Iron Yard alumnus to base health data company in Upstate
The Upstate is now home to a new cutting-edge health care data company, one of the most notable launches from the Iron Yard accelerator to date.
ChartSpan Medical Technologies LLC has developed the world’s first commercial automated software for digitizing paper health care records.
The company is filling 11 new positions immediately, and as many as 30 positions over the next 18 to 24 months, said CEO Jon-Michial Carter. About half of those new hires so far have come from the Upstate, the other half from other states. New chief technology officer hire Terry Horner came to Greenville from Cleveland as part of the Iron Yard’s first class.
ChartSpan secured just over $1 million in its first fundraising round. Investment was led by Don Byrne of Mediators Inc. in Houston, who will take a board seat along with Carter and Iron Yard CEO Peter Barth. The next larger funding round will occur in about one year.
The app will be released to the public next month, free of charge. Revenues come from opt-in advertising and non-personal data aggregated for organizations in the health industry and public health agencies, Carter said.
So far, 14 out of 19 companies that completed the Greenville accelerator have a full-time presence in Upstate, either headquarters or staff, said Marty Bauer, managing director of the Iron Yard’s accelerator programs. Most of the 10 companies that graduated from the Spartanburg health technology accelerator this summer are expected to stay in the Upstate as well, though not all have made solid plans yet.
Those include Ractiv, which raised $180,000 in its Kickstarter crowdfunding in September, and Prime Genomics, whose cancer-screening technology is undergoing clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic.
Bauer said tech companies often have remote staff and their low-key physical presence keeps them off most people’s radar. But their regional connections and attention from investors make an impact on growing the Upstate’s tech presence.
ChartSpan has set up its headquarters in a small office in the NEXT Innovation Center. The original plan was to return to and launch from Houston after Spartanburg, but the level of community interest here was enticing. Carter said he was surprised when the Greenville Economic Development Commission asked what it would take the keep the company here.
“More than anything we were surrounded by a group of mentors, many in the GSP area, who gave a damn, frankly, whether we survived or failed,” Carter said. “We started to ask ourselves why we should go back to Houston.”
Having worked on entrepreneurial endeavors in various parts of the country, Carter said the willingness to help among Upstate organizations was unique. SCBIO, the Greenville Chamber’s NEXT initiative and many others reached out with assistance.
The app will undergo user testing in the next few weeks and should be released to the mobile market in February.
“ChartSpan is a great example of a company combining highly refined technology with the Upstate’s exceptional talent base to launch and grow their business,” said Bob Taylor, a director of the Greenville Area Development Corporation and chairman of Greenville County Council, in a release. “The company has found a formula for success keyed on research and innovation. This is a case study of our region’s collaborative approach to expanding its knowledge economy, and a great example of the opportunities to be found in Greenville County and South Carolina.”
