Level Ex: Exploring Potential Partnerships And Other Revenue Drivers
How The Medical Video Game Maker Can Continue To Delight Doctors And Investors Alike
It’s not hard to see why Level Ex is seeing success. The Chicago and Boston-based startup creates professional-grade video games that lie at the intersection of medicine and pure fun. In stunning detail, physicians can practice real procedures and improve clinical decision-making skills by traversing the colon in Gastro Ex or traveling through the respiratory system with Airway Ex. What’s more, the only hardware required is a smartphone. Oh, and did I mention it’s free to use? Clinical value + Free + Fun = User Adoption.
In February, the startup announced that their Airway Ex game alone had amassed over 100,000 health care provider (HCP) registered users. In the coming months they’re set to launch more mobile apps with a focus on pulmonology and cardiology. Let’s look at some of the partnerships and other strategic initiatives Level Ex can pursue to continue driving revenue and fueling rapid growth.
Academic Partnerships
At its core, Level Ex is a tool to better prepare physicians in making difficult real-time decisions during complex procedures. It’s an attractive tool for doctors because it’s free, requires no additional hardware, and provides a level of engagement that’s both fun and informative.
But why stop with established, licensed physicians? Level Ex could substantially increase its user base by focusing on partnerships in academia. The degree of accessibility that Level Ex’s mobile-based solutions enjoy means that the only barrier to user adoption is a simple download from the app store. By partnering with med schools across the country to ultimately incorporate Level Ex software into their curriculum, the startup will have the opportunity to collect recurring revenue from institutions, as well as provide a means to get the tool into the hands of future doctors who could use it throughout their career as healthcare providers.
And while a large portion of medical education takes place in med schools, partnering with continuing education providers like the American Academy of Procedural Medicine (AAOPM) to include Level Ex software in their course offerings would promise further exposure still.
Insurance Payor Partnerships
With insurance providers being some of the biggest payors in healthcare, it makes sense for budding healthcare startups to find ways to get them involved. One of the biggest trends in healthcare has been preventative medicine — the practice of maintaining and promoting individual health. Naturally, when the insurance industry sees an opportunity to take measures that improve patient health thus reducing the likelihood of expensive doctor or hospital visits or the use of costly medication, they become interested.
If Level Ex can show that their software improves patient outcomes and reduces healthcare costs (as a result of better-prepared physicians), they can partner with insurance to create an incentive program to get more physicians using the software.
Partnerships with insurance don’t have to stop with physicians. Level Ex could also create health literacy apps — like the CDC’s Health IQ app — for a more general population. Individuals who use the app could link it to their insurance, and receive a small discount on their insurance payments. Again, Level Ex would have to prove the app’s ability to improve health literacy and relate it to cost reductions. If they can, their total addressable market balloons exponentially.
Medical Device Partnerships
Level Ex can create software specific to a given company’s medical device to offer specific simulations. When a medical device company releases new surgical tools or updates existing ones, those tools often require training on the part of the physician. Limited simulation environments exist where physicians can practice with these new surgical tools. Level Ex software could bridge this gap, and allow doctors to easily test a new product or practice for upcoming procedures.
In addition to post-production partnerships with medical device companies, Level Ex software could be used in aiding and informing the design of novel medical equipment for these same companies. The use of augmented and virtual reality promises new ways to treat diseases and advance healthcare, and Level Ex’s expertise in these fields — as made evident by their recent American Heart Association game— provides significant value to medical device manufacturers looking for competitive advantages with their products. Level Ex can offer consulting services or even form joint ventures with these companies to drive revenue.
Further Means for Monetization
Since receiving their $11 million Series A investment late last year, Level Ex has stated that their development focus will remain building out more mobile applications. As such, two of the biggest monetization channels lie in targeted advertising and in-app purchases (IAPs).
In its current form, Level Ex offers its software to physicians free of charge. This has enabled the startup to obtain a large number of users and therefor has provided them with ample opportunities for revenue-generating IAPs. These IAPs could range from simple cosmetic upgrades — like a cooler endoscope (think Fortnite items) — to more complex upgrades such as the ability to interact and compete with other users. In 2017 alone, mobile gamers spent an average of $87 on IAPs. If Level Ex can implement incentives to facilitate spending within the app, they’re opening themselves up to a revenue-generating treasure trove.
Over the next three years, spending on mobile advertising is set to triple to over $201 billion. Level Ex can sell advertising space to companies seeking to sell various surgical equipment, as well as medical education institutions and organizations looking to attract students for various medical degrees and certifications.
Final Thoughts
The ability of physicians to effortlessly practice complex procedures from their smartphone has important implications for the quality of care delivery. By providing a tool that is free, fun, and offers real clinical significance, Level Ex has created a product with tangible value to physicians that’s ripe for mass adoption. Through business development Level Ex can illustrate that same value for other stake holders with deep pockets, and continue to grow big and fast.
Jordan Hirsch is on a mission to use business development as a means to propel growth in innovative healthcare startups. He’s a recent biomedical engineering graduate with a passion for entrepreneurship, founding his first startup while in college.
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanthirsch/
