Neel and Kristi started east from Albuquerque on the second morning. The flatlands continued. Dry terrain of cacti and rural towns passed their car. Steadily, they crossed into the tip of Texas and then Oklahoma. The open land rolled on as they approached Oklahoma City.
In the trunk were all kinds of snacks, placed to be safely reachable from the front. Neel and Kristi had Kind bars, kettle-cooked chips, coconut water, protein shakes, nuts, and bananas.
All told, the trunk was packed from floor to ceiling. Snacks occupied a small space. The rest was filled with cups, mugs, and swag; with water bottles and business cards; with posters, banners, easels, flyers and other supplies for the American Epilepsy Society’s conference in D.C.
Neel and Kristi still had to drive through the remainder of the American southwest, much of the south, and up many eastern states. So far, the land had been open and empty. That was how things were when EpiFinder germinated four years ago—a blank slate.
“The journey of EpiFinder started in 2013,” Neel recalls. “Robert Yao and I teamed up to work on this project. I was actively looking for a biomedical project, and he was looking for a product application person.”
Neel and Robert met almost by chance. Their desks happened to be near each other at Arizona State. Soon, they met, shared ideas, and and created EpiFinder. “I wanted to build something that could impact and influence people’s lives,” Neel says.
Today, EpiFinder has five full-time employees, two part-timers, and several student interns. The team works out of a shared space in Arizona State’s SkySong office campus. U.S. News recently named Arizona State the most innovative school in America.
Oklahoma City
On the third afternoon of EpiFinder’s trip, Neel and Kristi reached Oklahoma City. There, they met with Jennifer Walters, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Oklahoma. Neel and Kristi were hoping to connect with local epilepsy groups on the return trip after the conference, but they embraced this opportunity when it arose.
Jennifer found EpiFinder’s novel software impressive. She felt intrigued by our Patient Portal’s potential to better connect people and doctors.
“I look forward to working with you and EpiFinder for my state,” Jennifer said. “Congratulations on this amazing product to help change the future of patient-to-doctor communication.”
Moving Forward
After this meeting, Neel and Kristi hit the road again. They stopped for dinner in Little Rock, Arkansas. On the menu were dolmades and vegetable gyros, good eating from a Greek restaurant. Up until then, Kristi says, meals had consisted of “endless enchiladas.”
They stopped for the night in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis marked 1,500 miles on the road for the EpiFinder conference team of two.
On a rainy morning with tall trees rising into cottony clouds, Neel and Kristi buckled up and hit the road with enthusiasm. That morning, EpiFinder had gotten ten new Kickstarter pledges. They were also excited about new scenery, new meetings, and to see what new adventures lay on the road ahead.
Next stop: Nashville.
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