Adam Francis: Building Host Healthcare to an Industry Leader

In March of this year, we had the chance to participate in the 2025 SIA Executive forum. The sessions highlighted the growth and transition that the staffing industry has experienced in the past several years. Within healthcare, these changes have been even more stark. In the session Making Growth Real, we had the opportunity to hear from Adam Francis as he described his inspirational journey as an entrepreneur leading Host Healthcare.

When Adam Francis founded Host Healthcare in 2012 at just 23 years old, he was armed with a philosophy degree, a family background in staffing, and an entrepreneurial drive that would soon reshape the travel healthcare staffing industry. Over the next decade, Francis would lead Host Healthcare from a scrappy startup to a national powerhouse, culminating in its acquisition by Medical Solutions in 2022 after reaching $800 million in revenue.

Early Days: Startup Grit and Learning on the Fly

“Healthcare staffing at the time back in 2012 was in a challenging position. It had contracted a lot after the recession, and as I was studying the market, things were looking very positive for the next decade and the years to come. So it looked like a good space to be in.”

Francis’ entry into healthcare staffing was both strategic and personal. With the industry still recovering from the recession, he saw an opportunity for growth as demographic trends pointed to rising demand for travel nurses and allied health professionals. The company’s first years were defined by a close-knit, mission-driven team, united by the belief that failure was not an option.

Francis recalls the anxiety of those early days, when cash was tight and the team’s survival depended on grit and shared purpose. He also realized that authentic leadership and self-awareness would resonate with customers and propel the company’s growth.

Inflection Points: Culture, Crisis, and Reinvention

By 2016, Host Healthcare had grown to 50 employees, and the challenges of scaling became clear. As the company expanded, Francis faced fierce competition for talent and struggled with turnover, leading to a period of decline in 2017, including months of negative revenue growth.

This was a turning point. Francis sought out an executive coach who challenged him to rethink his motivations an]\d leadership style. He realized that building a sustainable, mission-driven company required humility, continuous learning, and a renewed focus on culture. Drawing inspiration from leadership thinkers like Simon Sinek and Patrick Lencioni, Francis and his team redefined Host Healthcare’s values and mission, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and psychological safety.

Scaling Up: Culture as the Foundation for Growth

The cultural “renaissance” of 2018 and 2019 laid the groundwork for Host Healthcare’s explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a strong leadership team, clear values, and robust systems for feedback and accountability, the company was able to scale rapidly in response to surging demand for travel nurses.

Francis credits Host Healthcare’s success to its unwavering focus on culture. The company built a workplace where feedback flowed in all directions, expectations were clear, and top performers were held to the same standards as everyone else. Even high-earning salespeople who didn’t embody the company’s values were asked to leave, reinforcing a culture of respect and teamwork.

“We used data-backed insights...we developed the data infrastructure that was needed to make the right decisions at the right time based on informed data and having the metrics, having very comprehensive metrics, very, very, very, very detailed data on how the company was doing on a week to week basis, a month to month basis, a quarter to quarter basis, was extremely important to us, and something that I think played a role in our success as well.”

Data-driven decision-making became a hallmark of Host Healthcare’s operations, allowing the company to forecast growth, manage uncertainty, and adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Leadership development was prioritized, with a focus on promoting from within and nurturing a growth mindset at all levels of the organization.

Recognition and Industry Impact

Under Francis’ leadership, Host Healthcare earned numerous accolades, including repeated recognition as one of the best staffing firms to work for, and Francis himself was named to the Staffing Industry Analysts’ Staffing 100 North America list multiple times. He was also recognized as one of Glassdoor’s Top 50 CEOs in the U.S. in 2021.

Lessons for Entrepreneurs

Francis’ journey offers several key lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs:

Mission-Driven Culture: A clear mission and strong values are essential for attracting and retaining talent, especially during periods of rapid growth.
Leadership Development: Investing in personal growth and building a leadership team based on trust and accountability are critical for scaling a business.
Growth Mindset: Organizations must foster a culture that embraces learning, feedback, and continuous improvement.
Transparency and Trust: Open communication about company performance and direction builds buy-in and loyalty.
Servant Leadership: Letting go of ego and focusing on empowering others creates a foundation for long-term success.

The Next Chapter

Following Host Healthcare’s acquisition, Francis continues to contribute to the broader healthcare staffing industry as part of Medical Solutions’ executive team and through involvement in non-profit organizations aligned with Host’s mission to help others live better.

Adam Francis’ story is a testament to the power of resilience, humility, and a relentless commitment to culture. For entrepreneurs navigating the challenges of growth, his journey offers a blueprint for building not just a successful company, but a lasting legacy.