Episode 442 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Tess Michaels, CEO & Founder of Clasp.
When you look at several positions across the healthcare industry, clinical education is a strict requirement for the job… unlike business, where higher education is an option.
Yet, the cost of that education creates a massive barrier for students, while healthcare employers struggle with open positions and a very high annual turnover rate. According to a recent survey by Clasp, 70% of surveyed clinicians were turning to sports betting platforms like Kalshi, DraftKings, and FanDuel just to cover tuition and living expenses.
It’s a mess.
The good news is that Tess, who grew up in a family of healthcare professionals, saw this problem and did what any great serial entrepreneur would do: she built a solution.
Clasp is taking a unique approach to this situation. Think of them as the ROTC for healthcare, where Clasp connects large healthcare employers with clinical talent early while they are still in school. Employers commit to student loan repayment, and students commit to a multi-year retention period.
Clasp is one of those businesses that just makes sense, creating a win-win-win situation for students, schools, and employers alike.
The company recently announced a $20 million Series B round of funding to help accelerate the growth of its business.
In this episode, we cover:
- Tess’s background story and what helped shape her “non-quitting spirit.”
- What led her down the entrepreneurial path to starting a company while at Penn Wharton which was acquired.
- The foundational years she spent in investment banking and private equity.
- The inspiration behind Clasp and how its business model works.
- Details on their round of funding and how founders should conduct reference checks on investors.
- The story of landing the single-word domain, Clasp.com.
- Her biggest lessons learned while building Clasp.
- How she is using AI and detailed playbooks to prepare for maternity leave.
- And more!
