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Released on 04/28/2021
The health care start-up facilitates payer-provider integration through value-based arrangements to end suffering for people with serious illness.
Apr 28, 2021, 06:00 ET
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Votive Health announced today its formal launch following a $2.5 million financing led by Flare Capital Partners with Chrysalis Ventures and OCA Ventures as co-investors. Votive Health is a technology enabled network manager delivering complex care at home for people facing serious illness. It was founded by a team of health care insiders who share a passion for solving issues that result from the fragmented health system in the U.S. for patients living with a serious illness.
“Too often patients facing a serious illness receive unnecessary and expensive services that don’t meet their physical, social, or existential needs, and which add to the financial stress and burden on the family,” explains Torrie Fields, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Votive Health. “Patients don’t get the personalized care they need while costs to payers and providers continue to grow. We’re solving that disconnect by bringing complex care home.”
Votive Health brings together value-based care with a technology platform that facilitates payer-provider integration through value-based arrangements. Votive Health acts as a conduit, removing the barriers between cost and care so people living with complex and serious illness can focus on living and their providers can focus on caring.
Our world-class team, investors, and advisors are skilled, mission-driven operators with deep industry expertise in delivering high quality technology and services. Votive Health’s first round of funding was supported by 4 institutional investors: Flare Capital Partners, Chrysalis Ventures, OCA Ventures, Elusive Ventures, led by Jeff Butler, and the Teleios Investment Group, led by Chris Comeaux. Dan Gebremedhin (Partner, Flare Capital Partners) and David Jones, Jr. (Chrysalis Ventures) join as board members, with Robert Saunders (OCA Ventures) as board observer.
“Home-based care for people with serious illness has been long overlooked by the world of managed care and thus subject to the often-perverse incentives of a fee-for-service reimbursement system,” says Gebremedhin, MD, MBA. “There is a significant opportunity to increase the adoption of clinically appropriate palliative care and hospice services and to incentivize providers to deliver value-based outcomes for risk bearing entities. We are excited to support the Votive Health team aiming to spur this transformation and enable high quality, goal directed care for millions of patients managing their complex needs.”
Votive Health is also proud to be supported by industry leaders in healthcare, finance, and technology, including: Mark Morse (Enclara Pharmacia); Eric Heitzman (Security Compass); Arnold Whitman (Generator Ventures and Formation Capital); Lisa Suennen (Valkyrie Ventures and Manatt Digital Technologies Group); Dr. John Morris (Teleios Collaborative Network); Former Cricket Health Chief Product Officer Geoff Clapp; Former Cambia Health Solutions actuarial pricing expert Tom Wortman; Former CityBlock President Matt Klitus; and Former Aspire Health clinical leadership Dr. Katy Lanz (Topsight Partners) and Dr. Andrew Lasher (IVX Health).
This infusion of capital will enable Votive Health to quickly accelerate and broadly scale its operation to deliver this new standard of care. Votive Health and its investors have built relationships nationwide and are developing an infrastructure to deliver high quality care that payers can trust, is financially sustainable for providers, and improves the lives of patients and families.
Joining the Votive Health Leadership Team are:
About Votive Health
Votive Health is committed to ending suffering for people facing serious illness by facilitating better payer-provider integration through value-based arrangements. We leverage our expertise in network analysis, information technology, and capacity management to improve market performance for payers, reliable referrals for providers, and excellent care for patients. Votive Health acts as a conduit, removing the barriers between cost and care so people living with complex and serious illness can focus on living and their providers can focus on caring. Learn more at Votive Health and follow us on Twitter @votive_health
About Flare Capital Partners
Flare Capital Partners strives to help build significant healthcare technology, digital health and healthcare services companies to improve health outcomes and broaden access while lowering costs of care. We partner with inspirational entrepreneurs who seek to transform the business of healthcare by developing innovative and impactful products and services. Flare Capital is a team of proven healthcare technology investors and senior operating executives known for thought leadership and unparalleled strategic industry resources. Our firm has raised some of the industry’s largest dedicated venture capital funds focused on early stage opportunities in healthcare technology innovation, and our investors include leading healthcare companies, major institutional investors, important family offices, foundations and sovereign wealth funds. We are full life-cycle investors in our portfolio companies as we support and work alongside entrepreneurs over their entire company-building journey. Select portfolio companies include Aetion, Aspen RxHealth, Bright Heath, Cohere Health, Eden Health, HealthVerity, Iora Health, Somatus, Tausight and VisitPay. Learn more at Flare Capital Partners and follow us on Twitter @flarecapital
About Chrysalis Ventures
For over 25 years, Chrysalis has partnered with talented entrepreneurs to build businesses of enduring value. We invest behind people using technology to solve hard problems, change the industries in which they operate, and unlock value. Taking a hands-on approach, we collaborate closely with the teams we back, sharing our experience, expertise and network to accelerate growth and overcome the challenges inherent in building companies. To learn more about Chrysalis Ventures, please visit www.chrysalisventures.com.
About OCA Ventures
OCA Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on equity investments in companies with dramatic growth potential in highly-scalable businesses. Founded in 1999, the firm has 90+ portfolio companies and has offices in Chicago and Palo Alto. To learn more about OCA, visit www.ocaventures.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Michelle Melendez
+1 805-391-4319
hello@votivehealth.com
Related Links: https://www.votivehealth.com/
SOURCE Votive Health, Inc.
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–OneMain Financial, the country’s largest installment lender to hardworking Americans with nonprime credit, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Trim, a customer-focused financial wellness fintech. The acquisition of Trim, subject to completion of standard closing conditions, will enhance OneMain’s digital features designed to help its more than 2.2 million customers progress to a better financial future.
“The acquisition of Trim allows OneMain to further expand the ways we help hardworking Americans improve their financial well-being by supporting them in gaining more control over their finances”
Trim helps customers manage their financial goals by negotiating bills, analyzing transaction data and enabling automated savings. It provides users the option to link to checking, brokerage, mortgage and other accounts. Among its many services, the company cancels unwanted subscriptions and tracks customer spending – all delivered through a high-touch, interactive approach.
“The acquisition of Trim allows OneMain to further expand the ways we help hardworking Americans improve their financial well-being by supporting them in gaining more control over their finances,” said Doug Shulman, Chairman and CEO of OneMain. “It advances our vision of providing solutions that enable a better future for customers. Over the past year we have sharpened our focus on driving innovation for our customers, including doubling down on our commitment to financial wellness.”
Since its founding in 2015, Trim has analyzed approximately 1 billion customer transactions. The company currently has more than 600,000 users who have linked bank accounts and on average delivers about $90 in annual savings to customers per initial bill negotiation.
“Our mission at Trim has been to solve our users’ financial problems so that they can live the lives they want. In 2015, we started by tackling spending. As we grew, we addressed bigger financial problems, helping our users organize, track and ultimately improve their finances,” said Thomas Smyth, CEO of Trim. “We are excited to continue advancing our vision as part of the OneMain team and help the company bring more options to millions of hardworking Americans.”
K&L Gates served as legal counsel to OneMain in this transaction. Silicon Legal Strategy served as legal counsel to Trim in this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About OneMain Financial
OneMain Financial (NYSE: OMF) has been offering responsible and transparent loans for over 100 years. With approximately 1,500 locations throughout 44 states, the company is committed to helping people with their personal loan needs. OneMain and its team members are dedicated to the communities where they live and work. For additional information, please visit OneMainFinancial.com.
About Trim
Ask Benjamin Inc, DBA Trim is a financial health company that empowers customers across the United States to improve their financial lives. Since inception, the company has continuously expanded its service offerings to help Americans optimize their day-to-day finances. Their goal is to provide easy-to-understand features which translate into immediate value for their users. For additional information, or to sign up, please visit AskTrim.com.
Media:
Kelly Ogburn
410-537-9028
kelly.ogburn@omf.com
Investor:
Peter R Poillon
212-359-2432
peter.poillon@omf.com
LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) APRIL 19, 2021
Moving Analytics, a telehealth company providing virtual cardiac rehab solutions, today announced it raised $6M in a Series Seed-2 round. The round was led by Aphelion Capital, LLC, through Cardeation Capital, with co-investments by OCA Ventures and Seae Ventures. This investment brings Moving Analytics’ total funding received to date to $9.5M.
As COVID-19 has continued, consumer adoption of US patients using telehealth increased roughly 350% from 2019 to 2020. The additional funding raised will be used to expand Moving Analytics’ virtual cardiac rehabilitation program, Movn, for both existing and new patients.
“We are thrilled to be able to support Moving Analytics’ mission in increasing access to a vital, life-saving service such as cardiac rehabilitation,” said John Kim, from Aphelion Capital. “Through our extensive due diligence and vetting through our partners, we have found Movn to be the most comprehensive and mature solution in the market with stellar proof points and evidence of success.”
With this round, the company will be able to grow their partner and customer base, increasing enrollment rates and clinical outcomes across the country. It will also go toward servicing its growing clientele of health plan partners in more markets by ensuring Moving Analytics’ programs also meet the needs of Medicare reimbursement – a key component to future growth. The company will also leverage its capital to enroll more patients into rehab and improve the patient experience and richer user experiences, including adding more tailored educational content in the app’s library targeting special populations.
“Our goal at Moving Analytics has always been to increase access to care and drive the future of cardiovascular health,” said Harsh Vathsangam, Co-founder and CEO at Moving Analytics. “With COVID continuing to increase the need for patients to enroll in virtual rehab solutions for cardiac health, we’re thrilled to be able to expand the capabilities of our platform even further to support existing and potential customers in need of services.”
Moving Analytics has grown immensely since its inception, having served several thousand patients by improving patient experience with a low-cost, high convenience program that has fewer in-office visits, and equivalent health outcomes.
“With the rise of telehealth options and the introduction of cardiac rehabilitation participation as a HEDIS measure for health plans, there’s been an increased demand for the Movn program, we’re very excited to bring on strategic investors who are backed by leading health plans and institutions can help catalyze our growth,” said Ade Adesanya, Co-Founder and President at Moving Analytics.
With its customers and partners, the company has been able to prove success with its Movn program – Highmark Health has shown more than a 60% enrollment rate, an 80% completion rate and equivalent clinical outcomes.
About Moving Analytics
Moving Analytics provides virtual cardiac rehab and cardiovascular disease management programs to support cardiologists and health plans in improving the health outcomes, quality and cost of care for their members. Developed in partnership with Stanford University, Moving Analytics programs are based on more than 30 years of published research involving over 70,000 patients. Our flagship product is Movn Virtual Cardiac rehab which targets patients after an acute coronary event such as a heart attack or heart surgery. Movn has successfully improved cardiac rehab participation rates, member outcomes and lowered readmission at marque organizations like Kaiser Permanente, Highmark Health Plan, Allegheny Health Network and the Veteran Affairs. For details and inquiries, please contact hello@movinganalytics.com.
By Jason Langendorf
April 8, 2021
Eight months was all it took for Eric Bogue to be transformed from a person frustrated and only half-interested in his recovery into a true believer and apostle of telehealth addiction treatment.
Bogue first attempted to address his substance use disorder in 2014, but his traditional recovery efforts fell short—even if, he admits, he gave it something less than his best shot. “I didn’t take it seriously then,” he says.
But it wasn’t only his mindset that was holding Bogue back. His job as a security officer is located two cities away from his home in Frankfort, Ky., while his young daughter lives three cities away—in the opposite direction. “Back when I was going to the clinics, it just was not working out,” he says. “I would have to take a day off to get all that accomplished in the same day, get my errands done and go get my daughter.”
[Telehealth] is absolutely the future. Not even just addiction treatment, but for doctors in general. It’s absolutely modernized.”—Eric Bogue, telehealth patient
About a year ago, Bogue came across an advertisement that would change his life. The spot promoted a company, PursueCare, offering telehealth-based recovery—essentially, remote addiction treatment. He learned he could make clinic “visits,” attend meetings and get practically on-demand recovery care from home. He was impressed by the privacy built into the program, which removes the stigma some feel when walking into brick-and-mortar clinics—and cuts out other potentially awkward moments.
“I’m gonna tell you one of the big things for me with telehealth: I love how they do the drug screens,” Bogue says of PursueCare’s video-supervised mouth-swab testing. “I’m a very private person. I don’t like having to go and pee in front of somebody in a clinic.”
In a short time, Bogue was hooked on telehealth, and in the eight months since he began his PursueCare program, he says his recovery has been “phenomenal.” He’ll tell anyone who’ll listen about the benefits of telehealth addiction care, including a couple of friends he recruited into the program. “For me, just the whole experience,” Bogue said, “it was almost like it was too good to be true.”
It’s hardly a new phenomenon, but telehealth’s popularity has exploded over the past year, accelerated by a COVID-19 pandemic that has restricted face-to-face engagement and prompted the federal government to temporarily loosen virtual healthcare restrictions to meet overwhelming demand. With so many having recently been introduced to this option, how might remote care evolve to meet demand? Expect the future to bring expanded access, more customized care for individuals and groups, and growing acceptance of telehealth as an integral part of the continuum of care.
Although one of the great benefits of telehealth has been improving access to care in underserved communities, we’re likely only halfway home. Increasing awareness about telehealth is important—Bogue says he didn’t even know of its existence until about a year ago—but so too is extending that access to everyone.
What we’ve seen with COVID, in terms of telehealth, is phenomenal. I think that’s the one silver lining of COVID. We’ve now supercharged our healthcare.”—Courtney Hunter, vice president of state policy for Shatterproof
Many people with the greatest need for treatment lack the resources to afford a computer, a smart device or wifi. Meanwhile, some of the communities where reliable internet connectivity remains a problem—mountain towns and remote areas, for instance—have been hit hardest by the drug epidemic.
“What we’ve seen with COVID, in terms of telehealth, is phenomenal,” says Courtney Hunter, vice president of state policy for the addiction nonprofit Shatterproof. “I think that’s the one silver lining of COVID. We’ve now supercharged our healthcare in a way that can make behavioral health services so much more accessible for people, particularly in rural communities. And so how do we get people even the fundamentals, whether that’s a cellphone plan or a disposable phone or whatever, so that they can access those services?”
Innovators in the addiction treatment space were considering or already delivering new telehealth offerings before the pandemic, a trend we will likely see expand in coming years.
“Before COVID hit, this was already in our pipeline,” says Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation CEO in-waiting Joseph Lee. “And we did it because we saw that patients had geographic limitations. Our virtual services were unique in that they provided group and individual therapy, so it wasn’t just an individual thing. But that’s just the start.”
Post-pandemic, we’re going to see a permanent move to at least hybridizing care between in-person and virtual solutions. I think most of the research is indicating that digital health is definitely here to stay.”—Nick Mercadante, founder and CEO of PursueCare
Nick Mercadante, founder and CEO of PursueCare, notes the different cultural norms and social determinants of health across regions, states and even neighboring communities. He believes providing options that meet individual needs, as well as catering to the distinct needs of specific populations—Mercadante worked with the elderly in skilled nursing facilities before launching PursueCare—will play an important role in unlocking telehealth’s full potential.
“It’s kind of the double-black-diamond approach,” Mercadante says. “But I think ultimately we get better outcomes with what we do, rather than just barreling into it.”
Experts continue to push for the full adoption of the emergency telehealth provisions instituted during the pandemic. At the same time, antiquated state mandates and restrictions that have often gummed up the works are being rethought, gradually lowering the barriers to more effective care. Mercadante says lawmakers are coming to the realization that many well-intentioned policies are doing more harm than good, and he imagines a future in which traditional brick-and-mortar healthcare and telehealth operate not just side by side, but collaboratively.
“Post-pandemic, we’re going to see a permanent move to at least hybridizing care between in-person and virtual solutions,” Mercadante says. “I think most of the research is indicating that digital health is definitely here to stay. It can play a role, even with in-person care, to augment and support, to help stay tethered with your patients in between visits and keep patients engaged and thinking about next steps in their care.”
President Joe Biden’s plan to expand access to addiction treatment would grease the skids for a fixed, dynamic telehealth system of care in the United States, and his proposed infrastructure bill would go a long way toward improving internet capabilities in communities that are most in need of addiction recovery care.
“This is absolutely the future,” Bogue says. “Not even just addiction treatment, but for doctors in general. It’s absolutely modernized. It’s the future.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–eBlu Solutions (Louisville, KY) announced today that it has raised an $11.4M Series A round led by OCA Ventures (Chicago), with co-investors Mutual Capital Partners (Cleveland) and FCA Venture Partners’ Health Innovations II (Nashville).
“When we’re investing in a company, we do extensive due diligence”
Under the leadership of CEO Mark Murphy, eBlu Solutions is a digital health prior authorization software company – whose digital platform streamlines the prior authorization of expensive infusion-based specialty medications.
For patients suffering from complex, chronic conditions, the path to receiving specialty medication can be fragmented and expensive for all parties. eBlu Solutions aims to make benefits verification, prior authorization, and manufacturer co-pay assistance programs more efficient for practices that deliver physician administered infusion-based specialty medications to patients. Instead of navigating a complicated net of drug-specific online portals and insurance approvals, eBlu Solutions’ scalable and secure software platform makes the process of getting patients on life changing treatments more streamlined for medical providers.
“We’re enthusiastic to grow and continue developing our talent pool of 70+ team members. eBlu was founded with a mission to simplify the fragmented process behind benefits verification and prior authorization for infusion-based specialty medications. For patients suffering from complex, chronic conditions it is common for physicians to recommend specialty medications. Unfortunately, these medications can be costly, leading to an often-burdensome fragmented process of phone calls and faxes between physicians and insurance providers. eBlu Solutions’ secure and scalable platform helps the medical practice navigate the approval process so their patients can start treatment as soon as possible. This capital will allow us to expand our team and pursue our mission,” said Mark Murphy, CEO of eBlu.
“We’re delighted to have the support of this experienced group of Venture investors. eBlu Solutions aims to use the proceeds of the Series A to continue to grow its team and fuel the development of talent in our sales, product management, business intelligence, and software development areas,” said co-founder and CTO Nathan Fornwalt.
“Our platform brings together a great combination of technology and human expertise to streamline a fairly fragmented process which helps patients whose access to quality healthcare depends on the communication between payers and providers. We’re excited to keep scaling so we can have an ongoing positive impact on improving the lives of patients,” added co-founder and COO Kim Farley.
“When we’re investing in a company, we do extensive due diligence,” said Andy Patton, Executive in Residence at FCA. “eBlu has a really clear vision and a unique mission that’s scalable beyond rheumatology, neurology, gastroenterology, and allergy & asthma – the specialties they’re currently supporting. We’re excited to help eBlu continue to grow. Electronic prior authorization software has received substantial interest from investors over the last few years. eBlu occupies a unique position in the industry.”
About eBlu Solutions
eBlu Solutions provides a secure software platform for electronic prior authorization and benefits verification in the infusion-based specialty medication space. eBlu Solutions aims to streamline the fragmented nature of the approval process for specialty medication treatments, and currently supports a variety of specialties including rheumatology, neurology, gastroenterology, and allergy & asthma. eBlu’s initial partnerships have been with pharmaceutical companies, HUBs, and IMCs to make treatment less burdensome for patients, practices, and providers across the country.
eBlu was a participant in the 2016 cohort of XLerateHealth, a leading healthcare accelerator headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Since that time, the company has continued to refine its technology platform and grow its revenue. Despite the COVID pandemic, eBlu Solutions saw its revenue double in 2020 and expects 2021 year over year revenue to more than triple.
eBlu’s management team has a long history of working in healthcare. Founder and COO Kim Farley and CEO Mark Murphy have a combined 45+ year track record in the healthcare industry. Similarly, Founder and CTO Nathan Fornwalt has a strong background in technology innovation and product development.
More information can be found at: www.eblusolutions.com
Overview of Transaction
Significance of Transaction
FT Partners’ Role
Updated 9:43 AM ET, Thu February 18, 2021
(CNN) One of the largest consulting companies in the world is making a major commitment — to moms.
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. and CLEVELAND, Feb. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — PursueCare and Thrive Peer Support today announced that they have partnered and have launched a statewide collaborative peer support and Substance Use Disorder treatment model across the state of Ohio. This collaboration promotes a seamless pathway from Thrive’s specialized in-person peer support to PursueCare’s comprehensive telehealth clinical addiction and behavioral health treatment, one that can be initiated at emergency rooms and other settings that are under mounting pressure due to COVID-19 and increasing overdose rates.
Thrive is a recovery support organization that sends certified peer recovery coaches into emergency room settings to help individuals who have experienced an overdose or substance-related emergency. Their services often help individuals overcome barriers like transportation, homelessness, stigma, and trauma. Thrive’s peers frequently refer individuals to outpatient Medication-Assisted Treatment (“MAT”) and other treatment programs, but COVID-19 has presented numerous challenges where access to in-person care was already scarce.
PursueCare is a technology-enabled addiction treatment and mental health treatment provider that offers its care through a digital platform accessible from mobile devices. The telehealth modality has effectively delivered MAT, psychiatry, counseling, at-home lab testing, and pharmacy services conveniently and privately. The program allows patients to meet frequently with their doctors and counselors from anywhere, including nights and weekends, to complete their individualized recovery programs.
While the telehealth model was emerging before the pandemic, it has proven essential for specific populations experiencing isolation or who do not have in-person care readily available in their community. “If there could be any positive drawn at all from COVID-19, it would be that telehealth has finally broken through as a real option for people who historically haven’t been able to get effective treatment in traditional brick-and-mortar settings,” said Nick Mercadante, PursueCare’s Founder and CEO. “When it comes to Substance Use Disorder, there’s no question that COVID-19 poured gasoline on an already burning fire. Evidence is showing us that our programs are helping many people in need,” Mercadante added.
Both organizations have several established partnerships with traditional health care settings that frequently diagnose Substance Use Disorder or treat overdoses, so this collaboration was a natural fit. It will effectively enhance the resources offered to patients in those settings that often lack effective interventive solutions.
While Thrive focuses on non-clinical support from a peer-to-peer standpoint, those in need of substance use disorder treatment and/or mental health care are transitioned into PursueCare’s digital treatment portal. PursueCare’s care coordination experts then introduce the virtual treatment model to patients, connect them with clinicians that can prescribe FDA-approved medications, and establish an ongoing at-home care regimen.
Throughout the course of care, Thrive staff collaborates with PursueCare’s treatment team to address in-person needs that arise and ensure that overall personal and health goals are met. Both PursueCare and Thrive feel they can better manage substance use in the region, which has surged due to COVID-19, by working together. “Thrive exists to provide peer support to people on their recovery journey. By partnering with PursueCare, we can meet the growing need for addiction and mental health services through a technology that keeps our clients and our peer support staff safe,” said Brian Bailys, CEO, Thrive Peer Support.
About PursueCare:
PursueCare offers virtual evidence-based addiction treatment for opioid and alcohol use disorders, all through our mobile application. By partnering with health systems, community health centers, employers, and health plans, PursueCare offers a transitional digital addiction treatment program for patients needing addiction treatment – with a focus on those who experience significant barriers to in-person care. Patients can also seek treatment without needing a partner referral. PursueCare is available in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Rhode Island and New Jersey, with more states being announced in the coming weeks. For more information, visit www.pursuecare.com.
About Thrive Peer Support:
Thrive Peer Support is a continuing care and recovery support organization located in Ohio. Thrive is certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Substance Use Services for Peer Support and Case Management in Ohio. Thrive offers a variety of programs to assist individuals in behavioral health recovery. These programs are designed from the ground up to offer continuing supportive care for individuals in behavioral health recovery. The Thrive team is innovative in their programming and takes the initiative to design programs to help behavioral health recovery. Thrive Emergency Room Peer Support was established with the goal of helping individuals who presented in the ER that survived an overdose. In the first 12 months, Thrive saw more than 1,200 patients and helped get more than 300 into detox or other immediate treatment. Others were linked with MAT or other recovery programs. Thrive Emergency aims to reduce ER visits and increase the opportunity for a patient to enjoy long-term recovery. For more information, visit www.thrivepeersupport.org.
CHICAGO – Feb. 3, 2021 – PRLog — Prisidio, a secure online vault where people can store and organize their most important documents and information, today announced a $3.3 million Seed round, co-led by OCA Ventures and Origin Ventures.
Prisidio is a private and secure cloud vault where people can centrally collect, store, organize, and share critical personal information, accessible only by close family members and trusted advisors. Information stored on Prisidio may include wills and trusts, legal agreements, health records, property and financial holdings, and other vital documents.
More than just a digital safety deposit box, Prisidio provides intelligent assistance to guide people through the process of identifying, documenting, and managing their physical and digital assets, as well as keeping those assets up to date. The platform gets people’s lives organized and affairs in order for retirement, business ventures, estate planning, or any unforeseen life events.
The company’s co-founders, Glenn Shimkus, CEO, and Paul Koziarz, CMO, have decades of digital document and workflow technology experience, having sold their prior startup, Cartavi, to DocuSign in 2013. Following the acquisition, they remained at DocuSign to help its successful expansion beyond e-signatures to the Agreement Cloud.
“We store our most vital information in myriad locations, so when we need critical information, we often struggle to find it,” said Glenn Shimkus, CEO and co-founder. “Even worse, if something were to happen to us suddenly, a risk the global pandemic has made quite real, our loved ones are left to search for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Prisidio provides families with security, convenience, and ultimately, peace of mind, knowing they are prepared for whatever life may bring their way.”
Today, most consumers’ critical and sensitive information is spread across multiple physical and digital locations. People write in paper notebooks, save PDFs on hard drives, send countless emails updating key information, or, worse, don’t have critical information inventoried and organized at all. With Prisidio, users have a highly-secure centralized location to organize and manage their vital information, such as key contacts, estate documents, or medical directives, and can share that information with those they trust—now or in the future.
“The market for identifying and organizing important personal information is ripe for disruption,”
“Consumers can quickly highlight leading companies that can file their taxes or make a restaurant reservation, but there is no leading brand focused on safeguarding vital documents and information for families,” said Jason Heltzer, Managing Partner at Origin Ventures. “Yet there is a big need, in that less than 40 percent of US adults have a will, and Gen Xers aren’t going to a brick-and-mortar bank to put paper into a safety deposit box. I look forward to working with Glenn and Paul again to help build the dominant brand in the space.”
Prisidio will use the investment to build out its leadership, technical, and marketing teams, drawing on the Chicago roots of its founding team as it expands its company and product.
About Prisidio:
Prisidio is a secure online vault for consumers to store their most important documents and information. Its cloud-based platform allows users to store, organize, manage, and share key documents and information with their family and advisors in one secure and easy-to-access digital location. Prisidio is led by two document management veterans, Glenn Shimkus and Paul Koziarz, who together founded and built real estate document management software company Cartavi, which was acquired by DocuSign ($DOCU) in 2013. For information about Prisidio, visit prisid.io
About Origin Ventures:
Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1999 that invests in high-growth technology companies creating software and marketplaces for the “Digital Native Economy.” Origin Ventures was an early investor in Grubhub, Cameo, BacklotCars, Tovala, Tock, 15Five, and other market leaders. The investment team are all former operators and engineers with an average of 15 years of venture investing experience, with experience at Google, Twitter, SAP, and Metromile, among others. Origin’s offices in Chicago and Salt Lake City provide access to “between the coasts” investment opportunities in the U.S. and Canada. Learn more at www.originventures.com.
About OCA Ventures:
OCA Ventures is an early stage (Seed, Series A, and Series B) venture capital firm focused on equity investments in companies with dramatic growth potential, primarily in technology and highly-scalable businesses. OCA invests in many industries, with a preference for technology, financial services and healthcare technology. Founded in 1999, the firm is investing out of its fourth fund in companies across the United States with offices in Chicago and Palo Alto. Learn more at www.ocaventures.com.
