Recently I spoke with Brian Paul, the Co-Founder of eKYROS and who developed PlusLink and Centerpiece. These systems change the game for pregnancy resource centers and clinics; they provide services that ensure no one falls through the cracks. With tracking data, statistics, and donor management services eKYROS is a wonderful and necessary tool that is tailored to the pro-life movement. The meaning behind eKYROS is kyros is a Greek New Testament word meaning “a God-given favorable opportunity.” The “e” stands for “electronic.”
Elena Murdock: Tell us about your ministry. How did you start it?
Brian Paul:I worked with Bob Holbrook at Microsoft in the early 1990s. After we both left Microsoft, his wife was volunteering at a pregnancy center that needed help tracking the client services they provided, and Bob asked me to write software that would help them. Specifically, because the system they were using was paper-based and statistics were getting lost and not being reported. Bob and I got together and helped out one center and in 1999 eKYROS.com was formed. Soon after, version 1.0 of the software called CenterPiece was released. We were ahead of the times because my only requirement was that the software be cloud-based, so pregnancy centers wouldn’t have to worry about setups, backups and securing their data. CenterPiece is a turnkey solution that has a medical component that records clients services, pregnancy tests, pregnancy help information. It also has a donor management component to help with fundraising. We (Bob Holbrook) and I, wanted to help give pregnancy resource centers a voice, and CenterPiece delivers on that by providing very detailed statistics so the pregnancy center staff can go to the local community and donors and communicate the positive impact that they are truly making.
Founded in 1999, we currently have eight full-time employees; our mission is to work alongside pregnancy resource centers and clinics to provide software tools and services that help them save lives. Our mission is to use our God-given gifts and talents in the areas of technology, software design, and customer service to partner with and create solutions for Pregnancy Resource Centers and Clinics around the globe, allowing them to more effectively focus on their core mission of saving lives.
Elena Murdock:What is the plus link scheduler? Why is it relevant and essential for Pregnancy Resource Centers today?
Brian Paul: PlusLink is our solution for national and regional helplines that deals with appointments referrals for pregnancy centers. This is where our partnership with Options United and others is so important to help drive clients to pregnancy centers. PlusLink is a database for scheduling, it is separate from Centerpiece, but syncs to Centerpiece letting the center know that an appointment has been made. When an appointment is made by a helpline operator in PlusLink, the appointment information is automatically downloaded into the pregnancy center’s CenterPiece scheduler and center personnel get notified of the new appointment. This integration between systems ensures the appointment doesn’t get lost and no one falls through the cracks. It is all about Saving Lives; I believe eKYROS and Options United will help save lives with helpline because they utilize the PlusLink scheduler. Options United is doing a great job using PlusLink; it makes sense for us to partner with you because we’re saving more lives.
Elena Murdock: How does this ministry “change the game” for pregnancy resource centers?
Brian Paul:CenterPiece helps pregnancy centers track the great work they are doing. It gives them a voice to communicate their work through great reporting and statistics. PlusLink helps drive client traffic to centers through appointment referrals from partners like Opitons United. Both systems help ensure no one falls through the cracks.
Elena Murdock: How many pregnancy resource centers use eKYROS?
Brian Paul: We just surpassed 1,450 individual clinics, centers, and offices.
Elena Murdock: What positive changes have you seen when a pregnancy resource center decides to utilize your services?
Brian Paul:We’re not at the centers, but we receive a lot of feedback that we positively impact a lot of centers through the centerpiece database. We make it easy for centers to get grants and funding, analytics, and no one else in the movement has statistics as we do for our software. By making it easy to track and communicate the good work they are doing, it makes life easier for them.
Elena Murdock: What led you to work in the pro-life movement?
Brian Paul:I was touched by abortion in college, that was in the late 1980s, There was no internet, no way to google and find help or support. I wouldn’t want any couple to have to go through that. In 1999 after leaving Microsoft, I was in between jobs, and my friend Bob Holbrook came to me because his wife was volunteering at a pregnancy resource center in Dallas, they couldn’t get any reporting because they were working with paper. Bob asked me for help, and I asked “what is a pregnancy center?” and Bob explained what a pregnancy resource center did, and all the great work they accomplish. Based on my experience in college, I was sold and excited to help out. The only request I had was to do it “cloud-based”. In the beginning, it was slow because in the 1990s no one trusted the “cloud,” and we were new to the ministry. At first pregnancy resource centers were hesitant, but eventually trusted us because we remove the burden of software management at the center. We ensure their data is safe, secure and backed up nightly, allowing center personnel to focus on their clients.
Elena Murdock: What about working for eKYROS brings you the most joy?
Brian Paul:I’m passionate about saving lives, I get to wake up every day and serve God through ekyros and help pregnancy centers save lives. By serving pregnancy resource centers and developing the solutions they need, I get to use my gifts so that they spend less time on the computer and more time serving clients and hopefully saving more lives.
Elena Murdock: Is there anything else you’d like to add to the work that you do?
Brian Paul: This ministry really, the work we do, in my eyes is some of the most important work in the world. There are people who have a different opinion on that, I stay focused on what pleases God, and eventually, we (the pro-life movement) will succeed. We have been doing this work for nineteen years, and we’re still here. We are honored to be able to partner with Options United; I believe we are better together. I’d also like to add that if you have a passion for your job, you’ll never have to work a day in your life and that’s what I get to do every day.