On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on a TechTO stage in 2025. Every TechTO talk is searchable — ask the archive about Laird ↗
In their words
If you can find something that people are screaming for, something that really is going to make a big impact, that's where you're going to see the line jump up and to the right.
We need to make sure that the problem, the team, and why we're doing it are all aligned — and if you can really pull that all together, the funding is going to chase you.
If you're building SaaS for whatever industry, you should be able to get to a million in ARR in 12 months if you're hitting a real problem.
Around the web ×2
Quick answers
What does Exacare do?
Exacare is an AI-native platform for post-acute care that automates admissions and parts of reimbursement for healthcare groups across the US. Admissions teams that spent an hour reading hundreds of pages of patient records, many times a day, can make the same accept-or-decline decision in five to seven minutes — which means faster answers, higher occupancy, and fewer intake mistakes.
How did Exacare hit its growth curve after six slow years?
Russell spent about six years iterating with little to show on the revenue curve, raising $6.5 million along the way: first Galia Health, a mental health product shaken up by the pandemic, then Exacare's original workflow SaaS for senior and assisted living. When new AI capabilities arrived, he rebuilt Exacare as an AI-native product — and in the following twelve months it went from essentially zero to 1,500 facilities and raised about $30 million.
What is his advice for founders building in healthcare?
Have a good reason to do it — his was a serious brain injury that kept him in and out of hospitals for about four years. Find a problem people are screaming for rather than half-listening to the market, build with a team that lifts you up, and align problem, team, and purpose so funding chases you. He argues healthcare's burnout, complexity, and information overload make it one of the best industries for AI-native products.