Office Hours: I’m the CEO & Co-founder of Andy AI. Previously made 100M+ mosquitoes. I’m Tiantian Zha. AMA!Featured

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Hi Elphas!

I’m Tiantian Zha, the CEO & Co-founder of Andy AI, software that completes documentation for nurses doing home visits. Nurses make an audio recording of their visit, and our software automatically generates a form that otherwise takes 90 minutes to complete.

Before Andy AI, I joined Google and soon became the first PM on Debug, an AI/robotics project to eliminate Dengue which affects 400M people each year. In 6 years, we developed a novel biotechnology and manufacturing process, launched in 3 countries and saw an 80% reduction in Dengue cases.

In my spare time, I enjoy making healthy meals at home, rock climbing, and going on walks in San Francisco.

Ask me anything about transitioning from big tech -> startups, building in healthcare, and breaking into a new industry.

ElphaStaff·May 20

Thanks so much for joining us @tiantianzha!Elphas – please ask @tiantianzha your questions before Friday, May 24th. @tiantianzha may not have time to answer every questions, so emoji upvote your favorites 🔥👍🏾➕

jennylustig·May 22

Hi Tiantian! Female founders often struggle with self-promotion. Do you think LinkedIn is a good place for a founder to promote themselves and not just their business? Or are there other platforms or places you think are more effective for attracting leads and promotional opportunities (like getting offered to speak on a panel)?

tiantianzha·May 24

As you spend more time doing something interesting in the industry, opportunities to speak & get featured will automatically come to you. We got invited to do a short podcast, which continues to generate a small number of leads!

tiantianzha·May 24

Yeaa self promotion can feel so uncomfortable!! The best advice I got from a senior woman: "Self promotion makes you more *effective* because others will know to reach out to you, so you have an obligation to do it."Choose a platform based on your industry. In mine, there's a small but active cohort on LinkedIn which has helped me connect with customers that we love working with. Content that's personal, but still related to your business, tends to do well because people are drawn to stories. I'm still learning about all of this!

Moriah172·May 21

What an interesting background! Can you tell us more about these 100M+ mosquitoes you made?

tiantianzha·May 24

The project website gives a pretty good overview: https://debug.com/ but let me know if you have follow up questions!

Iynna·May 20

It's so nice to meet you, Tiantian! Thank you for joining us today. So fascinating to learn your story especially working on Debug leading you to Andy! I have so many questions! - in your background (academic/personal/anything else): did you have a previous background in healthcare or I guess how did you first get involved with Debug (ie from learning about the project to joining the team). Overall, that sounds like a wonderful opportunity!- Are the technologies you've built still active today? - What prompted you starting Andy or I guess what was the motivation behind? - As far as stages: where are you in the development of the company, product? - What's something you're the proudest when you look back at your life and career?- What is something that keeps you up at night (doesn't have to be just work btw), and where this community might be able to help you?

tiantianzha·May 25

Thanks for these questions!! I'll try to answer each of them.- in your background (academic/personal/anything else): did you have a previous background in healthcare or I guess how did you first get involved with Debug (ie from learning about the project to joining the team). Overall, that sounds like a wonderful opportunity!>> I had no real healthcare experience and was lucky that my boss from Debug didn't require it. Internal transfers within a company are a bit easier! If I had to do-over, I'd spend more time studying biology & public health in addition to computer science! - Are the technologies you've built still active today?>> Yes definitely! If you're referring to Debug, the team just sold a franchise in Barbados!- What prompted you starting Andy or I guess what was the motivation behind?>> Working in Silicon Valley inspired me to start a company. I'm definitely influenced by many tech/startup folks I've met out here! But Andy more specifically was a personal experience (see my answer to Shenna20's question)- As far as stages: where are you in the development of the company, product?>> We're a seed-stage startup, we have a product & paying customers. That said, we're still learning about the industry & iterating on our vision, so it's an exciting time to join!- What's something you're the proudest when you look back at your life and career?>> I'm really proud of how far Debug has come and the impact it's having on Dengue fever (80% reduction in disease where the tech is deployed!)- What is something that keeps you up at night (doesn't have to be just work btw), and where this community might be able to help you?>> Thank you for asking! It's all work-related at this point :) We're always looking to meet talented people who are excited about the mission of improving care at home & reducing nurse burnout.

Shenna20·May 21

Why did you choose to focus on healthcare, and specifically on improving documentation for nurses, with Andy AI? Is there a personal story there?

tiantianzha·May 24

Thanks for asking! I grew up in a family of doctors so have always been drawn to healthcare. I find medicine so interesting and read about it for fun. This specific idea came from meeting a home health nurse who was taking care of a family member!

jessicafajardo·May 20

Hi there Tiantian - AndyAI sounds amazing! I'm currently working on a resource for family caregivers (caretaking and supporting elderly family members) and would love to hear more about your process launching this product (from ideation to first use!). I'm also in SF, and would be down to meet IRL too if you want to link up with me and my pup for a walk sometime. :) Cheers

tiantianzha·May 24

What a wonderful mission to focus on! We spoke to lots of users & buyers (which is often so tricky in healthcare!) For this project it was relatively easy: I went to a home health conference and cold-approached many home health leaders (who previously also worked as field clinicians) so it was easy to meet both the user & the buyer. Previously I explored ideas in your space too, and would love to connect some time. Find me on LinkedIn?

Ila85·May 21

HI Tiantian! Thanks for offering us your time and expertise.What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when transitioning from a large tech company to a startup?

tiantianzha·May 24

The standard advice to "talk to your users" sounds simple - but how do you even find your users? Fortunately, everything can be reduced to tactics!For B2B for example, it was often figuring out how to do email & linkedin outreach at scale, or how to cold-approach people at conferences. The hardest part was overcoming fear of rejection & realising that everything needed to be done at enough scale to get signal.