When scaled organizations partner with us to co-create advantaged startups intended to solve big problems of interest to them, our Build team is responsible for working hand-in-hand with our partners to come up with business ideas and concepts.

A key component on our Build team are our Analysts who:

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• Conduct market research and interviews with customers and subject-matter experts
• Test critical business assumptions to learn if a startup idea is worth exploring further
• Effectively communicate their findings with the rest of the Build team and partners
• Distill complex data and insights into easily digestible and actionable deliverables

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A desire to take on a meaningful role at a company with a clear-cut mission — in our case, to launch companies that positively impact society — led Maxwell von Doepp to join us at High Alpha Innovation as a Senior Build Analyst.

We spoke with Maxwell to learn about his motivations behind joining the business, lessons he’s learned so far in helping to build entirely new startups from scratch, and how our company culture empowers him to thrive in his role.

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Tell us about your career to date and what led you to want to join High Alpha Innovation.

Maxwell: While I’ve only been at High Alpha Innovation for a relatively short period of time, I’ve had a chance to dive deeply into interesting topics like aging, healthcare regulations, retail, and food as medicine.

I joined High Alpha Innovation with the intent of being able to attach myself to my work, knowing that it aligned with the impact I wanted to make in helping to build entirely new startups from the ground up.

Walk us through a typical day. What are some core tasks and projects you take on daily?

Maxwell: I interact most with my direct Build team members. Every day is different. One day, I might be scheduled to interview healthcare regulators and nurses, while the next, I could be building out economic models for small consumer packaged goods brands.

Share one of your favorite projects you’ve worked on so far at High Alpha Innovation.

Maxwell: Working with Wellstar, one of the largest integrated health systems in the U.S., was a deeply rewarding project.

Going from a large opportunity area, in terms of healthcare-specific themes Wellstar wanted to explore, to validated startup concepts with unique business models informed by customer interviews and insights from peers was an amazing experience.

The potential impact one of the proposed startups we developed could have on the lives of older adults was my favorite piece about the project.

What inspires and motivates you to thrive in your role?

Maxwell: I’m inspired by the ambiguity of the role.

The ability to come to work every day, decide what you need to do to move the venture-building program forward, and scratch that creative itch makes me genuinely excited when I wake up every morning.

What skills do you need to be successful in your role on your team?

Maxwell: The two most important skills are coming with a truly curious mind and an ability to structure and work through amorphous problems.

How do you collaborate internally and externally in your role to help build new startups?

Maxwell: Internally, we collaborate both across the Build team to better define problems we could potentially solve through startup creation and engage with our venture-building partner.

Cross-functionally, I work with our Go-to-Market team to ensure they’re set up for success, once a portfolio company moves into the launch phase.

And externally, my colleagues and I collaborate with our partners to ‘go further, faster’ (mostly through regular update meetings to share progress) and with the potential customers and users of proposed startup concepts we collectively explore and test assumptions around.

Describe our culture. How does the company live its mission, vision, and values?

Maxwell: High Alpha Innovation is truly an employee-first company. The people here hold themselves to such a high standard that everyone at the business has the ability to focus on its mission and live up to it.

What sets the business apart from others you’ve worked at? What makes you want to grow here?

‍Maxwell: High Alpha Innovation believes in short cycle times. This means welcoming mistakes but also fostering growth through that process. I have grown more here in three months than my whole career to date.