Stout Street Capital leads round to further innovate HIPAA-compliant conversational marketing solution

Botco.ai, the leading HIPAA-compliant conversational marketing solution, announced $2.2 million in seed funding. Stout Street Capital led the round, with participation from Sterling Road, PHX Ventures and Arizona Tech Investors. Botco.ai is an AI-powered marketing automation solution that facilitates meaningful and intelligent conversations between providers and consumers at scale.

Botco.ai will use the capital for product development, including integrations with electronic health record systems and marketing automation platforms. One of a select few marketing chat companies certified as HIPAA compliant, Botco.ai also offers industry-leading AI machine-learning capabilities to quickly and effectively convert more inquiries into appointments. A few Botco.ai features include:

• Multi-channel chat — providing 24/7 response to inquiries about appointments, coverage, services and location information
• Training — the AI continues to learn and improve through use and consumer interactions
• Live data dashboard — using analytics, Botco.ai can share real-time insights from conversation transcripts, conversions to intents and re-engagement statistics
• Integrations — connect to systems of record (EHR/CRM) to personalize conversations, automate workflows and appointments

The pandemic has created a “digital-preferred” reality in healthcare. Patients and caregivers not only want, but also need, a streamlined healthcare process with digital communication touchpoints. Alongside a surge in physical health needs, COVID-19 has caused an uptick in the need for mental and behavioral support. According to the CDC, more than 2 in 5 US residents report struggling with mental or behavioral health issues associated with the pandemic. While the need for behavioral health services is growing significantly — with 52% of behavioral health organizations seeing an increase in the demand for services — 64% of counties in the US are experiencing a shortage of mental health providers, resulting in long phone calls and delayed healthcare support.

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As COVID-19 forces the growing demand on behavioral health, mental health and rehab facilities, families and patients need instant access to information, support and answers regarding these services. Botco.ai intelligent chat alleviates the need to block out time for patients to schedule a health visit, allowing healthcare professionals and patients to accomplish more in less time.

“The traditional way in which families and patients inquire about healthcare services is not sustainable. Families are forced to sacrifice crucial time — a majority of that time being spent on hold — just to receive a response. On the other side of the phone are our healthcare providers, who are unable to instantly and efficiently assist callers without wait times. The industry is in desperate need of innovation,” said Rebecca Clyde, founder and CEO, Botco.ai. “As we innovate Botco.ai, our mission is to not only ensure that families can more easily manage critical care without long waits and cumbersome systems, but also assist healthcare professionals in providing instant responses to those in need.”

The startup is the first company funded out of Stout Street Capital’s UNMET Conferences, a mission-driven company determined to attract venture capital investment to underserved regions of the US, and the UNMET Founders conference last year. The conference created a venue for traditionally underrepresented founders, specifically women and diverse founders to raise venture funding.

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“The Botco.ai team’s ability to build enterprise-grade, modern marketing automation platforms has allowed them to transform how some of the leading companies in the healthcare industry reach their customers; before, during and post COVID-19,” said John A. Francis, partner, Stout Street Capital. “Botco.ai’s software has enabled its healthcare clients to streamline and improve their consumer (patient) experience. Our investment in Botco.ai’s team is testament to our belief in the core product and the team’s unique ability to be a change agent that drives efficiency in the healthcare industry.”

Healthcare companies like American Family Care and STChealth have leveraged Botco.ai’s intelligent chat to manage and respond to COVID-19 related needs, such as answering COVID-19 and health-related inquiries, providing insight on testing wait times, and conducting employee contact tracing. La Ventana — a treatment program for mental illness, substance abuse and co-occurring disorders — relies on Botco.ai’s conversational marketing capabilities to manage the high volume of inquiries it has experienced throughout COVID-19. Botco.ai assists La Ventana in answering questions and facilitating next steps for engagement with their services.

“Healthcare support is not something many have the luxury to delay. At La Ventana, we understand the importance of instant communication when it comes to health needs,” said Lorraine Kaiser, chief marketing officer, La Ventana. “Botco.ai has allowed La Ventana the opportunity to provide crucial support to patients and families in a way that maximizes engagement and assistance regardless of the amount of inquiries.”

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