PatientPoint founder Mike Collette’s entrepreneurial journey took him from nearly losing the company he built to rescuing a struggling premium vodka brand.
By any measure, Collette has succeeded as an entrepreneur. PatientPoint is a healthcare technology and advertising firm that operates a network of digital screens in doctors’ offices, waiting rooms and examination rooms, providing patient education and advertising at the point of care. Founded in the late 1980s, the company has since expanded to more than 35,000 healthcare locations nationwide.
His business career has been full of twists and turns, with situations that left his company navigating financial uncertainty and facing high-stakes competition with a rival. Those challenges made Collette an enticing first guest for Blue North’s Plot Twist on Oct. 20. Hosted by Blue North Executive Director Dave Knox, the series examines the evolution of businesses and how different decisions might have changed their outcomes.
“I gave everybody a copy of The Hero’s Journey because I think for anybody who's launching a business, you read that, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, it's like every business I've ever started.’” said Collette. “It’s like The Odyssey, except maybe without the seven-year spell of the Lotus Eaters. I never had that experience. It's the constant ups and downs.”
Collette founded PatientPoint’s predecessor, OnTarget Media, by maxing out a credit card and borrowing against his life insurance policy. Initially, the company focused on place-based advertising, developing tailored campaigns to reach specific audiences in targeted locations. Its earliest clients included well-known brands such as Pampers and Metamucil.
Collette eventually found a niche in the healthcare industry after speaking with physicians who expressed frustration over having to retrieve educational materials from storage areas during patient appointments. Recognizing the opportunity, his company began placing educational and advertising materials directly in exam rooms, starting with print products before transitioning to digital screens.
“It's funny because the first clients were like, ‘I'm never going to let you do that.’ Sure enough, they did because there's enough value in it, saved them time, allowed them to do a lot more education,” he said.
The company reached new heights in the 2000s as the digital advertising boom enabled further expansion, with new internet-connected technology allowing it to reach more customers.
However, Collette said the transition was capital-intensive. LCD screens were expensive, and the company had to finance the purchase and installation of new equipment to build out its digital advertising network inside healthcare facilities.
The transformation nearly drove the company into financial collapse. Collette recalled that his chief financial officer warned him the company had only three weeks of operating capital remaining.
“I remember this like it was yesterday,” he recalled. “I'm thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this is literally what's happening right now.’ I could lose the company.”
Eventually, a client’s $250,000 payment provided enough cash to cover payroll for several months. Collette said entrepreneur Frank Wood later invested in the company, helping finance its transition to a more sustainable business model.
As the company grew, Collette faced another challenge, this time from his investors. Several of PatientPoint’s pharmaceutical clients had lost patent protection on their products, resulting in a 33% decline in revenue and a 50% drop in profits. He said he was asked to step down as CEO and transition into the role of chairman.
The leadership change proved unsuccessful. Four years later, Collette was asked to return as chief executive after the company accumulated $78 million in debt and faced fierce competition from rival Outcome Health.
To keep pace, Collette embarked on a fundraising campaign, securing $140 million in financing. The move proved savvy in the following months, as The Wall Street Journal published an exposé revealing that Outcome Health had misrepresented the size of its network. With additional capital and its primary competitor facing a crisis, PatientPoint capitalized on the opportunity, strengthening its position in the market. The company eventually acquired Outcome Health.
“It was like a Theranos story,” he said.
After decades of building PatientPoint, Collette transitioned away from the company’s day-to-day operations. He admitted that he struggled to find satisfaction in the absence of professional responsibilities.
“I had to find out what that next thing was going to be that fed my mind and fed my soul,” he said.
Collette had already become involved with Double Cross Vodka, a premium spirits brand co-founded by the late Malcolm Lloyd, whose sudden death in 2014 threw the company into turmoil. The brand was also struggling financially following an overly aggressive expansion strategy.
Collette said an investor contacted him about helping rescue the brand, leading him to become a major investor and take an active leadership role. His involvement with Double Cross overlapped with his return as PatientPoint’s CEO in 2016. He remains involved with Double Cross today.
What these stories established, from Collette’s perspective, is the unpredictability of entrepreneurship. Pivots can sometimes be fatal for companies. What pulls companies through are their core values and culture, he concluded.
