From a bootstrap founder using spreadsheets to track her own cancer treatment to a data infrastructure veteran start-up leader uncovering $10-15 billion in hidden healthcare value—this episode of The Tech Glow Up features conversations with two entrepreneurial CEO’s solving what happens when you center patient empowerment and unlock trapped data live from HLTH 2025.

Jennifer Johnson, CEO and founder of JennJ Health and Fitness, has spent 15 years in healthcare operations, strategy, and oncology data analytics. Then she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at 38—a diagnosis that disproportionately affects Black women who are 40% more likely to die from the disease. Advocates for herself, found her own lump, pushed for screening—and survived.

That diagnosis became her founding insight. She built Fitness Can on a spreadsheet during treatment, combining her data analytics expertise with her lived experience. The app helps breast cancer patients and HRT users track fitness, medications, and appointments with full transparency and agency.

Brent Dover, CEO of Carta Healthcare, has spent 35 years solving healthcare data problems. He discovered his superpowers early: finding a founder with a great idea at the moment it's taking shape, then scaling it. He's built four companies by knowing exactly where he adds value—the five-to-fifty stage where innovation meets infrastructure.

His insight: zero-to-five is the bet-it-all visionary; five-to-fifty is the infrastructure builder; fifty-to-five-hundred is the strategist. He's the five-to-fifty guy. Now at Carta, Dover is tackling healthcare's biggest hidden data problem: hospitals spend $10-15 billion annually paying humans to manually abstract data from unstructured clinical notes into quality registries.

Highlights from Jennifer Johnson at JennJ Health and Fitness:

• 15 years in healthcare operations, strategy, oncology data analytics; diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at 38; 40% more likely to die due to being a Black woman
• Created Fitness Can on spreadsheet during treatment; secured UCSF grant to launch free; now available in Apple Store
• Spicy take: Women's health is on the rise—clinical trials, studies, innovation, solutions finally moving from afterthought to center stage

Highlights from Brent Dover at Carta Healthcare:

• 35 years in healthcare data companies; discovered his five-to-fifty scaling superpowers; fourth company he's building from inception
• Solving $10-15 billion problem: hospitals paying humans to abstract unstructured clinical data into quality registry forms
• Strategy: AI co-piloted by clinicians validates output, transforming manual tax into structured data for analytics, process improvement, and better patient care

The result: healthcare innovation that centers patient voice and unlocks the data that's been trapped, waiting to improve care.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.
At The Tech Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.
In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.
If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.