– FEATURED INNOVATOR – AUGUST 2014 –
TORONTO – In early July, I was invited to PointClickCare headquarters to interview the company’s Chief Executive Officer and founder, Mike Wessinger. As I waited to be greeted at the company’s reception, the first thing that caught my eye was a large, stuffed toy Gorilla that sat proudly displayed above one of the window ledges. While the strange, fluffy fellow appeared slightly out of place, he also somehow appeared protective and strong. I couldn’t help but wonder what his significance might be – at the time, I was sure that there must be one. This was an odd, playful touch and one that left a strong first impression on me. My first thought: going to work here must be a lot of fun.
Shortly afterward, I was escorted to Mike’s office. As I made my way there, I happened to pass by a number of fruit bowls placed strategically around the office, in addition to an open-concept kitchen filled with free food. I saw employees working in free-form work spaces, micro conference rooms, in the lunchroom and, oh yeah, also at their desks. While they appeared collaborative, these “PointClickCare”-ers also appeared to be at ease and having a lot of fun. One reason, perhaps, is due to the variety of on-site amenities they enjoy, including a game zone, two in-house gyms, and an on-site massage therapist. I could tell quickly that life at PointClickCare’s HQ came with an array of perks and benefits, allowing for a pretty great work-life balance.
When I did meet Mike, I was surprised at how approachable he was. Dressed in a bright green polo t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, he appeared at ease and one thing was very clear – he was in his “zone” and happy place. As I began asking him about his early days founding the company, his eyes began to glitter with excitement, almost like a child remembering his first Christmas Day. As he reminisced about his many sleepless nights and challenges, he laughed fondly showing he has absolutely no regrets. Without doubt, by the conclusion of our interview, I knew Mike was one of the most passionate CEOs I have ever met. He is proud about the company he has built with his brother, co-founder and CTO Dave Wessinger, and is passionate about the good he is doing for his customers. We even had the opportunity to discuss the mysterious gorilla he has displayed at the front reception – and his explanation was an inspirational one.
PointClickCare has come a very, very long way since its early days as a small start-up in Mississauga, Ontario. Fifteen years after its foundation, PointClickCare has now evolved into an international success story, with clients in 36 states and all throughout Canada. As of this year, it was recognized as the nation’s third largest Healthcare Software company [Branham 300], and also ranked 24th in the Profit 500. With over 750,000 users, the company has transformed the senior care sector by delivering the industry’s first SaaS-based Electronic Health Record software.
It became clear in our discussion that the company’s approach to customer and employee care is what sets it apart. Mike’s comments are valuable for CEOs, managers, entrepreneurs, and aspiring leaders. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation, along with a photographic tour through PointClickCare’s headquarters.
TAL: Tell me about yourself and your role.
MW:
I’m the CEO and Founder, which means I do little by the way of “work” in the traditional sense, and do more in the way of “leading”. Some people believe my role is to do work in the business; however, my job is to do work on the business. I realized this very early on in my career. While I didn’t possess a lot of technical knowledge, I was skilled at getting people who were good at their jobs to do work for me. It is crucial to find the right people and put them in the right seats to complete the work.
My role is to lead the organization, and provide the vision and strategy. Those are my primary areas of focus. After that, my priority is ensuring we have the right culture to support the organization and overseeing capital allocation. It is crucial that we give our people the right resources to get the job done.
TAL: Explain what your company does, and what sets you apart.
MW:
We are in the business of providing software for companies that provide care for seniors. This falls into two primary verticals – traditional nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities and, senior living facilities (i.e. retirement homes, assisted living, etc.). We have been heavily focused on the higher acuity market – primarily skilled nursing homes – however, now we are moving into senior living and heading across that continuum.
The tools we provide enable senior care providers to give higher quality care to seniors at lower cost. This is really the core of what our applications do to serve our market.
TAL: Tell me about how you got into this – what was the gap between then and now?
MW:
Not every kid grows up saying “I want to get into the nursing home software business.” In fact, in many ways, it was the last place I thought I would get into. However, in life you have to find something to sink your teeth into and my mother happened to be in the business. She worked for a nursing home chain and their business model was, “find distressed homes, buy or manage them, and flip them back from bankruptcy”. My mother was an accountant by trade, who ran the central billing function of the company. As the organization began to release billing and care plan systems, she became more technically savvy.
Through my mother’s industry relationships, myself and my three brothers got introduced to long-term care. I was the “black sheep” of the family; while my three brothers went into software engineering, I went to business school. Dave later went onto become an IT Manager for a nursing home chain, whereas I began selling software for a nursing home software company. It was a few years later, after we had more experience in the field, that both of us decided to form our own solution. Essentially, it was through my mother’s introductions to the industry that we got into this business.
TAL: When you initially formed your company, were there any major players in the industry?
MW:
It was a fragmented market. Back in the early days, the nursing home industry had almost nothing in the way of automation. Prior to founding PointClickCare, I was selling basic care planning and billing systems and my brother Dave was managing the IT operations for a small chain. Both of us realized the industry wasn’t offering enough for care providers. The sector was using old technology that barely passed the Windows threshold, with no hope of ever getting into the Cloud. The long-term care industry is very intricate and regulated, along with being inherently complex in terms of how it handles billing and clinical compliance. Early on, Dave and I recognized that there must be a better way to do it.
We questioned whether it would be possible to “engineer out” all the things that weren’t working in the market, and invent something entirely different. Our business model proposed using only one set of servers, and providing our services over the internet. This meant our customers did not have to buy, install or maintain any kind of software, or provide any cash upfront. We charged them on a per patient basis.
Realistically, we were onto something before others were. In late 1999, no one was calling it the “Cloud”. In fact, it was years later that this system was given the name SaaS (Software As A Service). Out of the needs of the industry, we caught onto the right model at the right time and this made all the difference for us.
TAL: What are some of the challenges that you had to overcome to grow PointClickCare from being a small start-up to a multi-Award winning software company?
MW:
In the first year, it was money. Our company’s early days were during the E-Commerce Bust in 2001, and banks and investors were not giving loans. The company had to focus on bootstrapping, and the early years were tough. For 18 months – or 36 consecutive payrolls – we had to literally beg, borrow and steal to ensure the company stayed afloat. Every night in those 18 months was sleepless; as soon as you made payroll, you had to start worrying about the next week. We once had to get a customer, our largest at the time, to drive all the way from Leamington to Toronto to write a cheque the night before payroll to ensure we met the deadline, because we didn’t have enough capital.
We had to hustle, and do whatever possible to ensure we didn’t lose our staff. Dave and I worked with our suppliers and customers, tried to get funds in advance, and did our best to bootstrap the company for success.
In the end, all of these challenges helped us. They embedded into our team a “DNA” to always focus on the customer. We didn’t have a lot to work with, so we had to make very smart decisions about capital allocation. At the time, our team wasn’t able to do everything we wanted to – instead, we had to choose a specific focus. This initial start really helped provide a strong foundation for us. If you can survive the bootstrapping phase, you will be stronger and wiser for it.
Finding the right people was also a huge challenge for us in our initial years. In the early days, I hired who I could afford. I couldn’t always hire A-Talent, because my budget couldn’t afford them. So I did the best I could with the resources I had. As the funds became available, I had to make the right shifts in talent and bring in new professionals. In the role of CEO, I continually need to balance my “bootstrapping” philosophy with the flexibility to trust new hires and their ability to take the company to the next level. I need to tackle the challenge of blending professional management with passionate founders.
TAL: Now that your organization has grown into a multi-million dollar company, what is your next priority? What is your greatest fear?
MW:
It is operational execution. I am not worried about whether there is a market – I know there is. I am not worried about competitors – our product far surpasses theirs in terms of complexity and value. Operational execution is my top priority, and we have a big mountain to climb. There is a large and growing market for senior care, and PointClickCare needs to deliver service at scale. My priority is ensuring that we build, sell and deliver the services our customers need and that I have the right people in place to ensure this goal is achieved.
TAL: Today, how involved are you in hiring? What do you look for in the talent that is joining your organization?
MW:
We are looking for individuals with proven experience, who really know their role. That being said, we do want to start producing things organically. I am looking to create a “farm team” ranging from young and hungry upstarts to proven veterans. This team will then produce our new generation of leaders.
TAL: How big is your organization right now, and what is your project growth?
MW:
Point Click Care currently employs over 750 full-time employees
and we will continue to build out staff as the company scales in future.
TAL: What previous life experience (personal or professional) helped contribute to your current position as CEO?
MW:
Early sales experience really equipped me to take on the role. A company’s CEO is always selling something, be it an idea, the company, or the product. My ability to recognize my strengths and weaknesses also helped a ton, because it prepared me to bring on the right people to get the company where it needed to go.
TAL: What is your advice for young entrepreneurs? What do you think are 3 tips they would find useful in navigating the challenging path to creating a start-up?
MW:
Firstly, solve a real world problem. There are many people who have a neat idea, but if they aren’t solving a pressing issue they will be fighting an uphill battle. Secondly, treat your staff like you want to have your customers treat you. If it matters that your customers are treated well, make sure your staff are happy and understand the value your organization provides. I can’t think of a single company that has customers that shouldn’t be treated well.
Lastly, think big. In 1999, long before our first customer, we had our vision. We wanted to be the “Gorilla” within the skilled nursing space in North America. Every market starts off with many, many entrants, but the thousands cannot be sustained by one market alone. As a result, a consolidation and layering occurs – 1 “Gorilla”, 2 “chimps”, and lastly, a bunch of “monkeys”. We have always dreamt of being the industry “Gorilla”.
Long before our first line of code was even written down, we had a dream of where we wanted to go. Never give up on your bigger dream – don’t have doubt.
Note: Wessinger’s reference here originates from Geoffrey Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm“.
TAL: We did notice the Gorilla that you have at your reception!
MW:
Exactly! That is precisely what it stands for. To remind us, each day, of who we are and where we want to go.
TAL: When did you know you had arrived? Was there a moment of realization?
MW:
There were two different stages. The first was when I had enough recurring revenue that I could pay everyone, finally sleep at night, and not have to chase anyone down.
The second stage was in 2005, when PointClickCare landed the #1 and #5 nursing homes in the United States. These accounts were high profile, and could either elevate the company or dissolve it. In the end, both clients elevated us to the next level and are still with us today. Our product is now present in 38 states, and still expanding. There is not much that is going to stand in our way.
Watch Mike Wessinger’s entrepreneurial journey here.
In 2013, the company was awarded the following designations: Canada’s Best Managed Company, Best in KLAS Award, Deloitte Technology Fast 50, Branham 300, Top 250 Canadian ICT Company (#76), Top 25 Canadian Software Company (#15), and Top 5 Pure-Play Healthcare ICT Company (#3).
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