Episode 9 now available!

Ep 09 - Solving the Healthcare Housing Problem - Christina Henderson, Founder, Reliable Residence

​Solving the Healthcare Housing Problem​

Medical resident Christina Henderson launches Reliable Residence to solve midterm housing for healthcare travelers. Learn how she's building a startup during residency in Madison.

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Key learnings

Healthcare Professionals Are Ideally Positioned for Entrepreneurship
‍Despite common narratives about being too busy or financially constrained, healthcare workers have unique advantages as founders. They communicate with patients daily, understand systemic problems firsthand, and can identify solutions that others miss. The key is recognizing this advantage rather than viewing healthcare as a barrier to entrepreneurship.

The Power of Direct, Unscheduled Outreach
‍Christina's success with Terrence Wall came from simply walking into his office unannounced with a clear value proposition. Sometimes the most effective approach is bypassing traditional channels and directly engaging decision-makers with a compelling problem-solution fit, especially when you can offer them something valuable like reliable tenants.

Midterm Housing Represents an Underserved Market Segment​
The rental market has a clear gap between Airbnb's short-term focus and traditional annual leases. Healthcare travelers need one-to-twelve month accommodations, but existing platforms either become prohibitively expensive or require commitments that don't match contract lengths. This represents a significant business opportunity across multiple industries.

Quality Control Through Personal Vetting Creates Competitive Advantage
‍While scaling through personal property visits seems inefficient, Christina's hands-on approach to vetting every unit creates trust and quality assurance that automated systems can't match. This founder-led quality control becomes a differentiating factor that builds brand reputation and customer confidence.

Systemic Problems Require Community-Level Solutions
‍Housing challenges for healthcare travelers aren't just individual inconveniences - they create staffing shortages that affect entire communities through longer wait times and reduced healthcare access. Recognizing these broader impacts helps frame startup solutions as community benefits rather than niche services.

Early Career Entrepreneurship Challenges Traditional Timelines
‍Most physician entrepreneurs start companies in their 40s or 50s, but Christina demonstrates that medical students and residents can build businesses earlier in their careers. This requires different resource strategies and support systems, but offers advantages like fewer established obligations and more time before career specialization locks in.

Industry-Specific Startup Communities Fill Critical Gaps
‍Traditional startup ecosystems may not fully serve specialized industries like healthcare. Creating focused communities within these sectors helps professionals understand that their domain expertise is valuable for entrepreneurship and provides relevant mentorship and resources they wouldn't find in general startup environments.

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What is the Startup Wisconsin Podcast?

A new show where you can learn about Wisconsin's growing tech scene. Hear the stories of startups, founders, investors, and the incredibly generous people making it happen every single day.

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Upcoming episodes 👀

• Jillian Bichanich (Growing Cubbi and Launching a 2nd Startup)
• Shantanu Singh (AI Tools for Legal with Obviate.ai)
• Laura Strong (Starting Valency Fund)
• Jessica Silvaggi (UW Milwaukee Research Foundation)
• Michael Ceely (Coaching for Entrepreneurs)
• Ben Camp (Recovery.com)
• Russ From (Wayfi Wireless)
• Angela Damiani (Midwest Founders Community)

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