This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
BLOG: Investing In OWL: A Q&A with two member-partners fueling innovation in ophthalmology
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
At OWL, we understand that a large part of our role is simply to bring amazing people together. Through our forum, individuals, nonprofits and health care companies learn, generate ideas, build relationships and help each other grow. At the Ophthalmology Technology Summit this summer, we sat down with two of OWL’s member-partners — OCTANe and Provident Healthcare Partners — to learn what makes these investment companies unique and what they contribute to the OWL community.
OCTANe: Cameron Cline, Manager, Ophthalmology Technology Summit
How does OCTANe spur development of ophthalmic technologies ?
OCTANe is a tech and med-tech business accelerator that plays a pivotal role in helping early-stage companies succeed in Southern California. With Orange County being a hub for ophthalmology, we’re excited to see new ophthalmic and medical device companies have an even stronger chance of developing in this region.
Through a proprietary predictive analytics platform, OCTANe’s LaunchPad SBDC has helped companies raise over $1.7 billion in funding. We’ve recently partnered with both the Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA) and the San Diego Venture Group (SDVG) in order to unite Southern California as a hub for innovation and provide greater value for the existing companies here.
How can eye tech innovators engage with OCTANe?
OCTANe works closely with the Visionary Venture Fund to identify strong investment opportunities in ophthalmology and help portfolio companies grow. OCTANe’s annual Ophthalmology Technology Summit (OTS), held every June, is the premier conference in Southern California that brings together not only the ophthalmic industry, but also Southern California investors and tech and med-tech startups. This conference infuses a new energy into the local ophthalmic industry with engaging panels on cutting-edge medical technologies, content that showcases leaders in the humanitarian space, an ophthalmic startup pitch contest, and hands-on learning for investors interested in putting capital into ophthalmic companies. This year, OTS partnered with the CEDARS/ASPENS Society to bring even more value to both surgeons and strategic leaders.
How has OCTANe ’ s affiliat ion with OWL helped advance your mission and vision?
OCTANe’s partnership with OWL has helped our organization make significant connections with leaders in ophthalmology. I took over OTS 2 years ago without a background in ophthalmology, so I needed an organization that would accelerate my access to its leaders. OWL did just that. Through OWL events and the fantastic people I’ve met in the network like Georgette Pascale, I’ve been able to help OCTANe find a home in the very tight-knit community that is ophthalmology. The OWL and OCTANe partnership will remain strong and continue to unite the Southern California ophthalmology industry for years to come.
Provident Healthcare Partners : Eric Major, Vice President, and Steven Grassa, Analyst
How does Provident encourage health care investment ?
As an investment banking firm, Provident Healthcare Partners represents health care services companies located throughout the country, looking to explore a transaction process such as partnering with a strategic organization or raising capital via a private equity firm. We work in an advisory capacity, acting as an intermediary between owners of companies and investors interested in health care services.
In the 20 years we’ve been in business, we have only worked with health care services organizations and have never deviated from that focus. Over 90% of our clients are owner-operated businesses going through a transaction for the first time, and the vast majority of our clientele over the last decade have been physician groups.
How is Provident changing and influencing the landscape of ophthalmology?
Private equity firms are interested in ophthalmology for several reasons:
1. Highly successful fundraising efforts in recent years have produced an enormous amount of private equity capital ($1 trillion), which firms need to put to work to generate a return on investment for their shareholders.
2. Attractive demographics are driving volume growth.
3. This highly fragmented market is ripe for consolidation. The top 10 groups in terms of provider count account for only 5% of ophthalmologists nationwide.
4. Ophthalmology has stable reimbursement trends, as well as a premium cash pay component that mitigates reimbursement risk inherent in physician services.
How has your OWL partnership helped you to advance Provident’s goals ?
Provident is committed to working side-by-side with our clients to help them achieve their strategic and financial goals. Affiliating with an industry-renowned organization such as OWL, committed to promoting and advancing innovative and quality patient care, aligns with our long-standing mission of helping health care organizations navigate a challenging and dynamic health care environment.
Through OWL, we hope to forge meaningful and lasting relationships with some of the most innovative thought leaders in ophthalmology so that we can work with those individuals to help solve any business challenges they face and guide them through strategic options to take their businesses to the next level.