Roshan Patel, Walnut
Walnut, the BNPL for Healthcare, raised a $110 million Series A to tackle medical debt and the high cost of healthcare in the US. Walnut Founder, Roshan Patel shares more with Finding Genius
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Walnut, Roshan Patel
While dealing with a family members medical bills and recognizing the real-world consequences of medical debt, Roshan Patel watched how e-commerce buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) companies such as Klarna and Affirm had launched a business model to make shopping for consumer goods easier for consumers. Roshan immediately began to research medical debt and the high-cost of healthcare in the US and how this business model could be adapted for healthcare costs.
Walnut recently raised a $110 million Series A in debt and equity and is backed by Plaid, Gradient Ventures, 2048 Ventures, Afore Capital, Goodwater Capital, Banana Cap, and more. In our conversation, Roshan shares the statistics on medical debt in the United States. Every year, over 500,000 families in the United States declare bankruptcy due to medical bills. 1 in 3 Americans skip care every year because of concerns about cost.
In this episode for Finding Genius, Roshan shares the 0 to 1 of building a company at the intersection of two complicated industries - financial lending and healthcare - and how Walnut has built a business model that works for both providers and patients. Roshan shares more on his long term vision for Walnut and his thoughts on building an early-stage technology company during a broad economic downturn.