Meet The Texas Startup Powering Telehealth | Forbes

Forbes
28 Dec 202105:38

Summary

TLDRThe script discusses the surge in venture capital investment in health tech, shifting from direct-to-consumer to backend infrastructure. Wheel, a digital health company founded by Michelle Davey, offers a staffing solution and backend technology for telemedicine, akin to a gig economy, matching patients with licensed providers across states. With a personal connection to healthcare challenges, Davey aims to revolutionize access to care. Wheel has raised $66 million, with an estimated 2020 revenue of $8 million, anticipating significant growth as the backend for one million patient visits.

Takeaways

  • 💡 Venture capital investment in health tech is shifting from direct-to-consumer to back-end infrastructure solutions.
  • 🔄 Wheel is a digital health company offering both staffing and back-end technology to support telemedicine practices.
  • 📍 Wheel operates like a gig economy solution, matching patients with licensed healthcare providers across different states.
  • 🛠 The 'white-labeled' technology of Wheel allows other companies to offer telemedicine services without branding Wheel's involvement.
  • 👩‍💼 Michelle Davey, the founder of Wheel, stands out as a female founder and CEO in the health tech industry.
  • 🏥 Davey's personal background with an autoimmune condition and rural healthcare challenges inspired her to innovate in healthcare access.
  • 🌱 Wheel was founded in Austin, Texas, leveraging local talent and the city's status as a tech hub, despite initial advice to move to Silicon Valley.
  • 📈 Pre-pandemic, Wheel anticipated a supply and demand imbalance in virtual care, which became evident with the pandemic's onset.
  • 🚀 The company has raised $66 million and expects significant growth, aiming to support one million patient visits, a fivefold increase from 2020.
  • 🔑 There's a growing opportunity for companies like Wheel as the healthcare industry moves towards more back-end software solutions.

Q & A

  • What is the current trend in venture capital investment in the health tech industry?

    -The trend is shifting from direct-to-consumer companies to investing in the backend infrastructure of health tech, which deals with administrative problems.

  • What are the two main components of the digital health company Wheel?

    -The two components are a staffing component and back-end technology that allows other companies to establish their own telemedicine practices.

  • How does Wheel's staffing component function in relation to patients needing medical assistance?

    -It operates like a gig economy solution, matching patients with the appropriate licensed medical providers based on their specific needs.

  • What is the 'white labeled' aspect of Wheel's back-end technology?

    -It allows other companies to offer telemedicine services using Wheel's technology without displaying Wheel's branding.

  • Who is the founder of Wheel, and what makes her unique in the health tech industry?

    -Michelle Davey is the founder, and she stands out as a woman founder and CEO in the health tech industry, focusing on backend enterprise solutions for other digital health companies.

  • What personal experience influenced Michelle Davey's decision to enter the healthcare industry?

    -Michelle grew up in a rural area of Texas and went undiagnosed with an autoimmune condition for over 15 years, which emphasized the importance of access to care.

  • Why did Michelle Davey choose to build Wheel in Austin, Texas, instead of Silicon Valley?

    -She chose Austin due to her personal background and the access to care issues in Texas, as well as the availability of local talent from various industries.

  • How did the pandemic affect the healthcare industry and Wheel's business?

    -The pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth and virtual care, solidifying the need for backend solutions like those provided by Wheel.

  • What was the estimated revenue of Wheel in 2020, and what is the expected growth?

    -The estimated revenue in 2020 was 8 million dollars, with expectations of significant growth, aiming to be the backend for one million patient visits, five times the number in 2020.

  • What challenges did Wheel face in convincing people about the new way of building healthcare?

    -Wheel had to convince people that virtual healthcare was a viable and necessary new approach in the healthcare industry, especially since most of their customers had been delivering virtual healthcare for less than two years.

  • What does the future hold for companies like Wheel in the health tech industry?

    -There is a lot of opportunity for explosive growth in the backend software space, as the industry is moving towards more digital and virtual healthcare solutions.

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Related Tags
Health TechTelemedicineStartupsVenture CapitalDigital HealthBack-End TechSupply DemandClinician FocusRural AccessPandemic ShiftAustin Tech