A Sit-Down With Mike Burke.

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I recently had a conversation with Copient Health’s CEO and Founder, Mike Burke. A true healthcare serial entrepreneur, Mike has brought two startups to exit, and is well on the way with his latest venture. Copient Health provides software solutions that leverage machine learning and behavioral economics to meaningfully improve patient access and operating room performance. A hospital’s operating rooms provide the bulk of the financial support of its mission and typically are the biggest source of revenue. Copient Health can help what was once an underutilized operating room to have better patient access, more flexibility in scheduling, and improved margins.

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1. What is one thing that you do that has contributed the most to your multiple entrepreneurial successes?

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Hire people smarter than you. What I've noticed is that most entrepreneurs are jacks of all trades, and don't specialize on one thing. When hiring, it's important to find these experts in areas that you're not. Know your weaknesses, and find people that have opposite strengths. In all my last ventures, I've been fortunate to have surrounded myself with great experts who’ve been able to take charge of their roles. 

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2. Having raised $3.2 million in January, how have you seen Copient Health grow, and what's next?

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We’ve made a couple of great new hires in the sales area, and are looking to make hires in sales, marketing, customer success, and data science. We’ve also recently gone to a number of trade shows, and are planning on going to more within the next few months. These trade shows have been a great source of prospects and leads for us. We will continue to do that and expand our team, as the growth dictates. 

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We’ve demonstrated that we can identify and recapture OR (operating room) time, and then refill it with other cases. That has a meaningful financial impact on the hospital. One of the benefits is that it can be categorized as a “hard ROI”, meaning it is very easy to quantify and we can show them which time was recaptured, which cases were subsequently refilled, and demonstrate how much these cases were worth to the hospital. The contrast to this would be a soft ROI which demonstrates efficiency gains, and you hope that the customer feels the improvements. This is often difficult to quantify and pinpoint what exactly is responsible for the gains. I’ve always looked for hard ROI in Copient Health and past companies that I’ve started. 

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3. How did you get into the healthcare field?

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When I first graduated from college, I worked in the machine tool industry as an engineer. It was a difficult time to be in that industry as the Japanese competition was disrupting the industry dramatically. I ended up going to grad school, and when I graduated, I specifically sought out advice from people I trusted about industries that I should consider. A number of people recommended healthcare for a variety of different reasons. Along with the high growth potential, it was consistent and also recession proof. I went to work for a medical device manufacturer out of grad school and spent about 5 years there. While I was there, we developed the prototype for the first software solution which we eventually took private and my first company was able to grow and build. 

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4. Describe your Copient Health journey thus far in 10 words or less?

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Covid made it interesting. 

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Having raised a Series A in January of this year, Mike and the Copient Health team are looking to grow. If you’re interested in joining a fast growth company with a talented and proven team, be sure to apply HERE!