(Forbes) – Castlight Health, which has been at the forefront of price transparency, went public on NYSE under the ticker CSLT. Investors poured in, sending the stock up from an IPO price of $16 a share to nearly $40, which values the company at more than $3 billion. Health IT investors and entrepreneurs who have been eagerly waiting for a liquidity event got it in spades. Castlight is a barometer for the industry. Asked whether the prospect of a bubble weighed on his shoulders, Giovanni Colella, Castlight’s chief executive and a founder replied: “We’re focused on building an iconic company.” One big winner: Bryan Roberts, a venture capitalist at Venrock, and a co-founder, who bolsters his reputation as the most successful digital health investor.
Founded only six years ago, Castlight has amassed a roster of large self-insured customers mainly in the past two years, including CVS Caremark, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart Stores. (The latter is its single biggest source of revenue). Subscriptions to its cloud-based price transparency tools tripled between 2012 and 2013 to $13 million, with backlog reaching nearly $109 million which the company expects to fulfill over the next four years.
Calibre One has been a key partner in Castlight’s growth since its pre-product days. Working with their CEO, Giovanni Colella, Calibre One has placed 10 of their top executives including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Financial Officer, VP Product Marketing, and VP Engineering.