This week is a little personal.

Most people don't know this about me: I acquired a window cleaning company, scaled it, landed some of the city’s biggest companies as clients, then exited in less than a year.

I'm sharing how owning a window cleaning company taught me more about regulatory affairs than I expected, and how my RA training made me a better business owner.

I ran it as an actual business with clients, employees, insurance, scheduling software, and the constant rush (anxiety) that comes with being responsible for other people's livelihoods.

I did this on top of my full time job in RA, studying for my MBA, and being a mom to a rambunctious toddler (this is a full time job in itself). Pretty sure I was dissociating.

Here are 5 lessons I learned along the way:

1. Documentation isn’t boring, it’s your shield

• The window cleaning version: Every job gets documented. Photos before and after. Invoices with timestamps. Notes on any issues (broken screens, damaged seals, customer requests). If a client ever says "you didn't clean this window" or "you broke my screen," I have proof.
• The RA version: Every submission to FDA gets documented. Every meeting, every email, every decision. If FDA ever questions why you made a choice, your documentation is your defense.

2. Systems (not heroics) scale

• The window cleaning version: When I started, I was the one cleaning windows. I knew every client, every job, every detail. But that doesn't scale. I had to build systems: standardized pricing, checklists for quality control, training protocols for new employees. Eventually, the business would still run whether I was present or not.
• The RA version: When a startup is small, the founder can personally
review every label, every claim, every submission. But that doesn't scale. You need SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), templates, and a regulatory system that works when you're not in the room.

3. People don’t care about your process, they care about results

• The window cleaning version: Clients don't care that I use eco-friendly solutions or have a 47-step quality checklist. They care that their windows are clean and I showed up on time.
•The RA version: The FDA doesn't care about your company's innovation
story or how hard you worked. They care that your submission is complete,
accurate, and follows the guidance.

4. Prevention is a lot cheaper than fixing

• The window cleaning version: I could skip safety training to save time. I could use cheaper equipment. I could rush jobs. But the moment someone gets hurt or breaks a $500 window, all that "saved time" costs me exponentially more in liability, insurance claims, and lost reputation.
• The RA version: Companies could skip proper testing to launch faster. They could use vague claims to avoid FDA scrutiny. They could cut corners on submissions. But the moment FDA issues a warning letter or forces a recall, all that "saved time" costs millions.

5. You can’t fix culture with rules

• The window cleaning version: I can write all the policies I want about showing up on time, being respectful to clients, and cleaning thoroughly. But if my team doesn't actually care about doing good work, no rulebook will fix that. Culture > compliance every time.
• The RA version: A company can have perfect SOPs, pristine documentation, and airtight regulatory processes. But if the culture is "move fast and cut corners," those systems will be ignored the moment leadership isn't looking.

How has working in RA, clinical research or tech changed your life? Send me an email: [email protected].

A weekly roundup of the digital apps, platforms, and products that don’t…well..suck.

🤰Costco is now in the baby-making business. Because apparently a Costco membership can now get you closer to parenthood than your insurance can. The warehouse giant partnered with healthcare marketplace Sesame and fertility network IVI RMA to offer members discounted fertility services, from consultations to IVF, with estimated savings of $5,500 to $10,000 per cycle. With 1 in 6 Americans affected by infertility and a single cycle costing up to $25,000, this bulk-buy approach to reproductive care is equal parts absurd and genuinely overdue.

📱Text therapy is in its insurance era. These days, the best way to reach people in crisis is the same way your group chat does. Tampa-based Cope Notes, which delivers daily mental health support through randomized SMS messages, just landed a five-year contract with UnitedHealthcare and Optum as part of a Florida Medicaid initiative.The texts are designed to interrupt negative thought patterns in real time, and will now reach Medicaid recipients who've declined traditional mental health services - proving that sometimes the lowest-tech solution is the one that actually sticks.

💉 Move over green juice, Biohackers are injecting their way to wellness. Wellness influencers have fully committed to injectable peptides - grey-market compounds with names like BPC-157 and TB-500, sourced from foreign dealers online and touted as cure-alls for everything from injury recovery and weight loss to better sleep and younger skin. The catch? Most research has been done in animals or labs, not humans - and the same peptide that helps at one dose could be ineffective or harmful at another, with no established therapeutic dosing for humans. Risks include sepsis, muscle paralysis, and organ enlargement - but sure, at least your skin might look great.

Why is nobody talking about this?

Here's something I've been thinking about: regulatory affairs has a branding problem.

When people hear "I work in RA," they think: boring, bureaucratic, paper-pushing, the person who says "no" in meetings.

But regulatory thinking is actually one of the most transferable skillsets you can have. It's systems design. It's risk management. It's documentation strategy. It's knowing how to navigate complex rules to get what you want.

Those skills work in window cleaning. They work in startups. They work in health tech, CPG, finance, logistics, literally anywhere with rules and consequences.

So why doesn't anyone talk about this?

Because we've let RA be defined by the people who make it boring…not the people who make it useful..and fun!

I personally don’t just see RA as just a job. For me, it's a way of thinking.

Whether you're cleaning windows or clearing medical devices, the same principles apply: document everything, build systems that scale, prevent problems instead of fixing them, focus on results, and build a culture that cares.

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Welcome home. See you in the next issue. 🖤