Following is the reprint of the article that appeared in the SF Business Times spotlighting SleepQuest as the 34th fastest growing company in the Bay Area.
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream - of Faster Growth
BY VIVA CHAN
Business Times Staff Writer
Robert Koenigsberg was losing sleep. SleepQuest Inc.'s CEO was waking up every night, his mind racing over problems related to his sleep test center. Unprocessed claims were piling up, insurance companies didn't return phone calls and managing cash flow seemed a pipe dream.
 Koenigsberg: Bright-eyed |
But he didn't reach for Valium or sleeping pills. "After a few years of this, I became better able to handle the ups and downs of running a small business," said Koenigsberg, who opened his office in Redwood City in 1996. "Now I don't get too high when things are going well, or too low when things are going poorly, I maintain an even keel. |
Koenigsberg got more shut-eye after bringing accounts receivable in-house. That and other critical moves boosted SleepQuest's growth between 1997 and 1999, when revenues shot up to $985,675 from $248,300, a 293 percent growth spurt, placing it No. 34 on The List.
| Most competitors merely test clients for insomnia, sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. SleepQuest's 10-employee sleep team also guides patients from diagnosis through treatment. A key part of SleepQuest's growth strategy was using its web site to educate clients about the value of snatching a siesta. Some 30 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea - a condition where a victim's breathing is disrupted periodically throughout the night. |  |
SleepQuest's chief scientific adviser, Dr. William Dement, runs a weekly column on the site. Dement founded the world's first sleep lab and discovered the sleep phase characterized by rapid eye movement (REM) at Stanford University in the 1950's.
Eventually SleepQuest will sell sleep-corrective products from the site, but that's on hold while the firm seeks funding from angel investors, venture capitalists and others.
Today, many insurance firms that used to snub the firm are becoming SleepQuest contract providers. That's welcome news for patients whose bills for a sleep test average between $700 and $1000, depending on the service, with an average insurance reimbursement of $490 per service.
Public attitude is still a challenge for future growth. "Our culture things it's heroic not to sleep," said Koenigsberg, who started the business on a $100,000 SBA loan. "It's common to hear about executives who brag about only getting three hours of sleep. Sleep debt is like a credit-card debt. It robs us; it deteriorates our quality of life."
SleepQuest employee John Chapman tries a device designed to help cure sleep apnea.
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