2024 Most Disruptive MBA Startups: Oxkair, University of Oxford (Saïd)

Oxkair

Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford

Industry: HealthTech

Founding Student Name(s): Edouard Tessier-Blais, Dr. Yousif Hanna

Brief Description of Solution: Oxkair simplifies and accelerates revenue cycle management in healthcare through automated claim processing, prior authorization, and denial management. The solution integrates with EHR systems, helping clinics and physicians focus on what is most important, patient care.

Funding Dollars: Self-Funded

What led you to launch this venture? We identified significant pain points in claim processing and revenue cycle management during conversations with physicians, consultants, and clinic managers. Combined with Yousif’s firsthand experience in clinical practice and my background in VC-backed healthcare innovation, we were compelled to develop a solution to address these challenges.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? Our biggest accomplishment so far, even while the product is still in the development phase, has been successfully connecting our AI model with a seamless EHR integration. This achievement not only validates the feasibility of our solution, but also highlights its potential to transform healthcare by addressing critical administrative challenges with scalable and impactful innovation.

What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in creating your company and how did you solve it? When launching a venture, it’s easy to focus on creativity, technology, and disruption while overlooking the fundamental importance of people. Our most significant challenge has been generating traction for our pilot. We are addressing this by fostering relationships that go beyond traditional business interactions, prioritizing trust and building person-to-person connections. By engaging our partners as collaborators in our journey, we’ve created a foundation of mutual trust that drives progress and commitment.

How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? The MBA program at Saïd Business School, as part of a world-renowned university, has provided unparalleled access to a diverse network and exceptional talent. We have collaborated with classmates, fellow Oxonians, mentors, and advisors from various disciplines. These individuals have been instrumental in refining Oxkair’s value proposition and establishing a solid foundation for the business. These connections have enriched our strategic thinking and provided the support necessary to navigate the complexities of the healthcare industry.

What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? Melanie Perkins, the co-founder of Canva, has been a major inspiration for our entrepreneurial journey. Her success in transforming the highly technical and intimidating field of graphic design into a simple, user-friendly platform aligns with our vision for Oxkair. Revenue cycle management (RCM) in healthcare, much like design used to be, is a highly manual and cumbersome process. Inspired by Melanie’s ability to simplify complexity and make impactful tools accessible to everyone, we are driven to bring the same transformation to RCM. By leveraging automation and intuitive technology, we aim to empower healthcare providers to focus less on administrative burdens and more on delivering exceptional patient care.

Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? The Entrepreneurship Project course was pivotal, teaching us the importance of identifying a clear market pain point and rapidly iterating to develop a product-market fit. The lessons directly shaped our approach to product design and development.

What professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Brane Kalpic, who supervised our Strategic Project, has been instrumental in shaping our approach and vision. His guidance encouraged us to think disruptively and challenge conventional frameworks, pushing us to refine our strategy and expand our perspective on the healthcare industry’s complexities. His mentorship was pivotal in identifying innovative opportunities and aligning our plans with long-term goals for Oxkair.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? The Oxford startup ecosystem is vibrant and diverse, offering access to a wealth of talent and resources. Participating in the Oxford Venture Builder program has provided us with valuable seminars, workshops, and mentorship, which have helped us refine our strategy and establish a strong foundation for Oxkair. This supportive community has been pivotal in accelerating our progress.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? Our long-term goal with Oxkair goes beyond revolutionizing revenue cycle management. We aim to fundamentally transform how healthcare professionals interact with administrative tasks by eliminating redundancy and inefficiencies. These highly trained professionals should focus their expertise and critical thinking on patient care, not paperwork. With Oxkair, we strive to shift the balance, enabling clinicians to fully utilize their skills to treat patients while we handle the administrative burdens through intelligent automation and streamlined processes. This vision drives our commitment to creating a more efficient, patient-centered healthcare ecosystem.

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