Two questions I ask every founder trying to sell into healthcare.
If we were to break down an early stage startup, the two essential components are sales and product. Most founders focus too much on product and not enough on sales. If you build it, they will not come. A good sales plan can make or break a startup. The following applies to founders trying to sell into health systems. For both these questions, ask more details, get granular and let them talk.
Here are two questions I ask every founder:
What is the clinical benefit? - This one is obvious, how does this product/ service improve healthcare? One thing to focus on here is how the solution fits in the current workflow. Does it require more resources from the customer? Does it replace existing workflows? If so, how do the founders quantify their solution is better?
What is the financial return on investment for the customer? - I generally try to go deep and get granular with the founder here. Ask them in detail how their solution will improve the financial health of their customers. If they are using a CPT code, ask them which code. We can break down financial return into 2 categories:
Increase in revenue: if the solution increases revenue, how is that revenue captured? Are they billing the patient directly? Are they billing insurance, if so which codes are they using and how much does the code pay? Founders here will at times downplay the staff cost to onboard and maintain their solution. Does it require a nurse/ clinician? Will it take time from IT? All these costs need to be accounted for.
Decrease in expenditure: this generally requires a change in the existing solution and healthcare systems can be somewhat allergic to change. I ask them to lay out the existing solution in detail and then quantify how theirs is better. Again pay attention to any changes in staff workflow. If the sole proposition is that it makes the clinician/ nurse's job easier/faster generally this unfortunately won’t translate to a financial return. A solution which reduces missed appointments/surgeries/readmission is more likely to have uptake as there is a short term tangible financial return.
Thanks for reading,
Rishad
