How a founder says goodbye to their company

In 2016, I was worried that our healthcare system was showing signs of sickness.

The major players of our healthcare system - drug manufacturers, payers, and providers - seemed to lose more trust in each other year after year. At issue were the billions of dollars of discounts and rebates that exist at the center of our healthcare system. It seemed that each player felt that they were being “screwed” by the other players due to inaccurate and misapplied discounts and rebates, the very discounts and rebates which were designed and intended to make drugs affordable.

These rebates and discounts are governed by a complex web of statutes, regulations, guidance, and contracts. Rules that, if they were easier to adhere to, should result in a system where the major players spend less time fighting and more time improving the lives of patients, leading to a healthier healthcare system.

But all evidence indicated that the rules were so complex, adherence by all parties was nearly impossible with technology at the time.

As a son of a law enforcement agent, and as someone who spent his working life helping clients with compliance, I knew I needed to do something.

I wondered, “if there existed an entity that sat at the center of discounts and rebates, ensuring all discounts and rebates were paid in accordance with the rules, would such an entity help restore trust in the system?”

After many months of pondering how to answer this question, the idea for Kalderos was born.

Since 2016, Kalderos has sat at the middle of billions of dollars of discount and rebate transactions, ensuring transactions that pass through our systems are compliant with the rules and laws that govern them. We’ve found and corrected hundreds of millions of dollars in misapplied discounts and rebates that other solutions have missed. And we’ve done so in a manner that is respectful, transparent, compliant, and collaborative.

I am proud of the company the Kalderos team has built. Building a viable and successful venture-backed technology company is hard. Building a high growth company is even harder. Thankfully, Kalderos attracted brilliant employees and experienced venture investors who’ve been critical to our success at doing both.

However, more than seven years since launching Kalderos, I have decided now is the right time to step down, handing the keys over to a new executive leadership team.

Truth is, I've been planning my departure since the day I started Kalderos. Too often, founders and the companies they create have such tightly-connected brands that separating the two is extremely challenging. This is especially true with business-to-business companies like Kalderos. Even more-so in problem spaces that historically were solved by consultants, not software products.

As someone who loves starting companies, but doesn't necessary love the type of problem-solving needed to grow a company year-after-year, I knew I wouldn't be happy feeling like I had to work for Kalderos forever. So, year-after-year, I have intentionally stepped further into the shadows so that the Kalderos brand, not my personal brand, burns the brightest.

Today, with sales stronger than they've ever been (with very little of my involvement), marketing speaking effectively with Kalderos' voice (not my personal voice), and a deep bench of healthcare experts taking center stage in helping our customers (so I can coach in the background), I know that Kalderos will be perfectly fine without me.

Thank you to everyone who has helped and continues to help make Kalderos the success that it is today.

Much love,

Jeremy