Monday morning muses - May 5, 2008 - Kudos to HTP - A Columbus success story!!!

Good morning, Sometimes timing is everything. Last Friday I had a lunch meeting set up with Ray Shealy, the CEO of HTP. I was looking forward to catching up with Ray and the progress being made building HTP. Leafing through my emails I saw in Central Ohio TechWeek that HTP was acquired by the healthcare giant McKesson Corporation and the press release had just gone out. This lunch was going to be really very interesting..

For those of you unfamiliar with HTP let me give you a thumbnail sketch:

HTP provides innovative ASP front-end revenue management solutions that enable the reliable, real-time exchange and utilization of healthcare information for providers across the country, improving efficiency, profitability, and patient satisfaction. HTP provides the enabling technology for hospitals to find coverage for those patients who have it, maximize reimbursement from patients who can pay and find financial assistance for patients who can't. It enables patients to also have a view regarding their financial exposure much earlier in the treatment cycle.

HTP was formed in 1996 and is based in Columbus, Ohio with approximately 65 employees. Key leadership personnel are Ray Shealy (CEO), Dennis Swartzlander (Chairman of the Board - co founder), Fred Richards (CTO - co founder).
McKesson's acquisition of HTP "....proves that we CAN locally conceive, incubate, finance and grow tech companies to very successful exits... - Doug Morgan - Calfee, Halter, & Griswold"..

Here's the trio: Ray,Dennis, and Fred




For more details about the acquisition click on this link to the Business First article.

Ray and I had wonderful lunch where he was gracious enough to share his time and thoughts when his phone was ringing off the hook...

On how I met Ray -- a little over three years ago I met Ray through TechColumbus and he was a successful Chicago based entrepreneur who had exited out and was now looking for his next challenge. The great part was that he wanted to do it in Columbus

Ray's first day at HTP - welcome to HTP we've just lost our 2nd biggest customer

Key to the secret sauce - good people, relentless commitment and execution, good timing

Local HTP customers - OhioHealth, The Ohio State University Health System

What were the terms of the deal? - HTP is a private company. The financial terms are not for public disclosure.
(my comments - Without disclosing details I think it's fair to say that the over 40 local investors got a fair return on their investment - I bet that there were a fair amount of calls to local banks to see if the wire transfers had hit..No more macaroni and cheese. Let's hope that this increases confidence in local investing )

Will any jobs be added to HTP (now RelayHealth)? - There are no immediate plans to add jobs but we are optimistic about growth..

Advice to entrepreneurs - Follow your heart, be committed, listen to people

Ray's special thanks to ....The Central Ohio Tech Community, Doug Morgan, Will Indest, Steve Clark, Rich Focht, Tracey Allen

...I'd like to recognize Dennis Swartzlander and Fred Richards for having the vision, courage, and commitment to found HTP . They took a big risk and it's paid off. It's gratifying to see the good guys win..it all starts with an entrepreneur(s) who's willing to take a risk.

Congratulations to Ray and the rest of the HTP team for a job well done!! Kudos to TechColumbus, ODOD, and Calfee, Halter & Griswold for their continuing commitment to Central Ohio entrepreneurs...

The bottom line is that we have a great company continuing to grow in Columbus.HTP is an example of how we can make things happen in tech in Columbus..


Peace Out,
Ben