Hello Patient CEO Alex Cohen - SaaS Sprawl and Meme Culture
aired [03.11.2025]
Host: Auren Hoffman
Guest: Alex Cohen is founder and CEO of Hello Patient, healthcare software company that uses AI agents to automate patient scheduling and communication.
Key Insights
Companies often struggle with "SaaS sprawl," managing hundreds of software tools that balloon costs and pose security risks, yet lack structured vendor evaluation processes.
AI coding tools excel at routine tasks when given clear instructions, but falter with complex, undefined challenges, functioning best as junior-level assistants.
A strong Twitter presence in a niche can boost professional relevance, offering networking opportunities without requiring mass appeal.
Healthcare software remains fragmented due to tech-illiterate buyers and custom needs, with giants like Epic Systems dominating through deep integrations despite high costs.
Physical health—via exercise and supplements like creatine—directly enhances mental clarity, a link often overlooked in conventional advice.
1. SaaS Chaos: The Hidden Cost of Too Many Tools
Alex Cohen recounts a company with 700 apps linked to employee accounts, costing millions yearly, uncovered during a side project called Spendoso.
Employees even logged into Grindr with work accounts, exposing security risks from unchecked tool usage.
Vendor management lacks formal training or resources, unlike hiring practices, despite companies juggling more tools than staff.
Quote: “If I want to go sign up for a new HR workplace tool, I don’t know how I’m going to go. Workday is not going to go give me a trial” — illustrating how vendors obscure trials, pushing lengthy sales cycles.
2. AI as Your Coding Intern: Useful, but Not Autonomous
Alex likens AI coding tools to interns, needing precise, scoped tasks to shine, like drafting 80% of an SQL query for refinement.
Tools falter without clear direction, unsuitable for building complex apps from scratch without oversight.
At HelloPatients, refining AI prompts daily improves patient engagement, highlighting the need for skilled human input.
Quote: “You just have to treat these things like interns, frankly, like if you don’t discreetly define the work that you want the agent to do”
“You just have to treat these things like interns, frankly, like if you don’t discreetly define the work that you want the agent to do”
3. Twitter Mastery: Niche Power Over Follower Counts
Alex credits his Twitter success (200,000+ followers) to niche tech content, staying relevant without chasing mass fame.
He advises spontaneous, authentic posts over strategized ones, focusing on engagement within a loved niche.
Benefits include direct access to 99% of desired contacts, like the ZoomInfo CEO gifting a year’s access.
Quote: “Find a niche that you love and that you’re good at, write content, shoot from the hip, engage with other people who you find interesting”—a blueprint for building influence organically.
“Find a niche that you love and that you’re good at, write content, shoot from the hip, engage with other people who you find interesting”
4. Healthcare Tech’s Messy Puzzle: Why It’s So Fragmented
Epic Systems thrives with deep hospital integrations, but its high costs and refusal to interoperate spark resentment.
Alex notes healthcare’s split: tech-illiterate buyers meet medically clueless developers, birthing bespoke tools for each practice.
HelloPatients aims to layer a CRM atop this chaos, staying agnostic to EHR choices.
Quote: “Healthcare is one of the weird categories where you’ve got a bunch of tech-illiterate buyers on one side, you have a bunch of medical-illiterate builders on the other side”—pinpointing the root of fragmentation.
5. Body and Brain: Unlocking Performance Through Health
Alex ties physical fitness to mental sharpness, advocating exercise and supplements like creatine for all.
He experiments with testosterone and peptides (10 weekly injections), aiming for top-tier hormone levels while managing fertility.
Future healthcare may pair affordable concierge doctors with AI to nag patients into better habits, using wearable data.
Quote: “I do believe that your physical performance absolutely impacts your mental performance” —a call to prioritize health for professional edge.