Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at seven months old, doctors told him he would likely be blind or dead before the age of 25. Phil Southerland is still here - healthy, thriving and committed to improving the lives of people affected by diabetes around the world. Phil is a global ambassador for diabetes and is committed to educating and empowering the 1.2 billion people across the globe associated with the condition. He serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of Team Novo Nordisk, and the CEO of Supersapiens. He built the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team that aims to inspire, educate and empower everyone affected by diabetes.

This will be a treat for sure. Tune in and learn from Phil how he earned respect for diabetes in the sporting world and how hard work and digital technology led the way.

[00:01 - 08:27 ] Opening Segment

• I introduce Phil Southerland
• Some background on Phil’s story
• Diagnosed at seven months old 
• A link between glucose and winning
• Starting into cycling 
• College life - getting a business plan 
• The first business and first investor 
• Getting into the bike industry 
• First cross-country biker with diabetes

[08:28 - 17:28 ]  Earning Respect for Diabetes in the sporting World

• Phil talks about his team and the reaction from non-diabetics
• Earning for the respect of the peloton 
• Getting to an all-diabetes team 
• The approval process of various digital tools 
• Getting business outside of diabetes
• Even non-diabetics invested in the sensors 
• Respect for the work of CGM and other companies

[17:29 - 29:07 ] Impacting the Sportsworld Even Outside of Diabetes

• Phil talks about the future of CGM 
• It affects everyone, even non-diabetics
• What we’ve begun to learn from the data set 
• Sometimes a functional pancreas isn’t enough 
• The people included in Supersapiens 
• All the different athletes involved 
• The education strategy 
• How diet and exercise affects an athlete’s glucose 
• Examples 

[29:08 - 39:36 ] Closing Segment

• Phil talks about reaching all groups 
• People who aren’t motivated 
• Giving people the lightswitch 
• Phil shares about his charity work 
• Work in Rwanda 
• Work in Macedonia 
• Partnerships that led to impact
• What’s next for Phil 
• Impact diabetes and the sporting world 
• Putting CGM technology on athletes 
• Pathing the way for the developing world
• Thank you and please share this 
• Final Words 

Tweetable Quotes:

“Within a week of competing in sport I figured out two things - if I had good control of my glucose I could win, and if I did not have good control of my glucose I would fail.” - Phil Southerland

“I want in the next 10 years, that we can make CGM so broadly accessible, so broadly accepted, adapted, and just such a core part of life, that we’ve brought CGM technology to people in the developing world…” - Phil Southerland

Resources Mentioned: 

• Supersapiens

Connect with Phill on LinkedIn and Twitter. Go to https://www.teamnovonordisk.com/ to learn more about the team that’s changing diabetes. 

To know more, you can connect with me, David Kliff on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or email me at dkliff@diabeticinvestor.com. Be sure to visit https://diabeticinvestor.com for more insights and real-time analyses on the evolving business of diabetes.

Don’t be shy, I’d love to hear from you! You can also reach me at 224-715-3761.

NOTE*: We are in no way a replacement for real medical professionals. All information in this podcast is obtained through reliable sources. Please be aware of our Disclaimer.

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