What Gets You Promoted: A Health Tech SVP on Leadership, Red Flags, and the Leaders Who Rise - with Laura Demuth, MSN, NP-BC Laura Demuth, MSN, NP-BC, joined Curology, then known as Pocket Derm, as employee number 12 nearly a decade ago. Today, she serves on the executive team as Senior Vice President of People and Patients, helping lead an organization that serves millions of patients while overseeing teams across people operations, patient experience, and clinical functions. In this episode, Laura shares the leadership lessons she has learned through years of building teams in a high-growth startup. At the center of the conversation is her philosophy of "servant leadership, with an asterisk." She explains why supporting your team should never come at the expense of your own voice as a leader and how that perspective has evolved throughout her career. Helen and Laura discuss the importance of building trust before difficult conversations, why "clear is kind" has become one of Laura's guiding leadership principles, and the five qualities she believes every leader should develop: trust, humility, accountability, curiosity, and courage. They also explore what distinguishes clinicians who grow into effective leaders, from demonstrating mission alignment and informal leadership to becoming a student of the business and adapting through change. This episode offers practical insights for leading people, developing culture, and helping others grow without losing yourself in the process. Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments Servant leadership, with an asterisk. Laura explains why the best leaders support their teams without removing themselves from the table.Why "clear is kind." Learn how trust makes difficult conversations more effective and why avoiding conflict is not the same as being compassionate.The five leadership non-negotiables. Laura shares the values that shape her leadership approach: trust, humility, accountability, curiosity, and courage.What separates clinicians who become great leaders. Mission alignment, informal leadership, business curiosity, and adaptability are often stronger predictors than clinical expertise alone.Become a student of the business. Understanding finance, operations, product, and strategy helps clinicians become more influential leaders.Give away your Legos. Laura explains how letting go of responsibilities creates opportunities for others to grow and allows leaders to scale their impact.About Laura Laura Demuth, MSN, NP-BC, is a nurse practitioner and healthcare executive with experience spanning inpatient care, outpatient medicine, and high-growth healthcare startups. She began her clinical career at Albany Medical Center before becoming a nurse practitioner in internal medicine. She joined early-stage telehealth company Pocket Derm, now Curology, as employee number 12, where she worked across clinical care, recruiting, and team building as the organization scaled. Over time, she moved into senior leadership roles spanning clinical operations, licensing, customer experience, and people functions. She currently serves as Senior Vice President of People and Patients at Curology and sits on the executive team, supporting both clinician and patient-facing organizations within a large-scale telehealth company. Curology is a direct-to-consumer telehealth dermatology company on a mission to make effective skincare accessible, connecting patients with licensed medical providers for personalized prescription treatments. Patients complete a quick assessment, receive custom-formulated skincare shipped straight to their door, and get expert care and ongoing follow-up from their dedicated medical provider. Follow Laura LinkedInSubstackMighty As A MotherSupport the show Follow The Early Hires WebsiteLinkedInInstagramYouTube Follow Helen Tanner LinkedIn Join The Early Hires Community Are you a clinician navigating startup life? Visit www.theearlyhires.com to sign up for the monthly newsletter aimed at supporting clinicians who are building, leading, and navigating the realities of early-stage healthcare companies. Start at www.theearlyhires.com. The conversation continues there.
