“There are no mistakes to make, only new experiences to learn from.” – Katrin Keller, Founder-MD of Samedi GmbH, Berlin.
The aforementioned line summarizes volumes about the philosophy a proficient business leader lives by. Undoubtedly, this philosophy has driven Katrin to the zeniths she has earned through her confidence, perseverance, grit, and hard work.
From a young age, Katrin has always been independent in her ways and has valued the same immensely. Her foray into the haloed precincts of entrepreneurship started early when she joined the real-estate industry of Berlin upon finishing school. With an intent to build heft for the long term, she enrolled for a Diploma in Business Management.
Education and experience in place, it was time to add the third “E” to the triangle that highlights elements the coming together of which increases one’s chances of success – Enterprise. Having built a remarkable career in real estate and asset management, already in the age of 27 as managing director, she surprised everyone with her next steps by selecting an industry far removed from the one she pursued then: A service that would add considerably to the deliverance of healthcare! Tying up with Prof. Dr Alexander Alscher, she brought into being Samedi GmbH in the year 2008.
Exhibiting Business Excellence
Samedi GmbH is today known for its highly secure web software that helps the health-care industry save on costs while providing service-enhancing patient-specific information across sectors. Be it a stand-alone medical practice or a clinic, Samedi’s module-specific products easily connect with the internal clinical software of the user-client through a highly secure API interface.
Circumstances form the best and greatest testbed for new technology. With Samedi, it was the Covid-19 pandemic. While themselves moving into the remote-working mode overnight, they remain at the forefront in helping promote the drive towards digitalisation of the healthcare industry’s patient-specific information.
To this end, and to remain accessible to their clients wherever they be, Samedi offers its video consultation module to clinics and stand-alone practices free of charge and without contractual obligation. Now that, is customer service!
Strong foundations
Growth brings in its wake new insights, ideas, and attributes which work well for organizations that repurpose themselves, their roles and their goals to survive beyond circumstances. Samedi GmbH, besides tuning its sights to ideas including off-site working and the likes, remains quite flexible in matters relating to its most important assets, its employees.
Women and family needs remain paramount with clearly laid-down norms for number of hours worked and office timings. They also allow young children of employees to be brought to office where the organization provides support in the form of nannies and playrooms.
Another unique feature is the emphasis on managers frequently meeting each other outside working hours. Strong bonds that form, help the organization focus better on its goals. With better interpersonal relations, it also becomes easy to pitch for changes in the chosen path.
Overcoming Challenges
Great things need great influences. For Katrin Keller, it was initially her circumstances that propelled her to grow and stand on her own feet. This was later bolstered by the presence of Prof. Dr Alscher. His presence, she says, has most influenced and inspired her right from developing the idea to its final implementation. In doing so, it is said to reflect on their characters and strengths that complement each other.
Great things also happen to those with great attributes. In the span of a decade, Samedi has grown to their present stature and have carved a niche for themselves in their field. None of this would have come across had they not shown the courage to withstand adversities and downturns, one being the present pandemic. Courage, according to her is one of the most significant attributes to bring to the table for assured growth. The other, she says is stamina.
Both these, as per Katrin are immensely necessary in order to make it through the first couple of years which remain an enterprises’ most trying times. She attributes adaptability as the third-most important trait to possess especially in the digital space confined as it is to guidelines, demands and product changes at a rapid speed.
The last she surmises is one’s ability to work with specialists while giving the latter space to accomplish their part. This allows one to focus more on the tasks at hand and helps speed the organization’s growth.
Long years of experiences have shown that a growing organization with the right attributes remains the magnate that attracts and retains the best people besides inspiring them to give their best to the job at hand. In these circumstances, a healthy rate of growth remains the invariable outcome.
Katrin Keller’s Samedi GmbH has its vision clear for the future. It wants to be the leading provider of dynamic and comprehensive health management systems which while remaining highly secure, helps bring about efficient and effective cooperation in the health care sector.