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We recently had the opportunity to chat with Jason Werner, CIO and  a key member of the leadership team at ClaimsBridge to uncover their unique journey with the company and explore what makes ClaimsBridge an exceptional place to work. Their story is one of dedication and growth, supported by a company culture that values stability, family, and personal development, all within the framework of a thriving and dynamic work environment.

You’ve been with the company for a long time.  Tell us a little bit about what it was like in the early days and how the company has evolved since then.

In the early days, we operated paycheck to paycheck like many young companies. Jak, Bob, Melissa, and Jessica were here before me.   We scrutinized every expense, ensuring each project or client relationship was worth it. Bob often shared stories of driving to collect checks to make payroll.

For years, our main challenge was managing limited cash flow without incurring debt. Despite this, we grew organically and steadily, never retreating. I occasionally read that once a company hits a certain financial threshold, such as $200,000 in the bank, growth accelerates. Initially, our 10-30% growth was consumed by expenses. It took time before our growth translated into significant profits.

The first decade was tougher because every penny earned was reinvested. Today we have grown to the point where this is still in the back of our mind, but we have more flexibility overall.  This financial stability is the biggest change.

What hasn’t changed is our family-oriented culture. We’re supportive of employees with new children and prioritize their needs without pressuring productivity. This support, initiated by Bob, remains a core value at ClaimsBridge, even as we grow.

What has made you stay with ClaimsBridge?

Before joining ClaimsBridge, I worked for a consulting company where I traveled extensively. I spent a year in Oklahoma City, three years in California and Chicago, and was slated to go to Albany.  My wife and I were starting a family and moving to Annapolis, so I needed to find something different.

Coming here I found a local job that offered growth opportunities. It allowed me to do things I only got to do briefly in consulting, where you come in, do a job, and then leave. This job gave me long-term experience in IT and the chance to be involved in different aspects of the business.

When I joined the company, I started as a programmer. Although I had extensive programming experience, it wasn’t in the language we used here. I had worked a lot with MUMPS in VA hospitals, where most programmers were much older. I wanted to learn a more marketable language, and Jak Eskinazi hired me, saying he could teach me what I needed to know.

I started by learning the new programming language and evolved from there. As we grew, I took on more supervisory and managerial roles, though managing isn’t my strongest skill. My style is more consultative—I expect people to do their jobs and move on. Now, I run the IT department and am involved in business decisions. I try to stay away from some decisions to avoid conflicts, but my job is to keep everything running smoothly and advance our capabilities.

I don’t program as much as I used to and am more specialized in what I do, but I still code daily. One thing that hasn’t changed, which I’d like to change, is my involvement in customer support. Many customers reach out to me directly for issues, and I spend a lot of time troubleshooting and fixing problems. Being a hands-on company is important to us, and maintaining that during growth is one of our biggest challenges.

Can you describe your most significant achievement or project during your time at the company and how it impacted the organization?

About five or six years ago, before our new leadership team came onboard, and the new team joined us, Bob and I received a call from a long-term client, the Loomis Company, a TPA subcontracted through Bright Health Group for their commercial operations. They needed help with pricing claims, and we told them, “That’s what we do.”

This project was a significant revenue boost for us. I handled all the coding, logic, and pricing, integrating our system with their complex, hospital-based pricing rules. These were challenging tasks, representing the difficult 10% of the work that takes most of the time.

Over that year, we successfully implemented the system and supported them for three years until Bright Health moved on from that business.  Despite this, the project was a major success for us, both personally and as a company.

The revenue from this project allowed us to hire Kevin Gibson – CEO, Mike Tosti – EVP Sales, and our current sales team, which has driven our growth. This project was our “hockey stick” moment, accelerating our success significantly.

“From an employee perspective, we’ve consistently taken care of everyone, prioritizing their well-being over the company’s bottom line. This approach hasn’t changed.”

Where do you see ClaimsBridge heading in the future?

Looking ahead, from a business and investor perspective, we’re focusing on substantial growth. We plan to continue expanding, potentially by acquiring or partnering with like-minded or complementary businesses. There’s also the possibility that someone might see value in us and want to invest further.

Overall, the company is on solid footing for long-term growth and continued industry support.

How do you think ClaimsBridge’s culture and values impact the way you work as a team and how you make decisions with a company?

That’s a great question. From an employee perspective, we’ve consistently taken care of everyone, prioritizing their well-being over the company’s bottom line. This approach hasn’t changed.

From a management perspective, growth has made things more challenging. With more employees, there’s a greater responsibility to ensure everyone gets paid. When the company was smaller, decisions were easier and risks were manageable. Now, with around 25 employees, there’s more at stake, which affects our decision-making structure.

Despite the growth and changes we remain heavily client focused.  Keeping our clients happy is key to enabling us to continue to grow.  This is something I take great personal pride in.

Anything Else you’d like to add?

This is a great place to grow, especially in the tech sector. We’re an IT company providing valuable services to our clients, but without our IT backbone, we wouldn’t have much to offer. The company’s growth potential is enormous in terms of client product offerings, and both business and personal development.

You often hear we’re a 20-year-old startup because, for the first 16-17 years, we operated with minimal resources. Now, we’re fixing things we should have done from the beginning. We’ve achieved SOC 2 compliance, moved our hosting to an Azure cloud environment, and added new tools to stay current with the evolving tech landscape.

Our modernization efforts mean new employees can find their niche and grow. I’m happy to delegate tasks because I can’t manage everything like I did a decade ago. When new hires express interest in areas like cybersecurity, we can support them in those roles.

From a growth standpoint, it’s like my adult soccer team where everyone wants to play offense. We need balance, hiring people for specific positions we need, even though we have many roles to fill.

There are many opportunities and a lot of fun in the process. It’s a great place for hiring and future growth.