Armand Lauzon, Founder and CEO
Q: What is Belle?
A: Belle is a tech-enabled network of advanced nail technicians preventing diabetic foot ulcers and amputations.
Q: Who are your customers?
A: Our customers are the payers or value-added partners we work with.
Q: What have you learned from Startup Day Nashville and working with HHS?
A: I was really surprised about how much HHS was talking about innovation, which doesn’t usually sound like the government. I loved how open they were and how genuine they were about helping companies like Belle do something radical and innovative.
Q: What benefits have you seen from Nashville’s innovative health care community?
A: When I first started Belle, I actually started the business in both Boston and Nashville trying to test both cities. I am so glad, though, that now we are focusing solely on Nashville because of this phenomenal health care community. People are welcoming and open to take meetings.
It also happens to be the perfect geographical location for us to do business, especially with diabetics. We are in the right spot. There’s just a lot of innovation happening here, and I’m grateful for this community every day, including the Nashville Health Care Council.
Q: What does the future look like for Belle?
A: Right now, we are a B2B business. After raising $500,000 in the last couple of weeks, the next step is to get to a payer contract or value-add health care system. From there, we are looking to grow and scale, whether in this state or expand to other states. The next states to expand to are most likely Florida, Georgia and the Southeast.
Overall, though, I envision a company that doesn’t focus on just high-risk diabetics; I can see weaving into Medicare plans as well.
Q: What has been your favorite part of today?
A: The best part has been meeting all these individuals from CMS and HHS, in addition to both new faces and familiar faces around Nashville. I’m just really excited to be here in Nashville, and it’s fun to grow, implement and really help people.