Healthcare IT Startup CEO on Selling Software to Skeptical Hospitals
Photo: Unsplash/@austindistel
Derek Simmons built his first version of a hospital staff-scheduling platform in six months. Selling it took nearly two years, a gap he says taught him more about healthcare procurement than any part of building the product itself.
"Hospitals move slowly for good reasons," Simmons said. "You're asking them to trust a small vendor with something that affects patient staffing ratios. That's not a decision anyone rushes."
His Pittsburgh-based company eventually landed a pilot contract with a mid-sized regional hospital system after nearly a year of unpaid proof-of-concept work, a common but financially painful requirement for healthcare software startups trying to establish credibility.
The pilot's success led to a full contract and, eventually, references that opened doors with two additional hospital systems. Simmons says the company still spends a disproportionate share of its budget on compliance and security certifications required before hospitals will even take a sales meeting.
"Every dollar we spend on certification feels like it's not building product," he said, "but without it, there's no sales conversation to have in the first place."
