KingFit prescription for growth: DiabetesCare startup becomes a pandemic must-have

October 12, 2020  |  Austin Barnes

Miguel Johns, KingFit

WICHITA — A new partnership with a medical giant is adding even more fuel to a momentous 2020 for Kansas-grown KingFit, said Miguel Johns. 

Miguel Johns, KingFit

Miguel Johns, KingFit

The startup has entered an agreement with BioTel Care, the diabetes division of BioTelemetry — a $2 billion publicly-traded company, that aims to improve health outcomes through innovation. 

“This partnership opens doors to new employer and health plan customers with immeasurable, increased credibility,” Johns, KingFit founder, told Startland News. 

“Healthcare is a risk-averse industry, so having a partner like BioTel Care puts our startup on a new level in the eyes of the market.”

The partnership follows the acquisition of another KingFit product by one of its customers earlier this year and specifically elevates its DiabetesCare platform — a tracking application that allows diabetes patients to track their glucose levels, caloites, exercise, and mental health status. 

Click here to read more about the company, a graduate of the Enterprise Center in Johnson County’s Pitch Perfect program. 

The biggest benefit is our opportunities for revenue. We have multiple offers coming to market with BioTel Care including  both direct to consumer and employer-based offerings,” Johns explained. 

“We’ve been learning over the years what it means to do business to business deals in healthcare. It takes relationships, time, patience, and collaboration. We’ve been able to use our previous experiences to handle the BioTel relationship correctly,” he said, noting the deal has already seen the companies participate in a pilot project that paired the DiabetesCare platform with BioTel Care’s cellular glucose monitoring device. 

“Their team is amazing and our skills complement each other very well. I think that is key. We are very good at what they lack, they provide what we do not. Together we have a unique offering both for direct to consumer and for employer groups.”

Johns said the deal was in the works prior to the COVID-19 pandemic — a global ordeal that’s accelerated the need for healthtech products, he added. 

We were able to continue moving forward and launch our pilot as businesses began to reopen. COVID has accelerated the adoption of products like ours as they have gone from nice-to-have to must-have.”

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2020 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    East Side investment zone

    Councilman introduces east side investment proposal with $15/hour wage provision

    By Tommy Felts | November 17, 2017

    As economic development surges in pockets across Kansas City, residents and businesses on the east side shouldn’t be left behind, Scott Taylor said. “Our clock is ticking as a city on this, and we need to do more,” said Taylor, councilman for the sixth district, at-large. At a press conference Thursday, Taylor introduced a draft…

    Dr. Mark Bedell, Kansas City Public Schools

    KCPS superintendent to city struggling with violence: When do we all come together?

    By Tommy Felts | November 17, 2017

    It’s inexcusable for Kansas City to simply accept 130 murders before it’s even December, Mark Bedell said. “Who do you think are committing these crimes?” Bedell, superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools, asked a crowd gathered Thursday for the Lean Lab’s Launch[ED) Day. “Probably people who have been victims of schools that have failed them…

    Kauffman survey

    Kauffman Foundation rolls out $1.2M microlending program to help underserved entrepreneurs

    By Tommy Felts | November 16, 2017

    Amid a swarm of 160 events as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced a new microlending program to spur investment in underserved entrepreneurs. In partnership with four microfinance lenders, the foundation issued a series of grants totaling $1.2 million that a will change the way the nonprofit microlenders capitalize their…

    Jeremy Smith, Anti-social Networking, GEW

    Scared away from networking events? Anti-social introverts can turn to tech

    By Tommy Felts | November 15, 2017

    Networking strength comes in numbers — even for anti-social introverts, Jeremy A. Smith told a crowd Tuesday at Global Entrepreneurship Week. “Anti-social people, myself included, hate events,” he said. But like all other entrepreneurs, such introverts still must build and maintain actionable professional networks from which they can request and receive value, Smith said. In-person networking…