Raising a round of early-stage funding is never easy, and the pandemic has made it even trickier.
Ask Verimos CEO Bryan Menell. He didn't even meet some of the last investors who committed funding for his startup.
"From a practical perspective, it saves on travel time," he wrote in an email exchange with Inno. "Also many potential investors I spoke with lost substantial wealth in the public markets, and were shy to invest in riskier asset classes, but more savvy investors follow the advice 'be greedy when others are fearful.' This is a great time to invest in the right team, if you have capital dedicated to venture investments."
Verimos found more than a dozen advisors and angel investors who were willing to provide initial funding for the startup, which has an app that helps employees and employers with health care resources and cost savings.
The startup recently announced the first tranche of what is expected to become a $750,000 investment round. Angel investors included Mason Arnold, founder of Geenling and Cece's Veggie Co.; Beacon Clinics CEO and podcast host Ron Barshop; Aetna Better Health of Kentucky CEO Jonathan Copley; Hexa Ventures and TechGenies founder Maan Hamdan; Vital Farms CEO Matt OHayer; and several others.
Verimos currently has six employees. Depending on funding flow and revenue, Menell said he hopes to add three to five new employees this year.
Verimos launched in 2018 after Menell and co-founder Jason Stoddard began exploring using blockchain technology to make better use of the explosive amount of health data being collected by various devices and apps.
The startup offers its app and service plans starting at $7 a month per employee, and it suggests that the savings in absenteeism and turnover provide significant returns. The base plan includes health assessments, goal setting and help finding best prices at pharmacies. Its top tier plan, at $21 a month, adds dental benefits, a vision plan, telemedicine and roadside assistance.
The pandemic has brought renewed attention to employee health and wellness. That appears to be helping Verimos, which focuses on active workers including nurses, farmers and bartenders, as it enters its next chapter.
"The pandemic has put the health and wellness of employees at the forefront of the conversation," Menell wrote. "It's unfortunate, but it has put some wind in our sails."
