In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Alex Spaete, the Director of Finance and Analytics at Mere Medical Group. Alex shares a formative personal story from his early teens, describing how a family member’s encouragement to value education became a turning point that sparked his lifelong commitment to learning. He then offers industry insight, noting that change and consolidation are the new normal in healthcare and urging professionals to embrace rather than resist these shifts by continuously adding value. Alex expands on this theme with practical business advice: seek incremental improvements in any role, exemplified by a process‑streamlining project he led during his undergraduate years. He reflects on personal growth, advising his younger self to view vulnerability as a strength rather than a weakness. When asked about happiness, Alex emphasizes that one’s own happiness is independent of the responsibility to make others happy. He discusses the impact of Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, highlighting how biological mechanisms shape behavior but do not dictate rational choice. His favorite Nietzsche quote—“To live is to suffer. To survive is to find some meaning in the suffering”—illustrates his belief that meaning arises from enduring hardship. The episode concludes with a brief plug for Authors Unite and Alex’s LinkedIn as the best way to connect with him.
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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 Alex Spady with us. He's the director of finance and analytics for Mere Medical Group. So welcome to the show, Alex.
Happy to be here.
Happy to have you on, man. We'll dive in. The first question I have for you, Alex, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
I think for me, the story that really stands out the most was when I was younger. I was, I think, about 14, 13, 14. I was going through a lot of family stuff and just a lot of— I was in a really kind of— I was a rut, I would say. I was acting out. I was doing all kinds of, you know, things I would not maybe be happy that I was doing. I wasn't really happy with the person that I was. And one of my family members had pulled me aside and at one point kind of talked to me and was really, really stressed that, you know, I know you feel like you're kind of stuck in this and like this is your life, you can't get out of this, but you don't realize it now, but education is your best way to kind of better and further yourself. And that really stuck with me. And it kind of became at the time like a really big turning point for me to really focus more on school and then actually, you know, care about going to college. And so it, I'd say, you know, to me, and it's something I've now really— I kind of have held on to that for as long, you know, and it really to me is in a lot of things I do, it's really now just important to, you know, continue to learn and grow. And I think it's incredibly important.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Being in healthcare, I think the biggest thing is that change and consolidation are really becoming the new normal. And if you're adverse to that or scared of that, I think you're going to be— you're going to have more trouble than if you really turn to just embrace the change. And instead of trying to hold on to the role that you're doing now, really try to position yourself and in what you're doing and adding value And if you're able to do that, you know, no matter what the changes that are happening, if you're one that's able to add value, you're going to be able to kind of tackle any new change. And in a lot of ways, it probably will become more exciting.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice?
Kind of going off what I said last time, you know, I think to me, the best piece of business advice I found is to find a way to improve and add value in anything you do, no matter what position you're in. I've— when I was working in my undergrad, I was working in the business school, and I was doing a lot of administrative type tasks, and I found ways that even just something as simple as like making name tags, and I found a way for them to make that whole process take about a third of the time that they were doing just by changing the process. And, you know, so it doesn't necessarily need to be something as simple something as revolutionary as some crazy new idea or new business venture. But there are ways that you can add value to no matter what you're doing. And you can start taking those incremental steps even in no matter what position you're in. And it really will help you later on.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I'd say if I could do that, I would say don't be afraid to see vulnerability as a weakness. I think I was always too afraid to show that I was, you know, didn't have it all together or that I was, you know, nervous about something. And I think in looking back, I found that more often than not, when you can level and be real with people that, you know, you are scared or you're not sure you can finish something or do something, it's not actually seen as a sign of weakness. It actually can be very empowering and bring you closer and actually make you a lot more relatable.
In your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
I think to me, the first thing is realizing that it's not your responsibility to make other people happy. When you free yourself of that, your happiness is— that other people's happiness— that you can't make other people happy. That's not inherently related to your own happiness. I find that more often than not, you can kind of almost choose to be happy if you're not being held up by holding on to someone else's happiness.
And what is the best book that you've read, and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
I think one of my— the best books I've read is Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. It's a— I think one of the best takeaways I got from it was just the amazing power and like of biology and how the different mechanisms within our bodies and stuff are wired to work and how we've evolved to such a great point that just because it might be in our nature to act a certain way, it doesn't mean that, you know, we're now rational people and we can make different choices. I thought it was an incredibly powerful book in that regard.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
It's a quote by Nietzsche: "To live is to suffer. To survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." I think it's a really, really powerful quote in that the times where you're working towards something and towards a goal often are set with setbacks and really hard to kind of work through. And I think oftentimes, you know, you can wish for, you know, greener pastures or wish that things were better, but then when you kind of achieve that goal, I often find that I look back and I almost actually enjoyed the process more than I did actually, you know, getting to where I was at or wanted to be. And to me, I think this quote really, really touches on that and gets to that, you know, that It's the process of going through the suffering and the pain is where life is really lived. That's where all the flavor and excitement of life is really there. You have to be able to come to peace with that and almost not enjoy it, but just accept it.
Thank you so much for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
LinkedIn would be the best way to do that.
Perfect, man. Thank you again for joining us. We appreciate it.
Awesome. Thank you. The podcast you just heard was recorded with Anchor. If you want to make your own, download the Android or iOS app completely free from anchor.fm/podcast. That's anchor.fm/podcast.
