This January, Atlanta Ventures hosted a Q&A with A.T. Gimbel and the Founder and CTO of Clockwise.MD, Mike Burke and David Sommers, respectively. We covered everything from the Clockwise.MD story, to tips on how to be a successful entrepreneur in HealthIT, to the potential for growth of Health IT in Atlanta. This was our first Meetup in a series of talks about Healthcare in Atlanta.
Starting with Dialog Medical
Mike and David first connected when building Dialog Medical. They had a product that automated the informed consent process. They won a contract early on with the VA which set the trajectory of the company.
Growth: The Importance of Conferences
Old school sales processes were in full swing for the team. For them, growth took hold and they spread by word of mouth. They’d hop on a plane and go and talk to facilities. They also attended lots of conferences (including the JP Morgan conference).
“I think [the conference sector] is really important as a general rule. There are so many different parts of healthcare. They are very, very important lead gen. sources, maybe the most important.” —Mike
The Creation of Clockwise.MD
Clockwise.MD is an online self-scheduling, check-in, and virtual queuing solution designed to improve patient satisfaction and retention at urgent cares, emergency rooms, and more. Credit for the idea is given to Mike’s buddy Walter Mashman, a Cardiologist and Entrepreneur in Atlanta. Before having an actual product, it began with three people working nights and weekends, your typical side hustle story.
It took about 3–4 months to put together an MVP, then they headed to a trade show. They signed 7 customers including two big ones!
Off to the Races
And so in 2012 it began.
“It was just me at a desk upstairs and ATV had just started. I was fortunate enough to fund the company.”
Advice on Customer Discovery
What was it they did differently? They tested in many different segments and used customer discovery framework to prove that urgent care was ultimately the segment that needed this technology. If you lead with your idea, it’s a false positive. During the discovery process, they were able to get specific answers to very intentional questions.
Words of Advice: If you haven’t read the book the Mom Test, read the Mom Test.
How to “Do” Company Culture
“Act like an owner. Culture is something you have, not something you create, not something you enforce. It is what it is.” —David
The Exit
Clockwise.MD was thriving. They’d learned all the lessons early, then brought on really good BDRs to then continue selling the vision. They were always asking themselves, “Is there a smarter way to do this?”
“I’m capital efficient to a fault. We were a month away from ‘cash flow positive’ for about a year and a half.” —Mike
“We weren’t looking to exit. […] When you don’t need money, that’s when everyone is going to offer it to you.” —Mike
In the end the exit made sense. “They needed us.” —Mike
Advice for Entrepreneurs
“You have companies that are exploiters, and you have companies who are solving the efficiencies for the benefit of a very large group of people. […] Make sure you are the solvers side of the equation.” —Mike
All in, it’s a great time to start a HealthIT business… “…as long as you’re not competing with me.” —David
Photos by Luke Beard