In this episode, Justin Abrams interviews Michelle Wild, a tech founder and professor who has dedicated her career to supporting individuals with brain injuries. Michelle shares her journey from teaching at a community college to developing technology solutions that address cognitive challenges faced by her students. She discusses the inception of her nonprofit, BEST, and the various apps created to help individuals manage their recovery. The conversation delves into the personal stories behind brain injuries, the challenges faced by those affected, and the importance of education and awareness in supporting recovery.
Michelle emphasizes the need for a supportive system that fills the gaps left by traditional medical care, aiming to create a new normal for individuals living with brain injuries. In this conversation, Michelle Wild discusses the complexities of living with a brain injury, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the ongoing challenges rather than simply accepting the condition. She shares insights into her journey as a tech entrepreneur, detailing the iterative process of developing applications that cater to the needs of individuals with brain injuries. The discussion also covers her vision for the future, including the creation of a supportive community and resources for survivors.
Donate to BEST Connections
Justin Abrams (00:02) I'm thrilled for this episode. Michelle, not only are you a current customer of Cause of a Kind and building some extraordinary software, we will talk about some of that.
but you are also a very formidable tech founder and somebody that I am truly, truly appreciative to have crossed paths with and learned from. And I'm really excited to have you on this episode so we can talk a little bit about your inception story. You are also a bootstrapped entrepreneur. You are a current professor in a university system. And I want to hear all about the things that have to do with you creating a technology solution for a very niche challenge that impacts a ton of people in our country, internationally.
worldwide problem that you have taken upon yourself to try and solve or at least create a path to a solution for people. So Michelle Wild, welcome to Strictly From Nowhere. It's a pleasure to host you and I can't wait to learn about your story.
Michelle Wild (00:57) Thanks Justin, me too. I'm excited. Thank you for the invite.
Justin Abrams (00:59) Yeah. absolutely. Absolutely. Well, I want to kick off as we always do. You'll do a way better job of introducing yourself than I ever could. So you can start from anywhere in your timeline. I'd love to know a little bit about you, a little bit about your background, and maybe a little bit about the inception story of Best Connections.
Michelle Wild (01:17) Okay, sure. So I actually am a professor. I'm a teacher at a community college in Southern California, Coastline College. And Coastline is the first community college in the country to have a special program specifically for individuals living with brain injury. And it started about 46 years ago. It was innovative at the time. It was the only thing out there. It started in a small church.
and as part of the college, but it was a small church and there was like five guys that had brain injuries that started the program and we went from there to having, you know, well over 100 students at different times in history. So I started teaching in that program about 39 years ago. I started out as an intern.
I was a psych intern from Cal State Fullerton and got a position luckily at Coastline and knew almost immediately, wow, this is where I want to be. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do. I just love the people, love the students. And so that's kind of how I got started at Coastline. It's a very interesting program because it is a cognitive program. And so what we do at Coastline
is a lot of what a speech and language pathologist might do or an occupational therapist might do from the cognitive side. And so we get to do it from an educational perspective, which is very different and I think very exciting. And it allows us to meet the needs of individuals at a different level. So I've been doing that for many years. And about eight years ago, I was, I'd been working on some grants, consulting on some grants with different people across the country.
and I had had this idea many years before of an app that I was thinking called Manage My Fatigue and it was an app that, you know, this is way back when apps first came out, it was an app that would help individuals deal with some of the fatigue associated with brain injury and MS and various incendiary things and I started off with technology. I always taught technology at Coastline. I was the only technology teacher there for a while but
I got the very first HP IPAC that came out. So way back in the day, I saw it right during the holidays one year. like, ooh, I gotta have that. And I went to Radio Shack and bought the HP IPAC and started playing with it. And I'm like, no way. I gotta have this for my students. This is amazing. So I...
I went to the college and explained to them what I wanted to do and they were very supportive. And so we started a pilot program with HP IPACs and using it for very severely memory impaired individuals. And I created a whole curriculum around it. I wrote a book about it and just started doing that and it was working. Like the people who are walking around and couldn't find the classroom were now finding the classroom and they were showing up for meetings and
Everyone else in the program was like, hey, what's going on with, you know, Justin? He's like showing up. Something's changed. What is it? And they all found out that that class was getting IPACs. And so they all wanted them. So that's sort of how I got started with using, you know, the handheld technology probably 20 years or more ago at this point with my students. And it was amazing. I thought that, you know, it could do amazing things and it really has. So.
That's kind of how I got started with technology. When I started BEST, I had these ideas for some apps and I was consulting on some grants, I, know, Coastline wasn't gonna be, they weren't gonna support it, they weren't gonna fund it. And so I met a programmer through one of the grants I was working on and started, and I'm like, hey, I got this idea. And so we worked together for a couple of years.
didn't go so well. So Justin, you were mentioned about the relationship we have in development and you know, it's taken me a long time to find you guys and I'm so thankful for that. So I've gone through a few, few programmers that have not been, you know, as helpful, but so I, I basically funded the first manage my fatigue app on my own. It was something that I knew my students would benefit from. It was something that I included my students in the development.
Justin Abrams (05:32) us to.
Michelle Wild (05:51) I was having them do all this stuff on paper and pencil and you know, they're losing it and forgetting and I thought you know an app is where this really should be and so I started with that and I created Manage My Fatigue before I even started BEST. So I was just a teacher like this is what I want to do and then a couple years later I was talking to a student who was graduating, Christy Craigh-Thorpe, you know her Justin. Christy and I were talking about what she wanted to do when she graduated from the program.
And she said, you know, I really want to do something like what you're doing. I want to help. want to be a part of something. And so we kind of decided to start a nonprofit and the nonprofit originally was all about technology. was about getting the, what ended up being called pace my day, out into the world. And we went to conferences and, know, did a lot of stuff and then it just evolved. Then it was sort of like, wait a minute.
know, goal setting is something that our population struggles with. So we created an app called Reach My Goals, and then they gotta have a place to put all these strategies they're learning. So it just sort of evolved, and I think, you know, some of the stuff that we've created, there's other apps out there, but they're not designed for our population. They're not designed for people that have cognitive challenges and really need a certain kind of structure. And so that...
that's kind of where best started was, let's do something and keep building this. And then COVID hit and it became really obvious to us, we started working with people via Zoom and it became really obvious that, you know, the apps were very effective, but the cognitive skills, like the challenges that our population has with critical thinking and decision-making and sequencing.
Those were huge problems. And so BEST sort of evolved for a while into being more of a cognitive retraining kind of a thing. We still do webinars every other week, cognitive webinars to help people. And we sort of let the technology go for a little bit. It worked, it was still out there, people were using it. And then we found you guys. And it's like, wait a minute, this is gonna take us to a whole another level, which it is.
And so we're very excited about that. And so we're sort of taking the foundation of what we built, which was built, you know, 10, 15 years ago. So it's got a lot to, a lot to have improvement on. And we found you guys and now we're, you know, doing some of the latest stuff and really making something that's going to be amazing, not just for people that are living with brain injury, but people that are living with a wide variety of disabilities.
the people that work with them, their caregivers, the professionals. I think we just, I think we have something that's really gonna be a great thing as we continue to develop it.
Justin Abrams (08:45) Well, it's absolutely an inspiring story and you know...
While all of this you started kind of at your university program and that just gave you, you know, the support system to be able to set your own goals and start to achieve, none of that happens by accident. So I want to take it back if you don't mind, even a little bit before university, there must be some formidable experiences that led you to this path. I mean, you went to school for psychology, you have quite a technical background.
There must be a series of stories that led you to pursuing brain injury education, treatment, recovery, then ultimately the foundation of a non-for-profit. What was it like in your earlier days prior to university that ultimately influences this path? And the reason why I ask this is because there are lots of young people out here, there are lots of people that are looking for the next thing in their life. They've had success already.
your formula?
Michelle Wild (09:52) It's an interesting question, it was – It's a very interesting question. I started when I was 20 years old. I started working at Coastline. So it was sort of a fluke that I found working with brain injury. I had had some friends in high school that had brain injuries. Back in those days, we didn't really know what that was, but
You know, they had brain injuries from car accidents and different kinds of things. And so I sort of had this general idea. And when the internship came up, I, you know, thought, okay, I'll try it. And again, loved it. Kind of an interesting story is I had been working at COSIGN for about two or three years. I was going to a conference. My mom was dropping me off at the airport. And she was like, you know, I had a brain injury before. I'm like,
What? What are you talking about? You had a brain injury. And she's like, yeah, before you were born, she had a lamp fell on her head. She had a severe brain injury, had seizures, like massive seizures, all sorts of issues, just totally disrupted everything for, I think she said like eight years. And so I didn't know about this. And apparently she had all these seizures and the day, excuse me, the day that she had me was the last seizure she ever had.
So it was like, I'm like, seriously? That was just insane. So I think you're right. There's like something there, but I didn't even know what it was at that point in time, if that makes sense. It was just like, and since then, you know, as I think about it, and as I've learned more about brain injury, you know, I kind of look back, you know, hindsight's 20-20. I kind of look back and I'm like, yeah, now I see the brain injury, you know, in some of the things as I was growing up. Like, you know, just...
Justin Abrams (11:19) my god, I got chills.
Michelle Wild (11:45) poor time management. I always thought that was just my mom, but I really think it was a brain injury thing. So kind of an interesting little twist that I would have never thought of and that definitely gave me a whole different insight and allowed me to see it from the perspective of actually a family member to a certain extent.
Justin Abrams (12:05) This is so fascinating because I'm not so sure that it's like on the tip of people's diagnosis. You know, not that it's not for a doctor to diagnose. There are clearly tests that can be run where that is the ultimate result of the diagnosis. like, lots of people have just hit their head. Have...
Maybe it's not even necessarily like an actual traumatic event, like an actual brain injury. Like, while we're on the topic of this, what are some things that people can just light bulb moment? You know, I think of some of my loved ones, you really don't know a lot about their history, but so many folks, regular walks of life, after knowing your technology so well, fit the mold? Like...
Michelle Wild (12:52) Mm-hmm.
Justin Abrams (12:53) Did something happen? Is there a series of things that folks can look out for that would classify as a brain injury? And what can people look out for?
Michelle Wild (13:03) You know, think, obviously big things, right? But even minor car accidents, you know, there is what they call a coup, contrecoup injury. So your brain sort of goes in the front of your head and then it pops back in your head and there's just fluid in there. And so it's actually impacting your brain when that happens. So car accidents, falls, I can't tell you, falls is one of the highest occurrence of brain injuries.
I have people that I work with at Best and at Coastline that one person was getting ready to go on a trip and tripped and fell in the bedroom and got a brain injury, and significant. you know, sometimes you think, you you're in a big car accident and there's no brain injury. Well, there might be a little bit, right? But sometimes it can be a mild accident, but there still can be an impact.
lots of sports concussions. mean, again, we never talked about these things back in the day. When I first started in brain injury, you know, I don't even think we were required to wear seat belts. So a lot of the people that were having brain injuries from those kinds of incidents were dying. And as, you know, as some of those improvements in that area and medical improvements have come around, it's really helped individuals survive brain injuries that they wouldn't have ordinarily survived.
And so now we have like five million people, over five million people living with brain injury. We have significant injuries all the time. And one of the problems is that so many people have mild injuries. Like I said, maybe a fender bender, a rear end, you don't even know. And all of a sudden, you're a little bit confused. They used to call it you see stars or a little bit dazed and confused. Well, part of that is what happens and it may go away.
And so you think, everything's fine, but it may not go away. And so that's one of the things. And I think, you know, looking for changes, changes in behavior, looking for changes in thinking, and, you know, whether you're the one who may have had an incident, a fall or, you know, something like that, a lot of times people will get a sense there's something off, but they don't know what it is.
And a lot of times they'll go to a doctor and the doctor or the hospital will say, know, well, you have a concussion, you know, it'll be okay. Get just rest. And, you know, the majority of times that's true. Rest will, you know, sort of resolve some of these things, but there's a huge number of individuals that just have what they call this persistent concussion syndrome that just continues on. And it can completely disrupt a person's life. I mean, people...
can no longer work a lot of the times and there's not a lot of help out there for them. They'll go through what we call the medical model, which is maybe the emergency room and seeing their doctors and doing physical therapy and occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, but that's all based on insurance. And once the insurance is gone, their support is gone. And so that's really where BEST has, we want to fill that gap and it's a huge one.
And we have an approach that's different from a lot of other people's approaches, because it's based on education. I'm a teacher. I'm not a medical professional. And so I approach brain injury from the perspective of wanting to teach people not only about their brain injuries and what might be happening to them, but also about strategies that they can use to deal with some of the challenges that they have.
Justin Abrams (16:47) you
It's so interesting, it reminds me of a story. I didn't plan on bringing this up at all. I wonder if my wife will be angry about it. my wife has suffered several concussions. One was at a school event. She was like in a dunk tank. Like, you you throw the ball and you get dunked submerged at a carnival. And she hit her head real bad. And one of the things that, you know, she may have had mild concussion, like she was fine and sent home from the hospital. But I remember she had trouble just recalling simple words. And she's brilliant. Like she just had, she had trouble remembering how to go to
Michelle Wild (17:00) Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Nice.
Yeah.
Justin Abrams (17:18) the bathroom. I know that sounds funny but like she couldn't she couldn't remember how to go to the bathroom. The simple like life functions that we take for granted and it took her if you asked her directly she probably says she's still not the same. Like it I never really thought about this until right now Michelle we were just connecting dots and it probably is very true that lots of things in her life since then have been different.
Michelle Wild (17:20) No.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Justin Abrams (17:44) never really thought about it and it's a very interesting scenario to maybe rehash with her but I wanted to think about you know what are some of like the most significant challenges that people face when recovering from brain injuries and how do you think that best as an application as a technology solution is addressing some of those challenges that people might experience?
Michelle Wild (18:08) Mm-hmm. I think some of the, mean, there's different challenges. There's cognitive challenges, like just can't make a decision, get overwhelmed by information. You can't initiate. you know, a lot of times people with brain injury have... I'm so sorry. I put it on focus, but it's not focusing for some reason.
Justin Abrams (18:30) Hey, this is just how it goes. You're a CEO, you're a founder, people need your attention, there's stuff going on, so not a problem. I won't even edit it out. I'll just keep going.
Michelle Wild (18:35) So, you know, there's these cognitive challenges that people have, like I was mentioning, decision making, initiation. And we do a webinar called, it's not laziness, it's initiation, because so many people misinterpret what's going on with a person that's living with a brain injury. Word finding problems, you know, just memory problems, you know.
I know I was doing something and you know, we kind of laugh that off, right? You and I, Justin, might sort of laugh it off. Yeah, yeah. For them, it's a real life thing. And oftentimes what happens is those of us that don't have brain injuries sort of diminish what they're experiencing because to us, not, we may do the same thing, but we're not experiencing it in the same way. And so it's really important for us to understand that.
Time management, oftentimes time management, organization. I said decision making, just memory in general. So there's a lot of cognitive skills that get impacted after the brain injury. And those are all cognitive skills that we use every day to survive, right? Those are the things that help us get through our days. So a person living with a brain injury,
oftentimes struggles very much just getting through their day. And they still have kids and they still have a husband and they still have, you know, all these different things. Often they're not able to work anymore. And so financially they are impacted significantly. It's not uncommon for there to be sort of a flip in the family where, you know, the person with the brain injury is now staying home and the person who used to be staying home is now having to go out and work and that can cause all sorts of issues. So,
There's a lot of issues associated with that, what we call psychosocial issues too. It's just uncomfortable. They don't necessarily know how to act. They don't know themselves anymore to a certain extent. It's like they're sort of learning who they are. And that can be very upsetting and very disruptive, especially when everyone in their life expects them to be the same. They look the same, you
I can guarantee you if you looked at almost anyone I work with, you would have no idea they had a brain injury. And so it's sort of this silent, what they call the silent epidemic that is there, but no one knows about it. And the people with the brain injury are often too embarrassed or too shy or whatever to share and to talk about it because they have in a lot of occasions and no one listens. And so...
What I really want best to be is that support system. I want to fill that lifelong gap that's there for them. After they're done with all their medical rehab and their insurance has been exhausted, I want to be there doing the cognitive stuff and talking about these kinds of issues and developing the apps that we can integrate with the cognitive aspect. mean, that's one of the most exciting things about what we're doing, Justin, is not just creating these apps.
but we're creating these apps so that we can have a complete system for this population. And that's something no one has. I mean, the medical system obviously does, but not for what we're doing. And so I think that's so exciting. to be working with Coke and you guys and the attention that you put into what you're doing and what you guys have done to understand what and why we're doing what we're doing is just amazing.
I feel very lucky to be working with you guys and I talk to my class and to best, the people that follow best all the time about you guys and where you guys are, how you're helping us and all of that. And so, you know, it is something that is definitely needed. And I think we have a really good chance of filling that gap. We have followers from, I don't know, I think at this point in time, like 35 different states and probably 10 or 15 different countries.
And I know what it's like to have a brain injury in the United States, but to have a brain injury in some of these other countries, it's horrible. They just have no services whatsoever. And even just getting recognized with a brain injury. I think that's another thing about BEST that's real important is you don't have to prove to me you have a brain injury. You just have to think that you're struggling with something that I can help you with, and that's what matters.
A lot of these other places, you have to have the medical records to show, yep, you have a brain injury because that's how they get paid. And for us, we're just out to help people that are struggling with these issues. And so it doesn't matter where you are in the world or whether you can prove you have a brain injury. I'm hoping that we can do something to help you.
Justin Abrams (23:29) You know, one of the most interesting parts of BEST to me as an organization, of course, it's the technology.
laser focused on making sure that that comes into the world for you. But it really has to do with education. Like you have done so much, not only for folks that are learning to survive with their brain injury, but also for the families, also for generic education. You know, I think about this from like an employer's perspective. I have a staff and I rely on their number one skill set, which is their mind, their ability to come to work in a dynamite fashion and produce.
You know, you just said it a little while ago, which is you would never even know by looking at somebody that they've had some type of a brain injury. And it's very easy to go out for a walk on a Sunday. Your dog pulls on the leash, you trip over a branch and you whack your head. You just don't come back to work the next day in the same way. And what I find very fascinating about the organization and the educational content that you guys have created and will create more of. mean, you'll move into social media big time. We'll move into, you know, you do lots of talks.
Michelle Wild (24:18) Okay.
Justin Abrams (24:36) somewhere I can't keep track of you giving some type of seminar is the amount of non-specific education. You're not speaking to medical practitioners or rehabilitation centers. You're not speaking to occupational therapists or something like that. You're talking to families. You're talking to regular people and how can they adapt their life so that their loved ones can be comfortable? How can we just change the way that we perform in a household to make it easier for mom so that
Michelle Wild (24:36) Thank
Justin Abrams (25:06) can have the time and the bandwidth and the space just to get back to herself and find some new normal because it may not really ever go back to pre-brain injury. And I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about that because do we ever get back to maybe it's not one size fits all but like do you ever get back to pre-brain injury? Is it a big depends equation? Is this what people are working towards or are people legitimately just looking to live a new normal?
Michelle Wild (25:16) Right.
Justin Abrams (25:35) channel.
Michelle Wild (25:38) It's interesting, immediately after the brain injury, there's an adjustment period and all that. And one of the things that people always say is that you have to accept that you have a brain injury. And I don't like the word acceptance because I don't know anyone in all the years that I've been doing this that accepts it. It's like, I don't want to accept this. So it's sort of acknowledging and recognizing and trying to find that new normal for them.
So brain injury is one of those things that typically if you have a brain injury, you have a brain injury. It's not gonna go away. It will sort of ebb and flow. It's often you are doing something, you're on a good course, things seem to be working, you're using the strategies, right? Everything's, and then one thing can...
blow it all up. One thing can go wrong and that's enough to just totally reset things and now all of a sudden your decision making is off again and your memory gets impacted. And so their entire life is sort of this up and down, this ebb and flow of things and that again is not what people understand. You know, I talk to family members and try and help them understand that, you know, they'll say, well, you know, she was fine last week. I don't understand what's different this week. Well, there's more stress this week or
you know, something else happened, or she just did too much. mean, know, fatigue, that's where Pace My Day comes in. Fatigue is such a major factor in how people can handle different things. And so what typically happens after brain injury is people want to do what they did before, right? They want to, like, I never had to take a break. I could read for five hours or I could go and do all these things. And the reality is after the brain injury, most people are not going to be able to do that. They're going to have to learn how to manage.
or pace themselves throughout the day in order to have a good day the next day. When I talk to people about fatigue, one of the things that happens is, know, well, I did so much and then you're down and out for the next day or sometimes the next week. And so pace my day is really all about helping them.
manage that and learn to pace themselves throughout each day so that they feel like they're accomplishing something. They've got to feel, they got to have the wins, right? They have to know that they're getting these wins. And that's part of what we're trying to do is show them that, you know, even if you can do one or two things, that's one or two things that you've accomplished. And they want to do 50 things, but you know, the 50 things is going to put them down and out for a much longer period of time.
It's hard though, because it goes against the grain for almost every single person who has a brain injury. They were out there doing, living life, doing everything they wanted to do. And a lot of times, that's where the brain injury comes from. You're getting ready to go to a meeting and you're rushed and you trip on the carpet and that changes your life, right? It doesn't have to be.
somebody else, doesn't have to be a car accident or a medical issue. It can just be something like that and it can definitely impact you forever.
Justin Abrams (28:58) wanna shift gears for just a moment. I've known you for quite some time now. You always refocus us back to the mission.
want to talk a little bit about just being a really formidable tech entrepreneur. We always talk about, you know, I think the focus of BEST, I think the mission that you have, you have dedicated your life to a hyper niche. Let's talk about it like that. And I speak to founders of all different makes and models, shapes and sizes, different verticals, different arenas, and everybody is in pursuit of product market fit.
Michelle Wild (29:11) Thank
Justin Abrams (29:35) trying to build a piece of technology that maps to value and maps to leveraging money out of people's pocket. You're in the same position. Like you're creating a piece of technology that can't just persist forever. Even though you're a non-profit, you look for your donors, you're looking for new money. This is a business at the end of the day. And the application that you're creating has a component of subscription to it. And you're in your own pursuit of product market.
it and looking for the right technology to meet this cohort of people and to provide them with undeniable value. And it doesn't matter what industry it's in, it doesn't matter, you know...
what sector or the type of technology, it matters that you're creating a piece of technology that solves a problem. So I want to talk a little bit about just being a tech founder because I have watched you whittle the idea and the idea for the best suite. There are five applications. I have folks that have a hard time building one and you've built five. And what I find very interesting is Cause of a Kind has been deployed to the
Michelle Wild (30:44) .
Justin Abrams (30:50) problem to
Let's call it Renovate. I really have not been in charge of custom business logic. You have driven so much of that and so much of the problem that we have solved with this suite of applications has existed. I think you were even saying some of this has existed for 10 or 15 years already. Like the business logic that drives this application that ultimately meets your product market fit is established. So I wanna talk a little bit about what it's like to be a tech founder,
have to have the idea in place that is so worth building because it could have been very opposite. could it could have been I don't know what we're gonna build. I know that the population needs something. You're not you're not unique. There are there are definitely other applications that are out there on the marketplace.
And I say that with a grain of salt because I know that best and the suite of applications is quite unique. I want, I want to understand a little bit about the journey of whittling the idea, an approaching product market fit. And your perspective is incredible because it's all prior to like this huge wave, like anybody and everybody wants to be a tech founder right now. I got folks coming to me that want to just build the entire application using AI prompts with chat GPT, like anybody and everybody just
Michelle Wild (31:51) Yeah
Mm-hmm.
Justin Abrams (32:15) wants to be an engineer at this point, what was it like to whittle the original idea and get your first real users that really truly can't live without this technology?
Michelle Wild (32:17) Yeah.
Yeah, it was really interesting. mean, you know, at that time I was teaching. And so, again, I kept seeing, you know, I've been teaching for 39 years now.
So this was 15 years ago. So, you I've been teaching for a long time and I had been seeing the same problems over and over again and there was no solution for them. And I would watch my students deal with and struggle and I would come, you know, help them come up with strategies. And so I really think that experience of really being in the trenches with the individuals that you're developing for, knowing those people, like I wouldn't presume to try and make an app about something that was, you know, just.
something that was new to me. I'm doing it only because I know this stuff and I have the experience. I know what works. know, and you know, have I made mistakes? Of course, right? You you go down the wrong path. But that's again, why having the end user such an integral part of the development, because what happens is I think this is the greatest idea. And then I take it to them and like, what, you know, that doesn't work at all.
before we get it out there in the market, we're making those changes. And Justin, you and I have already, I mean, we've been doing this, right? That's what it was for me all along was, I I started off drawing like little pictures of what I thought it was gonna be, and I took them into my class. I'm like, here's what I think, is the screen too busy? And then it was, okay, here's how I think it's gonna work. And they would give me feedback. So it was a very iterative process for sure.
And it was a very integrative process in that I wanted to make sure that they were included. it was a slow process, because I started doing this on my own. I took money from my savings, and I don't like being in debt. And so I could have probably developed this years ago in a much bigger way.
but I'm kind of a slow and steady kind of a person and I wanna make sure I'm doing it right and I wanna make sure that I have the right people around me. once you find that, having the ideas, it's fun. I mean, it is so much fun talking to you guys and like going through things and running through ideas and really.
thinking through things out loud. mean, that's amazing. And that's definitely something that I really appreciate about you guys because prior developers that I've had, that was not what it was. It was like, you just tell me what you want and I'll do it. And then, you know, well, that's not exactly what I thought it was gonna be. And then I'd have to go back, you know, talking with you guys, that's what it's about. I mean, you know, sharing that experience and being able to learn from each other and...
You know, I learn about technology from you guys every time we talk and I hope you guys learn about brain injury every time we talk. And as a result of that, it just makes that connection so strong. And I think that, you know, it's really gonna help us build this. And you know, I do, it is for the end user. It is for the person with the brain injury. But you know what, it's also for the family members. The family members can use these apps also.
The way that we're developing them, the family members are gonna be able to integrate with the individual living with a brain injury. The idea that we want to create a dashboard where physicians and therapists and all that can really get in there and really help people. It's not medical data that we're doing, it's life data. And that's really important. It's a very different approach and a very different take on things.
but it is something that is not out there. I was just doing a presentation a few days ago and there was a physical medicine and rehab doctor online. I didn't know who it was, but during the presentation she stopped and wanted to ask a question and she's like, you're doing something no one else is doing. Where's that all coming from? And it's all about the resources and I think the technology,
I created something, a term, making cognitive connections. For me, it's all about making cognitive connections, and that has to do with technology. It's like, when you are using an app, I don't care what app it is, you are working on cognitive skills. You know, when you're putting your calendar appointment in and you've got to make sure it's for AM versus PM, that's a cognitive skill, attention to detail. When you are trying to decide what title to put in the name of the calendar appointment,
That's relevant and irrelevant. Like all of these things are cognitive skills. And so making cognitive connections is all about integrating the technology with the cognitive rehabilitation aspect of brain injury and making something more out of what we have available.
Justin Abrams (37:35) I have to tell you, I'm really just so inspired by you because it is the result of what happens when you declare a life's work. And I'm not even sure if I've done that yet. I question. I love building technology. Well, you're leading me into my next question, which has to really do with getting people to the thing. The thing that they are willing to...
Michelle Wild (37:50) I'm a lot older than you are, Justin, so.
Justin Abrams (38:03) sacrifice their savings for, the thing that they are willing to advocate in the dark for if they're the only one speaking. I don't know if there's a formula. And I'm very inspired by...
specifically. I don't know if I've met too many other folks one-to-one and have had this much interaction over this long of a period of time. To be able to see firsthand what it looks like when somebody dedicates an entire lifetime.
whole career to trying to make micro improvements. And I think you've had macro days, think you've had breakthrough days, I think you probably could count on those, but I think it's the micro days, the ones where you're feeling alone and you're at the end of the day running a business and you're an educator and...
I'm sure you realize every single semester if you get one student to get an aha moment, that's a big victory. So I don't really have a question here other than like I'm just so fascinated and so proud to know you and participate along your journey and be a small part of it. But it's truly humbling to me and it makes me question what will the next 39 years of my career look like and what type of macro impact will I be able to make? And you know, it might be selfish as I think of
about, you know.
my own pursuit, but you are so altruistic. Like you probably don't stop for a minute to just think about like your own. You're just so focused on the mission. And my next real question has to do with roadmap. Like what are your hopes for this? What is the next big thing? When you get to the end of your career, what will the things look like retrospectively that say, I accomplished my mission?
You might not have an answer for that. That's a big grandiose conversation in itself, but you have accomplished so much and to be so laser focused. I'm watching you keep tying it back to core mission and you have tons of slogans and taglines and you just eat, sleep and breathe this. At what point will you realize that you're enough, it's been enough, you have dedicated your entire life to this. Do you have a vision of that yet?
Michelle Wild (40:15) you.
I mean, I can't imagine doing anything else. So, you know, I'm getting ready to retire from education and that's going to be my opportunity to go all in on best and I'm looking forward to it. And, you know, I'm hoping that's going to be next year sometime in 2025. you know, being able to go all in and invest and I guess one thing just to go back to where you were is, you know, I feel really lucky to have
found what I found so early in life. So that I think has really helped me with that laser focus. Like I just love it. There's nothing else I'd rather do. Like, people are, you know, wouldn't you rather be, no, this is what I want to do. Like I got this. So I think that's a really important thing. I think also I would wish that people could find like what I found.
in direction because it is a lot but it's very fulfilling and it provides so much. You know, just working with people, not every day is a great day as you said, you know, it's never going to be but you know, just getting a quick email from someone saying, you know, I tried this strategy and it really worked, Michelle, that's awesome. Like that can carry me for weeks.
doesn't take very much. I'm pretty simple in that way. So I think that's really, really important, finding something. And I try to share that with my students also. They've had this devastation happen in their lives, and they may never be able to go back to what they were doing before. Find something that brings you joy. Find something that matters to you. And then you know what? It's not like work. I mean, I know it's an old cliche, but it's really not like work. It is...
something that you are excited to do. So I think that's one thing. In terms of the roadmap, I really want to keep developing apps. I have other ideas for apps, so you're not rid of me yet, Justin. I have some other ideas for apps, all, you know, that will help people in their everyday life that are living with these kinds of conditions. I really would like to create a system. I would like to have, you know, like an online environment where people just learn.
They can go in and they can learn so that whether I'm still around or not, I will hopefully be there and, you know, video continuing to try and teach this stuff. And then I think another aspect of my roadmap is I really want to train other people or people with brain injuries to do what I do. I don't really want to teach all the professionals of the world to do what I do because
They're doing their own thing and they don't really care about what I'm doing, but the survivors care and they get it and they know. And so I think if I could create a system where I can create mentors and the survivors are the mentors for other survivors and make that something that could be available to people, that would be sort of like the optimal thing. And that would really help me know that I made a difference.
Justin Abrams (43:48) Well, I want to round third base here. Take us back home. It is probably extremely common that you know somebody with a brain injury, you yourself may be listening to this for the audience and be like, this sounds a lot like me. I remember a time I slipped on black ice and maybe I've been a little different since then.
It may be a family friend. It may just be because this is top of mind and it's important for your fellow human. What are some ways that folks can get involved that they can participate not only in the evangelization of the education in this arena, but maybe they can participate in their families and like directing people back to this education. If it's anything about like donating or getting involved, what are some of the most
ways that folks can participate with Best Connection.
Michelle Wild (44:45) Yeah, know, volunteering is amazing. you know, we are a very small nonprofit and I have basically been doing, you know, everything. I'm sort of the Jill of all trade and I don't have all those skills. you know, volunteering, help with marketing and, you know, social media and those kinds of things would be really, really helpful. I think obviously donating.
Best runs basically on donations. mean, we're going to charge a little bit for the apps, but going back to what you were saying, Justin, our population can't afford it. So they've been financially devastated. So we're trying to do the best thing we can do by making it a nominal expense for them. That is something that they can use forever. And so that's a big thing.
But donations will help us do that. Donations will help us continue to develop the apps, continue to develop the education that will allow us to have mentors out there that will be able to do this. And so I think that's a big thing. Just talking about brain injury. If you've heard something today that resonated with you, share it with someone. You would be surprised at how many people you know that have a brain injury.
Seriously, you would like you're thinking I don't know anyone has a brain injury I will I'm willing to bet you that you have at least one or two people in your lives that have had a brain injury that you don't know about and when you mention it Sometimes they're gonna share like it's just sort of you know, wow, you know, I had a brain injury. It's amazing My students do this I do this and we are meeting people all the time that have had brain injuries So talking about brain injuries
And sharing the importance of really being there and developing this stuff, I think is really important. I can tell you, I don't take a salary from Best. I don't ever intend on taking a salary from Best. Excuse me. That's not what I'm here for. And so any donations that come into Best are going directly into developing the apps, are helping to pay a couple of people, a small stipend.
That you know, they are willing to accept because they're in it for the same reason that i'm in it And you know someday if we can make money and we become this business, you know That would be awesome and I would invite that but for right now That's not you know, we're not about the business. We're about helping the people And so that's where we're at. So any donations that might come in from this or whatever it might be Any donations that might come in
you know, from this or other things that, you know, you might hear about are going straight back to help the individuals. There's not a lot of overhead in what we do. you know, I think those are, those are some of the biggest things. and just sharing with even doctors and, you know, therapists that you might know, family members or whatever, Hey, I heard about this organization that helps brain injury after you're done with them. Right. Because that's what's missing.
So I think those things would be really, really helpful and would make a huge difference.
Justin Abrams (48:11) Well, I am so appreciative of you taking some time to have a chat with me today. I feel like we could go on forever. I have so many questions and I'm so fascinated by what you've accomplished and the inception story and the commitment to participating in your life's work. I'm so proud to just be a part of it and best could not fit the mission of Cause of a Kind better.
Michelle Wild (48:18) Thank you.
Justin Abrams (48:38) Like it is an absolute exact match and we found each other in a very organic way. you're a referral from a referral from a referral. And it just speaks volumes to what is possible from doing the best work that you possibly can. You know, as entrepreneurs, we are often not given a reflective sounding board. We often don't know the depth of our reach, of our impact.
Michelle Wild (48:44) Yeah.
Justin Abrams (49:07) It is so palpable for me to participate with you.
I say with you specifically because you are the organization. You are the brain power behind the logic that we have created. This is entirely your idea, Christie's idea. You have a small team that I know quite well. And what you have all conjured up to be a painkiller for your population is so wildly impressive. And now you tell me that there's even more that we have to hopefully have the opportunity
Michelle Wild (49:40) yeah, there's lots more.
Justin Abrams (49:42) Opportunity to all work on together and pursue Michelle it has been a pleasure to host you on this episode of strictly from nowhere I'm so appreciative to have you not only as a customer but as a colleague and a friend and I appreciate your transparency and your vulnerability for today and I know you got all sorts of other stuff that's going on on top of looking forward to retirement building five software applications and I'm just so appreciative and
Michelle Wild (50:05) Yeah
Justin Abrams (50:12) Thank you so much for joining this episode Strictly From Nowhere.
Michelle Wild (50:15) Absolutely and thank you guys for all you're doing. I know we found our match and I can't wait to see what we can do together.
Justin Abrams (50:24) Thanks.
Donate to BEST Connections
