A Norton Commons-based health care startup has fresh cash to fuel its next stage of growth.
Handle Global (stylized: HANDLE) has raised a $8.5 million round of funding, CEO Kyle Green said, led by Dallas-based Cypress Growth Capital.
Handle will use the funds to scale its capital cycle management business by hiring data scientists, data analysts, sales and marketing positions, Green said. In total, he expects to hire at least 20 people over the next six to nine months. Handle currently has about 50 employees.
Handle was founded in 2014 as a marketplace for health care equipment, but its capital cycle management platform, which it launched three years ago, now makes up approximately 70% of the company’s business, Green said.
The platform uses analytics to provide data, insights and recommendations to hospitals and health systems regarding their fleet of medical equipment, which is a hospital’s largest area of spend. The software includes risk scoring to help decision makers in equipment lifecycle planning and budgeting decisions.
Last year, Handle partnered with the nation’s largest group purchasing organization, Vizient Inc., to get the platform in the hands of customers, who have spread the word about the product, Green said. He said the capital cycle management platform cuts the time on equipment planning by 80%, while saving hospitals 8% to 12% in costs.
“Now, we’re at the point where it’s time to scale that piece of the business. That’s what kind of led us to do a growth round of funding,” Green said. “Historically, [medical equipment] in health systems has been very request-driven. A department wants something and they send in a request. There’s really no standardization to the request.
"The folks making the decisions, usually a capital committee, doesn’t have complete and accurate information about the existing assets. … We provide visibility to all of that.”
The raise is significant for a Louisville-based health care company. The $8.5 million round would have been the second-largest capital raise for a Derby City health care startup last year, behind the $11.4 million round recorded by eBlu Solutions.
Green said Handle’s capital cycle management platform has seen triple-digit revenue growth since last year and he expects the same growth between now and next year. The company recently signed a national asset disposition agreement with Veterans Affairs.
Handle's latest round of funding brings its lifetime capital raised to more than $13 million, Green said, including a $3 million raise in 2016. Many of the investors in the startup's previous rounds reinvested in the $8.5 million round, he said.
As for the lead investor in in the new round, Green said it's already helping the company grow.
“I think [Cypress] is going to be fantastic. They’re already value-added. They’re introducing us to folks around the country that are health systems and advisers and business partners who are going to fuel growth,” Green said. “We’re super excited about the future. Everything seems to be hitting.
"When Cypress wanted to invest, they were hoping we were at an inflection point. And we are.”
