There was plenty at stake for Shawn Johnston and Jordy Davidson. They had their idea for a business that Johnston, a longtime chiropractor, had first thought of 15 years ago. The two worked on it for two years, often on their lunch breaks.
Now they were trying to convince four investors — all oilmen who had invested in other companies in the past — to invest in their tech startup company, Nestor, that they say will revolutionize the way electronic health records are kept for therapists and chiropractors.
The two longtime friends were unsuccessful in an earlier pitch for funding. This time, however, was different.
The investors, Davidson said, countered a request for $750,000 and instead committed $1 million to their idea.
“Within 45 minutes they slapped the table and said, ‘Hey, we believe in this project and we think this is awesome,’” said Davidson, a Carencro native who spent 15 years in ministry. “We did two pitches, and it landed. We didn’t have to continue down that road, which a lot of startups have to do to piece together smaller amounts here and there. That fact that we landed it in one shot, we don’t take that for granted.”
Now the budding company — named for a character in Greek mythology known for his wisdom — is moving forward, hiring three people in the past month while being housed in the Opportunity Machine in downtown Lafayette. Johnston and Davidson, who met at a church Davidson pastored years ago, have also joined the growing ecosystem of startups tech businesses in the Lafayette area, joining others such as FlyGuys, hampr, Keepers and others.
Read the rest of Adam Daigle’s article for The Advocate here.