Thanks for Reading

One year ago, I set out on a mission to educate the healthcare market about the transformative potential of location-based services. Having been a customer, an improver, and a self-proclaimed innovator in this space, I founded a company with a product that customers loved. But a question nagged at me: Can you truly call yourself an innovator if the broader market isn't using your innovation? Perhaps not. While friends and advisors consistently said, "Healthcare desperately needs this, and Care Traffic Control is a concept that could transform the industry," I had to ask myself: Am I the right person to lead this charge? Perhaps.

As a customer of these systems, I witnessed their extraordinary potential, but also recognized how complex proper implementation could be. Drawing from my experience as an engineer in Air Traffic Control systems, I saw the parallels between that mature industry and healthcare, both with critical quality and safety concerns. Yet I found an entire market defined by its infrastructure technology—RTLS (Real-Time Location Systems)—rather than its purpose. This backwards approach typifies a nascent industry where identity is wrapped in enabling technology rather than outcomes. I understood the broader market as location-based services, but was healthcare ready to adopt these more sophisticated tools?

My startup had created an LBS product that our customers loved, but we faced all push and no pull—potential buyers weren't looking for what we built. They wanted the "Faster Horse" that Henry Ford famously referenced when asked what his customers wanted. This is the classic innovator's dilemma described in Peter Thiel's "Zero to One": beyond creating a product and securing proof-points, you must also educate the market about the underlying concepts. Discovering this reality too late means running out of runway—and we all know what follows.

Whether it's too late for my startup remains uncertain, but what I can do now is fully commit to evangelizing location's transformative capabilities. This mission is so important that I've moved on from my startup to pursue it full-time. I need your help to succeed. The information I'm sharing is vendor-neutral, supported by experts from across the industry. Vendors understand the challenges of selling in a market where health systems lack domain knowledge. Spreading awareness benefits everyone.

What draws me to healthcare is its remarkable people who find meaning in their work and willingly share best practices rather than hoarding them for competitive advantage. Healthcare professionals strive to provide care access to as many patients as possible, constantly balancing safety, efficiency, access, and economics—a challenge that famously slows new technology adoption. GenAI proved exceptional because its development pace surprised everyone. IoT sensors used in location-based systems continue improving steadily, but unlike ChatGPT, they didn't burst onto the scene dramatically. Their reputation, built over years, includes both successes and failures, further slowing adoption.

The core message of "Why Where Matters" is simple: Location-based Services can transform healthcare when implemented correctly. Our following is growing, but we need far more engagement to achieve our goals. As a healthcare subscriber, you provide the essential voice of the customer simply by paying attention. We're sharing your response with vendors who are listening. While I remain available via email, we'll soon add more opportunities for feedback and deeper collaboration. Thank you for being part of this journey!

Until next week,

Paul E Zieske ​Location Based Services Consulting ​​​