What if the biggest blocker to your product’s success isn’t the tech—but the fear-filled culture it’s stepping into?

That’s exactly what Varsha Chaugai discovered while building Evoke Health, a platform designed to digitize and streamline communication between long-term care facilities and families.

Despite building the platform in just five months, the real challenge wasn’t technical—it was cultural.

In this episode, we uncover how founders can navigate the invisible resistance of guilt, shame, and outdated manual systems that dominate long-term care.

You’ll learn why transparency is often misunderstood as a threat, and how shifting the narrative to collaboration creates space for innovation to thrive.

Because sometimes, the hardest code to rewrite is the one in people’s minds.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

🔑Why long-term care is decades behind in communication tech—and what it costs

🔑How fear of being punished stifles transparency and adoption

🔑The surprising activation rate that beat out acute and primary care sectors

🔑What made 70% of families onboard within a week of rollout

🔑How Varsha’s team reframed transparency as a trust builder, not a liability

🔑Why culture change must be a deliberate part of your GTM strategy

Episode Timeline:

00:00:00 - Fear-driven culture is silently killing adoption in long-term care

00:01:05 - Varsha Chougai from Evoke Health

00:03:14 - Guilt, regulations, and manual communication in LTC

00:06:26 - Patient portals as collaborative care tools

00:08:41 - Shifting culture, not just selling software

00:12:19 - Future vision for predictive and educational tools

00:15:58 - Fear of punishment in long-term care

00:18:41 - Balancing openness with over-information

00:22:44 - How have you dealt with product resistance?

00:25:58 - What’s next for Evoke Health’s platform

00:28:03 - Breaking silos and achieving interoperability

00:30:26 - Varsha’s 3 magic wishes for the company

00:34:00 - Collaboration and belief create industry change

00:36:43 - Key takeaway: transparency builds trust

00:38:27 - Leadership drives successful rollout

00:38:54 - Culture change must be intentional

📣 Get In the Spotlight

Are you a founder with a proven solution and paying users?

Apply to pitch your startup in front of investors and decision-makers on HealthTechShowdown.com.

Submit a short, under 200-word, explanation of your solution and why it belongs in front of the people who matter most.

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Resources Mentioned

HealthTech Showdown (HealthTechShowdown.com): We will find the ideal investors and enterprise leaders for you to pitch to on our virtual gameshow-style event.

Impact Quotient Quiz (ImpactQuotientQuiz.com): Think you’re building momentum in healthcare? Find out if your leadership is actually scalable and fundable.