Lisa Marceau
CEO & Founder | Alpha Millennial Health, LLC
Providence Chapter
What inspired you to start your business?
In July of 2021, I was the last senior executive laid off after an acquisition. At the same time, I had just made the decision to divorce after 25 years of marriage. It was the second year of COVID, and I had three kids heading toward college. If that doesn’t force the question “What am I doing?” I don’t know what does.
I had spent more than two decades in health research and within the health insurance system, studying how misaligned healthcare is with the needs of patients. I saw firsthand that the system was never truly designed to prioritize patient outcomes.
At the same time, I was working alongside innovators who were improving care simply by thinking differently. I could see something powerful emerging: entrepreneurs, particularly women and founders from the digital generations, building solutions outside the traditional model.
Standing at the metaphorical cliff’s edge of what’s next?, staring into what felt like the abyss below, a dear friend said something that changed my perspective: “What if they aren’t rocks—but hands ready to catch you?”
That year, I started my company to support and accelerate this shift in healthcare by providing mentorship, strategic guidance, and the foundational principles innovators need to scale companies that can truly change the system.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in business?
One of the biggest challenges I faced as a woman in business was learning how often success is quietly minimized. Over my career, I built deep expertise, led programs generating millions in revenue, developed strong partnerships, and drove marketing and strategy at scale.
Yet I often found that the recognition of that work came with subtle signals, often from my male boss, that I should stay smaller, quieter, or less visible.
Over time, I realized I wasn’t defined by a company, a title, or a person. I was an expert – people, including my boss, trusted me to solve complex problems and lead through uncertainty.
That realization changed everything. After nearly 30 years in a stable career, I left the safety of corporate leadership to build my own company because I had seen how broken parts of the healthcare system are and how much opportunity exists to build something better.
What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received was: “What makes you think you have security just because you receive a paycheck?”
It may not seem like business advice, but it changed my perspective on everything. A paycheck can create the illusion of safety, but real security comes from the expertise you build, the relationships you develop, and the value you create.
This advice made me think about whether I was doing the job for a paycheck or if the job I did brought me satisfaction and impact. It changed how I engaged with my team, and how I worked with our HR department.
Paychecks feel like security, so every decision we make around our stability and our work is based on whether or not we have a perceived stable income. Decisions became both easier yet carried more gravity.
This advice was the catalyst for leaving the security of that paycheck to start my own business where I could create impact. If stability was perceived, and my expertise was what kept that paycheck coming, it was scary, but easy, to decide that I should control that equation, not someone else.
What lesson have you learned that you can share with other women entrepreneurs?
The lesson I share with other women entrepreneurs is simple: stop minimizing your value.
Many women are trained to attribute success to luck, opportunity, or someone else believing in us. For years, even while leading major initiatives, generating millions in revenue, and navigating a $40M company through a successful acquisition, I still told myself I was fortunate just to be in the room.
When I was charged with leading a successful M&A of our CRO with a Fortune 25 insurer, it was a wake-up call. No one hands an M&A to someone less than qualified.
What I learned is that credibility isn’t granted, it’s built. I had earned the expertise and trust to lead the company through the most disruptive change we would experience. And I did it successfully, with collaboration, support, and teamwork.
Women have the expertise, judgment, and leadership that create real results – and it belongs to us. Stop waiting for permission, minimizing, or explaining our voice. When we do, we make bolder decisions, take bigger risks, and build the companies and innovations that change the game.
In what ways has your membership in WPO impacted your personal or professional life?
WPO has provided an incredible opportunity to grow, feel supported, and connect with women across the spectrum. My chapter (RI) in particular has been a core component of my personal and professional growth and success.
Being surrounded by women who lead with purpose, support without judgement, hold us accountable, and believe in us even when we can’t, is something every woman should experience.
Our chapter leadership brings women together in professional gatherings, personal events, and connects dots across the WPO network that are in tune with our needs as we evolve.
Beyond and between meetings, the women of the WPO are there, and we often reach out for advice, to lean on each other, celebrate wins, and provide that needed high-five on days where we are just not sure how it’s going.
About Alpha Millennial Health:
Alpha Millennial Health (Alpha M Health) is a business advisory firm that supports entrepreneurs building innovations in healthcare, med tech, life sciences, and digital health.
Founded by healthcare innovator Lisa Marceau, MPH, PMP, the firm brings over 30 years of experience advancing clinical research, product innovation, and digital strategy across the healthcare ecosystem.
Through Alpha M Health, Lisa works with founders, startups, and innovation programs to bridge rigorous science with real-world application, helping companies move ideas from discovery to commercialization.
She is also the CEO and founder of Joyuus, a postpartum digital health platform that has secured multiple NIH SBIR awards and national accelerator support.
Lisa has held executive leadership roles at a nationally recognized clinical research organization and a Fortune 25 health insurer.
Recognized as one of the 100 Women to KNOW in America, she is the author of Breaking the System: How Digital Innovators Shape the Future of Healthcare and an active member of the Women Presidents Organization (WPO).
Alpha M Health is WBENC and WOSB certified.