Utilizing funding from a $20 million Series B fundraising round last November, health tech company Free Market Health has moved to a space almost four times larger than its current office.
The company, which is developing a platform for streamlining the process of matching patients with specialty pharmacies, moved from a 4,000-square-foot space in 3 Crossings to an over 15,000-square-foot space occupying the entire sixth floor of The Crane Building. The move was facilitated by Cushman & Wakefield.
“We had given our folks at Cushman and Wakefield a really challenging proposition of ‘we basically have a four block radius that we’ve always attempted to be in’ because we love the Strip District,” CEO Joe Cardosi said. “It has that right technology vibe and energy, and we’ve always wanted to be in that pocket in town. Whether we’re working in a coworking spot or our last 4,000-square-foot space, we’re always within a stones throw.”
Currently employing approximately 60 people, the company is seeking to increase its ranks by approximately 50% by the end of the year.
“The bulk of the folks that we’re adding to the team are here, local in Pittsburgh,” Cardosi said. “That’s part of the reason that we outgrew our old space and needed to step into a larger space."
The company was founded in 2019 and developed out of a coworking space through the pandemic before raising their total fundraising amount to $35.3 million in 2023. CTO Mark Conklin said that the pandemic “brought to light a lot of issues” on workplace culture, but that the cultural shift “wasn’t that disruptive because it aligned with where Joe and I wanted to be as an organization.”
“People will want to work together in the office if you create an environment that is worth being in,” Conklin said. “Part of the growth in the space here is to continue to create an environment where people want to come together and collaborate.”
The lease for the new space began in March, but the space underwent stylistic renovations to prepare for the Free Market team. Operations moved to the new facility last week. Now that the move is complete, Cardosi said his focus is on scaling the company to new clients.
“Right now it's really about executing the thing that we built,” Cardosi said. “It’s really about adding volume right now. It’s about scaling with new clients and adding payers and pharmacies throughout the country. That’s what is in front of us here in the next twelve to eighteen months.”
