"I would define resilience as continuous adaptation to the current circumstances and flexibility."
David Maman Tweet
David Maman is the Co-founder and CEO of Binah.ai, a leading provider of general health and wellness video-based monitoring tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that allows users to extract heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV SDNN and RRI raw data), oxygen saturation, respiration rate, sympathetic stress, parasympathetic activity, pulse-respiration quotient (PRQ) and soon, blood pressure anytime, anywhere, using only a smartphone, tablet or laptop camera.
His technical creativity has led to the application of more than 30 patents. Under his leadership, Binah.ai has been recognized as a top start-up and for its innovation in the fields of health and wellness monitoring.
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Table of Contents
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
David Maman: I have always gravitated towards artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security and entrepreneurship, which inspired me to use my love for science and innovative spirit to address the world’s most pressing problems. One glaring problem is basic access to healthcare and the burden of significant health expenses. By marrying my passion for AI with my desire to empower those around the world to access care, Binah.ai was born!
This award-winning technology allows for vital signs monitoring, by simply looking into a device’s camera. Organizations from insurance, healthcare, wellness and many more can now offer end-users a solution that allows those using the app or accessing it through a link to obtain measurements for heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration rate, stress levels, and more – in under 1 minute.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
David Maman: I had mentors that made an instrumental impact on my professional career by teaching me to look at the bigger picture and explore new opportunities. Besides the great authors that have accompanied me throughout my life (Phil Knight, Peter Thiel, Dale Carnegie, and many others) there were also a few people that influenced me in person. Hanun Dvey Aharon is one of them. I felt lucky to learn from such an extremely intelligent person, who has a few different PhDs, along with a phenomenal memory. The second mentor of mine is Amir Sadeh. Through both of them, I learned that there are so many times that we dive deep into a problem to try and solve it, but the answer is actually very simple. Both are still dear friends of mine today.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
David Maman: Binah.ai is my 13th start-up, and I am very proud of the success it has seen. However, I have not always been successful in my endeavors and often remind myself to remain grateful and driven each day. A common mistake that entrepreneurs can fall victim to is blind belief. This can be detrimental to entrepreneurs causing them to ignore cautions or red flags that come up along the way. It is critical that no matter how strongly you believe in yourself or your vision for a company, to take a step back and evaluate all things from a 360-degree view. Focus on the value and not the solution that you wish to deliver to your customer. It might seem tough, but the lifespan of a startup is evidently very short, so you have to hire fast and fire fast because human resources are the only successful resource for startups.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
David Maman: I would define resilience as continuous adaptation to the current circumstances and flexibility. It is important to never lose the ability to take tough decisions, even if you don’t feel comfortable with them, and never lose optimism.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
David Maman: I believe that Binah.ai is the missing link in the digital health transformation. During the next 3-4 years the entire health, insurance, and many other industries will go through massive digital transformations where health data will be a main factor.
There is no other technology that can detect the number of vital signs Binah.ai can support through a camera. Other technologies require contact with a person’s body (e.g. finger clips, wrist bands), and all other vital detection technologies – whether for hospitals or consumers – require additional hardware.
Our technology can run on your existing devices, such as your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Recently we released a software development kit (SDK) that supports web applications, allowing the remote monitoring of end user-provided health data with no download or app required.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
David Maman: The three character traits that were most instrumental to my success were not only thinking about the solution, but also thinking about the value, taking a look at the little things to find the bigger picture, and forgiving and forgetting.
Take a look at the little things to find the bigger picture – There is a well-known story in the Bible where Cain infamously kills his brother Abel out of jealousy and tries to hide it. God then contacts Cain and asks him, “Where is your brother?” Cain snaps at God asking, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” It has been debated as to why God asked Cain the question, since he already knew what he had done.
Some speculate that it was God testing Cain or pressuring him, but one Jewish translator, Rashi, gave a simple and beautiful translation; God just wanted to start a conversation. Sometimes the little things that don’t make sense build out the entire story. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, mentioned “connecting the dots” during Stanford University’s commencement ceremony in 2005. Sometimes you can’t see the full picture when you’re in it, but if you take a step back, it is these dots that make up the entire story.
Forgive and Forget – In the Jewish religion, Yom Kippur. Serves as a time for everyone to fast and apologize to those that you may have effected in a negative way. While apologizing is the shared practice during this time, forgiveness plays just as important of a role. And while you may forgive, it is tough to forget.
You carry scars inside of you when you don’t let go. When you are holding on to these memories, you can instantly become triggered by words or circumstances that remind you of the pain. Fully forgiving and fully letting go is one of the most important things I’ve learned in life and career.
Strategy is to know what not to do – As an entrepreneur that develops new technology, many times the product is capable of supporting multiple vectors and multiple types of customers and you have to decide what you are not doing and to focus.
What have you learned about personal branding that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
David Maman: Definitely. The way that you treat people and the way that you take care of your staff reflects on everyone’s most basic values. It is important to set an example. Being the first in the office, leaving the last in the office, being available for everyone and having an “open door” policy where everyone in the company can feel safe to discuss any kind of issues or concerns.
How would you define “leadership”?
David Maman: I would define “leadership” by: leading by example, making decisions and not letting things remain open for a long time, setting personal and company KPIs, being available for everyone, and helping everyone to be their best selves.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
David Maman: Raymond Lindquest said, “Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” In entrepreneurship, most of the time you are unfamiliar. You have to continuously get away from your comfort zone. I would also add Goethe’s words: “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”
My favorite life lesson is to work hard, be kind and great things will happen. It is simple, but powerful. Learning from the past and focusing more on the work in front of me, I was able to reach new heights in my professional and personal aspirations.
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank David Maman for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with David Maman or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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