Eric Gastfriend

Eric Gastfriend

Founder & CEO at DynamiCare Health

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericgastfriend/
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Member since March 11, 2016
Quote
Founder & CEO at DynamiCare Health Quote_down
  • About
Investor interests
Locations of interest
Credentials None
Education
2015 Harvard Business School , MBA
2010 Brown University , BA , International Relations
Skills
green tech, high tech / Internet, behavioral health, biotech, and display tech with market research, competitive analysis, and business model analysis

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to change the world.

My favorite startups:

Wave

Why did you start your company or why do you want to innovate inside your company?

My father, Dr. David Gastfriend, is a national expert in addiction psychiatry. He told me that there are effective, evidence-based interventions that can address the opioid epidemic, but they aren't being used. I realized that we had the opportunity to change that.

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

The hardest part is that you have a lot of stress and responsibility, and it can create a lot of emotional pressure. The most rewarding thing is seeing the impact that our product has on our customers.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Working hard in the wrong direction. The entrepreneurial drive is usually to "go go go," but some careful strategic planning can save you a lot of misplaced effort.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

The idea for the company is very important, and hard to change.

· Simplify the business as much as possible -- complexity can stifle growth.

· Give a good balance of both supportive and critical feedback to your team. It's essential for improvement.

Why did you choose to be an entrepreneur?

I want to have a big positive impact on the world, and entrepreneurship is one way to do that. I love technology and coding, but I hate debugging, so I decided the business side of tech is more for me!

What is your favorite startup?

Wave -- they offer no-fee money transfers to countries in Africa. It's great to see disruption benefitting people at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

Full bio

Eric Gastfriend (CEO) is a 2015 MBA graduate of Harvard Business School. Prior to that, he was General Manager of Happy Cloud, a cloud gaming startup, where he oversaw software development and business development, licensing its proprietary technology to large game publishers such as Warner Bros. Eric is currently managing DynamiCare Health’s strategy, sales, operations, and fundraising.