Balancing tech with a human-first approach in business

What does it take to build a technology platform business when customer expectations, investor priorities and technology itself are changing at a dizzying pace? 

These are questions TaskRabbit founder Leah Solivan and Midi Health founder Joanna Strober discussed with Inc. Editor-in-Chief Mike Hofman during a conversation on “Your Next Move.” The companies were sparked by vastly different ideas, but the founders’ shared experiences reveal a few common lessons about business building and how staying focused on your purpose—and the key audiences you serve—can lead to scaling at an impressive rate.

● How to win by solving problems

● Why you should let your audience tell you what they need

● What it takes to build a company that lasts

Some of the most promising business ideas begin with a problem that others have overlooked or dismissed. Solivan’s concept was to connect people who need help with various household tasks with those who can provide it. That simple concept came to her when she needed dog food but had no way to connect with someone at the store who could pick it up for her, and it has since helped shape the entire gig economy early in the game. However, these solutions also came with challenges of their own: She had to educate customers about an unfamiliar concept. “You would never invite a stranger into your home to help you hang shelves,” she says.

Strober faced a different kind of market education challenge. Her own experience seeking care for perimenopause symptoms led her to recognize a larger gap in healthcare. But when she began talking to investors about building a company focused on menopause, many did not see the size of the opportunity.

Both founders had to educate people about a need before potential customers could fully understand the value of the solution. For TaskRabbit, that meant helping consumers become comfortable with new forms of peer-to-peer trust. For Midi Health, it meant helping women recognize their need for specialized care and building the trust necessary for them to share sensitive medical information with Midi Health.

Platform businesses must evolve with customers’ needs. In the early days, Strober had what she calls “Tupperware parties,” referring to the popular multilevel marketing approach of the houseware brand. She and her team would create gatherings of about 30 women and host clinicians to speak to them about menopause. While Midi Health began providing hormone care, she and her team soon realized that their clients wanted help with weight loss, general medical advice and other services. “We built a tech platform that basically evolves with them. And we’ve built this AI model essentially that enables us to add more and more care,” she says.

At TaskRabbit, consumer expectations shifted from the web-based marketplace that defined the company at first to more instant bookings and mobile experiences. So the company had to shift its focus to deliver. That included rebuilding technology and making organizational changes when the company needed new skills and technology infrastructure. The original business plan is a starting point, not a permanent blueprint.

Founders feel the urgency to integrate artificial intelligence into their operations, including in the expectations of their investors. Both founders emphasized that businesses should stay focused on solving problems for customers and not let the technology become the most important business driver. Still, Solivan noted that founders without a strong AI story may struggle to get investor attention in the current environment. “They’re so afraid of missing out,” she says.

Strober experienced that pressure firsthand. But she emphasized that Midi Health’s core mission is providing high-quality care, not simply becoming an AI company. “I need to make sure that every woman who comes to us gets high-quality care. That has to be first,” she says, adding that AI can augment clinicians’ efforts, helping them deliver better care and strengthen what they can do. In other words, AI should enable the mission, not replace it.

Building a successful technology platform requires spotting opportunities others may initially miss. Both Solivan and Strober emphasize the importance of remaining deeply connected to changing customer needs and adapting technology infrastructure and business models to keep up with shifting needs and demands. At the same time, rapid technological shifts, including AI, make it more important than ever to maintain clarity about the company’s core purpose. The strongest platforms are not necessarily those that chase every trend; they are the ones that use new technology, customer insight and organizational flexibility to better address the problem they set out to solve.