By helping hundreds of hospitals like HCA Healthcare hire nurses faster and with less aggravation, Iman Abuzeid has built the rare venture-backed startup that is already profitable. It probably won't be long before it becomes a unicorn.

Iman Abuzeid walked into Andreessen Horowitz's annual barbecue in the summer of 2019 with two term sheets from other venture capital firms already in hand, but she was determined to leave with a third. The co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health was certain she wanted to help 16z managing partner Jeff Jordan, the former CEO of online restaurant reservation marketplace OpenTable and senior vice president at eBay, launch her nurse hiring startup to grow.

What she didn't realize is that that evening she would not only land a major investor, but also one of her company's major customers. Amid the endless trays of burgers and ribs at Ben and Felicia Horowitz's home, Abuzeid, 36, walked past Tina Knowles (Beyoncé's mother) and CBS host Gayle King, and turned to Bernard Tyson, the late CEO of Kaiser Permanente. Abuzeid says she started the conversation with Tyson the same way she does with all the hospital executives she pitches. “We have a huge shortage of nurses,” she says. "I assume your wards are understaffed and don't have enough nurses?"

Co-founder and chief technology officer of Incredible Health Rome Portlock
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Incredible Health Rome PortlockINCREDIBLE HEALTH
Within a month of that barbecue, San Francisco-based Incredible Health, which Abuzeid co-founded with Chief Technology Officer Rome Portlock, 41, had secured Jordan's company as the lead investor of its $15 million Series A round. Soon after, it also struck a deal to partner with Kaiser, which includes 39 hospitals and is now one of its largest customers.

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