A Baltimore startup that helps African Americans access health care through barbershops and other community institutions has raised $3.5 million in new funding.
Live Chair Health now plans to move into new markets, focusing on the southeastern United States. The company already has a presence in Maryland and Los Angeles but plans to expand into two new states this year.
Live Chair's model involves setting up in a community space and offering basic health screenings. After assessing the health risks of an individual, Live Chair helps patients connect with health care providers and community service resources, and get engaged with their health care plans.
Going forward, Co-founder and CEO Andrew Suggs said he hopes to add additional features to the Live Chair Health program, such as a reward system. The feature would enable people who maintain healthy habits, such as going to doctors appointments, to receive discounts from barbershops and other similar businesses.
"We're still building out all of those services that allows people to regain credits, but the whole idea was to incentivize the right behaviors and give people things they can tangibly use," Suggs said.
Suggs plans to hire 10-15 staff members to add to his eight-person team and also wants to build out a brand new website with a more streamlined booking process.
The seed extension round, which closed on June 13, is led by Healthy Ventures, which contributed $2.5 million. The company also received support from the Designer Fund and NBA player Mason Plumlee's Freesolo Ventures. Live Chair previously raised $1.3 million in a seed round and was also among the first cohort to graduate from the 1501 Health incubator.
"The phrase 'Meet patients where they are' is often thrown around. Live Chair walks the walk with its omnichannel platform of real-life community nodes and digital app experience to lessen the load we impose on patients," said Enmi Kendall, co-founder of Healthy Ventures, in a statement. "LCH's singular insights and operational playbook are borne out of a deep, native understanding for the historically underserved communities that can be intentionally served."
Live Chair Health began as a scheduling application for Black barbershops in 2017. Suggs decided to pivot into the health care space in 2020, a move prompted by his father's declining health due to congenital heart disease as well as the overall health disparities in the U.S. African Americans are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses like diabetes or high blood pressure than their white counterparts.
“Our business is not even in the same industry anymore, but we’re using the same medium,” Suggs said.
Live Chair Health primarily works with people on Medicaid, with the business earning revenue by working with health plans to activate and engage their members. The company began working with healthcare providers such as LifeBridge Health, but Suggs has since transitioned the business to become more focused on working with health plans.
"We were more like a community engagement arm of health systems like LifeBridge Health," Suggs said. "But now the model has advanced to be more payer focused to close more gaps in care."
Covid-19 changed how Suggs approached the business, as less people were coming to barbershops, which made site visits difficult. The company was forced to expand beyond barbershops and hair salons into other community hubs such as churches and community centers. Live Chair has also begun making inroads into the Hispanic community with a Spanish version of the Live Chair web application.
"Because the patient has a relationship with Live Chair Health, we're hoping to be that trusted voice so they take heed to the advice that we're giving them," Suggs said.
