There are not a ton among us who enjoy a visit to the Doctor. Even though Canada has good healthcare programs, there remains something undesirable about accessing services. Perhaps it’s the convoluted and confusing process—a point of high friction that Mikata Health wants to smooth out with an injection of modern medicine.
In the same way that Harvest Builders’ fintech startups are digitizing traditional banking, this Calgary company aims to bring doctor visits from the past into the future.
Mikata was founded by Meaghan Nolan and Kyle Nishiyama. Nolan attended the University of Calgary for health sciences, earning a Master’s in Health and Exercise Physiology. Following a stint at a startup in New York, Nolan returned to Alberta alongside Nishiyama and now serves as Mikata’s chief operating officer. Nishiyama, a fellow Albertan, is a medical researcher with a background in biomedical computing who now acts as CEO of Mikata.
Using Mikata Health’s technology, clinics can send messages for appointment reminders, instructions and pre-visit conversations, helping patients get more out of their medical appointments. Beyond that, predictive modelling and information collected from patients enables clinics to reduce visit no-shows and offer more personalized care.
“Our mission is to make it easier for clinics to provide outstanding care to all their patients,” Nishiyama stated simply last year.
Nolan and Nishiyama leveraged multiple tools from Alberta Innovates on their entrepreneurial journey. They founded the company in 2017 through the organization’s incubator program, and then its Executive Business Advisor program the next year. Alberta Innovates is the province’s largest research and innovation agency, which provides startups with an “engine” from funding to commercialization. In 2019, Mikata Health secured $1 million in seed financing.
Fervent locals, the pair of cofounders are common attendees of AccelerateAB, an annual conference hosted by the A100, another organization Mikata has leaned on. In fact, the company was awarded the “A100 One to Watch” award at the Start Alberta Tech Awards last year.
“We feel supported by the tech ecosystem and the community here,” says Nolan of Alberta’s startup hub. “The vision and drive to build something big is here, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”
Mikata Health has grown from two cofounders in 2017 to more than a dozen employees as of this year. And you don’t need artificial intelligence to predict that they’re still hiring. Their opportunities, including Senior Data Scientist and Growth Specialist, will be available at the upcoming Tech Talent Canada Job Fair. The job fair, going down June 23, is a unique recruiting event that connects fast growing companies with top tech talent.
