FOXBUSINESS.COM PROFILES ENTREPRENEURS AGE 35 AND YOUNGER

When Chaim Indig and Evan Roberts, both 30, decided to go into medical technology, they didn't do so because it was a trendy business. 

"Health care is definitely gaining a lot of momentum [now], and everyone is seeing the potential for the benefits it could have," says Roberts. "But," Indig points out, "we've been plugging away at it for years, way before it became a hot wave [for startups.]"

In Indig and Robert's case, the hot wave they're riding is electronic medical records, and theirs is a simple but catchy concept: replace the often dreaded clipboard you are handed when you first enter a doctor's office with a wireless computer webpad that can automate patient information directly into the physician's computer. The company is called Phreesia, and unlike most companies right now, it's part of an industry that's growing.

"This is a system that is beginning to take advantage and is leveraging the whole e-medicine , e-connection, paradigm that I’m sure over the next several years will become a strong function of any medical offices." says Dr. Geraci, a neurologist in New York City.

"Evan and I bet our life savings on [the system.] Hundreds of thousands of dollars...we believed in the idea." And the simplicity was part of its beauty. "I think at the root of all things you should simply be able to describe any idea" says Indig. And while Phreesia's bright idea might not be hard to grasp, perfecting the software has been no easy task. "All the systems that run are run centrally from servers so we're constantly updating from the field....making improvements," says Roberts. In fact, the word that both founders used endlessly throughout the interview couldn't have been more straight-forward: iterate, iterate, iterate.

Today, Phreesia's touch-pad device is in 49 states and thousands of doctors offices. "You have to have something that doctors want, that patients will want to use. So for us the challenge is not how do you build a better and slicker sales machine , it's how do we really provide value and change the health-care ecosystem," says Indig, who admits that he "wouldn’t know what to do with a line of code." 

Thankfully for Phreesia, Roberts is more tech-savvy.

Down the line, selling the company is a possibility says Roberts. But for now, they're just looking to expand--and are hopeful for a robust future.

"We’ve accomplished a lot and are very proud of everything up to date, but I think we are far away from being complete and I think I may never feel that [we will be done.] Once you get to one milestone, you're happy that you're there. But we spend very little time looking back being proud of the accomplishment. [We have to] focus on the next 100 things we have to do," sighs Roberts.

 Watch the video for an inside look at the guys behind Phreesia.

THE SIX SHOOTER

1. Where were you the moment you decided your business plan?

Roberts: At the W hotel bar in Atlanta. Chaim and I had been on the road for almost a year learning about the health-care market and we both knew there was a problem with how patients checked-in to the doctor's office. So we saw an opportunity to do something about it.

2. What was the one thing you didn't know that you had to bluff your way through? 

Roberts: I’d say when you’re starting a business that you encounter things you don't know every day. It’s just so common that you think to yourself, “Oh -- one more thing I don’t know anything about” and you work hard to get up to speed as fast as possible.

3. What one life lesson did you learn that helped you build your business?

Roberts: From driver’s ed class: steer into a skid. In starting a business, things often don’t go according to plan. You need to be able to quickly react to new challenges and sometimes you can take something that may seem like a negative and wind up turning it positive.

Indig: You can’t do this alone, so surround yourself with smart people you like and trust.

4. Who is your role model or inspiration?

Roberts: My Dad. He’s started and run several businesses from just an idea -- all on his own, with a family.

Indig: My role models are my grandparents -- my Bubbie and Zadie. They were both Holocaust survivors, and emigrated from what is now Romania to Windsor, Ontario. They came over with nothing but my Zadie managed to build a successful business running junkyards, and they were able to raise a family. I am in awe of the determination and hard work it took for them to build a life for themselves from scratch, and their example has always been motivational for me.

5. What do you wish you had more of: time or money?

Roberts: Money can buy you more time in start-up.

Indig: Time is finite and irreplaceable, money is finite and replaceable. So I would ask for more time.

6. What is the one word your employees would use to describe you? 

Roberts: Inventive. I try my best to come up with creative solutions for our company.

Indig. Forward-thinking. That counts as one word, right? [Yes, it does Chaim.]

 

Want to know who's next? Check back every other week for more Young Guns...And if you know a young entrepreneur with an interesting story, e-mail us at youngguns@foxbusiness.com.

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