How to speak 'Developer': A non-technical health tech Founder's guide

How to speak 'Developer': A non-technical health tech Founder's guide to managing tech teams

You're a healthcare founder with a game-changing idea. Maybe you're a clinician who's spent years perfecting your therapeutic approach, a mental health professional who's identified a gap in digital support services, or a wellness practitioner who knows exactly how to improve patient outcomes. Your expertise might lie in psychology, physical therapy, nutritional science, or any other health discipline – and that's exactly as it should be.

Here's the thing about health tech and wellness startups: many of the best ideas come from people with clinical backgrounds. You understand the problems because you've lived them. You've seen patients struggle, witnessed the inefficiencies in care delivery, and recognized where technology could make a real difference. Your medical or therapeutic expertise is invaluable – it's what gives your startup its edge.

But there's a catch – you need to build a digital product, and while you can explain complex medical conditions or therapeutic approaches in your sleep, 'tech speak' might as well be ancient Greek. The journey from clinical expertise to digital product can feel like trying to translate between two completely different languages. And in many ways, it is.

This is particularly common in health and wellness startups, where founders often come from clinical or therapeutic backgrounds rather than technical ones. You might be brilliant at developing treatment plans or understanding patient needs, but when your developer starts talking about APIs, sprints, and deployment pipelines, it can feel like you're losing something in translation.

Don't worry, you're not alone. Many of the most successful healthcare founders didn't start with a technical background. What they did have was the ability to communicate effectively with their development teams. Let's break down how you can do the same.

Learning from your clinical experience

Before we dive into the technical stuff, let's talk about something you already excel at: being a healthcare professional. You probably don't realize it, but you already have many of the skills needed to work effectively with technical teams. Let's draw some parallels:

The consultation model

Think about how you approach a complex patient case:

• You don't immediately know every answer
• You gather information systematically
• You consult with specialists when needed
• You develop a treatment plan based on evidence and expertise
• You monitor progress and adjust as needed

Guess what? This is exactly how good technical development works:

• Your technical team won't have all the answers upfront
• They'll need to gather requirements systematically
• They'll consult with specialists for specific challenges (like security or compliance)
• They'll develop a plan based on best practices and experience
• They'll iterate and adjust based on feedback and results

Using your diagnostic skills

As a healthcare professional, you're already expert at:

• Taking complex problems and breaking them down
• Asking the right questions to get to the root cause
• Understanding that symptoms don't always point to obvious solutions
• Knowing when to bring in specialists

These skills translate perfectly to product development:

• Breaking down complex features into manageable pieces
• Asking questions to understand the real technical challenges
• Recognizing that obvious solutions aren't always the best ones
• Knowing when to bring in technical specialists

The power of protocols

In healthcare, you use:

• Treatment protocols
• Best practice guidelines
• Evidence-based approaches
• Systematic documentation

Your development team has similar tools:

• Development frameworks
• Coding standards
• Proven methodologies
• Technical documentation

Understanding this parallel can help you appreciate why developers often insist on following certain processes – just like you wouldn't skip steps in a medical procedure.

Managing uncertainty

Remember when you were first starting your clinical practice? You learned to:

• Be comfortable saying "I need to research this"
• Consult with colleagues on complex cases
• Follow established protocols while learning
• Communicate / document everything carefully

Apply this same approach with your technical team:

• Be comfortable saying "I need to understand this better"
• Let them consult with their technical peers
• Trust their development protocols
• Encourage constant communication

The translation challenge

First things first: you don't need to become a developer to work with developers. Just like you wouldn't expect your tech team to become healthcare experts overnight, you don't need to master coding. What you do need is to understand how to communicate your vision in a way that resonates with technical teams.

Focus on the 'what,' not the 'how'

Here's a common scenario: you're excited about your idea and start telling your development team, "I want you to build it using React Native because I heard it's good for mobile apps, and maybe we should use blockchain for security..."

Stop right there.

Instead, try this approach:

• "We need patients to be able to securely share their daily symptoms"
• "Clinicians need to review this data in real-time"
• "The experience needs to work seamlessly on both phones and computers"

See the difference? You're describing what needs to happen, not how it should be built. Trust your technical team to choose the right tools for the job – that's what they're good at.

The power of user stories

Want to speak developer? Start with user stories. They're like clinical case studies but for software. Here's the format:

"As a [user type], I want to [action] so that [benefit]"

For example:

"As a therapist, I want to see my patient's mood tracking data in a weekly view so that I can identify patterns and adjust treatment plans accordingly."

This format is magical because it:

• Focuses on the user's needs
• Makes the benefit clear
• Gives developers context for their work

Priorities and trade-offs

In healthcare, you often deal with competing priorities. The same applies to product development. Your development team needs to understand what matters most:

• Is HIPAA compliance non-negotiable? (Hint: yes, it usually is)
• Is speed to market more important than having every feature perfect?
• Do we need to optimize for older devices or slower internet connections?

Be clear about these priorities. It helps developers make informed decisions when they inevitably hit technical crossroads.

Building cross-disciplinary understanding

Just as you've developed ways to explain complex medical concepts to patients, you can develop methods to bridge the clinical-technical divide:

1. Use analogies from healthcare:

• Think of code reviews like getting a second opinion
• Consider technical debt like chronic conditions that need management
• View testing like clinical trials – necessary for safety and efficacy

2. Share your decision-making process:

• Explain clinical workflows the way you'd teach a medical student
• Break down why certain features are critical for patient care
• Help developers understand the real-world impact of their work

3. Learn from each other:

• Let developers shadow clinical workflows when possible
• Take time to understand basic technical concepts
• Create a shared vocabulary for your specific project

The art of feedback

Providing feedback on technical work when you're not technical can feel daunting. Here's how to make it constructive:

1. Focus on user impact: "When I click this button, nothing happens, which would frustrate our busy clinicians"
2. Be specific about problems: "The text is too small to read on my phone" rather than "I don't like how it looks"
3. Ask questions: "Can you help me understand why this loading time is necessary?"

Red flags and warning signs

Even if you're not technical, you can spot warning signs in developer communication:

🚩 "It's impossible": Very few things are truly impossible in software development. What they might mean is "it's difficult" or "it would take too long"

🚩 "It'll be done when it's done": This suggests a lack of project management and clear milestones

🚩 "Trust me, this is the best way": While expertise is valuable, good developers can explain their reasoning in non-technical terms

Building trust through transparency

The best technical relationships are built on trust. Here's how to foster it:

1. Admit what you don't know: "I'm not familiar with this technology – could you explain why you're recommending it?"
2. Share context: Why certain features are crucial for your users or regulatory compliance
3. Be open about constraints: Whether they're budget, time, or regulatory

The role of a technical translator

Sometimes, you need a bridge between your vision and your development team. This is where a Fractional Product Leader can be invaluable. They can:

• Help translate your healthcare expertise into technical requirements
• Ensure development priorities align with business goals
• Provide oversight without micromanagement
• Flag potential technical issues before they become problems

When things go wrong

Every project hits bumps. Here's how to handle common scenarios:

1. When timelines slip: Ask "what's blocking us?" rather than "why isn't this done?"
2. When costs increase: Seek to understand the technical challenges driving the increase
3. When features don't work as expected: Focus on the gap between expectation and reality

Moving forward

Remember, you don't need to become a developer – you need to become an effective communicator with developers. Your healthcare expertise is valuable; it's about finding the right way to translate that knowledge into technical requirements.

At The Fractionals, we've helped numerous non-technical healthcare founders bridge this gap. Sometimes it's through direct support, other times by helping build and manage technical teams. The key is finding the right balance of technical oversight and domain expertise.

Ready to improve how you work with your technical team? Let's talk about how we can help bridge the communication gap and turn your healthcare innovation into reality. After all, the best healthcare solutions come from combining clinical expertise with technical excellence – and that starts with speaking the same language.