Many people don’t know this about me, but I am a rock star. Literally. Well, sort of, if you consider a middle-aged amateur guitarist covering 70’s bands at a NYC bars as a star. Anyways, this weekend, I crushed the solos for Pink Floyd’s Money to a standing ovation.  The opening lyric stuck with me:

“Money, get away, Get a good job with more pay, and you’re okay.”

I never imagined it as a startup playbook, but this verse is a perfect encapsulation of the Lean Startup mantra.

When we started Twig Health a few years ago, the care management market was stuck in a 1970s call-center mindset. Care and Quality management needed a rethink. As “old pirates” with a few companies behind us, we accepted that our first shots wouldn’t be perfect and that we would need to be judicious with spend. The horrendous early-stage financing environment, made the lean startup approach not a choice – but survival.

Fast forward to today: we’ve built a fast-growing roster of health plan clients across multiple markets. Our strategy and sales are entirely market-driven; product management is shaped by clients and our supernurses needs; and our investments are fueled entirely by organic growth. Eric Ries would love us.

Having raised 8-figure rounds in my previous startups, I can say this about Twig Health: we’re delivering results twice as good with roughly a tenth of the capital. Lean principles haven’t just kept us efficient, they’ve steered us to the right opportunities – and that’s been the real win.

Yes, Roger Waters was right:

“Money, get away. Get a good job with more pay, and you’re okay.”

Also, this post is a good excuse to brag about my band’s killer performance! Stick around for the David Gilmour solos at the end. Enjoy!