The McKinney Economic Development Corporation’s Innovation Fund has lured another startup to expand in the city and elsewhere.
CourMed, a company that crowdsources the delivery of health care items, announced receiving a grant from the McKinney EDC to help it build its team and expand its service delivery. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Launched in McKinney in 2018 by founder and CEO Derrick Miles, CourMed has a network of partnered physicians and pharmacies that users of its platform can connect and consult with on their medical needs. The company then identifies the closest pharmacy a needed item can be obtained from and has one of its more than 300 drivers – who are trained in medical privacy laws – deliver the item to the user’s door.
Since its launch, CourMed has been gaining traction. It was recently accepted into Capital Factory’s VIP Accelerator program and earlier this year it was selected for Microsoft for Startups, a training and support program. And, as the pandemic has caused many to look for contactless delivery solutions, CourMed said it has been seeing increased demand for its services.
“McKinney has provided a great launchpad for our operations, and we have experienced significant success here,” Miles said in a statement. “In these uncertain times, CourMed is encouraged to do our part to help keep residents home and healthy. Concierge delivery of prescriptions and other wellness items is truly a game-changer for the industry.”
Part of the new grant funding will help with scaling CourMed’s services. As part of the deal, CourMed plans to create 22 new tech jobs over the course of the next three years. The company said part of the funding will also help it scale in other markets it serves outside of North Texas, including Florida, Arizona and California.
CourMed is planning to move its office space into McKinney’s Hub 121, a new mixed use development opening in January that will also feature one of coworking company Serendipity Labs’ newest digs. In the meantime, the company plans to temporarily expand in its Craig Ranch Corporate Center.
“It is fairly simple to sign up for CourMed. The physician will ask the patient if they are interested in the free delivery of medication or healthcare items; CourMed takes it from there,” Miles said.
The McKinney expansion for CourMed comes on the heels of a number of similar announcement in the last few months. Other tech companies like local health care SaaS startup Blockit have received Innovation Fund grants to expand in the city. The fund also recently lured Richardson-based health care software startup Invene to the city and brought Italian tech firm EnginSoft to expand in the city.
The McKinney EDC’s Innovation Fund was an initiative launched in January to attract earlier stage companies to the city and help them create jobs and economic growth. With requirements like having a minimum number of employees and keeping your business in McKinney for at least three years, the McKinney EDC hopes it will help to diversify the local economy, as well as develop a high-density innovation ecosystem.
“DFW continues to be a region that consistently ranks high in both talent attraction and as a major tech employment hub," said Madison Clark, project manager at the McKinney EDC. “The Innovation Fund has continued to draw interest from companies on the coasts, major metros, and from right here in DFW.”
