WiSpots CEO Kevin Flannery got mauled by TV sharks Sunday night, but he was licking his wounds today, ready to swim again.
Flannery got a chance to pitch his Cary company, which sells wireless devices for physicians’ waiting areas, to billionaire investors on ABC’s new show “Shark Tank.” The ruthless investors, or sharks, were quick to dismiss the concept and essentially told Flannery not to waste any more time or risk any more money.
Since the show’s segments were taped mostly in January, Flannery has known for months that the outcome would sting.
“They didn’t listen and they didn’t really give me a shot,” he said by phone today. “But I also know that [millions of] people saw me and my products.”
And the former Marine has been busy since the taping. In June, he agreed to merge WiSpots with Worthington Healthcare Consultants of Raleigh.
The combined company, to be called WiFiciency when the deal closes as early as this week, will sell a range of technology to doctors, including digital transcription products and electronic medical-records software. The company also will sell WiSpots’ “Patient Interaction Centers” for physicians’ waiting rooms, with gadgets known as WiPads that allow patients to surf online for free.
WiFiciency will collect fees from physicians and also make money by selling digital advertising and giving doctors a cut.
Flannery, 43, said that he and Worthington founder Jason Angel are in negotiations with potential investors and expect to secure $3.1 million in financing by the end of this month. The merged firm will employ about 25 people.
“We needed each other,” Flannery said. His company lacked strong management and a customer base, while Angel’s firm was seeking something to set them apart from other medical software providers.
“Those were all reasons investors wouldn’t invest,” Flannery said. “Now we have investor interest like I never had before.”
If Flannery and Angel's business union is successful, it won't matter much that Flannery's "Shark Tank" appearance became a bloodbath.
Read more about the show here.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or 
