What PitchFest Taught Me About What Patients Want
Breathing a sigh of relief!
Persist PT was one of four winners at Arlington Economic Development’s 2026 PitchFest at Amazon HQ2.
A couple of weeks back, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was the end of PitchFest 2026 by Arlington Economic Development, and I'd just finished the presentation I'd been prepping for months. It was a celebratory atmosphere; the presentations had all wrapped up, and now we just had to wait for the judges to deliberate. An hour later, I was honored to be recognized by Arlington Economic Development as one of their PitchFest award winners. It was a privilege to share the stage with other entrepreneurs in industries spanning from jewelry making to international trade – all with the common goal of bringing a particular dream to life. Since then, I've been thinking about what may have gone into Persist PT being chosen as one of the winners, and I've come up with one thing that I believe resonated most with the judges: present, non-rushed healthcare.
Persist PT is a business with the goal of enhancing the longevity and durability of endurance athletes and active adults – but the way that I provide that care is what the judges and audience were most interested in. A mention of how many patients in today's healthcare climate "feel like they're in a mill" made the audience lean in. Speaking about how many people see their providers as having "one foot out the door" drew nods as well. One judge commented on how he was currently in PT after a serious shoulder surgery, and was surprised to be spending so little time with the PT compared to with the PT tech.
These reactions no doubt say something about the current state of US healthcare delivery – but more than that, they told me that people are hungry for something different. Physical therapists working for "big box" clinics or hospital systems are often told that patients appreciate "efficiency." Unfortunately, that's often an excuse to justify brevity of appointments or hiring "techs" to do part of the job that a Doctor of Physical Therapy is meant to be performing.
Efficiency really means getting more meaningful results in a shorter period: in my experience, the only way to speed up results is to slow things down. It takes substantial time and intention to develop a relationship where a patient feels comfortable disclosing their anxieties surrounding taking a day off of running to avoid overtraining, or the work stress causing them to stay stuck in a sedentary pattern. An insurance company may not consider that time to be billable – but that type of conversation can prevent the same pattern from repeating 6 more times.
A patient leaving an appointment feeling seen, heard, and understood – as well as receiving a truly consistent and interpretable message – doesn't need endless visits or 90-minute exercise sessions in each appointment. I don't think that's rocket science; however, it runs counter to the way healthcare is currently set up in our country.
I left PitchFest feeling good about the hard work of starting a business beginning to pay off – but even better knowing that the vision at the heart of Persist PT is one that many of us share. If you've ever left PT feeling like a number or a cog in a vast machine, you're who I'm building Persist PT for.
