Milwaukee-based venture capital firm Gateway Capital Partners has made its first investment after raising $13.5 million
earlier this year.
The fund’s first investment was $400,000 to lead the seed round of funding for Tip a ScRxipt, a financial technology startup that helps intermediaries like health care providers and pharmaceutical companies, deploy payment assistance programs.
Tip a ScRxipt was founded in February 2020 by Milwaukee native
Chad Johnson. The company’s seed round also included $100,000 from gener8tor, a nationally ranked startup accelerator based in Wisconsin.
“At Gateway Capital, we are committed to investing in high-growth potential startups at the early stages,” said Dana Guthrie, managing partner of Gateway Capital Partners. “With the ever-increasing cost of medical expenses, Tip a ScRxipt has a large market opportunity. Chad is a problem-solver and is designing a product to mutually benefit both patients and the health care industry. We are excited to be investing in his vision and are optimistic about Tip a ScRxipt’s potential.”
One of Tip a ScRxipt’s unique features is peer-funding that allows friends and family to contribute to help a patient with out-of-pocket medical expenses. Johnson founded the company after watching his mother lose her retiree insurance and struggle with prescription costs.
“The more than 58 million Americans that report difficulty paying for medical expenses lets us know this isn’t just a low-income community issue,” said Johnson. “Through Tip a ScRxipt we can help solve a major, nationwide issue and hopefully prevent Americans – even those with health insurance – from being forced to stretch their medications or go without completely.”
The Gateway Capital Fund is part of the Badger Fund of Funds, an 8-year-old venture capital program designed to invest in Wisconsin-based startups.
Gateway Capital, in particular, is focusing on pre-revenue startups in the greater Milwaukee area over a 4-year period.
