Conflict of interests can not only leave organizations vulnerable to civil liability but also criminal prosecution in some instances. The best approach to minimizing the chance of a conflict of interest is in the prevention stage rather than reactively responding after an issue has already arisen. However, identifying where conflicts may occur is largely a manual and time-consuming process and often scarce resources can’t be dedicated to this. Conflixis is an AI-powered data-driven platform that can detect fraud, overspending, and compliance when it comes to conflict of interest issues. The risk engine can navigate large public datasets layered with internal information to ensure that decision-making is unhindered by the potential for bias and undue influence. Conflixis is initially focused on the healthcare space to let organizations contextual their risk as a risk management tool ranging from drug interactions/usage to Medicare /Medicaid payments.
AlleyWatch caught up with Conflixis CEO and Founder Aaron Narva to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise
Leadership at my previous company and other founders
Tell us about the product or service that Conflixis offers.
We sell software that helps large organizations identify fraud, regulatory risk, and over-spend related to conflicts of interest between their employees and their business partners. We are starting in healthcare.
What inspired the start of Conflixis?
My previous role building the third-party risk management business at my previous company Exiger.
How is Conflixis different?
We are competing against a legacy manual process that is incredibly time-consuming, tedious, and incomplete.
What market does Conflixis target and how big is it?
We are starting in healthcare with a SAM of several hundred million dollars. Beyond healthcare, there are other areas like government contracting, finance, and construction which increase our TAM to close to a billion dollars.
What’s your business model?
B2B SaaS
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
Because we are a risk management business, specifically in healthcare, we are not as vulnerable to the typical business cycles.
What was the funding process like?
I raised money from people with experience in risk who have seen our team execute in the past.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Deciding whether or not to seek institutional money early. We decided not to.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our traction within 6 months of launching is significant. We have a V.1, a stable of paying clients who are willing to recommend us to their colleagues, market excitement about what we are doing, and a near-term roadmap to being cash flow positive.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Make our risk engine fully ML-driven, release several modules that will significantly impact ACV, and triple our client base.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Focus on your customer and the minimum product needed to demonstrate value. Everything else is noise.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We would like to establish a profit- generating, fundamentally clean business in healthcare followed by an expansion out into other industries as our bandwidth increases.
What’s your favorite winter destination in and around the city?
B&H Dairy.
