Head of Customer Success — Emily Graves (Cassata)

This week’s spotlight is on Emily Graves (Cassata), PT, DPT, CSCS, a non-clinical physical therapist who is now Head of Customer Success for Patch!

What is your full name, title, and company name for your current, primary role?

Emily Graves (Cassata), PT, DPT, CSCS — Head of Customer Success for Patch

Where are you located?

Boston, MA.

Where did you go to PT school?

Quinnipiac University.

What did you do when you first finished school, and for how long?

I worked in the outpatient space for roughly three years before transitioning to my first semi-non-clinical role at a startup.

In what setting(s) did you work, and what types of patients did you treat?

I worked predominantly in outpatient. I treated general orthopedic patients (mostly active kids and active adults), pregnancy/postpartum clients, and women’s pelvic health clients.

I still actively treat a few clients on a cash pay basis on the side to keep my clinical mind fresh.

What did you enjoy about your early roles? What didn’t you enjoy?

I enjoyed being a sponge and learning so much about patient care and our healthcare system, which truly shaped how I approach any role I’m in today. Additionally, I loved the people I met along the way and the connections made with my patients.

I didn’t love the non-flexible schedules, long nights at the clinic seeing patients until 8 PM and the ceiling you hit once you potentially become a “clinic director.”

It didn’t seem like there would be too much room for growth as a typical PT. As someone who hates being stagnant, this just didn’t sit well with me.

What else have you done since then, prior to your current role?

Aside from working in outpatient orthopedics, I have worked for two other startups prior to Patch. In my first semi-non-clinical role, I was still treating patients in a hybrid environment (part telehealth, part concierge orthopedics in their home) while assisting with data quality, new provider onboarding, and clinical operations efforts behind the scenes.

The other startup I worked for was more in the healthtech space, where I was a Director of Clinical Operations for a company that used telehealth and a patented biofeedback device to treat neuro and pelvic health patients.

This was my first experience leading a big team and driving big initiatives in the healthcare space, and it taught me a lot of useful skills that I was able to take into my current role at Patch!

When and why did you decide to do something non-clinical?

I decided I wanted more in my career in terms of flexibility and an unlimited growth potential.

This, coupled with my desire for more variety in my day and the salary implications of staying a PT, pushed me to explore other options, and I’m really glad that I did!

What are you doing these days?

As the Head of Customer Success at Patch, I get to do a lot of really awesome stuff! From speaking and strategizing with clinic owners (most of whom are PTs themselves), to onboarding our new account managers, overseeing marketing strategy and assisting with back-end operations, I find this to be one of the most fulfilling jobs I’ve ever had!

Going non-clinical, I was definitely afraid of not being able to use my clinical skills that I worked so hard to acquire in grad school. However, in all of my non-clinical roles, I’ve had the opportunity to keep a foot in the healthcare space, and I’m very thankful for that.

Are you still treating patients, or are you solely non-clinical?

I still treat a few cash pay patients on the side using mostly telehealth! This is separate from my role at Patch. I think I’ll always try to keep one foot in the door here.

How long have you been in your current role?

Since July 2024.

Did you get any special certifications or training along the way to help you get into your head of customer success role?

Yes, I did! I took many courses online, including obtaining a Healthcare Informatics specialization through Johns Hopkins, a Healthcare Organization Operations specialization through Rutgers, and a Management Essentials Course through Harvard Business School.

I think these all established a great foundation for me to go non-clinical by giving me skills I would have otherwise not obtained solely being in the clinic.

How did you find your job? Did you apply or find it through a connection?

I found this job through networking! About two years ago, I was searching for a new job since my husband and I were moving. I connected with Jeremy (the CEO of Patch) when he owned his clinic, Ripple. I actually applied for a PT position with him. Although I ended up getting the job, I declined due to a non-clinical opportunity that arose that spoke more to the career trajectory I wanted for myself at the time. Jeremy and I stayed in touch.

When Patch got started, he reached out to me to join the team since our previous conversations resonated with him and it was a no-brainer for me to come over.

Did you do anything special to your resume and cover letter to land the job?

I’m a big believer in going after what you want. If there is a role that speaks to you, simply submitting your resume and cover letter is not enough. Today’s job market is extremely saturated with people looking for new opportunities.

To make myself stand out, I always made it a point to reach out directly to the hiring manager or people on the team that I was applying for to express my interest and see if there was an opportunity for internal referrals. This helped me get more interviews than being passive in the process. Plus, I made a lot of really good connections along the way!

What was the interview like for the head of customer success role?

I had met with our COO Ally for two rounds of interviews via Zoom calls. For both interviews, I came prepared with general talking points about my career, questions and a speech on what excited me most about Patch.

I think the best way to prepare for an interview is to highlight how your clinical skill set can transfer to the non-clinical role (I tended to take points directly from the job description) and be yourself!

Not only does the job have to be a good fit, but so does the team and people you may work with. Being yourself is the best way to scope this out and gauge if this is the right role for you!

How have people reacted to you leaving patient care?

I’d say most people were generally supportive and understanding, which was very surprising to me. As many non-clinical spotlights before me have indicated, there is a level of shame that comes with leaving the clinical space after spending so many years working towards a license/degree.

However, I think what’s important to note is that leaving clinical care is NOT a step backwards, but rather a step forward for this profession by proving that PTs have a lot more we can offer!

What’s a typical day or week in the life like for you? What types of tasks and responsibilities fill your time?

A typical week at Patch is always different and exciting! On a daily basis, I am jumping in to help with client marketing deliverable creation and strategy, onboarding new hires, reviewing back end data to report on trends to leadership and the team, and helping solve operational bottlenecks to improve efficiency across the board.

I also handle conversations and troubleshooting for clients who are frustrated with a current product or service and oftentimes have to be wearing a construction hat to help fix things when they break. I love that I get to both be in the weeds day to day, but I can also pull back and be at a 100 ft view to liaison between teams when needed.

What are some of the rewards of your role? What are the biggest challenges?

The most rewarding part of my role is that I get to interact with clinic owners on a daily basis to help them achieve their business goals through digital marketing. When clients reach a new revenue goal, or get time back in their week because they were able to hire a new PT, I get to celebrate those wins with them! I also get the chance to work with many amazing account managers who come from a variety of healthcare and non-healthcare backgrounds.

The biggest challenges include balancing multiple projects and priorities at one time and navigating challenging personalities amongst clients. Having a solution-oriented mindset is very helpful here, but at times this can feel a little challenging.

How did your clinical background prepare you for this role? Which skills transferred?

My clinical background gave me the knowledge of our healthcare system to be able to resonate with our current clients and develop internal processes that hopefully make a change for the better.

It also gave me many soft skills that I don’t think can be taught, such as being able to communicate and educate people from all different backgrounds, keeping organized documentation, and time management (as we all can relate to when you have to treat multiple patients per hour).

Roughly speaking, how are the hours and pay compared to patient care?

The hours are much better! I never have to work weekends and feel I have a much better work-life balance in my current role.

In terms of pay, this is a big reason why I left the clinical space because with student debt from a lengthy PT school experience, I needed to feel like I could set myself up financially to not always be working overtime or additional jobs. With my transition to non-clinical, I am definitely making more than I would have should I have stayed in a PT role, and I never take that for granted!

What type of person do you think would do well in your head of customer success role?

In my role, you definitely have to be detail-oriented, a good communicator, and someone who has good time management. I’d also say a drive to learn is critical, since being stagnant does a disservice to you, your team and your clients.

If you are looking to transition to the startup space, this is a very fast paced environment with a lot of changes. It can be a ton of fun, but also overwhelming if you’re not sure what you are getting into.

Do you work remotely or onsite?

Remotely.

Does your organization hire PT, OT, or SLP professionals into non-clinical roles? If so, what type of roles?

YES! Patch loves to hire PTs and OTs. In fact, the majority of our account managers at the moment are a combo of PTs and OTs who left clinical care (much like myself). Since Patch helps clinic owners initiate and scale marketing efforts, we want people who know that world intimately.

Having this background sets someone up extremely well to work with clinic owners, as it helps build trust and rapport easily. The role of account managers also allows you to learn a lot of marketing and customer success skills which are easily transferable to any other roles that you may want to have in the future. Plus, you get to report directly to me, which opens the door for further mentorship and someone who can relate to your non-clinical journey!

What is a typical career path for someone in your head of customer success role?

What’s interesting about customer success is I don’t think there is a linear path here due to the nature of highly transferable skills that you acquire.

With that being said, there are always opportunities to advance to a more senior position (i.e. VP of Customer Success or C-suite level roles), but I think the beauty of this is that you can truly go anywhere!

What is next for you? What are your high-level career aspirations?

I hope to be at Patch for a long time. Being in a role where I can help cash-based clinics grow and do well in an extremely difficult to navigate insurance-based healthcare system rewards me in more ways than one.

I feel like I am changing the profession and helping PTs get the pay and flexibility they deserve by pouring into their success with Patch, and I do not take that lightly.

High level, I’d love to advance in leadership and do more advocacy for the profession. I am optimistic that both of those opportunities will be afforded to me at Patch and beyond.

What would you recommend to someone who is considering going into a head of customer success role like yours? Do you have any special words of wisdom for the readers?

I wish someone told me that I didn’t have to cover up my clinical background to apply for non-clinical roles. Expressing the skills and experience you have that makes you valuable really goes a long way.

I also highly recommend keeping track of any non-clinical projects or wins that you have achieved in your career. This could be an excel sheet demonstrating a new program or service you helped get off the ground at your clinic (operations work), or any quality control initiatives you helped track or put into place to improve patient care (data QC experience).

This will help you prepare better for interviews and have concrete examples to highlight the flexibility of your skills when the time comes.

Ready to launch your own non-clinical career?

What would you like to change most in your profession, and why? How would you propose doing so?

I would love for our profession to have more recognition in terms of our skill set and the amount of work we put into obtaining a doctoral level of education. I think since there has not been great advocacy from our board, our salaries do not reflect this, nor does modern day legislature or insurance reimbursement rates.

The amount of PTs that I know who have caught early signs of cancer, serious neurological issues and returned people from non-mobile to some level of independence is more than I can count. I believe that more education to other healthcare providers, insurance and hospital groups on the scope of our capabilities would be beneficial in getting us the respect (and pay) that we ultimately deserve.

What would you teach to today’s graduate students in your profession, if you had the opportunity?

I would have a whole course on alternative career paths you can take as a PT that do not involve patient care or academia to motivate students to learn more and do more throughout their careers!

Do you have any special advice for others who want to follow in your footsteps?

If you’re looking to get your foot in the door in a non-clinical role, but also have a hand in the PT/chiro space, come work with me at Patch! We are growing and supporting more clinics than ever and I’d love to hear from you. This is a great place to get a non-clinical start, and we’ve seen so much success with current PTs/OTs that we have in this role, we can’t wait to hire more!