The Columbus Region

Case Study: Ray Shealy

Talent, Technology, Tax Incentives Bring Ohio Businessman Ray Shealy Home

Background

An entrepreneur at heart, Ray Shealy has been dedicated to launching and growing successful companies in the Columbus area. One of those major successes came in the form of HTP.

HTP, now part of McKesson’s RelayHealth organization, developed software for the healthcare industry that improves efficiency, profitability and service quality for hospitals, insurance companies, physician groups, managed care organizations, thirdparty administrators and public sector health plans.

Shealy joined HTP in 2005, shortly after moving back to Columbus, and six months later he was named CEO. In that role, Shealy successfully helped transition HTP to one of America’s fastest growing tech companies by adding more than 70 top talent employees from across the country and increasing annual sales to reach the Heathcare Informatics Top 100 companies.

“During that transitional period, we looked at areas where we could grow the business, and at the time, there wasn’t a lot of specialized healthcare information exchange talent in the area,” said Shealy. “We were able to recruit top talent from all over the country and even Canada and, as a result, we created a hub of top talent in the country right here in Columbus.”

Shealy adds that HTP’s success created a micro economy for healthcare information exchange and healthcare revenue cycle management in Columbus, something that did not exist in the region before. Because of that success, Columbus, Ohio is now on the list as one of the top areas in the United States for this industry.

Why Columbus?

For Shealy, Columbus was an obvious personal choice that allowed him to get balance back into his life. And with the region’s healthy tech industry and aggressive pro-business programs and policies, maintaining career success was not a problem either.

Shealy credits a lot of HTP’s success to the many available resources in the Columbus region. For example, the company was able to hire the top talent needed to successfully grow the company because of tax credits offered by the City of Columbus. Shealy added that much of the process of attracting that top talent also included selling Columbus. “The region made my sales pitch fairly easy,” said Shealy. “The Columbus area offers a thriving business community, a state capital town, a big university, nationally recognized schools and professional sports, and these are just a few of the reasons that top talent found the region to be attractive.”

HTP also found the Columbus region offered several funding opportunities for growing companies. It was the first company in Ohio to receive funding from the Innovation Ohio Loan Fund, and it was also the first company in Ohio to receive a second loan from the fund, and the first company in Ohio to pay off both of the loans. HTP also received funds from Ohio TechAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the country.

Looking Forward

Although no longer with HTP, Shealy still plans to stay in Columbus to exercise his entrepreneurial passion. “Columbus is just a great place to grow and build a company when you combine all of the city’s strengths with Ohio’s programs, talent and technology base,” he added.

Since leaving HTP, Shealy created Margaux Ventures, a strategic consulting firm that helps local high-growth technology companies with funding, strategy and execution. In that role, Shealy has become an angel investor in more than 10 Columbus-based companies. Shealy also recently became the President of InfoMotion Sports Technologies and 94Fifty, a sports skill analysis technology company he helped bring from Boston to the Columbus region. Shealy also sits on the board of five high-growth technology companies in Columbus, including Health Care Dataworks, Intellinetics, and e-Cycle.

“Because of the notoriety and success of the HTP team and the growing tech community in Columbus, I’ve been able to help these companies successfully grow,” said Shealy. “We have the foundation and the community around us now to help these companies grow, which leads to more wealth creation in the area, which in turn results in more investment opportunities for new companies.”

Shealy predicts Columbus will see continued success from the growing tech base in Central Ohio, and that five years from now, we’ll see an increase of three to four-fold successful high-growth companies. “Success breeds success and we have all the tools, assets and attention we need to make this region extremely successful,” concluded Shealy. “The future is very bright in Columbus.”

About Ray Shealy

Ray Shealy is a serial entrepreneur and businessman, and a boomerang Ohioan. After spending 15 years in Atlanta and Chicago with frequent commutes to New York and Europe, he knew Ohio, specifically Columbus, was where he wanted to raise his family and continue his career. After co-founding his own technology company in 1997 and being instrumental in growing HTP Inc., an Inc. 500 Columbus-based company that developed software for the healthcare industry to an Inc. 500 and Healthcare Informatics Top 100 company, he founded Margaux Ventures, a company that helps other Columbus-based entrepreneurs and business owners grow their businesses. Shealy also is the President of InfoMotion Sports Technologies and 94Fifty, a sports skill analysis technology company he helped bring from Boston, Massachusetts to the Columbus region.

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