Profiles in Telehealth: Josh Koch - Principal Sales Executive
Get to know Wheel Principal Sales Executive, Josh Koch!
What’s your role at Wheel?
I am a Principal Sales Executive here at Wheel and my primary responsibility is to develop new, Enterprise & Strategic partnerships that will drive sustainable revenue growth for the organization.
The partnership process always starts with an initial conversation, which may be with an emerging high-growth digital health company expanding their business lines or a well-established healthcare organization seeking to improve their efficiencies, drive down operational costs, and even augment their existing services to support a new contract they’ve secured. Regardless of the size of the organization, or the unique elements of their business, our area of expertise is to understand each nuance of the customer, consider all of the factors that impact every client in the business of healthcare, and provide them with clear recommendations and expectations for establishing a strong foundation for working together.
Ultimately, when there is a match between our client’s needs and Wheel’s core capabilities, we move swiftly, but thoughtfully through clinical, operational, and technical discussions to set up every client for success and align on terms that are mutually beneficial. My role is very exciting, as I have the pleasure of speaking with a wide range of individuals from varying backgrounds, and am able to help them effectively navigate the complexities of virtual care.
What’s your professional story?
I grew up in Upstate New York, in a very, very cold suburb of Rochester (about 68 miles east of Buffalo). My dad would always joke and ask people who aren’t familiar with the area “do you know how many days of the year it’s gray and cloudy in Rochester?” and the look on their faces when he responded…"365" was always the same. A look of shock and empathy. But, despite the lack of sunshine, it was a great place to grow up and has always been advanced when it comes to healthcare, technology, education, and business. It is home to the Strong Memorial Medical Center, Kodak, University of Rochester (U of R), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and more.
I graduated college from State University of New York College at Brockport and completed my Bachelor of Science Degree with a focus on Communications and Marketing.
My first career opportunity was at Paychex, which I started two weeks following my graduation date. I couldn’t have been more excited to join the workforce and land my first job at a publicly traded, reputable organization like Paychex. In my first role, I was tasked to find prospective small-business clients and sell them Paychex services. It was in that first year I quickly realized how much I enjoyed helping people find solutions to their challenges.
Fast forward past a promotion at Paychex and a re-location to the sunshine state of Florida, I broke into the Pharmaceutical Industry as a Specialty Sales Representative, working with OBGYN’s and Hospitals, and educating physicians on the drug portfolio my company had. Learning the ins and outs of healthcare was something I will always be grateful for in that role. Following my introduction to healthcare, I applied the skills I developed and knowledge I learned to Amedisys, a top 3, publicly traded national healthcare organization where I spent just under 10 years and held 3 different roles including the position of Area Vice President of Business Development. There, I discovered a new passion within healthcare: Technology. I naturally gravitated towards exploring companies that were investing in innovation and developing technology that would improve healthcare access and outcomes and earned an opportunity to help an early-stage start-up introduce and deploy an AI-driven solution to the large, self-insured employer market.
When I'm not working, I enjoy being outdoors with my wife and our little pup, "Shorty". I also love hiking, playing ice hockey, and traveling.
Why did you join Wheel?
My journey at Wheel began 3 years ago (I wasn’t a part of the team yet), when I first heard about Wheel’s quick traction in the digital health market, the space I was working in. The relevance of Wheel’s model, the bigger picture, and Michelle’s vision to put great care in everyone’s reach resonated with me, and prompted me to begin paying closer attention to the mission and impact of the organization. It wasn’t too long before the great work Wheel was doing became a continuous drumbeat in the market. Wheel was paving their way through the challenges and mines every start-up goes through. They were clearly breaking through barriers.
Following the Series C funding announcement, another key milestone for Wheel, I had the privilege of meeting with several members of the leadership team and knew that I wanted to be part of the mission and make an impact on healthcare in a unique way that other organizations were not.
A common part of joining any high-growth organization is adjusting to your role and finding ways to enhance the impact that role has internally and externally. For me, that’s one of the exciting aspects of being a Principal Sales Executive. When I think about where my time has been spent over the past 6-months, and look forward to where it will be spent in the next 6-months, I’m very encouraged to see that evolution in a relatively short period of time.
What’s your favorite Wheel moment?
This is a tough one, and there isn’t a day that goes by without feeling rewarded and grateful. But, if I go back to when I first joined Wheel, the energy, enthusiasm, and eruption from Wheelies during “Wheel Live”, in person, in Austin, was something that will always be a memorable moment. Being in a group of 150+ like-minded people, working to bring Wheel’s vision to more organizations and supporting one another felt very important and meaningful.
Collaboration is critical at Wheel and it’s exciting to communicate with each department throughout the partnership process to find paths that help more people gain access to high-quality care. There’s always a “lightbulb moment” during collaboration where we know we’re 100% aligned and it’s time to accelerate the process with a client. It’s these moments that allow us to move further together.
What does the future of healthcare look like?
Take a look at the impacts COVID had on the world… No matter what perspective or experience a person has had, and I respect all experiences and perspectives, COVID forced us to change. And, it forced not only healthcare but government, businesses, and organizations to move at a pace that was extremely uncomfortable as a whole.
One of the results of COVID that is hard to argue is that it brought people together in ways we may have not thought possible, and brought telehealth to the forefront of discussions in healthcare. In many ways, COVID jolted the surge of innovation already occurring and forced us to take the telehealth industry, and healthcare to the next level.
Healthcare comes with such a unique and complex set of challenges, it is constantly evolving, which I think creates a huge opportunity for innovation. A big part of innovation that is making a difference on a large scale is telehealth. And the uses for it continue to grow and evolve rapidly, which is a reflection of the widespread interest, adoption, and outcomes. The future continuously improves for healthcare and each improvement translates to helping more patients and families receiving the care they need to live long, healthy lives.
Do you have a fun fact?
I learned how to ride motorcycles when I was 16 (Thank you, Dad!). Riding has become one of my passions and over the past few years, I have been able to tour some really incredible places around the world (on a Harley Davidson), including Italy, Switzerland, and France.
Thanks, Josh, for all your hard work with the Wheel Team! We appreciate everything you do.
Interested in joining our team? Check out the latest career opportunities with Wheel!
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