Meet Melissa Munro, RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards Ones to Watch Recipient

Melissa Munro is an accomplished healthcare entrepreneur and registered nurse, known for her exceptional leadership skills and innovative thinking. With two health degrees with honours from the University of Western Ontario, she has founded several healthcare start-ups. Her most notable is Hero Care, a medical staffing app designed to connect healthcare providers with organizations addressing staffing shortages.

Melissa facilitated over fifty clinics for the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Rapid Antigen Test Program, which provided COVID-19 screening for essential workers. Drawing on her extensive healthcare experience, she adapted to the unique demands of the pandemic to establish a vital healthcare service, demonstrating business acumen and dedication to community well-being. 

Melissa also founded and operates a successful skincare business and has recently taken on a directorship role with RHEA Foundation Canada, which supports humanitarian projects in remote and underserved areas of Africa. She won Digital Health Canada’s 2023 Women Leader in Digital Health Award, and Hero Care was selected as a finalist for the CanadianSME National Business Awards.

I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur when… I didn’t! When I started my own business, it started out as a passion. I knew I wanted to do something meaningful, that I would have appreciated as a nurse myself. Someone said to me “Oh, you’re an entrepreneur!” and I thought, “Wow, I guess I am, go me!”

Entrepreneurship is made for me because… it gives me the power to take the lead and turn challenges into innovations. I love the freedom it gives me to be with my family and do other important work.

The impact I hope to make through my work is… through Hero Care — to improve how we connect nurses to healthcare organizations, while giving them the flexibility they’ve been seeking and reducing the strain of staffing shortages in our healthcare system. Our app connects pre-vetted nurses directly to organizations, enabling them to find the right talent quickly and efficiently. Simply put, It’s a platform that brings supply and demand together in one user-friendly space. 

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned on my entrepreneurial journey is… you must be ready to take on anything, whether that be handling day-to-day operations, or meeting with top executives from potential prospects.  Being hands-on in all aspects of your business allows you to understand its inner workings. At the same time, you can’t do everything, so learn to delegate where you can.

My proudest accomplishment is… launching the app and seeing the first nurse sign up, connecting her to a job that supported the work-life balance she needed to stay in the profession. On the other end, we were able to support a facility going through significant staffing shortages. It’s in these moments where I’m re-affirmed  that we are onto something that can change lives. 

The biggest risk I took that paid off was… quitting my secure job during the pandemic. It felt very scary at the time, but it was all I could think about. That decision led to the creation of Hero Care.

My biggest setback has been… getting our product out there, and not being seen for what we are — something I struggle with everyday! Hero Care is not another nurse staffing agency. It’s a tech-powered platform with a mission to replace traditional agencies, offering a more efficient, affordable and compassionate solution to healthcare staffing. 

I overcame it by… persevering.  Having experience as a bedside nurse, I know we have developed something amazing and powerful and won’t stop until every healthcare organization in Canada has seen it.

The best advice I’ve received as an entrepreneur was… it’s okay to not know the answer to everything. Lean on your people to help you along in your journey. 

If you googled me, you still wouldn’t know… I’ve recently become involved with RHEA Foundation Canada, where I’ve been asked to take on a directorship role. The foundation, which has registered charity status in Canada, supports humanitarian projects in remote and underserved areas of Africa, focusing on access to healthcare, education and clean water.  

The future excites me because… it holds the promise of transforming healthcare staffing with our innovative tech solution. We know what the Hero Care app is capable of, and we can’t wait to see it being used to its full capacity. We are just getting started.

Connect with Hero Care on Instagram.