Inside the launch of HSS Medical Supply.
For Pete McCann and Patrick Kiss, the spark that ignited HSS Medical Supply didn’t come during a strategy retreat or a market analysis session. It arrived on “a simple phone call on a random November afternoon.”
At the time, McCann and Kiss were wrapping up the buildout of an orthopedic MSO. Then the unexpected happened. “A former employee of mine called and explained that he and many other people were displaced from their organization,” McCann said. “A team of talented, resolute sales and operations people who gave 25+ years to the industry were now looking for a new home.” For most startups, assembling a proven salesforce is a multi-year challenge – a prerequisite to scaling that often slows progress before it begins. That day, McCann explained, “I had the key to success handed to me. Now the hard work of building an operational structure to support them, something I have done several times before, was my new mission.”
Re-igniting a family culture
For McCann, the mission was bigger than logistics and process design. His vision for HSS Medical Supply is rooted in something more personal, a sense of belonging he felt early in his life.
“The family culture starts with a feeling, the feeling I had when I went to work with my dad in his company,” he said. “You feel welcomed, excited, and part of something that could be forever in your heart.” Many in distribution, he added, grew up with that same sense of purpose and pride. Re-establishing that spirit became central to the new company’s identity. “For many of our employees we do not need to re-create it, we just need to re-ignite it – the feeling never leaves, it is why so many of us stay in this profession.”
And for McCann, it’s come full circle. “Giving my teenage son the same opportunity I had, sweeping floors and picking orders, is a full-circle cultural experience that has been the fabric of this industry,” he said. “The next generation is out there and ready to carry that cultural torch, if given the opportunity.”
A financial mindset meets a relationship-driven business
Kiss, whose career began in finance and accounting, brings the structure and discipline that help turn vision into sustainable growth. “My foundational knowledge of finance and accounting, coupled with having built an Orthopedic MSO, gave me a perspective of how to build and scale the operation,” he said.
Startups face a delicate balance between investment and stability – especially in distribution, where inventory demands can drain cash quickly. Kiss embraced the challenge. “The challenge in this was to balance the start-up expenses and the inventory turns to create a pathway for positive cash flow to support the start of the company,” he said. “We spent months using data from Pete’s former companies to chart a logical growth plan to utilize cash effectively.”
With that structure in place, the founders focused on the gap they believed had widened across the industry. “The main gap has been the shift away from relationships with the customers and the sales team,” they explained. In their view, the industry’s historic strength – personal relationships – had been diluted. “Re-creating that relationship, coupled with the new investor-backed large groups create a unique pathway that other companies in the space seem to be moving away from.”
Learning from the big players – and doing it differently
Both founders credit their experiences at large organizations with shaping their philosophy – in some cases by contrast.
“Large organizations give a perspective that is needed to contrast the founder/family owned business,” they said. Those lessons created “a checklist of what worked well and what needs improvement.” They are quick to point out the advantages of major distributors: “scaled operations, cash, established systems and proven logistics that work extremely well.”
But the HSS model isn’t built to rely on those systems. “The large organization’s model creates an environment where ‘any-body’ can take an order and hit send to deliver products,” they said. At HSS Medical Supply, they have something different in mind. “We are not looking for ‘any-body’, we only employ experienced industry professionals that enable us to handle the logistics challenges with the lifetime of experience.
That experience is the differentiator – supported, they believe, by a culture of trust, transparency, and service. “True customer relationships are the key, sales professionals who know their customers and the industry,” they said. Their goal is simple: “Developing a standard of service that starts and ends with people.”
Guiding principles for a new generation
The company’s values draw from industry legends and mentors. “My guiding principles come from some of the legends in this industry; Henry and Ester Schein, Doug Harper, Stanley Bergman, Pat Kelly, Pete McCann, Sr. – we are here to build something together,” McCann said. The mission they emphasized is twofold: service to customers and service to employees. “Every new person that walks into the building needs to share that belief, we need to lead a life of service to others.”
That philosophy comes alive each week around what has already become a company tradition. “We sit every Monday at a large table, located in the warehouse and discuss every issue and success we faced the prior week,” they said. “The conversation always revolves around how to best serve the customers while maintaining the employee spirit of ‘getting it done’.” Internally, they refer to it as the kitchen table meeting. The motto? “WE can figure it out.”
Complementary strengths
McCann and Kiss first worked together at Growth Orthopedics, where they learned how seamlessly their styles aligned. “We complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” they said. “When a visionary meets a grounded, data driven operator, the two can develop a plan to realize the vision – that’s why our partnership works.”
In year one, their eyes are on fundamentals. “The life of any start-up in the first year has to be focused on three main objectives; building a solid customer base, delivering on our commitment to service and maintaining a positive spirit through the growing pains that are inevitable.”
From there, the roadmap becomes more ambitious. “To start and build logically to ensure stable success,” they said. “From there we will scale into new regions and continue to add experienced sales professionals each year.” Within three to five years, the founders envision “a national, multi-specialty business that has succeeded by creating a positive experience for our employees and customers.”
But the true measure of success is something far more personal – something that ties back to McCann’s earliest memories in his family’s business. “When my son walks into the building and feels that connection to the company that I felt as a teenager – this isn’t a company, it’s a family.”
And that, they say, is when they’ll know: “We did it right.”