healthcare Archives - Serious Startups

Healthcare MarketMaker Is Building the Zillow for Healthcare Practices

healthcaremarketmaker

Nashville is a city built on healthcare, so it’s not surprising we see a lot of healthcare startups come out of it.

Healthcare MarketMaker is trying to become the “Zillow for healthcare transactions.” Essentially, they are building a marketplace for doctors and dentists looking to sell their practices.

This is one of those solutions you just won’t find in Silicon Valley. Read more about Healthcare MarketMaker in our Q&A below:

What’s your startup called?

Healthcare MarketMaker is empowering healthcare buyers and sellers. Think Zillow for the healthcare transaction space.

What’s your big idea?

Healthcare MarketMaker provides online comprehensive marketplace technologies to healthcare buyers and sellers. Healthcare MarketMaker is the solution for originating and closing medical and dental practice transactions. Healthcare MarketMaker also offers specific transaction and marketing services for physicians, practice brokers, equipment brokers and other transaction vendors to ensure the best service and efficiency. Healthcare MarketMaker is an early stage company founded in 2013 and is currently in residence at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.

What’s the story behind your idea?

After spending 20 years in the healthcare transaction space, working for companies like HCA, Ernst & Young and others, I realized that deals were still being originated and completed without technology enablement. There did not exist a robust healthcare transaction platform. Healthcare MarketMaker is that agnostic, cloud based SaaS platform.

The key to our marketing is the depth and positioning of our strategic partnerships. We believe in creating exclusive partnerships with specific subspecialty associations in each market. For example, partnering with chiropractic associations in each state will enable us to create more value for the association members while offering a means to increase membership levels for the associations. We also enrich associations’ value by providing content about the marketplace in their annual meetings, newsletters, and other communications.

Our practice broker partnerships also enjoy early and qualified lead origination as our platform identifies active physician buyers and sellers vis-a-vis the association relationship. When a physician may be looking to buy or sell a practice, he may look for guidance from his state association.

Currently, the healthcare market is being disrupted by two very large macro drivers. We have an aging physician population in the US. Over 33% of physicians, or approximately 400,000 physicians, are aged 55 or older. These physicians will be looking to retire and exit their practices in the next ten years. Also, the Affordable Care Act has increased vertical and horizontal integration in the provider space. Sole proprietors are selling to hospitals and large multispecialty groups in an effort to create scale to combat downward pricing pressures and compliance requirements. Therefore, the number of healthcare transactions is continuing to accelerate. The size of the US market is approximately $29 billion annually.

Who are the founders?

As I mentioned, I founded HCMM after in 2013 after continuing to hear physicians and dentists in the marketplace indicate a need for help in sourcing a good partner to help them buy or sell their practice. We’ve built strong Executive and Advisory Boards to help us in this crucial developmental stage.

Where are you located?

We are currently based out of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, not only a great resource for the regional start-up community but for the larger business and creative communities.

What’s the startup scene like there?

The startup scene has really exploded in Nashville in the last 5 years. The resources available to entrepreneurs are more easily found and the local community with regard to vendors who understand the needs of startups has grown more sophisticated. HCMM tries to use local vendors specializing in startup services. For example, we’ve use CentreSource to develop a product demo that we use daily as our electronic business card. Also, we’ve used Ethos3 for pitch deck development.

What milestones have you reached?

We recently signed an LOI with Alliant Capital Advisors, the largest business broker in the Southeast. Also, we raised our initial seed capital and have begun our beta platform development with Objectstream.

What are your next milestones?

To continue to develop more relationships with practice brokers and medical and dental associations. We are also raising additional capital to hire the right tech co founder and stand up the market ready product.

Where can people find out more?

Please follow Healthcare MarketMaker on LinkedIn or our landing page at marketmakerinc.com.

Memphis Startup Proof Positive of the Power of Everywhere Else

Lyme disease vaccine

Earlier this week Memphis-based US Biologic announced the successful field trials of it’s revolutionary Lyme disease vaccine. The vaccine, given to animals orally, creates antibodies that then attack the Lyme disease passed on from a tick bite.

Although the vaccine is being developed for animals, the company sees a connection between stopping the spread of Lyme disease in animals and doing the same for humans.

“The CDC has long-acknowledged a ‘One Health’ approach to preventing infectious diseases by linking animal and human treatments,” says US BIOLOGIC board director Tom Monath, MD. “US BIOLOGIC’s oral bait vaccine is an important example of how a vaccine for animals, in this case the white-footed mouse reservoir of Lyme disease, can break the Lyme disease transmission cycle.”

Lyme disease is no joke. According to the CDC, it affects over 300,000 people in the U.S. each year and can cause severe damage to joints and the neurologic system. The CDC also recently linked Lyme disease with several deaths due to cardiac disease.

What’s unique about US Biologic, though, is that they don’t plan on stopping at Lyme disease. The success of that vaccine proves that stopping diseases in animals will also help curb them in humans. They are essentially creating a platform from which they can develop treatments for any number of common diseases.

“The success of these field trials introduces a technology platform that can break the transmission of many diseases transmitted by animals,” says US BIOLOGIC board member David Williams, former Chairman & CEO of Sanofi Pasteur, the world’s largest vaccine provider. “Because of the large and growing number of cases, the focus on Lyme disease is a logical first step.”

Stories like that of US Biologic are what make “everywhere else” such a special place. We love all the technology that comes from Silicon Valley. Hey, we’re on Secret as much as the rest of you!

But it’s awesome to see what smart people outside the Valley are capable of, even if it’s not the sexiest new consumer app. I probably won’t be bragging to my friends that I just gave my cat the latest Lyme disease drug, but when it keeps my family healthy, I’m sure going to be grateful to US Biologic.

Nobl’s New Name Highlights the Company’s Attitude

“Healthcare reform” is kind of a dirty word these days. Love or hate the new changes in the law, it’s safe to say, we’re all pretty saturated with “healthcare reform” talk.

With that in mind, Lincoln, Nebraska-based SynersScan Technologies is moving away from association with healthcare reform by announcing a new name that describes its purpose: Nobl.

“A lot of people get a sour taste in their mouth when hearing the term ‘healthcare reform.’ because all they see is what makes headlines in the news,” Nobl CEO Brett Byman said in a statement. “They don’t see the effort being made to improve quality of care, promote transparency, and ensure the safety of patients all over the country. We see this effort as incredibly noble, and that is why we are so passionate about the industry as a whole.”

For their part, Nobl has spent the last year developing software that will increase patient satisfaction in hospitals. They’ve rigorously tested the software with the very people who will be using it–nurses.

“We understand how frustrating is is for nurses to be forced to use software that was built by people who have never stepped foot in a hospital before,” Byman said.

With that frustration in mind, the company tested and iterated the software, using nurses instead of hospital administrators as the customers.

Along with a rebrand, new offices, and a new software, Nobl also closed a $200k angel round at the end of 2013. Like other great startups everywhere else, they are going into 2014 ready to solve problems that the Valley just may not realize exists.

Applications now open.