Hartford Business Journal

48 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 17, 2023 TECH COMPANIES TO WATCH With Sola, smaller employers and their employees have access to services like telemedicine. PHOTO | GOODROOT Goodroot's portfolio companies aim to disrupt costly healthcare system By Norman Bell Hartford Business Journal Contributor S ome 200 years ago, Elisha Root joined the Collins Co., one of the nation's leading manufacturers of axes. He studied the practices at the Collinsville plant and came up with a better way. His disruptive technology — die casting — would change the face of manufacturing forever. By mid-century, he moved to Hart- ford and turned his attention to mass-pro- ducing the Colt revolver. But that's a story for another day. Today, the head- quarters of the Collins Co. is the home office of Goodroot Inc., which is seeking to channel the spirit of Root in disrupting the healthcare industry. CEO Michael Waterbury is a veteran of the managed care industry and his goal is "to reinvent health care one system at a time." It's a big job, he acknowledges. And the stakes are huge. Goodroot claims it already has saved its clients more than a billion dollars. "The current system is designed to make a lot of money," Waterbury said. "We know where the problems are; we know how to fix them." The challenge is changing the incentive system so that the industry will embrace change. Waterbury said Goodroot may need to launch 20 to 30 targeted services and/or companies before it reaches that goal. And being located in the Hartford area provides access to the talent Goodroot will need as it grows, he said. So far, Goodroot has rolled out eight companies — six targeting the rub points between healthcare factions and two working directly with consumers: AlignRx — A pharmacy benefits consulting company that partners with health plans, brokers, third- party administrators and employer groups. It provides pharmacy benefits procurement and audit services as well as self-funded plan consulting. Breez — An online financial assistance service. Working with hospitals, it streamlines assistance programs. Working directly with patients, Breez pre-qualifies individ- uals for reduced cost or free care at nonprofit hospitals and searches out assistance programs. CoeoRx — A pharmacy benefit navigator that serves small and midsize businesses using pre-negotiated contracts and international suppliers. Emry — A medical and pharmacy cost navigation service that works directly with employees to find the most cost-efficient care. Tools include discounted provider pricing, pre-treat- ment care selection and post-treat- ment bill reduction and resolution services. Nuwae — It works with phar- maceutical companies, payers and patients toward a goal of having a single price for a drug. Its tools include rebate manage- ment, direct contracting and formulary management. Penstock — Offers payment integrity and reimbursement services. RemedyOne — It analyzes a firm's existing pharmacy bene- fits program, looking for ways to capture more in drug rebates. Sola — A medical and pharmacy benefits program that works with employers on a self-funding design, third-party administration, stop-loss coverage, medical and pharmacy benefits and telehealth. The approach is gaining traction. While Goodroot declined to disclose revenue figures, its workforce has doubled to about 90 employees since 2020, Waterbury said. Real Leaders, a membership community with global reach, has named Goodroot to its list of top impact companies for both 2023 and 2022. Michael Waterbury GOODROOT INC. Industry: Health care Top Executive: Michael Waterbury, CEO HQ: 10 Front St., Canton Website: GoodrootInc.com Contact: 860-352-5055 Newly-acquired Hybrid Pathways finds foothold in competitive cybersecurity market By Norman Bell Hartford Business Journal Contributor I n business as in life, timing is everything. And in 2018, Tom Hazen, one of the founders of Hybrid Pathways, was concerned his cybersecurity startup might be too late to the party. The nation's largest companies — the enterprise players — were well down the road toward moving their data to the cloud. Was there still room for the Hybrid Pathways team to leverage its long-standing relationships and win a foothold in the cybersecurity space? The seven founders of Hybrid Pathways are industry veterans with both deep experience in the local verticals and deep connections. And they were greeted with open arms by company after company facing unique challenges integrating legacy systems and new technology. Today, Hybrid Pathways has about 40 clients, largely insurance, pharma and healthcare companies in the Northeast. And it's adjusting to new owner- ship. New Era Technology, a global company based in Indianapolis with 14,500 clients and 4,500 employees, acquired Hybrid Pathways in November. New Era is owned by Sentinel Capital Partners of New York City. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Hazen said day-to-day operations in Hartford are largely unaffected. "New Era gives us expanded offerings for our clients," he said. From day one, Hybrid Pathways was bootstrap-funded by the founders, Hazen explained. "We sell no products, so the costs were our labor," he said. It took about six months before the founders started to pay them- selves, he recalls. As the firm grew, it added employees and now has about 50 full-time equivalents plus contractors. As part of the New Era family, Hybrid Pathways has access to markets and services that were beyond the firm's reach just months ago. Among the new benefits for clients are video collabora- tion, contact/call center services and managed infrastructure and security services. Subscription model At the heart of Hybrid Pathways' business is data security, Hazen explains. It is vendor-agnostic, with part- nerships in place with the largest players in the market — Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft's Azure. It preaches disciplined practices in identification, connection and protection. Amid a dizzying array of threats, Hazen said ransomware is top of mind for enterprise clients. Strict adherence to established data policies is the best protection, he said, while acknowledging "bad things do happen." Hybrid Pathways does provide recovery services but is not a foren- sics firm, he stresses. The firm works on a subscription model that allows clients to scale services up or down as needed. And while Hybrid Pathways special- izes in working with Fortune 1,000 clients, it also serves midsize businesses, Hazen said. Along the way, Hybrid Pathways has won honors for both its growth and workplace culture. Inc. magazine lists the firm as No. 917 on its list of the fastest-growing 5,000 companies in America. Hart- ford Business Journal named Hybrid Pathways as one of the Best Places to Work in Connecticut in 2023. The distinction is notable because Hybrid Pathways has been all-re- mote from its start. It's a tribute to the "no-drama" culture that's in place, said Hazen. Communication and transparency are priorities, and no issue is too small to address. In the absence of traditional watercooler conversations, every Thursday there's a remote gathering with only one rule: no shop talk. HYBRID PATHWAYS Industry: Cybersecurity Top Executive: Tom Hazen, CEO HQ: 20 Church St., Hartford Website: HybridPathways.com Contact: 860-785-9268 Tom Hazen

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