Drew Mercer is the CEO and co-founder of PayGround, a payment platform for healthcare practices of all sizes. During our conversation with Drew, we discuss his background, how he started PayGround, and his vision for the business in the future. 

As the son of a Pastor, Drew always felt like his identity was rooted in his father’s career. Although it was always assumed he would become a Pastor as his father and grandfather were, he felt more passionate about business and pursued healthcare sales after college. 

At 32, Drew learned he had testicular cancer, and luckily caught the diagnosis early on. After having his third child and dealing with his diagnosis, Drew realized how unorganized and overwhelming it was to pay all of their medical bills as a family. From pediatricians to oncologists, medical bills needed to be paid via check, phone, online, and through several different portals. He wanted to create a platform that would simplify this for healthcare providers and patients. 

Drew talks funding for PayGround:

“My wife and I put in a substantial amount of our own income and savings, then we opened a friends and family round, so that was the initial funds to bring the idea to market. That was what brought us our first hire, brought on our Chief Growth Officer at PayGround, and brought us to the agency that got us to the MVP (minimum viable product).”

A lesson he has learned in business:

“I’ve learned the tighter you hold the reins, the less successful your company is going to be. You have to trust your own gut. You have to trust that you brought this person in for this reason, so you have to let them do their job. That allows you to focus on other things.”

Advice he would give himself a couple years ago:

“I would say to myself that you’re going to fail, and sometimes that’s the only way you’re going to learn.” 

Additional Notes:

Learn more about PayGround here: https://payground.com/

Follow along with Drew Mercer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewrmercer/

Drew gives his wife’s small business a shoutout, you can see her handmade items here: https://www.mercermakery.com/