Portrait No. 001
Lisa Marceau
CEO and Founder
Alpha Millennial Health, LLC
Women recognize their value but are trained to minimize it. This was me. I led a $40m CRO and successful M&A into a Fortune 25. I had responsibility and integrity. Built relationships. I brought in millions in business. I had power. Yet, I believed I was lucky; I was given an opportunity; by the grace of others, I had this job. The acquisition changed me. At a dinner with my executive team, they thanked me, asked me how I maintained integrity, stood up for myself, and supported the staff while staying firm in my values? The gut-punch landed. I was not lucky; I worked for this. I was not given an opportunity; I earned it. It was not grace; it was strength and collaboration. In my life, I was often told I was small, lucky, replaceable. I believed it. Instead, I proved I was more.
In her words
“My journey building expertise, leading millions in revenue, forging incredible relationships, and driving health tech innovation strategy was not just to succeed within the system, but to change the game.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
I was more because the M&A showed who I was. I was not defined by a company or a role. I was the expert that was trusted by my team, the company, and my boss. They needed me in my role because I was great at it. I stood in the elevator with my boss after a productive staff meeting I had led. We had strong results through challenging headwinds. We were celebrating people, resilience, and the importance of the work. He lathered praise at the way I led the meeting…and then told me I had knobby wrists. I know…let it sink in. Inappropriate. Unrelated. Irrelevant. But I let it wash over me, made a joke, moved on. Because it was normal. I was minimized after big achievements because it gave me strength that scared him. I let my power, expertise and knowledge be shrouded. I built my expertise, led millions in revenue, established incredible relationships, drove marketing and strategy. I learned how broken the healthcare system is, but I also learned there is something powerful rising in its place. I left the safety of corporate paychecks to start my business, and change the game.
Chapter II
Your vision.
The vision is simple: change the game in healthcare. A fact most aren’t aware of is that the healthcare system was not created to improve patient outcomes. It was created as hiring incentive post WWII. The system is broken because it was never meant to serve the patient. But time, technology, and tenacity have constructed a new paradigm led by 140 million members of the digital generations. My company supports the drivers of this new healthcare economy. Women, who make 80% of the healthcare spending decisions and are 63% more successful in start-up, are innovating and changing health for women. Entrepreneurs in the digital generations are thinking, and building, differently and completely outside the traditional model. The individual consumer and innovator is the most powerful disrupter in health care today. I provide the mentorship, foundational principles start-ups need to scale, and confidence to own our expertise.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
I started my own business not because the landing was soft, but because it was the hard work that needs to be done. My legacy is impact that pushes forward like a wave, constantly changing, moving forward with power. Women’s health currently focuses on the 44% of woman’s health that is the reproductive years. This ignores the other 56% of a woman’s lifespan. When we broaden the lens to 100% of the lifespan, we learn when disease starts, how conditions intersect, and how differences in biology affect diseases in men. Women’s health is the future of better health for all.