An Interview with Fotis Georgiadis
“Know your client” — Early on in my design career making websites, I kept trying to make the site look as well designed as possible but was running into walls. I was given the advice “know your client” and I then relooked at everything through their eyes, and we were approved with no revisions after that.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Young.
Ryan Young is a San Francisco-based-Internet entrepreneur. Founder of FormDr, which streamlines new patient, client, and employee forms. FormDr gives patients the freedom to complete forms with any device, anywhere.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I received a fine arts degree in interactive media design, a passion for quality design which led me to an arts school but my interest was really in creating things that people get to use in their daily lives (not just look at). I worked for my fathers construction business during high school which made me realize that while construction may not be my path, I loved that we were creating materials and structures that millions of people used on a daily basis.
I started working and interning in creative agencies during and after college, where I learned the fundamentals of producing high quality work, quickly, for clients — like creative bootcamp. From SEO management for a woman’s boutique to digital design for Joe’s Crab Shack, the main goal was how can I get these clients to stand out in a sea of similar products.
A pivotal moment in my career was when I was the lead interface designer for our client, the US Department of Defense. This was the first time that cybersecurity was at the absolute forefront of everything we made. I realized the importance of security but also didn’t want to let go of the equal necessity of captivating design.
After years of learning and working for clients, I saw an opportunity to start a business in an industry that notoriously had outdated design. Breaking in and shaking up an established arena was difficult at first but paid off in terms of educating these clients on new tools to help their customers find them and succeed.
It was while working at my last company that I found that our customers were asking for a service that we didn’t provide them — a more secure way to save and collect customer information. When I realized that I could build them something that was secure and offer them something that would not only do intake but optimize their whole process, it was an ah ha moment and when the idea of FormDr was conceived.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
We take a complicated, tedious process that involves very sensitive information and we streamline it and simplify in a way that makes it easy for practices and patients to do their work. When no one else was stepping in to help this part of the medical intake process. It’s disruptive as we broke the notion that security and HIPAA has to be hard to execute and understand.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I had the idea originally that we would not include a form builder and instead have our team hand code all forms. Needless to say, it was not a scalable solution and quickly realized a simple builder was the way to go. It showed me that despite the idea sounding good (in that we’d have more control), in execution, you have to be ready to pivot — and fast.
–
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
For help along the way, I’ve turned to a lot of books, specifically autobiographies, to learn from the stories of others who have wanted to build and grow. Also I practice stoicism to help guide my thinking and help give a strong foundation to my thought process. But the original seed of entrepreneurship was planted in my head by my dad, a serial entrepreneur himself. He arguably made the strongest impact by showing how to think and be independent. As a CEO, we are often forging a path alone.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Disruption is just an experiment — it’s just a new version of doing what has been known. It’s a positive when the industry is willing to change, there has to be a desire, even a small percentage of possible adopters that want the disruption.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with attempting to disrupt any industry — as long as there is an intended value for its users.
No one is immune to disruption. It being good or bad is subjective and depends on what side of said disruption you are on.
It makes me think of the watch industry in the 1970s when the quartz movements came out. The traditional and expensive mechanical pieces suddenly had a competitor that was inexpensive and accessible. This was then disrupted again with digital watches, with Apple being one of the world’s top watchmakers. The watch industry felt safe until it was challenged and disrupted, it’s good for those who wanted to not be priced out of a product but bad for those who want to keep the industry exactly the same, “no new friends”.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
“Know your client” — Early on in my design career making websites, I kept trying to make the site look as well designed as possible but was running into walls. I was given the advice “know your client” and I then relooked at everything through their eyes, and we were approved with no revisions after that.
“If you aren’t going to do it right, don’t do it” — When getting going on something, an idea, a business, a workout, the only way I want to approach it is 100%.
“Never stop seeking education” — My grandmother was a PHD from Houston, TX and instilled in me at a young age that just because traditional school is over, taking time to continue to learn is critical to not just be successful but a full actualized person.
“Don’t care what others think” — To be a disruptor you might ruffle feathers or people will tell you not to do it, because change is scary to them. I’ve embraced these words of advice because if every CEO cared what other people thought, we’d get nowhere.
“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.―Marcus Aurelius” It’s a wild, unpredictable world in the tech space. This thinking allows me focus and confidence to make the best decisions for my team and company. It quiets outside noise that is there to distract from whats best.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
I want to make my disruptions on a larger scale — meaning what I am doing but with the goal of bringing ease and security to more people. More industries, more countries serviced and more languages.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday — I read this in the early days of building FormDr. I knew that going from paper forms to secure digital intake would be a difficult bridge to build, but internalizing that going through hard things is necessary to grow and make our businesses (and economy/society) better completely changed my outlook on what is “difficult.” It made me clearly realize it’s the only way to really create new things that help people.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be selective of who you surround yourself with.” — Whether the people you most spend your time with become the sum or average of who you are, they can help or hinder who you are meant to be. Time is the most precious commodity so choosing wisely and being aware has been a great investment.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be a movement to learn/teach people that “the best version of themselves is inside themselves” — listening to intuition, being silent and still can bring a lot of help and healing to the masses. No books or expensive treatments needed.
How can our readers follow you online?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rjakeyoung/ Blog: https://formdr.com/blog
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Meet The Disruptors: Ryan Young Of Form Dr On The Five Things You Need to Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
