Case Study: Trek Medics improves access to emergency care across seven countries with Twilio

Challenge yourself and your assumptions or your product is doomed

Trek Medics is a nonprofit founded by former paramedic Jason Friesen that builds pre‑hospital emergency care systems in low‑ and middle‑income countries. Tasked with creating a mobile dispatch system for resource‑constrained settings, the team discovered early assumptions from wealthy‑country EMS didn’t translate: SMS costs, limited phone credit, different responder workflows and varying country contexts meant their initial product and MVP were misaligned with real user needs.

They rebuilt Beacon, a Twilio API‑powered, text‑based dispatch platform, by deeply observing users, simplifying the MVP, training community responders, and adapting workflows (including non‑emergency pediatric care). The iterative, user‑centered approach delivered measurable impact—Trek Medics has served thousands across seven countries and continues to scale—underscoring the value of testing assumptions and designing from real user behavior.

Trek Medics

Jason Friesen

Founder