Sempre works with pharma companies and health insurers to offer patients discounts for filling their prescriptions at the pharmacy on time.
Once patients are enrolled in its discount program, Sempre communicates with them by way of text message and the occasional phone call about how to get cheaper prices on prescriptions.
These so-called co-pay coupons are controversial.
Health insurers, for instance, say they help push patients to take more expensive drugs, increasing the cost to the system.
The Sempre pitch deck alludes to this divisive debate, and sets up its platform as something that can solve these problems.
Putting a price tag on it, of $4 billion, is also key. With venture capital investors, "it has to be a large market to be a good deal," explains CEO Mathur. "Pitching is part of articulating that story."
Sempre uses money that pharma companies would typically spend on co-pay coupons, and redirects it to make prescriptions cheaper for patients.
The testimonials from members say that they like getting the discounts as well as reminders to fill their medications.
Proving that the startup has traction is key, according to Mathur. Even if investors don't fully understand the space Sempre works in or the problem they're solving, it's hard to argue with the fact that people are using it and liking it.
"If we can provide a valuble and immediate service to our members, that's what gets us our members, thats what gets us our partners," she says.
Much of the pitch deck is focused on proving that the startup, which was founded in 2015, has gained traction among users, health insurers and pharma companies.
CEO Mathur describes the discounts as a "carrot" to drive better health decisions.
"Never a stick, just a carrot," she says. "And assuming you continue to fill on time, you can drive down your co-pay substantially."
That model is underwritten largely by pharma companies, which pay — as the deck explains — because they "have the most to gain immediately." Pharma companies can't make revenue if patients can't afford their prescriptions.
The way that Sempre works across different healthcare players makes it an attractive investment, says Ray Ko, a partner at Social Capital, which led Sempre's 2016 seed round and participated in its series A last summer, and Sempre board member.
"We looked at a ton of drug delivery companies like the PillPacks of the world. And those are interesting, but didn't really align all the folks that exist in this system" as Sempre does, Ko told Business Insider.
This also makes it easier for Sempre to add new partners, whether they are health insurers or pharma companies, Ko says. He uses the metaphor of a mall, where having many different stores will attract a mix of different types of customers.
"Every new drug they add to the system will attract the next payer," and vice versa, he said. Facebook and Slack are very different products but something they share with Sempre is that "every participant that gets added to the system incentivizes other participants to join and participate."
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