Entrepreneur Spotlight: Have You Met Brandon Walsh?

Tue, 17 Feb 2015 19:51:49 -0500
abce, umbcentrs

Brandon Walsh is a Computer Science major and is scheduled to graduate in 2016. He is a member of Compared Care along with Ethan Steininger, CEO and 2014 graduate.

I recently sat down with Brandon to find out a little more about him and about Compared Cared.

Tell us a little about your company, and what makes your business unique?

Compared Care is a free to use web platform that allows patients to price shop for medical procedures. Our goal is to allow consumers to find the highest quality providers at the most affordable price. Compared Care currently has over 4 million medical providers with over 10 million associated procedures across the United States. Our database is continuously expanding and becoming more accurate every day.

In our current healthcare industry, most patients do not receive a bill until after the procedure. This could be analogous to signing a contract for a new home, then receiving the price. We are driven to solve this problem and be the leader in healthcare transparency.

I met Ethan, the Founder and CEO of Compared Care, in an entrepreneurship class that we both had taken at UMBC. With his business sense/healthcare knowledge and my development skills we were able to turn out a working product in a matter of months. Compared Care is now expanding at a rapid rate, we are getting closer to national healthcare transparency.

If anyone is in need of an MRI, Laser Eye Surgery, or any prominent medical procedure simply go to comparedcare.com and a type what you are looking for into our search box. You will instantly be shown a list of providers in your area that offer this procedure or service.

What classes have you taken at UMBC that helped you out the most?

One of the first courses I took at UMBC (cmsc101y) was an introductory course for Computer Science majors. This class was my first introduction into project management. My team had to create a game that allowed students to simulate their academic semester. Designing both the functionality and visual interface of an application has always been of great interest to me. I enjoyed the concept of connecting smaller modules of code into a single working system that has the potential to positively impact user’s lives. This motivated me to pursue larger scale projects such as Compared Care.

There is a common misconception that Computer Science majors simply sit in a cubicle and write endless lines of code. Many computer science positions, especially in the startup scene, require team skills. With the proper determination you can take the knowledge you gathered from your degree in order to build the next innovative company.

What are some resources that have helped you the most?

"The Lean Startup" is a book that has influenced our development and evolution as a company. The book's core concepts helped lead to Compared Care's quick release. A successful startup adapts to what its users want and releases new iterations of the product as quickly as possible. These concepts are followed by the world’s most successful startups such as Uber and Airbnb. I strongly recommend reading this book before perusing your idea, it is much more efficient versus other methodologies.

Tech breakfast is an organization that allows upcoming startups to pitch their ideas to other business people. This was one of the first outlets that Compared Care used to help spread the word. I recommend finding events such as these to help market your company and develop your presentation skills.

What is the toughest decision you have had to make in the last 6 months?

Deciding whether or not to take a semester off school has been a tough decision. Working on Compared Care full time would allow for accelerated development but would postpone my educational experience. For now I have decided to stay in school while working on Compared Care. If the opportunity to work full time presents itself, I would have minimal hesitation to take a semester off. When I have the ability to positively transform the healthcare industry, one of our nation’s biggest issues, I feel as though I must take advantage of it.

What advice would you give other student entrepreneurs?

The best advice I could give is to focus on building a great team. In order for your startup to be successful you must have co-founders that share the company’s vision and are equally motivated to transform an idea into a reality. I was lucky enough to team up with Ethan Steininger, Compared Care's founder and CEO, and help bring Compared Care into existence. A successful business cannot be ran alone.

Learn from the mistakes made by other companies and emphasize the aspects that made those companies successful. For example, many of the most successful startups, including Compared Care, have a strong belief in agile development. Compared Care's goal is to quickly release a product to the public, receive feedback from its users, and then reiterate. This process is repeated overtime until the platform is easy to use and effective.

Always work on building connections and getting advice from those who have already been in your shoes. Expanding your network can lead to opportunities that will help transform your idea into a reality. Learn from the mistakes of others and replicate the ideals that made them successful.

Anything else you’d like us to know?

We are currently looking for talented developers and innovators who are interested in positively impacting the healthcare community. Please contact us if you have any interest or business inquires.

Reach out to Brandon at his LinkedIn or email him at brandon@comparedcare.com

Visit the Compared Care Website to learn more and connect with them through Facebook and Twitter