We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Seth Harlem a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Seth , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My dad always told me that “it’s not what you do; but how you do what you do.” In other words, whether you are flipping burgers or curing disease, what matters most is doing things with integrity and real commitment. This advice has had such a profound impact not only on how I make my own career decisions but on how I hire and assess people. In hiring and assessing performance, it’s not only about credentials, experience, and ultimately hitting numbers; integrity is the foundation of it all.

This advice has guided my own career decisions. When I graduated college, I had a great job offer in New York City. What I really wanted to do was move to Shanghai. I had spent a semester there during college, and I wanted to return there for work. However, I had no job offer there and it was unlikely I would get an offer without first moving to the other side of the world. My parents reminded me of two things: first, it’s not what you do; but how you do what you do. Having an attractive job offer in New York City was a good what; but, if I would not be committed, it would be unfair to my employer – the how. Second, they reminded me that with every year, responsibilities grow (often exponentially). Taking the opportunity to work in Shanghai was both an amazing immediate opportunity but something that could also impact my entire career trajectory. My parents provided me with encouragement and support to take the risk in China, and that changed my entire career. I ended up working at General Motors China in Shanghai and that experience opened doors to working with a Hangzhou, China-based financial technology company, which led to opportunities with fintech startups. My experience with startups then led to healthcare, which is how I got to Thema Brain Health. Encouraging and supporting my move to Shanghai in 2004 was life changing.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been lucky to be involved with early stage companies for many years. However, I got into the healthcare industry because of a business school classmate of mine. After graduating from business school, a classmate who is also a research scientist with a PhD in Genetics told me about an idea for a biotechnology startup he had. He wanted me to co-found the company with him because of my experience with early stage companies. I made it clear that I had no experience with healthcare, and certainly no experience with biotech. Nevertheless, we started the company together. Although our technology ultimately failed in animal studies, I was exposed to many aspects of healthcare. All of this led to healthcare consulting opportunities which ultimately led to my current venture, Thema Brain Health. Thema is on a mission to reinvent the field of neurology by focusing on prevention of neurological conditions. For example, we are committed to the early diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s Disease. Even more, we are committed to identifying risk factors for future cognitive decline to prevent development. We believe that in the near future, developing Alzheimer’s Disease will be a failure of prevention. This commitment to prevention – true healthcare; and not sick care is what separates Thema Brain Health. People tend to be terrified to learn about either having or being at risk for a neurodegenerative disease. This fear is understandable and stems from the belief that there is little that can be done to prevent development of the disease. However, this is not the case. I’m so proud of the work we do at Thema but I’m especially proud when we are able to alleviate the fear associated with knowing. Knowledge is the key to prevention. Thema Brain Health wants everyone to know that there are so many ways that we can protect your brain health. Alzheimer’s Disease starts 20-30 years before symptom onset. Imagine the power of knowing you are at risk of developing symptoms and that there are many things that can be done to prevent future cognitive decline.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

A critical factor for succeeding in our field is building trust through communication and compassion. Brain health and neurology deal with deeply personal and often frightening issues for patients and families. Success comes not just from having expertise, but from being able to listen carefully, explain complex information in understandable ways, and creating a sense of partnership with every patient.
In addition, adaptability is so important. Brain health is a rapidly evolving field, with new research, therapies, and technologies emerging all the time. The ability to embrace innovation, and personalize care based on the latest evidence makes a profound difference — not only in patient outcomes, but also in building a forward-thinking practice that stands out.
Finally, a commitment to prevention and early action is key. In neurology and brain health, waiting for symptoms to appear often means missing the best window for intervention. Successful providers lead by focusing on proactive, preventive care — educating patients, empowering them to understand their risk factors, and helping them take meaningful action before problems become severe.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When we started Thema Brain Health about a year and a half ago, we were convinced that we could change neurology and brain health as a brand new startup – in other words, we thought we could “disrupt” neurology as a new entrant. We made some headway. Our traction, however, was hampered by the fact that we were an unknown entity. Therefore, we decided to pivot. We merged with a local, highly respected neurologist. This partnership with an established neurologist has changed how our community sees us. Now more and more people are embracing Thema’s approach to modernizing neurology.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.themabrainhealth.com
• Instagram: @themabrainhealth