5 celebrity-backed startups

Jared Heyman was compelled to launch CrowdMed after seeing his sister Carly struggle to find a diagnosis for a mystery illness.

"For three years she suffered terribly. We didn't know if she would survive," said Heyman.

When she was ultimately diagnosed with a rare disorder, she was healthy in a matter of weeks.

"It made me aware of the inefficiencies that occur in the medical system when someone suffers a condition that's hard to diagnose," said Heyman.

CrowdMed launched in April 2013 with $2.4 million from VCs and individual investors, including Patrick Dempsey, who plays Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy.

Dempsey wanted to be a part of CrowdMed after "hearing Jared's personal story about his sister" and learning how the technology helps "crowdsource difficult medical cases."

Patients pay $99 to $249 a month for CrowdMed's community of 15,000 "medical detectives" -- doctors, nurses, medical researchers.

CrowdMed's point-based system tracks their performance and rewards them with higher rankings. Patients can also offer cash as an incentive. "We currently have about $40,000 in cash compensation offers available," said Heyman.

Patients gets a final report in just days with top diagnoses and suggestions, which they then take to their doctor.

CrowdMed has resolved 800 cases, and has a 70% success rate. "I want to grow from 800 cases to one day resolving 80 million cases," said Heyman.