In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner introduces the episode with sponsor messages for Anchor and Authors Unite before interviewing Al Lewis, CEO of Quizify, the leading employee health literacy company in the United States. Lewis shares a personal health story about being misdiagnosed with nasal polyps after a radio show incident, which inspired him to start Quizify. He emphasizes that over‑use of healthcare harms more people than under‑use, and offers practical business advice: be prepared to lose money for an extended period before a startup gains traction. Lewis also reflects on a personal lesson about focusing on his frisbee forehand rather than backhand, defines happiness as having the right partner and financial stability, and recommends the book Service Guarantees by Christopher Hart, highlighting the importance of guaranteeing outcomes and proactively compensating dissatisfied customers. His favorite quote is about the difficulty of convincing someone when their livelihood depends on the opposite belief. The episode concludes with Lewis directing listeners to www.quizify.com to play the game and contact the company.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Al Lewis with us. He is the CEO of Quizify, which is the country's leading employee health literacy company. So welcome to the show, Al.
Thank you very much for having me on, Tyler Wagner.
Of course. Appreciate you coming on. We'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you, Al, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, the best story from my life is that I was once hosting a radio show down at the NPR affiliate in Washington, D.C., and they told me that my voice sounded like I have a cold. Newsflash: this is my voice. And I had thought I had a deviated septum because somebody told me that. I called my primary care doc who set me up with an ENT. And I went in to see this ENT who looked in my nose, told me I had polyps, that I needed a CAT scan, I needed surgery. And I had enough sense to pass on those things even though they would have been covered. And I called the producer of the show and she said, "Oh, don't worry about it. We'll just give you some tea with honey. You'll be fine." But most people would have gotten a CAT scan of the skull plus surgery to solve this problem. That's when I decided to start Quizify.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
That, uh, most people are— far more people are harmed by getting too much healthcare than not enough. Okay.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice, or not necessarily industry specific?
It's not to start a company unless you are prepared to lose a lot of money for a considerable period of time before it catches on.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
It would be I should have worked on my forehand throwing the frisbee much more than I worked on my backhand. I love that.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Uh, the key to happiness is finding the right person to share your life with and making sure all your bills are paid, you have something left over at the end of the month.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Uh, the best business book I read was called Service Guarantees by a guy named Christopher Hart, who's falling off the radar screen. But basically, he said that the way to solve service problems is, as soon as— is number one, guarantee your outcomes. Number two, when you have an issue, don't wait for people to complain. Simply jump on it and offer them, you know, a free month or 10% or something like that. Because the longer you stonewall, the more you have to offer them to put a smile back on their face.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is, it's very— it's impossible to convince somebody of something when their livelihood depends on believing the opposite. Hmm.
Well, listen, man, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where is the best place for people to find you online?
It's www.quizify with two Zs. And just, uh, play the game and hit contact us if you like the game.
