Niraj Shukla
Pulse Communications

“Waiting room time is a conducive time to inform,” says Niraj Shukla. “People are either just waiting to be seen by medical personnel, or perhaps they’re worried or nervous and welcome a distraction.” Niraj is the mastermind behind the made-for-medical waiting room broadcast media that is Pulse Communications of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Niraj saw the opportunity to create family friendly content to enhance the waiting room experience for patients. Pulse Communications creates the software and programming that appears on 42” screen in waiting rooms in eastern Newfoundland. 60% of the content is programming, and it can change daily, hourly, or weekly, and can include specific data from the clinic itself. The remaining 40% is revenue-generating advertising. There is no cost to the clinic.

When the Pulse Communications business plan was complete, Niraj and his partners needed advice on how to make it work. He learned of Entrepreneurs Forum from the province’s Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development and made contact.

Niraj says, “EF was very helpful. Our Advisors included the right type of people in technology, marketing, and the pharmaceutical industry.. We were able to bounce ideas and challenges off them, and listened to their feedback. Their direction was to target clinics, and it’s working for us. We expect that we will have met our target by the end of the first half of 2011.”