Thirty percent of prescriptions are left at the pharmacy counter due to price; people just can’t afford to pay for them. Meanwhile, the exact same prescription could be available down the street or via an online pharmacy for hundreds of dollars less.  And, despite the emergence of many new options, the “low cost” provider for one drug is not necessarily the low price provider for many others.  We knew there was an opportunity when we met Steve Moses and learned about these and other problems in the prescription drug market.

With a US healthcare system built on employer-based insurance, the group of people most affected by these extreme price differences are independent workers. Although they make up as much as 36% of the workforce, only 40% of 1099 workers have health insurance. And with pharmacy being the most critical and frequent healthcare expense, Otisis set to revolutionize the healthcare experience.

Otis’ initial offering is a digital pharmacy savings card which allows 1099 workers to find the best prices on their medications, saving them up to 90% off the retail price. And for employers, like gig worker platforms,  facing employee churn rates up to 500%, Otis presents a valuable opportunity to offer a meaningful financial benefit to their flexible workforce — at no cost to employers. 

It took someone like Steve Moses to recognize an opportunity like this. Based on his experience building the team at Amazon Pharmacy, serving as a visiting healthcare researcher at Cambridge University, and consulting for the Obama Administration on healthcare, Pioneer Square Labs realized that Moses was on the verge of something truly revolutionary for the beleaguered healthcare industry and invited him to develop his ideas with us at Pioneer Square Labs’ Studio. As a one-time 1099 worker himself, Moses set out to address the volatile price of prescriptions with the kind of passion that only comes from a lived experience. 

At Pioneer Square Labs, we’re always on the lookout for founders with unique insights or experience, big markets with strong trends or tailwinds, and differentiated ways of acquiring customers. In the case of Otis, we hit the jackpot and found them all.  

Helmed by Moses alongside CTO Aaron Bach and Luke Nilles, Head of Growth,  Otis is now onboarding partners, consumers and 1099 workers via a waitlist.

Over the past several years, the structure of the workforce in America has drastically changed. And our slow-moving healthcare system, initially conceived and built during WWII, has not kept up. At Pioneer Square Labs, we are thrilled to be working with a team that is confidently stepping forward to creatively address an issue that’s vital to millions of Americans — their health.