinical and non-clinical resources to best support the entire family throughout their care journey.
Finding the right co-founder
Carl met his co-founder, Saurabh Vyas, over 10 years ago on a healthcare consulting engagement out in California and connected on their passion for healthcare and technology.
“I would say we’re like yin and yang… I am the engineer in healthcare and he’s a physician who is passionate about technology. We do function as two halves of one brain.”
With an emphasis on user experience, Carl and Saurabh are building a unique technology platform that will be a digital front door to families seeking an end to end solution that adapt to their evolving needs and provide support throughout the care journey.
Pivoting during the pandemic
Over the last two years, the pandemic has affected everyone. Nonetheless, Carl and his team has spent this time building relationships with future users, providers, tech partners, and community organizations with the objective to determine how to create value for the different care ecosystem stakeholders.
It is worth noting that during the pandemic, we have seen an increase in the adoption of technology solutions such as Tele health by users who were more hesitant to use them before. When finding what differentiates this platform, Carl shares more about what makes Evva Health different from other emerging platforms:
“We are taking personalization of care to the next level and going beyond social determinants of health to identify the needs of a person with dementia and his/her family to bring proactively the resources that they need now and in the future as they navigate the care journey as a family.”
Looking forward with Evva Health
Caarl and the Evva Health team have been making excellent traction with building their company so far, even in the middle of the pandemic. They won the ATL Codelaunch competition back in August securing 40% of the votes from an audience of 400 attendees. In November, they got 1st place at the LG NOVA competition on innovation held in San Francisco. Besides having a growing list of families ready to use the platform, they have secured three Letters of Intent (LoI) from healthcare providers and patient advocacy groups. Up next, they are focusing on a pre-seed round to bring the solution to market. Carl is harnessing the power of the community in a big way by giving an opportunity to our community to invest in Evva Health through their equity crowdfunding campaign. Interested in becoming an early investor? Take a look at their campaign: Evva Health is on Wefunder and help them reach their fundraising goal. They have raised over $210,000 in just a few weeks, so far. Good Luck Team Evva!
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Thank you for sharing your story with us Dr. Hanna! Keep reading more exciting stories of the founders that are making the Atlanta startup scene shine bright. Share this story and stay tuned at startupatlanta.com!
