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By DAVE VANZ

Originally published by Dave Vanz on The Orlando Life where they connect you to the Leaders and Influencers who are shaping Orlando's culture

Healthcare is a massive industry and one local Orlando leader has created a unique approach to bringing solutions to the table through a local approach. She has seen firsthand how innovation can be helpful and how the absence of it can deeply affect us on a personal level. I sat down this week with Kelli Murray to find out who she is, how she defines the Orlando Life and how she is shaping the culture around healthcare through grassroots efforts.

Meet Kelli Murray

Kelli Murray is an entrepreneur here in Orlando whose work is shaping how the healthcare industry faces challenges through innovation. She is also the first female investor to be invited to serve on the board with Nexus, an organization that brings together angel investors to support startup companies.

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Defining The Orlando Life

Getting into the Healthcare Industry

One of 3 siblings, Kelli's journey into the healthcare industry started early on with her brother being diagnosed as a child with a genetic illness. Told he wouldn't make it past his 18th birthday, he was the beneficiary of health innovation that allowed him to recently celebrate his 40th.

Her mom, a practicing nurse at the time, approached Kelli after graduating high school and told her she needed to get a job at the hospital where she worked. Although she felt reluctant to work with blood, germs and seeing people in pain, she listened and took a job in the lab.

As she worked her way up the corporate ladder, tragedy unfortunately came from the opposite side of the coin in health innovation. Kelli's sister, who was struggling with her health, fell through the cracks as an undiagnosed situation and passed away unexpectedly one Thanksgiving morning. Healthcare missed the opportunity to intervene.

While her career expanded across diverse corporate healthcare roles and afforded for a comfortable life, comfortable was not how she felt. She needed to do more, so she did.

MedSpeaks & Health Innovators

In this video Kelli shares the purpose behind starting MedSpeaks and Health Innovators and why she sees the importance of introducing healthcare leaders to local entrepreneurs and startups.

Overcoming Startup Challenges

Starting her business came with some entrepreneurial challenges. In this video Kelli shares the realization of coming out of big corporate America and having to find a way to overcome an unforeseen difficulty.

Getting Real About the Healthcare Industry in Orlando

According to Kelli, Orlando has a nice cross-section of technologies from mobile apps to telemedicine platforms, but the reputation of the healthcare industry here leaves plenty of room for improvement. Kelli gets real about the healthcare industry here in town and how she sees Orlando as uniquely situated to do something great.

How Can You Get Involved in Health Innovation?

Right now there are people living here in Orlando that have the passion and talent to bring some sort of innovation into the healthcare industry, but may be struggling with the idea of not knowing what to do or where to start. This could be through SaaS (Software as a Service), Medical Devices, or any other form of advancement. If you are this person, Kelli has some incredible advice just for you.