Healthcare innovation is marked by leaders who not only achieve great milestones but also have a profound commitment to creating meaningful change. Jenna Hartter’s story is a powerful testament to perseverance, operational excellence, and a deep-rooted passion for improving lives.
Roots of Ambition: A Family-Inspired Foundation
Jenna’s journey begins with a unique family background that shaped her worldview. As the second of four daughters, she was raised by parents who deeply valued education. Her father, in particular, instilled a belief that there were no limits to what she could achieve. This foundational support would become the bedrock of her future professional pursuits.
Growing up, family vacations were spent visiting museums and educational sites rather than other tourist destinations. This approach to learning fostered a curiosity and openness that would later define her career trajectory. Her parents didn’t just teach education; they taught the art of continuous learning and exploration.
From Corporate Foundations to Startup Innovation
Jenna’s professional journey began in the structured world of a Fortune 500 company, where she spent half a decade developing her skills. However, she wasn’t content to remain within the familiar corporate boundaries. Her transition to the startup sector was far from easy – she faced doubts about her ability to pivot from a large corporate environment to the high-risk, fast-paced world of innovative startups.
This skepticism could have been a deterrent, but for Jenna, it was a challenge to overcome, and one she approached systematically and with intention. Her move from consumer products to medical technology was another significant leap, entering an industry where she had no prior experience. While each transition represented a career move, it was also a deliberate choice to expand her impact and challenge existing limitations.
Pioneering Operations at Cubby Beds
At Cubby Beds, Jenna has become a transformative force in scaling insurance-covered safety beds for children with special needs. She had a hand in building the company’s operational infrastructure from scratch – both physical product operations and company-wide strategic & operating cadences. At Cubby, a medical device product with a mission to help families better access the care they need, she’s faced with some difficult and unique challenges never before been tackled by the industry. To meet these, she’s able to bring expertise from her background in CPG, omnichannel, and direct-to-consumer startups to build new & creative solutions.
The company’s growth is a testament to her skills: from the team of seven she was hired into to over 40 full time employees, now selling tens of millions of dollars in products within just three years. Each strategic decision and additional bed sold represents not just a business milestone, but a step towards improving more lives of families with children who have special needs.
A Personal Connection to Healthcare Transformation
Jenna’s commitment to healthcare innovation is deeply personal. As a foster parent to three young children, she has experienced firsthand the complexities of accessing healthcare services. “I have a much closer view of what it’s like to try to get healthcare services,” she explains. “It’s very complex and much harder than it should be… It shouldn’t take an advanced degree and it shouldn’t take a whole ton of time [to access the services we need] .”
The Philosophy of Incremental Progress
One of Jenna’s most powerful strategies is breaking down challenges into manageable actions. “I am a very operational person in all aspects of my life, and use similar frameworks to approach a new challenge at work or a new challenge at home,” she explains. When facing obstacles, she focuses on “breaking things down into small and doable next steps .”
Jenna maintains a file of her past accomplishments – a personal reminder of challenges she’s already overcome. This practice isn’t about ego, but about recognizing her own capacity for growth and adaptation. Each past achievement becomes a building block of confidence for future endeavors.
Balancing Professional Ambition and Family Life
For Jenna and her husband, managing a two-career household with three children under four is an exercise in strategic planning. They’ve developed sophisticated systems for managing household logistics, including weekly family meetings to coordinate responsibilities. This approach allows them to pursue their professional goals while maintaining a supportive, efficient home environment.
Inspiration from a Global Perspective
Influenced by Muhammad Yunus – a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, politician, civil society leader, and Nobel Peace Prize winner – Jenna embraces the idea that transformative innovations can emerge from unexpected places. Her internship in Bangladesh was a pivotal moment, teaching her that committed individuals can create systemic change by focusing on solving real-world problems.
A Message to Emerging Leaders
To young professionals, Jenna offers a powerful message: “You don’t need to be a visionary to have a big impact. Meaningful work can be found in implementing grand ideas well”. She finds this challenge & satisfaction in operations, in bringing others’ visions to life with well-constructed and well-executed systems. She encourages focusing on doing meaningful work rather than seeking spotlight & attention “When you focus on doing good work, you’ll look up after months, years, and decades and see the impact you’ve had on people’s lives – more than you could have ever dreamed.”
The Multifaceted Nature of Perseverance
Jenna Hartter embodies perseverance not through dramatic resistance, but through consistent, strategic action. Her journey illustrates that success is about breaking complex challenges into manageable steps, maintaining a commitment to personal growth, and never losing sight of the broader impact one can make.
As a member of Women Who Lead Healthcare 2024, Jenna represents the innovative spirit driving positive change in healthcare – proving that with determination, strategic thinking, and a genuine desire to help others, one can transform industries and improve lives.