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Welcome to another episode of the “Professionals of the Inland Empire” podcast hosted by John Tulac. Today’s guests are Bruce Hoffman to talk about business wellness through profit optimization, and Josh Arce will discuss personal and family wellness.
Bruce Hoffman, founder of optimizepros.ai, has approximately 20 years of experience in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science, with prior experience working within the Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive families, focusing on transaction data and building data science and development teams. His expertise includes custom software development and working with tech startups, particularly in healthcare. Hoffman emphasizes efficiency in business optimization, noting that it involves identifying problems that companies may not even realize they have. He advises against implementing technology for the sake of technology alone, instead stressing the importance of first determining specific business problems. Due to the rapidly changing landscape of AI, he suggests that staying informed about just 5% of current developments qualifies one as an expert in the field.
Hoffman predicts a future where specialized AI Agents will handle support tasks, respond to end-user inquiries, and autonomously resolve program bugs. CEOs are increasingly looking to develop these agents to manage company functions, reducing dependency on new human hires.
Josh Arce is the co-founder of The Brain Cell, a company focused on cognitive and body assessments. His personal motivation stems from his parents’ health challenges; his mother passed away prematurely due to a lack of preventative health awareness, and his father suffered from an undiagnosed cognitive disorder. Six years ago, Arce underwent a significant personal health transformation, emphasizing that financial success is meaningless without the longevity to enjoy it.
Arce’s company offers the Cognivue, an FDA-approved device that performs a 15-to-20-minute cognitive screening. This device features a laptop-like interface with adaptive technology and tracks motor skills based on the user’s interaction with the device. In contrast to the standard Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which is oral and less flexible, Cognivue provides more frequent and randomized assessments.
Additionally, the company uses InBody systems to collect body matrix data, which, while common in fitness contexts, is often underutilized by practitioners. Arce targets a clientele that predominantly includes 40-year-old women who often act as caregivers for themselves and their families and attracts “biohackers” seeking proactive health improvements.
Despite the advances in testing technology, reimbursement issues with the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) limit the financial viability of these tools in traditional medical practices, pushing them instead into the private wellness sector. Arce strongly advocates for yearly baseline testing for adults over 18 and highlights the clinical gap in rehabilitation settings where anecdotal data is too often relied upon.
The service adheres to HIPAA standards regarding privacy and confidentiality, catering to high-income clients who prefer to keep their cognitive assessment data private to avoid impacts on insurability and life insurance premiums.
During the podcast, questions raised included how AI was integrated into profit optimization and the long-term necessity of support in implementing these technologies. Bruce Hoffman noted that the evolution towards AI was a natural extension of data science practices that he has honed over two decades.
Moreover, it was discussed whether business troubles stem from personal leadership issues, with Hoffman suggesting a direct correlation. He proposed that leaders undergo cognitive assessments prior to making significant business changes, although few currently take this step. The conversation also touched upon the concept of “biohacking,” with Arce clarifying that their model focuses on wellness rather than medical interventions.
The PIE podcast aims to showcase Inland Empire professional talent, foster local economic development, and highlight the Provisors networking community. Catch the full show on YouTube @ProfessionalsofInlandEmpire.
