Niko Skievaski. He’s the co-founder of Redox, a modern API for healthcare. He also used to do some work at Epic.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Moments of Magic
What CEO do you follow? – Judith Faulkner
Favorite online tool? — Calendly
How many hours of sleep do you get?— 6
If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – Niko would have asked himself to start something rather than working in a big bank

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:40 – Nathan introduces Niko to the show
00:59 – Redox connects applications to software developers
01:04 – Redox’s business model is licensing connections to various healthcare systems
01:25 – Niko deals with healthcare because he believes it is important
01:33 – Niko has also talked to developers that made an impact on patients’ lives
01:46 – “From our perspective, we really see a technology innovation healthcare something that is absolutely needed”
02:20 – Redox charges software developers and software developers charge the healthcare system
- 02:38 – Redox initially becomes a sub-contractor of software vendors
03:21 – Redox charges per the number of connections a developer has in the healthcare system which is a monthly model
- 03:48 – Depending on the interface, the charge changes a bit
- 03:52 – It is a SaaS model
04:08 – Most developers connect to 1-3 healthcare systems
- 04:15 – Each connection system is around a thousand dollars
04:25 – Redox was founded in 2014
04:34 – Niko was in the corporate world and was working at Wells Fargo
- 04:46 – Niko went to Epic to get his hands on data because he studied Economics and wanted to understand what he could do to improve the healthcare data
- 05:07 – When Niko got to Epic, they didn’t actually have the data
- 05:17 – Niko learned a lot from Epic about the provider workflow
05:29 – Since healthcare is digitized, the challenge is how to get the data out of the cloud to software developers
05:43 – Niko’s CTO and co-founder, James, was helping startups hook up with various healthcare systems
05:59 – The idea of Redox is to make an engine that can scale across multiple health systems
06:16 – Redox was bootstrapped and has raised capital
06:30 – Niko and his co-founder have started different companies until they decided to do Redox
- 06:50 – They brought in another co-founder to round up Redox
07:00 – Niko and his co-founders worked in a co-working space and saved some money from their consulting gigs
07:21 – Redox raised a small seed round of $350K in 2014, then they hired some developers
07:40 – The co-founders were only getting $35K each when they were starting
- 08:05 – They made sacrifices in order to start Redox
- 08:51 – They have to convince themselves that if things don’t work, they just have to get a job
09:11 – Entrepreneurs can easily get a job
09:30 – Redox has raised a couple of rounds
09:40 – The first application they had can determine the amount of blood loss by taking a picture
10:06 – It took Redox 10 months to get live with their first customer
10:17 – Redox raised their round A early
10:29 – The developer community was really excited and was supportive of Redox
10:52 – Redox was getting 1K MRR from their first customer
11:00 – The first round was a priced round
11:11 – You can raise based on your traction or based on potential
- 11:28 – Redox was based on potential
11:38 – Redox’s pitch to their investors
- 11:40 – Digital health is one of the fastest growing spaces for venture capital
- 11:44 – There are too many companies trying to start something innovative in the healthcare space
- 11:47 – The common problem that they have is sharing data with the legacy system
- 12:10 – Redox really has a great team
- 12:30 – It’s not about the MRR, it’s about the potential of working with the army of software developers who are innovating in this space
- 12:53 – Redox’s marketing strategy is getting the developers first, then the developers will drag Redox to the healthcare system
13:10 – Valuation
13:24 – Redox has closed another $9M with their series B round in January
13:40 – Total amount raised is $14M
13:48 – The new additional investor is Intermountain Healthcare System
14:20 – Redox currently has 100 healthcare systems across USA
15:13 – Redox has around $400K MRR
15:45 – Customer churn
16:13 – CAC
16:44 – Team size is 35 who are mostly developers
16:59 – Redox is a developer platform
- 17:06 – Most are based in Wisconsin and some are based around USA
17:46 – Niko won’t sell Redox even if they already had an acquisition offer before
- 18:08 – Niko didn’t think that the company acquiring Redox would be able to solve the problem as fast as Niko and the team
18:32 – Niko will accept an acquisition offer only if the company will be able to do it faster than Niko and the team
19:50 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

The continuous innovation in the healthcare space needs a data source that is stable.
Stick with your principles and be focused on where you want the company to go.
Raising capital can be based on your traction or the potential of your business.

Resources Mentioned:

The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
Hotjar – Gives Nathan a recording of what is happening on a website or where are people clicking and scrolling on the website
Organifi – The juice was Nathan’s life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
Host Gator– The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
Audible– Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

684: How to Raise Your First Round of Funding with Healthcare API, Redox Founder Niko Skievaski

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders