In this episode, Jim Sorgi and David Smith from ProTeam Tactical share why ProTeam came to be and their mission of serving First Responders with the best mental health app. They take us through their journey to tackle the behavioral health aspects of the job for First Responders by applying technology to an underserved group who greatly need the support and resources!
Jim and his partner Joey Vandever, also a former professional athlete, knew they needed to up the level of care for these men and woman who serve our community. They spent the first years focusing on the physical needs of the job with tremendous success. And most recently they saw the need to care for the behavioral health side of the job for these First Responders. So they embarked on building SHIELD, a mobile-first product that launched earlier in 2023 to help First Responders assess where they are in 6 key categories.
ProTeam is not a typical tech company, they are more tech enabled; and yet their journey to build a digital product to aid in this pursuit was one of learning and compromise. There will always be more features than time and money allow for. This team learned how to focus on the most important features to get the most for the users they serve. There are practical take-a-ways from this conversation: why deciding to say no to a feature is good, why a solution in search of a problem can hinder success, and the power of getting feedback from your target users.
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to [email protected] to share your feedback on this show.
Resources
David is the Director of Business Development and joined ProTeam because he shares in the mission and family connection to First Responders.
Jim Sorgi is a former professional football player (Go Colts!) and co-founder of ProTeam Tactical. ProTeam’s mission is to bring the level of care that pro athletes receive to First Responders. Jim has a heart for First Responders because members of his family serve!
Todd is a lead software engineer at SEP. When he’s not leading teams to build software products, he’s serving as a fire chief in Shelby County. He has a legacy of first responders in his family, from his father serving the same department and now Todd serves alongside his son.
In our Behind the Product podcast, we put the spotlight on the practices that guide decision makers in solving some of society's toughest challenges.
Looking to advance your career? Explore what it's like to work on awesome things with curious, confident people.
