Novy Enters Creation Stage on First Portfolio Company
A Purpose-Built Solution for Emergency Medicine Scheduling
Aug 6, 2025
Cedar Rapids, IA | August 6, 2025 — Novy, the Iowa-based venture studio building innovative healthcare software companies, has entered the Creation stage on its very first portfolio venture: an intelligent shift scheduling software built specifically for emergency medicine groups.
This marks a pivotal milestone in Novy’s six-stage process and demonstrates its deep commitment to solving hard problems from the inside out—starting with one of healthcare’s most persistent operational bottlenecks: scheduling.
Solving a Critical Pain Point in Emergency Medicine
Emergency departments never close. Yet the tools that govern their staffing are often outdated, manual, and misaligned with real-world needs. The result is provider burnout, shift inequity, and significant administrative inefficiency.
"A well-designed schedule does more than fill shifts,” said Krista Martin, Novy Partner and CEO of the new company. “It supports provider well-being, aligns with departmental goals, and relieves unnecessary administrative burden."
Unlike legacy tools built for generic workforce management, this platform is designed from the ground up to meet the complex realities of emergency groups operating across multiple sites. Key capabilities include:
Collecting real preference data like shift type, location, cadence, and personal needs
Autogenerating equitable schedules that reduce fatigue and bias
Enabling intelligent shift trades without administrative chaos
Restoring transparency and trust between schedulers and providers
“We’re not just building another scheduling app, we’re creating a new infrastructure for how emergency medicine groups operate and grow,” added Martin. “This is the kind of company Novy was designed to launch: high-conviction, founder-led, and born from deep user empathy.”
The Creation Stage: Hands-On Company Building
Novy's Creation stage is a rigorous, high-involvement period where the studio team works to form the legal entity, finalize product direction, and prepare for go-to-market.
“Our aim is to only launch one or two new ventures a year,” Martin said. “We’re selective for a reason. Fewer companies mean deeper commitment, and that’s how we build things that last.”
Looking Ahead: MVP, Pilots, and Strategic Partnerships
Over the next 90 days, Novy’s venture studio team will:
Finalize core MVP functionality and go-to-market strategy
Capture early insights from their Provider Feedback Network
Initiate pilots with 3-5 independent emergency medicine groups
The company is expected to formally launch this fall, with more details—including a brand reveal—coming soon.
Join the Provider Feedback Network
As part of this early build phase, Novy is inviting a select group of emergency medicine groups to join its Provider Feedback Network and help shape the product before launch.
Ideal participants would have 4–12 sites and 20–100 providers on staff. The time commitment is designed to be minimal with an engagement spanning:
A 60-minute discovery call on your current scheduling process
Sharing anonymized schedule data for testing
Reviewing a prototype schedule to provide structured feedback
A 30-minute follow-up call to offer insights and suggestions
Participating groups will receive:
A summary of Novy’s research and expert interviews
Early access to MVP features
A 3-month free pilot of the scheduling platform
“We’re not just here to sell, we’re here to build something impactful through cutting edge technology,” said Martin. “For us that means designing this solution with the providers who know the problem best.”
Get Involved
To learn more about joining the Provider Feedback Network or piloting the platform, reach out to Krista Martin at Krista@novyventures.com.
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About Novy
Founded in 2023 with the mission to turn great ideas into valuable companies, Novy is a Midwest venture studio that provides the capital, guidance, and executive talent to build innovative healthcare software startups.
For more information, visit www.novyventures.com or follow along on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/novyventures.
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