Backing Dialogue to change how health services are delivered and ensure a better continuity of care for patients
In an increasingly competitive job market, employers are seeking new ways of improving employee attraction and retention. Furthermore, many employers are investing in new ways to improve the overall health of their employees which increases productivity and lowers employee insurance benefit costs. Dialogue is at the nexus of these powerful trends. Dialogue is an easy to use mobile and desktop application through which employees can quickly chat with healthcare professionals before ever stepping foot in a clinic or hospital.
Employers offer Dialogue as part of their Employee Benefit Plan. Their employees and their families can use it unlimitedly at no cost to them. No more waiting for hours at the clinic for minor health issues, no lost time at work. Employees love it! Dialogue has also proven to substantially increase employee satisfaction and decrease absenteeism. Employers love it too!
More than 25,000 employees and their families now have access to Dialogue across Canada, and the company provided more than 10,000 health consultations last year. Which is only a small fraction of a large market opportunity. By establishing themselves as a leader in Canada, we believe that Dialogue will be well positioned to enter new markets with similar healthcare systems, particularly in Europe where White Star Capital can help.
We believe there will be wide adoption of Telemedicine in the next few years as one of the key channels for patients to interact with medical professionals. Regulatory frameworks are improving to allow for online prescriptions and reimbursement by insurance providers, Telemedicine infrastructure is stronger with high smartphone / internet penetration including a higher percentage of elderly people online, matched with an increased willingness for patients to interact virtually with doctors. It is estimated that 20–25% of the primary care interactions could effectively be handled by virtual consultation with the GP. Currently only 1% of the consultations are done through Telemedicine. This is about to change in Canada.
White Star Capital is very excited to be leading Dialogue’s $12 million Series A. Dialogue is disrupting the way primary care services are consumed and its go-to-market strategy is like that of insurance companies offering group benefits. Both are models that we know very well.
We’re very pleased to be backing Cherif Habib and his world class team. Cherif is an experienced med-tech executive / serial entrepreneur and his ability to execute so far has been impressive. We’re also pleased to partner with HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, Portag3 Ventures, National Bank and Walter Financial, each of which brings a distinct added value in helping Dialogue continue its growth trajectory.
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About White Star Capital-
White Star Capital is an early-stage Venture Capital firm that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs building ambitious, data-driven businesses. Based out of London, New York, Montreal, Paris and Tokyo, our international presence, perspective and people enable us to partner closely with our Founders to help them scale internationally from Series A onwards.
Find out more about how we venture beyond at http://www.whitestarvc.com
