Nov 20, 2024 · 30m · the-pitch
Oma Health Shocks Investors—$175K Raised in One Pitch!
Kayla Epps · 9m spoken Josh Muccio · 3m spoken Cyan Banister · 3m spoken Mac Conwell · 3m spoken Jesse Middleton · 2m spoken Charles Hudson · 2m spoken Elizabeth Yin · 1m spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Kayla Epps pitches Oma Health, an AI-enabled infrastructure platform empowering nurse practitioners to launch independent clinics and combat racial health disparities, securing $175,000 in venture commitments on The Pitch.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Josh holds 15% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Josh as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 1.9 Guest disagreement 0.5 Josh pushing back 1.4
speaking balance: gold is Josh, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 26:53 Kayla's firm stance on investor responsiveness
Kayla bluntly states that she will not beg anyone for anything and that investors are either in or out, showing complete independence.
Hardest push from Josh ▶ 16:05 Charles pushes back on software solving founder aptitudeCharles firmly pushes back against the notion that software alone creates viable businesses, arguing that high-touch coaching erodes take-rate margins.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:02 Kayla details payer dynamics and credentialingKayla educates the panel on the realities of payer relationships, explaining how shortening credentialing from 6 months to 45 days is the true defensible stickiness.
Josh holds their own ▶ 23:08 Elizabeth explains unit economics from the supply sideElizabeth demonstrates clear investor acumen by restructuring the business pitch around nurse practitioner count and annual take-rate economics.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Josh as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Josh pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kayla Epps Pitches Oma Health | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kayla presents her uninterrupted pitch outlining the personal origin story, health inequities, and the Oma Health business-in-a-box model. The investors listen silently without intervention. | |
| Founder Background and Product Workflow | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Investors ask basic clarifying questions about stage and product workflow. Kayla educates them on why focus on the South matters due to demographic distribution and rural provider dynamics. | |
| Business Model and Economics of Nurse Practitioners | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Kayla breaks down specific unit economics, take rates, and credentialing timelines, demonstrating deep operational grasp when answering Jesse and Charles. | |
| Cyan Bannister Commits $50K to Disrupt Healthcare | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Cyan shares her personal resonance with the mission, critiques artificial limitations in physician licensing, and commits $50K. | |
| Launch Strategy and Commitments from Charles and Jesse | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | Charles highlights operational risks based on previous portfolio experience with clinicians as entrepreneurs before committing $25K, joined by Jesse with $50K. | |
| Mac Conwell's Pitch Advice and Final $50K Investment | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Mac offers candid advice about VC psychology and market sizing bias when pitching solutions framed narrowly around underrepresented demographics, then commits $50K. | |
| Investors Debrief on Market Sizing and Early-Stage Risk | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | The investors and host debrief post-pitch, debating market sizing perceptions, nurse practitioner entrepreneurial aptitude, and appropriate pre-seed valuation. | |
| Founder Post-Show Update and Season Finale Preview | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Josh follows up with Kayla on VC responsiveness post-show, accompanied by preview clips from other founders ahead of the season finale. |
Statements from this episode (16)
Epps: Black Women Pay Nearly $10B Annually in Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Costs
“The American healthcare system is failing me and twenty-one million other black women living in the United States, even though we're paying nearly ten billion dollars in out-of-pocket healthcare expenses each year.”
Epps: Oma Health Is Raising a $1M Pre-Seed Round
“We're raising one million dollars for our pre-seed to bring that vision to reality.”
Yin Passes on Oma Health Due to Competitor Investment in Duet
“Unfortunately, as such, we are investors in pretty much a direct competitor called Duet, so unfortunately I'll have to sit out.”
Oma Health Charges Nurse Practitioners an 8% to 12% Take Rate
“Our take rate is eight to 12%, depending on how much support you need from us on the back end.”
Nurse Practitioners With Full Patient Panels Generate $217K to $350K Annually
“So a full patient panel, a nurse practitioner is able to bring in 217,000 to 350,000”
Epps: US Nurse Practitioner Market Growing 45%, Accelerating Into Private Practice
“There's 385,000 nurse practitioners now. It's expected to grow 45% over the next decade. Last year of the nurse practitioners who went into private practice, 31% went into primary care, and that's up from 16% the year prior.”
Hudson: Precursor Ventures Backed Adjacent Practice-Launch Startup Ease
“We invested in a business that not only is competitive, it's somewhat similar, called Ease, which helps doctors essentially launch their own”
Banister: Nurse Practitioners Are Just as Good as Medical Doctors
“And these nurse practitioners are just as good as any doctor.”
Banister: Geographic Limits on CT Scanners Exist Purely to Block Competition
“There's a certain number of CT scanners you can have in a certain block or like space in a town. It's not for radiation. It's not for any reason like that. It's just so that they don't have competition.”
Hudson: Handholding and Coaching Erase Software Margins in Enablement Startups
“My conclusion has been the technology is actually the least important piece. The most important piece is finding people who have an entrepreneurial mindset, who will go out and hustle and find customers who understand how to do kind of all of the business buil…”
Charles Hudson Commits an Initial $25,000 to Oma Health
“So I'm in for 25 K. Maybe I'll be able to stretch to do more after diligence, but count me in for 25 K.”
Jesse Middleton Commits $50,000 to Oma Health
“I would also take a bet on you being able to do this. And so I would be in on this as well. Awesome. Thank you. For how much? So the 50 K.”