Healthtech Company iScribes’ Acquisition Marks First Exit for The Launch Place
DANVILLE, VA – January 31, 2018 –The Launch Place, a nonprofit investment group supporting startups in the Dan River Region of VA, celebrated their first exit in November. Durham, NC, based healthtech company iScribes, a recent investment of The Launch Place, was acquired in late 2017.
In February of 2017, iScribes became The Launch Place’s twelfth venture with a $250,000 seed investment. The Launch Place, as the lead investor, partnered with Research Triangle Park angel fund Triangle Angel Partners II, LLC, (TAP II) to co-invest a total of $410,000 to help iScribes grow their infrastructure and optimize new technology.
Eva Doss, President and CEO of The Launch Place, says that the financial stability, strong management team, and iScribes’ willingness to utilize Danville as a growth region made them a valid selection for funding.
“People can have great ideas, but it all comes down to if they can execute them,” says Doss. “iScribes was overall a well-rounded company in a fastgrowing industry, and we wanted to help them scale up.”
iScribes is a HIPAA compliant mobile application that helps healthcare providers easily document their patient encounters without the need of dictation. Doctors can use the app to record encounters with patients, and virtual scribes will pull significant medical details and submit the notes directly into the provider’s electronic medical records (EMR).
Dr. Jared Pelo, Co-founder and CEO of iScribes, developed the service to reduce the time consuming burden documentation can have on doctors driven by his first-hand experiences. The company kicked off in 2014, and quickly transformed from a technology company to a tech-enabled service company, employing trained scribes dedicated to providing top of the line documentation. The idea was such a hit that iScribes’ customers provided the initial funding, helping iScribes raise $1 million before The Launch Place lead the partnered investment with TAP II.
The acquisition of iScribes delivered a favorable return to The Launch Place, which Doss says will be used to invest in additional startups through The Launch Place Seed Fund.
“iScribes’ exit proves that the processes and the structure of The Launch Place Seed Fund will work, even in a rural area,” says Doss.
Jan Davis, a member of TAP II and a mentor of iScribes, is confident that the exit will lead to good things for the Dan River Region in the future.
“As an investor, it is exciting to see this positive outcome, and it is a good demonstration of The Launch Place’s execution,” says Davis. “It demonstrates to other angel funds that The Launch Place is a good partner.”
With the combined funding from The Launch Place and TAP II, iScribes was able to train and hire additional scribes and expand their client base.
Reminiscing on iScribes’ partnership with The Launch Place, Pelo appreciates the support of the board and says the overall experience was a positive one. Pelo adds that it was apparent that The Launch Place wants to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Photo from iScribes Investment Announcement in February 2017
The Launch Place
The Launch Place, from a $10 million grant received from the Danville Regional Foundation in 2012, assists with entrepreneurship and business development, and job creation and retention through its business consulting, mentoring and training, residential and office subsidies, and two seed investment funds in the Dan River region of Virginia.