Edward and his co-founders started with the idea of building an augmented reality DJ product, but somehow ended up building a healthcare platform called Adracare through a connection- eventually selling the company to WELL Health Technologies.
Tell us about how the idea for Adracare came to be, how the founding team came together and how you grew the company before it got acquired.
In 2013, after trying to build Augmented reality DJ Tech (gloves that would allow DJs and artists to “throw” their sound a venue), and not managing to secure funding to develop the idea out, my group of friends decided to take a stab at building technology to make access to care easier, and modernizing it. It’s a huge problem that still exists today, and we set out to do something about it.
We were approached by a partner who knew the space well, and we started working on software that’s now the Adracare Platform. We initially started by building a suite of tools that could integrate with existing EMR (Electronic Medical Record Systems), like SMS/Voice/Email Appointment Reminders, Virtual Consultations, Online Booking, Questionnaires, and Patient Portals. It’s now evolved beyond that, to features like SmartFax, Chromecast Waiting Room Applications, and is used in countries all around the world.
In recent years, there’s been a glamourization in the start-up world around raising money and growth at any costs, how do you feel about this?
In my 20’s, hearing my friends talk about their Seed/Series A funding was super exciting, and it felt like a race to get there. Later on in my journey, however, I began to realize that racing to find an investor to raise money should never be the goal.
My advice to entrepreneurs is this: Raise money when you absolutely need to. Until then, keep working at building your product, understanding your customers, and then go back to building your product. Establish revenue that, hopefully, you can reinvest in your product. Build revenue, and drive towards a specific valuation before trying to raise.
How did the acquisition by WELL Health Technologies come to be? Also, tell us what the experience of getting acquired looks like briefly.
Networking is probably the most important thing any entrepreneur can make sure they do. I met an Tamil investor who was working with another company I had co-founded, a creative and digital marketing agency, Wooden Panda. Though his investment team passed on Adracare, he made the introduction to a friend of his who worked for BDO, and was looking for a platform like Adracare.
We had met the WELL Leadership Team previously, and it was clear to us that they’re a team that’s completely focused on improving patient outcomes, and strong believers that technology has the strong ability to make this possible. So we knew right away that it would be the best place to continue doing the work we were doing, as part of a larger team.
Where do you see Adracare in the next 3- 5 years? Where do you see yourself in the next 3-5 years?
Now that Adracare is part of the WELL Health family, I see it growing and becoming an app that everyone has installed on their phone, enabling them to connect with their doctor, therapist, chiropractor, etc., or find care.
And personally, I see myself continuing this journey of mine, solving problems that matter to me, which is my purpose. And there’s no unsolved problem that affects me and my loved ones every day more than the behemoth that is Healthcare.
