Bambi Health is an AI-based NEMT dispatch, routing, and scheduling software that gives non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) owners, dispatchers, and drivers superpowers to dynamically assign, optimize, and manage their daily trips and workflows. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Bambi co-founder and CEO Nirav Chheda to learn more about the company.
Nirav Chheda’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Chheda said:
“My name is Nirav Chheda, and I run Bambi, a NEMT software company that makes a dispatch and scheduling system that is used by transportation businesses to optimize day-to-day operations. I graduated from Columbia and then MIT Sloan with my MBA, started out in big tech, graduated to startups, and graduated further to entrepreneurship by founding Bambi. I’m passionate about bringing the NEMT (Non-emergency medical transportation) industry into the future with cutting-edge technology.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Chheda shared:
“My co-founder Charles’ grandfather was wheelchair-bound, and the NEMT business that was supposed to pick him up from his doctor’s appointment left him stranded in a medical facility because they mixed up his pick-up time. My co-founder then discovered that NEMT businesses can’t manage their operations because there are no decent softwares catered to the workflows of NEMT businesses – so we decided to create one.”
“The NEMT industry is rapidly growing, and there aren’t any good software companies in this industry. NEMT businesses are thirsty for a better, modern software solution. The “aha” moment was when we talked with potential NEMT businesses and learned that all of the existing softwares available to them didn’t even do the basic features and functionality or have the desire to improve. This led my co-founder and I to build rudimentary designs of what our software would look like, and NEMT businesses were willing to sign up to be initial customers whenever it was built. Then we kept building and never looked back!”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Chheda reflected:
“Meeting all our customers at the annual NEMTAC (Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Accreditation Commision) Conference. This is where we launched our product in 2023 and now we get to see all our customers (and make a few new ones!)
Here we are at the latest conference this year!” Run Bambi Run at NEMTAC 2024! – YouTube.
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Chheda explained:
“Bambi’s cloud-based platform has revolutionized NEMT operations, streamlining scheduling, dispatching, billing, and reporting processes. The company’s user-friendly interface and robust features have garnered widespread acclaim, empowering NEMT providers to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the overall patient transportation experience.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Chheda acknowledged:
“One of the biggest challenges is to integrate the trip intake process from both the NEMT Brokers and also for private-pay trips. We have been working with all the major NEMT brokers to provide seamless solutions and integrations that allow for either easy trip templates to upload or direct API connections. Additionally on the private pay side, we have developed a private pay portal, where healthcare facilities and other trip sources can directly request trips with the NEMT providers within the Bambi system.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Chheda noted:
“Bambi continues to drive innovation in the NEMT industry with our ambitious product roadmap, with plans to introduce new features and functionalities that further optimize NEMT workflows for all industry stakeholders. This includes our NEMT broker integration and private-pay portal (previously mentioned), as well as real-time traffic and weather, multi-loading, and many other customizations for different NEMT provider models.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Chheda cited:
- Reaching 250 NEMT provider customers (NEMT Fleets) within its first year and half of operations.
- Our NEMT Experts Podcast hosted by me has more than 200k views and 50k subscribers in only 60 episodes.
Customer Success Stories
Can you share any specific customer success stories? Chheda highlighted:
Yes! Check out our Testimonials YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLVKqUi9fuCsRr6LHQ9e4lQaj_sOmK97V.
Also, some quotes:
‘With Bambi, it was super. Everything was right there in front of you. And literally, my lead driver told me it’s perfect, in comparison to the old software we used. They were able to just see everything, and then they can now make adjustments on their route.’ Cho Ndiforchu – Owner at Skyline Transport
‘Changing to Bambi is the most impactful thing I did for my NEMT business. Bambi’s saving my staff hours of daily work and our team has much more time to focus on improvements’ Jeffrey Hoff – Reliant Transport
‘Bambi has been able to kind of streamline that whole process…it just takes me half the time, or probably even less than that, to get everything kind of squared away.’ Samuel Harris – On Time On Target Transportation
‘Integrating advanced scheduling software and real-time tracking systems has revolutionized how we operate. Our efficiency has improved dramatically, leading to better service for our clients.’ Alex Stoia – Corazon Concierge
‘How much time does it save me? It’s like a day’s worth of time. And sometimes once I make the dispatch the system just does the work, so I don’t have to sit on the computer all day trying to see where the driver is. I know my drivers and I know my customers so once I make the dispatch that night I’m good for the whole day.’ Julian – Bellshan Homecare
‘The drivers seem to love it on their phone and their tablets, and it made our job a lot easier to enter the trips than what we had prior. You can book a trip within about two or three minutes. It cut my time in half.’ Tony Jackson – Top Choice Medical Transport”
Funding
Are you able to discuss funding and/or revenue metrics? Chheda revealed:
- 250 NEMT provider customers (NEMT Fleets) within its first year and half of operations.
- $3.75 million Venture Fund Round.
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Chheda assessed:
“Data for NEMT is hard to come by in this nascent and decentralized industry, especially considering the state by state regulations and bifurcation of rider payments between public (Medicaid and Medicare) and private sources (insurance and private pay).”
“However it is estimated somewhere around 100M trips annually in the US with about 20,000 active NEMT providers.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Chheda affirmed:
- Bambi’s AI powered scheduling optimization is a game-changer that cuts hours of daily manual work down to just minutes. This dynamic schedule is real-time and can be continuously working to reduce total fleet miles and maximize trips (more money!).
- Bambi’s stupidly simple design and easy-to-use platform (and mobile App) are miles ahead of the competition. Our Silicon Valley developers are committed to making world-class, intuitive software for NEMT users.
- Transparent, Flexible, and Affordable Pricing
- Bambi is not Boring! We like to have fun and celebrate our dynamic brand. Check out our launch video and day-in-the-life mini-movie:
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Chheda emphasized:
“Bambi is increasingly recognized as the leader in NEMT software. We have excellent reviews and are recognized by industry review aggregators as a leading NEMT Software: see Slashdot and SourceForge.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Chheda concluded:
“Check out our NEMT Experts Podcast hosted by me which has more than 400k views and 50k subscribers in 60 episodes!”
