Naomi Rajput and Evan Smith are dynamic entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds and a shared mission: to alleviate the burdens of healthcare administration through innovation. Together, they are the co-founders of Eden, a health tech startup poised to transform the healthcare landscape.
Rajput was born in New York but spent much of her childhood in Mumbai, India, before moving to New Jersey and eventually to Boston for college. Her early experiences in healthcare administration and being a pre-med student, shaped her understanding of the systemic inefficiencies in the field. “I was seeing 100 to 150 patients a day at this very understaffed primary practice. And we were checking in patients manually and the administration workflows were very cumbersome,” she recalls. “I used to even ask my practice manager, like, why don’t we have something that’s more efficient, less cumbersome? Why are we manually doing this?” she continued.
Smith, on the other hand, studied international business at Northeastern University, where his passion for entrepreneurship flourished. From launching a personal protective equipment (PPE) company during the pandemic to facilitating donations between pharmaceutical companies and charities, Smith tried his hand at various aspects of the healthcare sector. A skiing accident and subsequent health challenges provided him with firsthand insight into the difficulties patients face in navigating healthcare systems. “I’ve seen 30-40 different doctors over the last three years,” he shares. “I found it to be very difficult, and realized there was a very great opportunity for us to innovate in the healthcare industry.”
READ: AI to ease healthcare burden: Northeastern students develop ‘Eden’ (November 11, 2024)
In this interview with The American Bazaar, Rajput and Smith share their journey filled with challenges, inspiration, and determination that offers valuable insights into the world of entrepreneurship and health tech innovation.
The American Bazaar: Every startup has an origin story. How did Eden come to be?
Rajput: I was working in healthcare administration and posting about digital health innovations on LinkedIn. Evan, who had already been working on a related solution, reached out to me through a mutual connection. Our first call lasted three hours, where we discussed our perspectives—mine from the administrative side and his from the patient’s side. That’s where the synergy began. We realized we shared a vision for creating something that addressed the systemic inefficiencies in healthcare administration. Evan can tell you about his patient side, but I was more on the administrative side, like front office staff. That’s where my perspective comes in.
Smith: For me, the journey began earlier. I’d already started working on a solution, but it wasn’t as encompassing as what Eden is today. I’ve been able to learn a lot about the industry, as a patient, as an administrator, as a physician. And I can finally help develop a solution that helps everybody, as opposed to many of the other solutions today, that only help parts of the problem.
Rajput: I guess rough timeline for ideation, the initial inception where we were like, OK, this is Eden was two or three weeks after we met. But we’re always ideating and adding more things.
So how did you settle on the name “Eden”?
Smith: Initially, the company was called CareWallet because it integrated seamlessly into Apple Wallet. Just like Apple Pay, you’d be able to tap your phone and transfer information over to the doctor. So, care wallet, care in your wallet. It was great.
I changed the name to Eden because while I was working with Naomi, we realized there was so much more. We were creating a solution that was going to help many more people, more stakeholders. It was more encompassing. It was much larger. And I don’t know if you can get more bigger or magical than the garden of Eden. It’s paradise. And we also have a wonderful tagline, since we use AI automation, that Eden is the garden that tends itself.
Your backgrounds aren’t in technology. And you’re building a health tech company. So how did you bridge that gap?
Smith: While I don’t code, I’ve always been a tech enthusiast. The most important part of building a tech company is understanding the problem and designing an effective solution. We’ve hired talented teams to handle the technical aspects while we focus on solution architecture and user experience.
What challenges did the two of you face in the initial days? And how long did it take for the company to start?
Rajput: Health tech is a highly regulated field, and winning over doctors’ trust was challenging. Many practitioners are skeptical because of past experiences with inadequate solutions. Another challenge was balancing efficiency with intuitiveness in our product design. We wanted to create something both administrators and patients would find easy to use.
Smith: It’s a really hard thing starting a startup. For me it’s more of a personal challenge than it is anything else. It’s been very difficult, both physically and psychologically. But I think in terms of specific challenges, Naomi mentioned a couple of really good ones.
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How big is your team?
Smith: We have around 10 team members, with three to four focused on product development.
You spoke about automating routine tasks like scheduling and insurance verification. What are some of the key features of Eden that you believe have the most impact in reducing healthcare burnout and improving the overall quality of care.
Rajput: Two features stand out. First, our automated referral system aims to streamline cross-practice correspondence. Imagine needing a specialist referral and waiting weeks for it—by the time it arrives, your issue might have resolved itself. Our solution reduces call volumes and improves patient satisfaction. Second, our advanced scheduling system is designed to be intuitive and empathetic. Unlike robotic systems, it uses AI to adapt to different scenarios, creating a more human-like interaction.
What’s the competitive landscape like?
Smith: There are many competitors in the health tech space, but the problem of healthcare administration inefficiency still persists. Administrative expenses account for about 25% of the $4.3 trillion healthcare industry. So, you have many, many competitors, you have billions almost a trillion dollars of a problem that still exists so it’s very simple, how are the competitors doing if the problem is still so bad.
What kind of help you get from Northeastern?
Rajput: At Northeastern there is a big female founder entrepreneurship community and they’ve been very kind and introduced us to people. I don’t come from a business background academically, but they’ve been very kind to introduce me to mentors who can talk to me about business analytics and business modelling.
Also, financially they’ve been able to give us grants that have helped keep us afloat.
Have you raised any funding so far?
Smith: We’ve been mostly bootstrapped but have received support through grants and competitions. I should say the awards love Naomi she’s won every single one there is, and I think they’re creating new ones just to give it to her!
We have people who are interested. There are like several verbal agreements at this point, we have taken a couple of angel checks.
Naomi, you’re still in school. How do you balance your entrepreneurial journey with academics?
Rajput: I live by the quote, “Aggressive growth is a product of imbalance.” While I strive for balance, I’ve accepted that some chaos is inevitable when pursuing ambitious goals. I think we live in a generation where there’s this romanticized version of life that people are striving to have where everything should be balanced. I’ve grown to realize after I was trapped in that romanticized version of reality, and I broke out of it.
I’ve realized that aggressive growth is a product of imbalance. Not to say I don’t want balance, I try to be balanced, but that is my reality, and I think I’ve accepted that truth and that’s more comforting than trying to sell myself a version of this romanticized reality that everyone keeps talking about.
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Evan, what about you? Any plans to return to school?
Smith: I’m finalizing my last class at Northeastern. I think I grew my Northeastern network more after I graduated or at least, after I walked at the ceremony than I did in the years prior, and I utilized every resource there was.
When did you register the company and how long have you been in existence?
Smith: Oh wow, yeah, actually over a year now. November of ‘23.
Lastly, what’s your timeline for launching Eden?
Smith: So, there’s two strategies here—we have an early-stage prototype or MVP that’s going to launch with a design pilot partner within the next couple months. Then we have a more holistic enterprise AI solution that’s going to take a little bit more time and that’s going to take some significant capital raise. We’re hoping that the success with the pilot helps progress that.