A SHIELD for Serving First Responders

This is a podcast episode titled, A SHIELD for Serving First Responders. The summary for this episode is: <p>In this episode, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-sorgi-b7032577/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jim Sorgi</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-smith-2374aa5/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Smith</a> from <a href="https://www.proteamtactical.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ProTeam Tactical</a> share why ProTeam came to be and their mission of serving First Responders with the best mental health app. They take us through their journey to tackle the behavioral health aspects of the job for First Responders by applying technology to an underserved group who greatly need the support and resources!</p><p><br></p><p>Jim and his partner <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-vandever-7b7949148/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joey Vandever</a>, also a former professional athlete, knew they needed to up the level of care for these men and woman who serve our community. They spent the first years focusing on the physical needs of the job with tremendous success. And most recently they saw the need to care for the behavioral health side of the job for these First Responders. So they embarked on building <a href="https://www.proteamtactical.com/behavioral-health/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SHIELD</a>, a mobile-first product that launched earlier in 2023 to help First Responders assess where they are in 6 key categories.</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Sleep</li><li>Stress</li><li>PTSD</li><li>Anxiety</li><li>Depression</li><li>Substance Abuse</li><li>Financial Wellness (**Soon to be released**)</li></ul><p><br></p><p>ProTeam is not a typical tech company, they are more tech enabled; and yet their journey to build a digital product to aid in this pursuit was one of learning and compromise. There will always be more features than time and money allow for. This team learned how to focus on the most important features to get the most for the users they serve. There are practical take-a-ways from this conversation: why deciding to say no to a feature is good, why a solution in search of a problem can hinder success, and the power of getting feedback from your target users. </p><p><br></p><p>We'd love to hear from you! Reach out to <a href="https://app.casted.us/account/62/shows/81b7557b-52e8-4ea3-87b9-a8f2cdaa00e4/episodes/9b8e5049-3269-4d01-a208-ec35aa12083d/podcast@sep.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">podcast@sep.com</a> to share your feedback on this show.</p><p>You can find more information about this podcast at <a href="https://app.casted.us/account/62/shows/81b7557b-52e8-4ea3-87b9-a8f2cdaa00e4/episodes/93ecce9c-0530-4661-a507-b77e2748f4ee/sep.com/podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sep.com/podcast</a> and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!</p>