​Imagine what could happen if a business’ most sensitive information was lost, or worse, carried to a competitor. Unfortunately, this is a reality as more than 53 percent of businesses who don’t have well-established processes and systems for monitoring access to applications and data sources that people used on the job, according to a report from Osterman Research. One Valley Growth Venture portfolio company, DAtAnchor​, has a solution to this problem.

DAtAnchor is a data control and security solution, which provides seamless and easy-to-use strong encryption, automated data governance, and dynamic access control and revocation capabilities, enabling businesses to protect their sensitive data. DAtAnchor is a universal solution, protecting all data types, along with any application used to secure it.  It is very easy to set up and seamlessly integrates with any existing cloud-based security solution or distributed storage system. Additionally, DAtAnchor’s data control SDK can be easily built into custom applications and cloud-based platforms.

In other words –DAtAnchor prevents former staff, partners and even hackers from accessing secured information outside of the scope of a business, which according to the company’s Head of Product Eric Flecher, is a serious problem.“On average, 60 percent of employees bring data from their former employer to their next place of employment,” Flecher said.

After spending years as a software consultant, Flecher realized he had a knack for problem solving and noticing blind spots within businesses, which led to him joining a young organization[EK1] .

“I’ve always loved the idea of startups. Startups allow you to solve real problems in the world quickly.”

The effect of unsecured data & information
The long-term cost of unsecured business information has a significant impact. This could lead to trade secrets falling into the hands of competitors, to exposure of personal data that is illegal to disclose, to putting compliance with regulations governing data privacy at risk.

“While traditional data protection has included companies attempting to create walls to protect their confidential data, DAtAnchor, actually controls data so that it’s not usable outside of a particular business defined boundary,” Flecher said.

Valley Growth Ventures chatted with Flecher to discuss the new startup’s journey to joining the VGV team and their future plans.

VGV: What is the current status of your business?
Flecher: “As a business in our seed round, we are working to identify which market is best suited for our product. Customer feedback is critically important for us at this stage. We are currently conducting experiments in the form of MVPs to learn which use cases and feature configurations work for our customers and DAtAnchor as a viable product.”

VGV: What is your professional background?
Flecher:“I spent 15 years in software and have always been a consultant. I started to learn that I really enjoyed building software for companies. I found that I enjoyed problem solving, engineering and developing user experiences.”

VGV: What are some successes DAtAnchor has experienced?
Flecher:“We have quickly enrolled 20 companies in our POC programs. These companies have helped us gain valuable market feedback. Within these POC programs, we have gained many DAtAnchor advocates. These individuals have helped us identify new use-cases and promote internally.”

VGV: Can you offer words of wisdom for other aspiring, or beginner entrepreneurs? 
Flecher: “You have to be willing and open for unexpected change, and have the insight to check your ego at the door constantly. It is ok be wrong, at times, and consistently ask yourself if you’re making the right decision. Oh, and don’t take yourself too seriously, either.”

Are you a company who may need DAtAnchor’s services? Head over to their website and learn more about you can protect your business.

​Caring For A Growing Population
By 2030 America will need 2.3 million more long-care workers to address the silver tsunami, a growing population of 19 million adults ages 65 and up, according to a recent study. However, while the need for services provided by skilled nursing facilities is projected to increase steadily, unstable reimbursement models and changes from healthcare reforms have created a perfect storm of factors that could significantly impact the operations of these facilities. This dilemma led Ryan Edgerly, CEO and Co-Founder, and Gene Groys, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, to develop healthcare software MedaSync.

Founded in 2017, MedaSync is a software platform that provides predictive financial intelligence and decision support services in the post-acute care facility sector of the healthcare industry with a specific focus on skilled nursing facilities. 
“Healthcare reform created a lot of chaos in the marketplace and anytime you see that you know there are opportunities for solutions,” Edgerly said.

The journey from idea to startup 
Edgerly and Groys both have extensive professional experience in the market space, with both a previous successful startup and a network of potential customers and partners. In fact, it was Edgerly’s work in tech for senior healthcare where he witnessed firsthand the changes occurring in the industry, and applied his knowledge to drive a savvy tech solution.

While he noticed a void in the industry—he notes, developing a startup from the ground up is no easy feat.

“It’s not an easy journey at all. You’re trading off the value of what you’re working on versus other life experiences. For me, it was interesting with a family and walking away from a really good sales job. Personally, I had to weigh the implications of that and how much would we have to sacrifice. From a business standpoint—you’re it. You have to set the pace, put in the hours and drive the business. No one will care as much as you do,” he said. 

VGV offers a lending hand 
While the entrepreneurial journey may have its fair share of challenges, Valley Growth Ventures has been a driving force for the startup, providing more than $350K investment in seed capital to support growth and offset operational costs. Additionally, VGV’s leadership and network support has proven to be significantly beneficial to MedaSync as well. 

“When you’re at risk trying to develop an idea, it’s very unscripted and there are a lot of places you can turn to for support.  For us, it was important to find the right partners. We have been getting past some good milestones.  And, it is the advice and guidance from our partners and investors that has kept us on the right path,” Edgerly said.

Looking ahead: growth and expansion
Over the next several years, the need for services provided by skilled nursing facilities is projected to grow along with the complexity in reimbursement models , which positions MedaSync at a position of growth as well. 

“We are in a very interesting point of time. There are going to be more people over 65 than ever before and the amount of change and inefficiency in the market offers a lot of problems to solve. We are excited to solve these problems so that our clients are able to take care of this population more efficiently.”