Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Crampton.
Jake, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have been a bit of an accidental entrepreneur. Right after college, I moved to Mexico City – with the plan of staying for a year – and opened a language training business there and ended up staying four years. I sold that and came back to Chicago to go to business school with the plan of, at least for a while, not being an entrepreneur. I was fortunate to get the job I wanted with a top flight consulting firm. However, during that second year, I ran headlong into a fork in the road. Three classmates and I developed the MedSpeed concept for a class project. The professor suggested that we enter that business plan into the University’s New Venture Challenge (NVC). The MedSpeed concept won that competition, but more importantly the work we did convinced me this was a real business that had to be attempted. I stepped away from the job I had accepted and took the plunge with MedSpeed.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Maybe in the history of business there has been a smooth road or two, but I doubt it! Is it fun and exciting? Yes. But smooth? No.
What we were fortunate to have was a clear vision for MedSpeed from the beginning – to fill the void of industry-focused transportation in healthcare. That vision gave us faith to show perseverance through challenges and, over time, has helped MedSpeed grow into the market leading organization in its space, but it certainly hasn’t come easily.
The obstacles were especially pronounced early on. We had to convince our very first customer to take a risk on a new business. We nearly ran out of capital early on (more than once!). And probably the biggest obstacle was during MedSpeed’s third year of existence when we lost a client (due to an acquisition, not service issues) that was approximately 70% of the revenue… But, we maintained our composure while simultaneously digging in further to keep MedSpeed afloat. Just 15 months later, MedSpeed was back on the high growth path.
Over the years, other less acute challenges have been ever-present. Chief among these is leading an organization through multiple periods of change and evolution while, simultaneously, retaining core cultural elements. Another ongoing challenge has been getting the message out that healthcare transportation is something bigger than just moving stuff back and forth – that it should be thoughtful, analytical and strategic. Asking an entire industry to re-think the status quo is not an easy task and it doesn’t stop being a challenge.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
MedSpeed’s mission is to deliver health by connecting patients, providers and their communities. To do this, we are striving to change the way the industry views what we call intra-company logistics. Early on, very few, if any, health system or laboratory executives thought about their transportation operations (traditionally called courier services) when thinking about the major drivers of optimum performance. Yet, the transportation of patient- and business-critical materials has the potential to significantly impact at the highest levels – through cost savings and as a strategic element in the overall mission to improve patient care and safety. The team here has built something meaningful that greatly impacts healthcare, as well as our employees (called MedSpeeders). I believe we have built something unique and that no other entity treats healthcare transportation as MedSpeed does.
This doesn’t mean we have completed our journey. Far from it, in fact. A core part of our culture is looking for new ways to improve how we operate and support customers, the communities we serve and the healthcare industry in general. We have just embarked on our next phase of innovation, called Lead the Future 2020. I can’t wait to see where we can go and the value we can create.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I don’t have a single favorite childhood memory, but rather a whole collection of them. From an early visit to Washington D.C., to roughhousing with siblings, to playing running bases in the neighborhood, to early school experiences. In reflecting on this, I have to say I feel incredibly fortunate for my family and the great start I got in life.
Contact Info:
- Address: 655 West Grand Avenue, Suite 320,
Elmhurst, IL 60126 - Website: www.medspeed.com
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