July 2018 Gap Funding: StripSupply
It started as a simple conversation with his mother-in-law and grew into a profitable business that provides diabetics with the daily supplies they need. Now, StripSupply CEO and founder Jay Hastings, along with co-founder Dr. Salvatore Viscomi are taking their business a step further with gap funding.
“For me, the benefit of gap funding was twofold,” Hastings said. “First, it was a validation of what we are doing. Second, that small amount of money will get us to not only continued profitability but also a high growth trajectory coming into the end of the year.”
The reach of the company is crucial, as it was founded to serve the 9 million Americans who currently pay out-of-pocket for diabetic testing supplies due to low quality insurance or none at all. StripSupply uses a monthly-subscription model to provide high-quality, FDA-approved test strips at up to an 85 percent discount, bypassing insurance costs by selling straight from wholesalers.
“You have diabetes for life. So if you’re staring down the barrel of monthly payments for the rest of your life, it’s daunting,” Hastings said, adding that his mother-in-law would pay over $400 a month just for test strips. “The overarching theme is that StripSupply is really here to increase access to care for diabetics who normally have a problem affording things they need.”
Hastings partnered with IDEA in March 2018, two months after conducting proof-of-concept tests for the business. From there, he progressed through the three-stage process in just three months.
“We already created the business, so unlike a regular tech startup with a lot of iterations, we built the foundation up front so we don’t have to build it again,” he said.
Now, he is working on using Google AdWords technology to continue to get new subscribers and cut down on customer acquisition costs. In doing so, he will continue to be able to offer customers low-priced options of brands they trust by maintaining low overhead and operating in a lean way.
Hastings said that IDEA’s structure was helpful in developing important facets of StripSupply such as establishing KPIs and perfecting its direct-to-consumer model that it doesn’t plan to stray from.
“My main piece of advice would be ‘don’t just walk through the process. The system works, so work the system.”
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IDEA Gap Funding is a non-equity educational grant available to ventures in the GO stage of IDEA’s process. Applicants may apply on a bi-monthly basis where their business plans are reviewed by IDEA’s student Investment Committee upon being selected to pitch plans to IDEA’s Advisory Board. Applicants may receive up to $10,000 in funding.
