In this episode of the Achieve Podcast, host Taylor Baker interviews Anne Maxson, founder of Effective, a health‑tech startup that provides medication management and patient‑engagement tools aimed at improving adherence and supporting both patients and providers. Anne explains how her background as a pharmacist and personal frustrations with patients lacking reliable medication guidance sparked the idea for Effective. The company is currently running a beta test with a federally qualified health system, demonstrating patient willingness to share data via an easy‑to‑use platform and hypothesizing revenue growth through new billing opportunities and workflow efficiencies for providers. The core team consists of three pharmacists with diverse experiences—Anne (founder), Tyler Hemsley (CEO), and Sabrina Garcia (VP of Clinical Services)—who bring complementary business and clinical expertise. Anne recounts the product’s development challenges, especially finding the right software partner, and describes the iterative “domino‑run” process of building the platform. She highlights a cultural shift from pharmacist risk‑aversion to a startup mindset of rapid experimentation and “fail fast.” Marketing to date relies on personal networks, with plans to leverage beta‑test data for broader outreach. The conversation also touches on leveraging real‑world data and AI for predictive risk modeling, distinguishing high‑risk from rising‑risk patients. When asked about immediate constraints, Anne identifies multilingual check‑ins as a priority to serve underserved populations. Personal reflections include battling imposter syndrome, the importance of seizing networking opportunities, and celebrating incremental wins. The episode concludes with advice to persist, celebrate progress, and contact Effective via LinkedIn or geteffective.com.
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Welcome to another episode of the Achieve Podcast, the show where we highlight leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs who are building meaningful businesses, shaping their industries, and having an impact. I'm Taylor Baker Baker, your host. Today we're excited to be joined by Anne Maxson, the founder at Effective, and you can find them at geteffective.com. Now, Anne, give us the backstory because I love the niche that you're in and the people you're helping, but how did you get into this? And who are you currently serving?
Yeah, I started— so I'm a pharmacist by training. And so what Effective is, is it is essentially medication management and patient engagement to help improve adherence of medications. And as a pharmacist, obviously, that's something I'm very well acquainted with. But kind of the impetus to realize that there was something that needed to be done was phone calls from friends and family who would say, hey, I've been taking this med, and now this weird thing is happening. Do you think it's from my medicine? Or people calling and say, how can I even tell if this stuff's working? Or a friend who calls and says, is there any way to figure out how I can afford this or are there cheaper alternatives? And so eventually I just kind of got frustrated and I was like, we need to do better. Like not everybody has an Anne that they can call and ask these questions. And some people are just out there silently suffering and maybe having very negative, impacts in regards to their health because they're not taking their medications as they should. And so it was born of that frustration of wanting to be able to provide support for patients that I felt was missing.
Wow. Now, what would you say is actually driving growth for your organization right now?
Yeah, right now we are in a beta test with a federally qualified health system. And so we've demonstrated— we've done a pilot test in the past where we demonstrated that patients do engage. Patients do want to share this information because at first people are like, oh, patients, They don't necessarily want to do that, or they can just go on the portal. But portals are annoying to try to access. There's a lot of things that go into that. And so, we've demonstrated that patients want it, they want to use it, they find the ease of use easy. Let me rephrase that. They find it easy to use. And so, they're able to connect with their providers, let them know what's going on. But then there was kind of this other side of, okay, that's great. It does good things for patients, but what's the ROI for the customer, which is the provider or the clinic. And so right now we're doing beta tests looking at that. And what we hypothesize is that we will be able to increase our revenue significantly through additional billing opportunities as well as workflow efficiencies.
That makes sense. Now, how big is the organization?
Right now we're, we're small, we're scrappy. We've got 3 main members of our team. So there's me and there's Tyler Hemsley is our, our other main business partner. He's acting as CEO right now. And then there's also Sabrina Garcia, and she is the VP of Clinical Services. And Sabrina, she's kind of a superstar. She does all sorts of stuff. She also owns Idaho Barkery here in the Treasure Valley, which is a dog treat business, and they do all these custom dog treats and stuff like that. So we've got a pretty good group. We're all pharmacists, but our backgrounds are extremely different. Like I said, Sabrina, you know, has her own entrepreneurial opportunities, and she has a master's in business creation from the University of Utah. Tyler has has been a COO in a different company. He's now, you know, in leadership roles at St. Luke's, has done a lot of building businesses within businesses. And so we all kind of come from different backgrounds, but sometimes people were like, oh, you're all pharmacists, but there's a lot of variety in, in the things that we bring to the company.
Wow, that seems like quite the all-star team pulling together there.
Yeah.
So now, looking back for you personally, what turning points, positive or negative, have kind of molded the way you think about the organization? And how to run it.
Yeah, it's at the beginning, it was kind of one of those like, oh, I don't— what, what will this look like? And what should it be? And so I remember early on, I had had the thought of, oh, well, maybe we just need short-form videos to educate patients and help them learn what's on their medications and what the, you know, essentially the spiel that you would get from a pharmacist when you pick up your meds that most people don't listen to. Honestly. And so it would just be something simple like that. And I thought, okay, like that, there's an idea there. And I thought, well, I should just put it out for free. And I had a friend who was like, no, like you're adding value to someone's life. Therefore you deserve to be compensated for that value. And as I kind of different iterations, I was like, well, what about engagement? What about checking in with patients, asking them about side effects, efficacy, satisfaction, social determinants of health, and getting that feedback back from them. And so that kind of was a big turning point to be like, okay, that's more valuable, not only to the patient, but especially to the provider.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So that was one big kind of shift in things. And then it kind of became a, okay, how do we build it? And that was hard. We had a lot of false starts with different opportunities trying to figure out a good software partner. And eventually we were able to sort that out. And it's been just amazing. I was trying to explain it to my kids as from the idea of like building a gigantic domino run, and you're like, okay, I want this domino run to go from point A to point B. And the first like 3 years of trying to figure out exactly how you want it to go, and then you have some people come in and say, hey, I can help build this domino run for you. And sometimes they— we always joke that sometimes we'd be looking for a trike and people would come with a fighter jet, and we're like, nope, we just We just need the simple version. And so we would be trying to navigate these different things and start over and start over. And eventually, we found a fit. And it's been so important to be able to have that. And then just recently, we were able, through that beta test, we were able to get feedback from the provider there that we're having a real impact on patients. They're recognizing spots where they can intervene and help patients earlier before little issues become big problems. And the providers are feeling that it's making their workflows more efficient and allowing them to have more valuable and meaningful conversations with patients during their appointments. And hearing that, I was telling a friend, I was like, I got kind of choked up on the call because it had been, you know, 7 years of when the idea first started to form in my mind of we need to help patients. And then finally to be able to see, okay, we're doing it. It's doing what we wanted it to do.
Fruits of your labor.
Yeah.
That's wonderful. Now, as you guys try to grow and expand, what have been the biggest bottlenecks or obstacles that show up?
Yeah, so definitely the software side of it and that idea of like, do we bring someone in internally? Do we outsource? Kind of that part of it has been, been interesting. I think another part that's been interesting is, as I said, we're all pharmacists and so pharmacists generally are very risk-averse, which if you think about it is probably a good character trait to have for your pharmacist when you're picking up medications from them. And so business is not like that. Business is, you know, throw it on the wall and see what sticks. And so some of that being scared of risk has kind of held us back sometimes a little bit, like wanting things to be perfect. Because for example, when I worked at in like pediatrics, I would triple-check my math 5 times to make sure I had the dosing right. And with this, you're kind of like, well, we need to just get it out there and see if people like it, see if people use it. And it's one of those, oh, it's not perfect yet, but in business it's very much like, just, you don't want it, you know, fail fast. Even if it, even if it doesn't work, fail fast and then change and try something new.
So true. Now when it comes to your messaging and your outreach and your marketing systems, What's been working well and where do you feel the biggest gaps and frustrations?
I think for us, one of the things is it's mainly just been through our network at this point and trying to like go out through different groups has been a little bit more complicated. We'd love to figure out a one-to-many opportunity as far as marketing. And so we've been trying to utilize our network in that regard. But as far as more broad outreach and marketing, I think that's something where once we kind of get these, this beta test under our belt, we have that data to back up what we're saying we'll be able to do. That will really help broaden our opportunities with marketing.
That makes sense. And do you have a time frame when that beta test will be done?
Yeah, hopefully the middle of this year.
Oh cool, that's awesome. That's good. Now with all the, the usage and modern updates with AI and automation Where have you guys found ways to utilize it internally, and where do you see opportunities still?
Yeah, for us, one of the thoughts is that we're gathering more information about real-world data, what, what's really going on with patients and their medications, what side effects are really happening, or what things are preventing them from taking their medications. And so we're gathering all this information about what's really happening in the world with patients and medications, which is valuable data, but even more valuable to providers, especially, or insurance companies, is being able to use that data in a predictive way to determine when a patient may be, you know, at a higher risk of an issue. So, we were talking the other day about the difference between high risk and rising risk, and the importance of identifying those patients who are rising risk before they become high risk so that you can intervene earlier and provide them with the healthcare that they need.
I love that definition clarity there. High risk versus rising risk.
Yes.
Wow. That's like triage to a degree, or pre-triage.
Yeah.
Wow. Now, when you think the next stages of the business, what are you most excited about?
Oh, I think more of that dopamine hit of hearing that it's working and hearing that it's, you know, not necessarily that it's working, but that's making a difference in patients' lives. For For our entire team, we just want to make patients' lives as well as healthcare providers' lives because we've been on the front lines. We know how complicated healthcare is, how burnout is a real thing, a real issue, and we want to support our healthcare providers. But we want to also be able— and that was a lot of what we came up with as well. We've been very mindful of that as we've been developing Effective of, yes, we want to help patients, but we want to do it in a way that is not an additional burden to the provider. We want to make it easier for them because they've got enough going on. And there's a lot of resistance to change in healthcare. So if we can make it as seamless as possible, that's really important. But yeah, for our entire team, I think our main— obviously, financial benefits would be nice for our team, for what we've put into it. That compensation would be nice. But recognizing that we'll be able we've been able to have an impact is, I think— I don't know if— I can't speak for everybody. For me, it's more important is being able to make a positive difference and impact in the world.
I love that. I love that you're so conscious and holistic with your approach, where you want to impact the patients without adding more burden to the practitioners and providers. And the main focus is having impact.
Yeah.
So, wow. Now, when you look at your journey and the wins, the mistakes, what stands out to you and what do you wish you understood sooner?
Whoa. I think sometimes I wish I understood to not be concerned as much about imposter syndrome. I think that is, that is something. So I had the amazing opportunity a few years ago to be part of the Tree Seed Trailblazers through Trailhead. And so I was in this group with all these amazing entrepreneurs in the area, and they all seemed so much cooler and so far ahead on the journey and all of these different things. And, um, a lot of times I would be like, I don't even know why I'm in this group. Like, how did I get here? Like, did someone pay somebody off? I, I don't know why I'm here. And so there was a lot of that, um, just kind of coming to terms with that idea of you belong where you are. I remember talking to one of our amazing advisors and I've been invited to an opportunity and I was really nervous about it and had that perspective of, oh, like there's everybody else there is so far along and they've done so many things and I don't know if I belong there. And our advisor, he said, you belong wherever you are because that's, that's why you're there is you had the opportunity to be there. So I think that's definitely something that I wish I could tell my my younger self, I guess, um, is that just— and, and relish those opportunities. So relish the opportunity to get to connect with people and get to know them. As far as, um, other kind of other lessons that I've learned, I had talking to one of our advisors a while ago, and I was like, you know, I like— we're not, we're not quitting, we're not stopping, but I was like, but honestly, if we were to have to like close up and walk away, I wouldn't change it for the world. I wouldn't go back and not start because I've learned so much, um, both kind of like academically and networking and all these things. There's been so many things that have come into my life through this journey that it's just amazing to look back and think of how far I've come with all these different things.
I love that. And that line, you are where you belong. Like, the imposter syndrome, I think we all face it at times. That's awesome. Now, and if you had to pick one constraint to focus on and solve over the next 90 days, what would it be?
Let me think on that. A constraint, um, one of the things that we're looking at right now is making sure that we have the ability to do our medication check-ins in different languages. And so that's been kind of top of mind. And, and honestly, for me, that's something that's always been kind of important to me, um, is the applicability of this type of service to underserved populations. And oftentimes those underserved populations speak a language other than English. And so being able to provide those services in, in that way is hopefully coming soon. But yeah, that's definitely been something on our mind lately.
I could see that. That'd be a huge benefit and value add to so many.
Wow.
Well, Anne, thank you for coming on and sharing your wisdom and your story. Any final words for our listeners or other leaders on a similar journey?
Yeah, I think kind of one of the main things is to just stick with it and, and celebrate the huge little wins and those times where you feel like nothing is moving forward. Take a moment and look back and see how far you've come.
Ah, so good. See how far you've come. Now, for those who want to reach out and learn more, they can go to LinkedIn, geteffective.com, anywhere else you want to send them?
Those are kind of the two main spots. LinkedIn is probably easiest to get in touch.
Okay. And Get Effective, G-E-T-E-F-F-E-C-T-I-V.
Correct, missing the last E on effective.
Yep. And so, and thank you to our sponsors of today's episode, Achieve Fractional, which provides fractional executive leadership for growing businesses. And if you enjoyed today's episode, share it with a friend, a colleague, with a provider, and see how you can get involved. Reach out to Anne and the team and they'll help you out. And we'll see you on the next episode of the Achieve Podcast.
