Co-Founder & CTO
AI-Native Healthcare
2024-Present
Stage Zero
Health
I co-founded Stage Zero Health to transform cancer prevention from clinical calculator to trusted companion, orchestrating 25+ models into a narrative journey that achieves 30% completion rates—10x industry average.
This venture taught me that healthcare innovation requires inverting traditional assumptions. By delaying risk calculations until trust is established and using AI to eliminate complexity barriers, we created a platform that companions people through lifetime prevention.
Live Platform • stage0.ai
Experience the AI-powered prevention journey
Impact • 30% Completion
10x industry average for health assessments
The Challenge
From Calculator to Companion
The cancer prevention landscape was littered with abandoned calculators and forgotten risk scores. With 25+ validated clinical models existing in isolation and users abandoning assessments at 70% rates, the industry needed more than better algorithms.
The challenge wasn't calculating risk more accurately—it was creating an experience that people would actually complete and act upon. We needed to transform abstract percentages into personal narratives.
Industry Pain Points
“How might we use AI to make cancer prevention feel less like a medical exam and more like a trusted conversation?”
— Core hypothesis that guided our AI-native approach
Research & Discovery
Working with my co-founder Jonathan Roman, we interviewed 200+ users who had attempted various risk assessments. What we discovered challenged the entire premise of clinical calculators: people don't want risk scores—they want understanding and agency.
The Overwhelmed
45% of users
Paralyzed by 100+ questions upfront. Need progressive complexity that builds confidence with each step rather than overwhelming with data collection.
“I started five different calculators but never finished any.”
The Anxious
30% of users
Family history creates fear. Want context and reassurance, not just percentages. Need narrative that acknowledges emotions alongside data.
“My mom had cancer. I need more than a number—I need to understand.”
The Action-Oriented
15% of users
Ready to act but blocked by logistics. Need clear pathways from assessment to screening, with insurance navigation and provider matching.
“I know I need screening. Just tell me where, when, and how much.”
The Skeptical
10% of users
Question model validity and data use. Need transparency about limitations, methodology, and privacy before engaging with assessment.
“How do I know this isn't just trying to sell me something?”
The Trust Paradox
Week 1
Build Relationship
Weeks 2-5
Progressive Complexity
Weeks 6-10
Personalized Action
Users need trust before they'll share health data, but traditional assessments demand everything upfront. Our 10-week journey inverts this—starting with connection, building to complexity.
AI-Native Architecture
We built Stage Zero using AI for everything—from orchestrating clinical models to generating personalized narratives. This wasn't adding AI to healthcare; it was reimagining healthcare with AI at its core.
Three-Layer Information System
Semantic Layer: The Foundation
We unified 25+ clinical models into a single semantic graph, reducing 512 variables to 187 core elements through intelligent deduplication and shared ontologies.
Technical Achievement
Created FHIR-compliant data model that allows models to share variables, reducing redundant questions by 63% while maintaining clinical validity across all models.
AI-Human Symbiosis
We discovered that AI excels at managing complexity while humans excel at building relationships. Our architecture leverages both strengths optimally.
- AI orchestrates 25+ models seamlessly in background
- Humans receive narratives, not numbers
- Concierge support for emotional moments
- AI handles logistics, humans handle trust
63%
Reduction in data burden through AI orchestration
While maintaining full clinical validity
The 10-Week Journey
The most counterintuitive decision: Week 1 has zero risk calculations. This progressive revelation creates our competitive moat—trust isn't generated, it's earned through careful pacing and authentic connection.
Weeks 1-3: Building Foundation
Pure Connection
No models, no calculations. Just understanding your story, your concerns, and what brought you here.
Family Patterns
Gentle introduction to family health history. First models activate (GAIL, PREMM5) but presented as stories.
Lifestyle Context
40 questions about daily life, presented conversationally. 3 additional models activate seamlessly.
Weeks 4-7: Deepening Understanding
Progressive Complexity
- Week 4:Reality check—no new models, consolidation
- Week 5:Medical history—5 clinical models activate
- Week 6:Rest week—process and reflect
- Week 7:Extended family—BOADICEA/PancPRO activate
Emotional Pacing
Strategic rest weeks prevent overwhelm. Users process information at their own pace while AI adjusts complexity based on engagement signals.
Key Insight
80% target completion maintained through careful pacing
Weeks 8-10: Moving to Action
Week 8: Rest
Integration and preparation for final phase
Week 9: Values
What matters most in your prevention journey
Week 10: Synthesis
Complete picture across 15+ cancer types
30% full journey completion—10x industry average
Measured Impact
30%
Journey Completion
10x industry average
63%
Data Reduction
Through AI orchestration
25+
Models Unified
Single narrative experience
72
NPS Score
User satisfaction
“Stage Zero didn't just calculate my risk—it helped me understand my family's health story and gave me a clear path forward. The journey felt personal, not clinical.”
— Beta user who completed full 10-week journey
Key Takeaways
Trust Before Technology
Week 1 has zero calculations—pure relationship building. This counterintuitive approach creates the foundation for sustained engagement through the entire journey.
Lesson: In healthcare, connection precedes collection.
AI Enables Human Connection
By using AI to handle clinical complexity, we freed human energy for emotional support and trust building. The technology becomes invisible, the experience becomes memorable.
Lesson: AI should amplify humanity, not replace it.
Progressive Complexity Works
Users can handle sophisticated health information when it's paced appropriately. Our 10-week journey proves that patience creates engagement, not abandonment.
Lesson: Respect cognitive load—complexity requires time.
Stories Drive Action
Narrative context proved 4x more motivating than risk percentages. People act on stories they understand, not statistics they can't contextualize.
Lesson: Transform data into narrative, statistics into story.
Team & Acknowledgments
Stage Zero Health represents the power of AI-native development—a small founding team achieving enterprise scale through intelligent automation and human-centered design.
Jonathan Roman, Co-Founder
For the vision of humanizing cancer prevention
Clinical Advisory Board
For ensuring medical validity meets user needs
Early Beta Users
For trusting us with their prevention journey
AI Development Partners
For pushing the boundaries of healthcare AI
Ready to Build AI-Native Healthcare?
Let's discuss how AI-native development and human-centered design can transform your healthcare innovation from concept to companion.