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Ideas are a dime a dozen.
For an idea to take hold and grow into something sustainable, it needs to be nurtured, tested and, ultimately, protected. It needs the resources necessary to be able to grow and thrive, with support at just the right moments to ensure no opportunity is wasted and no failure comes without a valuable lesson to put into practice for the future.
Healthcare is full of such ideas, and they don’t always get the support they deserve.
That’s where CQuence Health comes in.
Invest to Innovate
It’s simultaneously an exciting but stressful time in healthcare. The challenges have never been greater, but neither has the willingness to tackle them head-on.
Our team meets regularly with physicians, executives and experts in fields like artificial intelligence, sustainability, healthcare IT and more to learn about the challenges they’re facing and the unique solutions they have to solve them.
We foster the ideas of organizations of all sizes and stages of their growth cycle. Sometimes, the biggest challenge isn’t getting buy-in on the idea itself, but managing cash flow during the early start-up years, or driving and diversifying revenue as the business continues to expand.
“If we’re going to invest in a company trying to reach their next stage of growth, whether that’s expanding from a start-up to a sustainable business or helping a larger organization reach all new heights, sustainable growth is one of the things we look for,” said Mike Haywood, Chief Financial Officer at CQuence. “How do we get companies on the right track with our investment and professional services to foster that growth? By providing capital and strategic guidance to these enterprises, we enable them to develop new products and potentially enter into new markets.”
“At the end of the day. It’s the relationship between our team and their team that powers a company’s growth. If you’re investing capital, the biggest challenge, and the greatest opportunity, is the people you’ll work with.”
Inventure provides a great example of the power of a CQ investment. They’re currently deep into development of the next generation of safe medical imaging contrast agents, a process that takes years of intensive research and development. Investments from CQ help their scientists continue their work uninterrupted, ensuring their team can remain on track to release this groundbreaking technology and change countless patient lives in the coming years.
“What separates a successful business from one that fails?” asked Mike Cassling, Executive Chairman of CQuence Health. “You think about something like the healthcare IT space, filled with a variety of solutions that often overlap. What makes one better than another? What we’ve discovered is that it ultimately comes down to people. If you’re a visionary, and you’re willing to work with us and adapt to the market, to the reality of the industry, and to embrace ideas and revenue models that are willing to scale, you’re probably a good fit for a CQuence investment.
CQ turns down 90% or more of the organizations that come to our team in search of investment capital. We’re looking for ideas we believe in and, more importantly, people we believe in.
“We invest in great ideas,” said Cassling. “Especially solutions with a true-product market fit, that also have a service component. But at the end of the day, we want the relationship with the person behind those ideas, as that great idea is probably the beginning of a series of exciting opportunities.”
Our Approach to Investment
Here’s a look at some of the criteria that help guide CQ’s investment decisions as we conduct due diligence into a company we’re thinking about investing in:
Your product or solution addresses key and emerging trends in the industry
This is the starting point. You need to have a solution that addresses a specific need, and the foresight to understand how it is going to make a difference in a crowded market. This product-market fit is essential. What is the unique perspective you bring, and how does it apply to whatever it is you offer?
WasteMedX is a stellar example of this. In an era when sustainability is top of mind for hospitals and health systems, their ozone technology fills a void in the market, providing clean, affordable waste disposal to facilities of all kinds.
A sound business strategy combined with measurable execution plans and competitive market positioning
You know you have a niche in the market, so what processes do you plan to achieve growth? How will you measure that progress using SMART goals?
This kind of strategic approach has ensured that companies like Phase Medical have been able to dynamically pivot to reflect the needs of the market, aligning their revenue and overall strategic direction with current market dictates.
Your management team has a solid reputation and proven ability to deliver financial results to shareholders
This is where the people behind the idea come in. We don’t just want fantastic ideas (although they don’t hurt). We want to build relationships with those who believe in what they’re doing and what it means for the future of healthcare, as well as those who will put in the operational work necessary to be able to scale and expand their impact.
Our relationship with healthcare entrepreneurs like Nirish Mathias at DocPanel is something we value. No matter what business he is in, Nirish has the forethought and the creativity to achieve success, as well as the patience and business expertise to steer his company through every stage of growth. He is driven by the possibility of improving outcomes for patients who are the beneficiaries of his company’s incredible radiology reading technology
This drive to help others is true of him and anyone we decide to work with.
Active engagement with CQuence, board member participation and interest in leveraging CQuence’s operational support capabilities
Every investment from CQ is a partnership. We want to work together to solve seemingly insolvable problems.
To this last point, it’s important to note that, when you work with CQ, you’re not answering all these questions alone. We’re looking for entrepreneurs and executives who are excited to collaborate. It’s okay to say “I don’t know” in discussion. Let’s get to those answers together. This is precisely why we offer strategic guidance and an array of professional services. We want to make sure our investment capital empowers your company to become the best version of itself. And to that end, we’re always seeking feedback from founders and boards on how we can better help them achieve those goals.
Investment capital from CQuence has been the spark for start-ups to grow into stable businesses in the healthcare market. It’s been the infusion needed to help founders scale to levels that once seemed out of reach. And it’s helped already successful companies expand to offer additional solutions within markets that never would have been possible to reach.
If you think your company fits the bill, then join a dynamic portfolio of companies making an impact in patients’ lives. Reach out today and let’s start talking about how we can change the future of healthcare together.