Thrive
AI startup wins Founders Live pitch competition
At the inaugural Founders Live Tampa Bay competition, held July 17 at The Birchwood in St. Petersburg, the AI platform Easy PA, Inc. took top honors. Co-founder & CEO Paola Ballester represented the company.
During the competition, the founders of five local startups were allowed to give 99 second pitches about their businesses. Audience members were permitted to ask questions after the pitches and vote for the winner.
An international organization, Founders Live has provided resources and exposure opportunities for startups in 53 countries. It has hosted pitch competitions in 131 cities.
Easy PA, based in St. Petersburg, focuses on automating prior authorizations for medical practices.
Prior authorization refers to when doctors or providers are required to get approval from a patient’s health insurance company before they give the patient specific treatments or medications.
The startup’s product is a HIPAA-compliant software that predicts payer requirements, allowing approvals to happen more quickly. It can review various prior authorization codes to help doctors select the right identifier when describing a treatment to the insurance provider.
“We have built in a stream of intelligent tools that help physicians detect the risk of denial prior to submission and give them very concrete feedback on what can be done to improve the strength and likelihood of approval so that they are submitting clean claims from the beginning,” Ballester explained to the Catalyst.
However, she knows that denials are inevitable even with the software. This is why it can write fact-based appeal letters within minutes in case a denial happens, saving doctors and staff valuable time and energy. All physicians have to do is review the letter and make any necessary changes.
A practicing pediatrician and the medical director for utilization management at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Ballester knows firsthand the importance of receiving prior authorization as soon as possible.
Filing these claims is a complex and labor-intensive process, she added. Using the wrong codes and documentation can result in denials, further prolonging necessary patient treatment.
“I have seen the repeated frustrations and challenges that our physicians and patients face as they navigate the system of prior authorizations,” Ballester said.
“Our mission is to restore clinical time and reduce that burnout that physicians are facing by having to constantly battle with prior authorizations and get them back to patient care, rather than paperwork.”
Karla Jo Helms, founder of Tampa-based “anti-public relations firm” JOTO PR Disruptors, was responsible for bringing the pitch event to the Tampa Bay region. She is now the city leader for Founders Live in the area.
The ultimate goal of the St. Pete competition was to support local startups and help their leaders connect, Helms explained. Future quarterly events are planned.
“This area is an amazing gem. It’s no longer a diamond in the rough,” she believes. “But yet we don’t have the impact and the exposure that we all feel that we need so that’s why I wanted to support this.”
There are, Helms added, multiple benefits to winning the Tampa Bay competition. Easy PA can participate in the Founders Live Prime Time regional qualifiers – and potentially earn a spot in the organization’s annual global event.
Additionally, the medical tech company will receive a professional boost membership and get access to more than $1 million in cash savings and discounts on key apps and services for startups.
Seattle-based Founders Live was founded in 2016.
