Welcome to Singularity
Introducing Exorbital and Our Mission for Transparency
Welcome to Singularity, Exorbital’s official blog. We’re excited to kick off this journey by introducing who we are, what drives us, and the vision we’re turning into reality. In this inaugural post, you’ll meet the people behind Exorbital Incorporated, learn about our mission, and discover why we’re so passionate about fixing transparency in healthcare. We’ll also share what to expect from the Singularity blog going forward. So, let’s start at the beginning – the story of how a personal tragedy and a shared frustration sparked the creation of Exorbital.
From Personal Loss to a Vision for Change
Every company has an origin story, and ours begins with our founder, T’Shawn Barry, and a life-changing event. T’Shawn lost his father after a difficult battle with illness. In the aftermath, he and those close to him experienced not only grief, but also confusion and frustration at the lack of transparency in the healthcare system. Bills arrived with little explanation, costs were unclear, and getting straight answers felt nearly impossible. It opened our eyes to a harsh truth: crucial information that patients and families need is often hidden behind bureaucracy or difficult to find.
Instead of feeling helpless, T’Shawn was driven to make a difference. He rallied a group of his close friends (now co-founders of Exorbital) to brainstorm how no one should be left in the dark when it comes to healthcare information. We soon learned that this problem went far beyond our own experience — far too much of the public remains in the dark about the cost of their healthcare until after they have received it . This realization became the catalyst for Exorbital’s creation. We knew we had to bring transparency, clarity, and peace of mind to others navigating what can be one of life’s most stressful situations.
A Mission of Transparency in Healthcare
With a clear problem in front of us, we set a bold mission for Exorbital: make essential healthcare information easily accessible and understandable for everyone. Our initial goal was straightforward yet ambitious – to create a way for patients and families to access hospital costs, insurance expectations, and other crucial healthcare details before they step into a hospital or clinic. In short, we want to take the surprise and mystery out of medical bills and insurance policies.
Imagine being able to look up the cost of a procedure at different hospitals, or knowing ahead of time what your insurance is likely to cover. We’re building tools to make that a reality. By putting information at people’s fingertips, we aim to empower individuals to make informed decisions about their care, avoid crippling surprise bills, and reduce the stress of the unknown. Transparency is more than just a buzzword for us – it’s the guiding principle behind everything we do.
The Founding Team: Friends on a Mission
Behind Exorbital was a team of three co-founders who came together around a shared vision. We were friends before we were business partners, and each of us brings something unique to the table. Here’s a quick introduction to our founding team and what each of us contributes:
• T’Shawn Malik Barry – The Visionary. T’Shawn is our founder and the original spark behind Exorbital. He’s a big-picture thinker who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. Motivated by personal experience, T’Shawn leads with compassion and determination, keeping us focused on why we started this journey: to help people through transparency in healthcare.
• Keenan Cunningham – The Storyteller. Keenan (that’s me!) is passionate about communication and clarity. With a background in writing and research, I turn complex healthcare and data topics into clear, engaging information. I ensure that Exorbital’s message resonates with people and that we never lose sight of the human stories at the heart of our mission.
• Tanner Schuetz - The Ethical Compass. Tanner comes from a business ethics and compliance background. He makes sure that as we innovate, we also do the right thing at every step. Tanner has a keen eye on privacy, data security, and fairness. His influence helps us build Exorbital as a company that not only innovates, but does so transparently and ethically.
Despite our different strengths, all three of us share a unified vision. We believe in innovation – using fresh ideas and technology to solve problems that matter. We insist on transparency – being open, honest, and clear in both the services we provide and how we operate as a business. And above all, we are committed to ethical business practices – proving that a company can succeed by doing good and doing right by its users. This shared vision is the glue that holds our team together and guides every decision we make.
What to Expect from Singularity
The Singularity blog is here to keep you informed and engaged as Exorbital grows. You can expect a variety of posts, including:
• Progress Updates: We’ll share milestones, new features we’re developing, and behind-the-scenes stories of startup life. When we hit a major breakthrough or even when we stumble and learn a tough lesson, you’ll read about it here.
• Insights & Education: Transparency in healthcare is a broad topic. We’ll break down complex issues – like understanding hospital pricing, navigating insurance policies, and patient rights – into easy-to-read articles. Our aim is to empower you with knowledge that can help you in real-life situations, echoing our mission beyond just our product.
• Team Stories and Interviews: Get to know the people of Exorbital. We might do Q&As with team members or write about how our different backgrounds contribute to the project. We believe our personal experiences shape our work, and we want to share those connections with you.
• Ethics and Innovation Discussions: Since we value ethical business and innovation, we’ll occasionally dive into discussions on these themes. This might include our take on industry news, commentary on tech ethics, or how we balance profit and purpose in our decision-making.
Throughout all these posts, our promise is to stay true to our values – being open and honest about where we are and where we’re headed. We want Singularity to reflect Exorbital’s culture: professional and informative, but also heartfelt and real.
We’re glad you’ve joined us at the start of this journey. To wrap up this introduction, here’s a little teaser for our next post. I’ll be sharing a personal story about a simple ankle injury that turned into anything but a simple healthcare experience. Spoiler alert: it shouldn’t take weeks of navigating hospital bureaucracy and insurance paperwork to treat a sprained ankle, but that’s exactly what I went through. In our next post, I’ll walk you through my eye-opening adventure in the hospital system – a firsthand example of why the work we’re doing at Exorbital is so important.
Stay tuned for that story and more updates to come. We’re just at the beginning of something special, and we’re excited to have you with us. Welcome to Exorbital, and welcome to Singularity! Together, let’s shine a light on healthcare and push for a future where transparency and trust are the norm, not the exception.
Thank you for reading, and see you in the next post!
Exorbital | Keenan Cunningham
