While other companies are trying to entice employees to come back to the office, Julia Regan is asking RxLightning employees to come to the office for the first time — ever.
Founded during the Covid-19 pandemic, RXLightning opened its new 8,000-square-foot office last week, at 227 Peal St. in New Albany, Indiana.
The office takes up two floors inside a newly renovated, pre-Civil War era building, and features a large conference room, several meeting rooms, a row of phone booths and two spacious work areas. Truesdell Design + Build was the contractor for the renovations.
You can see photos of the new space by clicking on the gallery below.
New RXLightning headquarters
The move marks a significant change for one of the Louisville region's most promising startups, which raised a $17.5 million round of funding last month, bringing its total capital raised to $20.5 million since its founding in 2020.
RxLightning, which has more than 40 employees, has been fully remote its entire existence. But as the company continues to grow, connecting and communicating with people in-person is becoming increasingly important, said Regan, who is the company’s CEO.
“Culture is really hard to create in a fully remote environment,” Regan said. “Our team is engaged on a personal level to our mission and to each other. Being able, as we’re in hyper-growth mode, to keep that culture is really hard without having a physical location.”
The company, co-founded by Regan and CTO Brad Allen, offers a free-to-provider digital platform that streamlines the specialty medication enrollment process for every specialty medication in every therapeutic area, helping to reduce paperwork, eliminate mistakes, streamline communication and accelerate the time to life-altering therapies for patients.
Regan said the company will employ approximately 50 people by the end of the year, with room in the new office to grow to 100 employees.
RxLightning received $4 million in tax credits from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. based on the company’s plan to add 175 jobs to the region over the next few years. Still, Regan doesn’t think RXLightning will ever outgrow the new space, as several of the startup’s non-local employees will continue to work remote.
Regan said RxLightning chose New Albany because of the historic nature of the building and because of its proximity to restaurants, shops and entertainment.
“The building is beautiful … and large enough for what we can grow into. It was able to be designed in a way that is for a tech company. We didn’t want it to bee too stuffy,” Regan said. “We want people to enjoy being here.”
But if a prime location and a beautiful workspace aren’t enough to get people into the office, Regan has backup plans.
“We also have a keg, and the bourbon, and drinks and we bring in lunches. We try to have more incentives in the office,” Regan said. “We’re being pretty open with the team that we want people here, but on a given day if you’re going to be more productive home or if you have something at home with a family member you have to stay for, we’re allowing that. It’s a balancing act.”
