Nashville and Houston- based Healthcare Investors Lead Series A Funding; Veteran Investor, Joe Velk, Joins as CEO
Morrisville, N.C. September 29, 2016 – ShiftWizard, a leading healthcare workforce management solution provider, today announced the close of a $3 million round from Rolling Hills Ventures and Resolute Venture Partners. The company will use the funding to further product development and invest in customer acquisition through sales, training and implementation efforts.
Nashville-based Rolling Hills Ventures and Houston-based Resolute Venture Partners are part of Clayton Associates, an investment firm founded in 1996 by R. Clayton McWhorter, former founder of HealthTrust, Inc. and Chairman of Hospital Corporation of America (NYSE:HCA). This investment in ShiftWizard is the first North Carolina-based investment for Rolling Hills Ventures and Resolute Venture Partners.
Rolling Hills Ventures Managing Partner Richard Bovender and his team of senior healthcare advisors recognized ShiftWizard’s innovation and leadership opportunity in the healthcare industry. “The fact that the company was founded by healthcare professionals was the first thing that caught our attention. But, it was easy to see the value in ShiftWizard’s SaaS healthcare workforce solution, and to understand the benefits hospitals could achieve, including major cost savings,” said Bovender.
“For us, finding the right investment partners had to be about more than just the money itself. It was very important for us to find investors with the right expertise and the right relationships, to help ShiftWizard expand our reach even further into the healthcare industry,” explained Christian Pardue, co-founder, ShiftWizard.
The company also announced the addition of Joe Velk as CEO. Velk has more than 25 years of investment and company building experience with information technology companies. Prior to ShiftWizard, he spent the past 16 years managing Contender Capital. He also co-managed The North Carolina Enterprise Fund for 13 years and spent five years with Intersouth Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm located in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park area.
Velk and Bovender will both join ShiftWizard’s board of directors along with Jay Zeidman, managing partner at Resolute Venture Partners, and company founders Christian Pardue and Shane Parker. Landon Gibbs, a partner with Clayton Associates, will serve as a company advisor.
“We are proud of the organic growth and success we have already experienced, but we are excited to leverage this funding and our new leadership team to help even more healthcare organizations manage their workforce successfully, while ultimately improving patient care,” added Shane Parker, co-founder, ShiftWizard.
ShiftWizard is a leading workforce management solution developed by nurses for healthcare organizations. Introduced in 2007, ShiftWizard was the first 100 percent web-based workforce scheduling solution on the market that was focused specifically for healthcare. Today, the company’s SaaS solution supports the workforce management needs of both direct-patient-care personnel and non-patient personnel with scheduling, productivity, and forecasting capabilities.
The company’s solution is ideally suited to meet the workforce management needs of healthcare organizations, including:
- Acute care hospitals
- Long-term care facilities
- Long-term acute care (LTAC)
- Outpatient clinics (e.g., surgical centers, urgent care clinics)
- Critical access hospitals
- Correctional healthcare facilities
- Mental health facilities
- Military/veteran hospitals and clinics
About ShiftWizard
With more than 50 years of combined nursing experience and more than 24 years of direct patient care experience, ShiftWizard founders Shane Parker, RN, and Christian Pardue, RN, set out to create a solution to address the scheduling challenges and frustrations they directly experienced throughout their careers. They were industry pioneers, introducing the first 100 percent web-based scheduling solution for the healthcare industry in 2007.
They have since expanded the solution’s workforce automation capabilities to include scheduling, point-of-care productivity, and forecasting and have grown their customer base to more than 100,000 users today. Their dedication to developing innovative technology and delivering unmatched customer service has paid off, earning them a nearly 100 percent customer retention rate and 98 percent customer support satisfaction rate.
They are so confident in their solution that they are the only one in the industry to offer a free on-site trial for qualified healthcare organizations, which has resulted in a near 100 percent close rate.
For more information, visit www.shiftwizard.com.
About Clayton Associates
Clayton Associates is a Tennessee-based investment firm founded in 1996 by R. Clayton McWhorter, former founder of HealthTrust, Inc. and Chairman of Hospital Corporation of America (NYSE:HCA). The firm has built on its extensive operating experience and relationships to partner with entrepreneurs and help build successful businesses.
Clayton Associates makes seed, angel, and venture stage investments in healthcare IT and technology companies. Since inception, Clayton Associates and its affiliates have invested in over 100 companies, representing greater than $7B in annualized revenue and the creation of over 20,000 jobs.
For more information, visit www.claytonassociates.com.
