RSS Episodes Archive

What We Saw at CES: Health Innovation at the Consumer Tech Circus

Join Unity Stoakes and Logan Plaster for a special podcast episode dedicated to their experience at CES 2025 in Las Vegas this past week. Hear their insights on: The rise of health tech at the world's largest consumer electronics show Key trends observed in the AARP AgeTech Collaborative and Eureka Park The future of innovation in areas like wearable technology and assistive devices The role of events like CES in advancing health moonshots This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of technology and healthcare. Tune in now to gain valuable insights from CES 2025! Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot Community Showcase Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 10, 2025

Are Family Caregivers the Secret to Improving Medicare Advantage Plans?

Empowering Caregivers: Avanlee Care Revolutionizes Senior Healthcare The aging population is rapidly growing. This demographic shift demands a new approach to healthcare, one that empowers family caregivers. Join us for our first podcast episode of 2025 as we chat with Avanlee Christine. A member of the StartUp Health community since 2022, Christine is the CEO & Founder of Avanlee Care, a platform that integrates caregivers into the healthcare of their aging loved ones. For almost every older person with a health concern there is an adult child who is worried and involved. In fact there are around 48 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States. Discover: How Avanlee Care is transforming the caregiver experience The benefits for health plans, particularly Medicare Advantage The power of family involvement in improving senior health outcomes This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in senior care, family caregiving, and the future of healthcare for an aging population. Listen now and learn how Avanlee Care is changing the game. Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot Community Showcase Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 3, 2025

Health Tech Trends: AI, Private Markets, and 2025 Predictions from Bessemer Venture Partners

On this week's podcast episode, Steve Kraus and Sofia Guerra of Bessemer Venture Partners joined us to discuss the trends and predictions outlined in their second annual State of Health Tech report. Key takeaways include: AI: Health tech dollars invested in AI-focused companies have increased 1.5x in just two years, reaching 38% in 2024 to date. Private market recovery: Mega rounds of $50M+ for later-stage companies with strong fundamentals, alongside a surge of seed and Series A companies scaling to $1M-$10M ARR within three years. 2025 predictions: Adoption of in-house services-as-software, AI enhancing doctors' capabilities, AI streamlining value-based care, and more companies blending cutting-edge technology with deep healthcare expertise. About Steve Kraus: Steve Kraus is a partner at Bessemer in the Cambridge office and a world-renowned healthcare investor. He is the author of Bessemer’s 10 Laws of Healthcare, Benchmarks for Growing Health Tech Businesses, and co-host of the podcast Heart of Healthcare. Kraus currently sits on the boards of Bright Health Group, Headspace Health, Groups, Qventus, AspenRx, HouseRx, Oshi Health, Folx Health, Mural Health, and Alcresta. About Sofia Guerra: Sofia Guerra is a vice president at Bessemer Venture Partners, where she invests in seed to growth healthcare and life sciences companies. She is the co-author of State of Health Tech report, Benchmarks for Growing Health Tech Business, and How to Scale Health Tech Businesses to $100M and Beyond, a study of 100+ best-in-class companies to understand key metrics relevant for scalability in healthcare software and tech-enabled services. Listen in for the complete chat with Steve Kraus and Sofia Guerra and learn about the key trends shaping the future of health tech. Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot Community Showcase Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 20, 2024

Diagnostikare Brings Leapfrog Innovation to Life for Indigenous Communities

Diagnostikare, founded by brothers Rafael López and Rodrigo López, MD, is revolutionizing healthcare access in Mexico, reaching deep into remote areas. In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, hear how this innovative telemedicine company in the StartUp Health community: Started in Mexico City to bring high quality virtual care to people Partnered with large insurers and major employers like McDonald's to provide quality telemedicine Provides care to those who may have had very hard time seeing a doctor under the standard system And now, Diagnostikare is: Expanding access to healthcare in underserved rural communities Collaborating with Bayer and the World Bank to reach remote areas Leveraging technology like Starlink internet for telemedicine delivery This episode explores: The challenges and opportunities of expanding telemedicine globally The power of partnerships in healthcare The impact of technology on improving access to care This is a must-listen for anyone interested in global health, telemedicine, and social impact. Tune in now to learn how Diagnostikare is making a difference! Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our VIP Health Moonshot Community PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 12, 2024

Unlocking the Power of Storytelling to Grow Your Company

Join host Logan Plaster as he sits down with Unity Stoakes, President & Co-founder of StartUp Health, to discuss the power of branding and storytelling. In this insightful conversation, you'll learn: The importance of a strong brand identity for startups Lessons learned from building StartUp Health's brand that has become synonomous with health innovation How to leverage media and storytelling to amplify your message The benefits of StartUp Health's new Health Moonshot Community PRO Membership program This episode is a must-listen for any founder looking to build a successful and impactful healthcare company. Tune in now and gain valuable insights from a seasoned entrepreneur and storyteller! Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot Community PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 6, 2024

Financial Incentives to Close the Gap in Healthcare Utilization: Reciprocity Health’s TheraPay

Many patients have access to healthcare programs but don't participate, leading to poorer health outcomes and higher costs. This episode explores a novel solution: Reciprocity Health – a member of the StartUp Health community since 2023 – has developed their platform TheraPay to use financial incentives to encourage healthy behavior. Hear Matt Swanson, CEO & Co-founder, discuss how to design programs that benefit both patients and the healthcare system. Learn: How TheraPay improves patient engagement for better health outcomes The cost-saving potential of proactive care Strategies for closing the healthcare utilization gap This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in improving healthcare access, financial incentives in health, and building a more cost-effective healthcare system. Listen now and unlock the power of positive reinforcement for better health! Are you ready to tell your story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of StartUp Health’s PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 22, 2024

Insulin Delivery Innovation: These Founders Offer Solutions for Better T1D Management

Hope and Progress in Type 1 Diabetes Management In honor of World Diabetes Day earlier this week, this podcast episode celebrates the strength of our T1D Moonshot Community and explores innovative solutions for better insulin delivery management. This episode features inspiring conversations with: Ole Kjerkegaard Nielsen, PhD, CEO & Co-founder of GO-Pen: Making insulin pens more affordable and accessible Bill Ervin, CEO & Founder of Bulsai: Revolutionizing injection techniques for optimized results Discover how these groundbreaking ventures are: Empowering patients with better tools and technology Addressing key frustrations in current diabetes management Plus, learn about StartUp Health's Health Moonshot Communities, like the T1D Moonshot Community, and how they connect founders tackling the biggest health challenges, such as Type 1 diabetes. This episode is a must-listen for anyone impacted by Type 1 diabetes, healthcare professionals, and innovators passionate about improving patient lives. Listen now and join the movement for a brighter future! Are you ready to tell your story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of StartUp Health’s PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 15, 2024

Selfie Health? Hibiscus Health Uses Facial Scans to Detect Diabetes Risk

Can taking a selfie be good for your health? This week on StartUp Health NOW, we explore a revolutionary new approach to health screening with Kavi Misri, CEO & Founder of Hibiscus Health. Misri is a long-time Health Transformer; after his first StartUp Health portfolio company – Rose Health – was acquired, he launched Hibiscus Health and rejoined the StartUp Health Community. Discover how Hibiscus leverages smartphone selfies to analyze facial blood flow and identify potential risks for diabetes and other conditions: Easy, intuitive screenings designed for broad adoption Works with existing smartphone cameras and webcams Unlocking the potential of selfies for health screening Plus, learn about StartUp Health's Cardiometabolic Health Moonshot Community and how it helps innovative companies accelerate growth. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of healthcare, preventive medicine, and leveraging technology for better health outcomes. Listen now and see if your selfie can unlock your potential health risks! Are you ready to tell your story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of StartUp Health’s PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 8, 2024

Breaking News: Sinaptica’s Noninvasive Neuromodulation Device Slows Alzheimer’s Disease in Year-Long Trial

Hear the latest groundbreaking news in Alzheimer's research. Sinaptica, a member of StartUp Health's Alzheimer's Moonshot Community, has announced significant results from its Phase 2 clinical trial testing the company's noninvasive, personalized, precise neuromodulation designed to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Ken Mariash, CEO of Sinaptica, joined us in the StartUp Health Studio to break it all down for us. As you’ll hear, the interview took place prior to the release of this data, which became public on October 31. In this exclusive interview, you'll learn: Details on Sinaptica's Phase 2 trial results show significant promise in slowing Alzheimer's progression The science behind Sinaptica's technology How personalized neuromodulation is revolutionizing brain health The potential for proactive brain strengthening and repair The impact on patients' daily lives The future of Alzheimer's treatment This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in Alzheimer's research, neuroscience, and the power of innovation to transform lives. Are you ready to tell your story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of StartUp Health's PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 1, 2024

Master the Art of Storytelling: Chrissy Farr’s Guide for Health Tech Founders

Elevate your startup's narrative with Chrissy Farr, a renowned health tech journalist and investor. In this Masterclass, members of StartUp Health’s Health Moonshot Communities had a chance to interact directly with Farr, Managing Director at Manatt Health, and health tech investor, advisor, and author of Second Opinion. Farr has impressive communications savvy and a deep understanding of the health industry and emerging trends, with an emphasis on the intersection of health and venture capital. She provides a range of go-to-market, fundraising / investor relations, social media strategy, content development and communications counsel to both emerging and established companies as well as the investors behind them. In this insightful episode, you'll learn: The power of storytelling in shaping your company's future How to craft compelling narratives that resonate with investors and the media Leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT for effective communication Balancing founder time between operations and communications Quantifying the impact of your communications efforts The role of social media in your strategy This episode is a must-listen for any health tech founder looking to refine their messaging and build a stronger brand. Tune in now to unlock the secrets of effective storytelling! Do you want to attend Masterclasses live and ask your questions of experts? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

October 25, 2024

Robert Garber of 7wireVentures: I’m Afraid of Incrementalism

Struggling to secure funding for your healthcare startup? A top health tech investor from 7wire says: Let's stop "nibbling at the edges" and collaborate on true Health Moonshots. Join StartUp Health as we unlock the fundraising secrets from a top health tech investor, Robert Garber. In this Masterclass held live for members of StartUp Health's Health Moonshot Communities, Garber, a partner at 7wireVentures, shares his 30 years of investing, advising, and operating experience in a discussion on negotiating term sheets that not only close deals but also create long-term value for startup founders. Hear him discuss: Why "incrementalism" is a fundraising killer The importance of intellectual honesty for founders Striking gold with contract-market fit instead of just product-market fit Red flags investors see in early-stage companies Plus, get tactical insights from live audience Q&A with founders! This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur in healthcare seeking funding to take their innovation to the next level. Listen now and gain a competitive edge! Are you ready to join a Health Moonshot Community and attend Masterclasses live? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

October 17, 2024

Beyond the Baby Blues: Canopie Provides a New Era of Maternal Mental Health Support

Meet Anne Wanlund, the Health Transformer taking on maternal mental health with her groundbreaking platform: Canopie. Canopie joined StartUp Health in 2021, shortly after launching. Now, a couple years in and Canopie appears to be resonating. They’ve just closed a $3.7M raise, a huge feat for a new startup led by first-time founders. Hear her story: From policy advocate to passionate entrepreneur Building a solution fueled by a powerful personal experience Canopie's innovative approach to accessible mental health support Strategies for securing funding in a challenging climate Unlocking honesty with digital resources Plus, discover: Canopie's comprehensive platform for preventing and treating maternal health conditions How Canopie identifies and connects at-risk mothers with evidence-based care The range of services offered to both mothers and care partners Canopie's impact on reaching thousands of moms across the United States and United Kingdom This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about women's health, innovation, and the power of entrepreneurship in making a difference. Are you ready to join a Health Moonshot Community? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

October 10, 2024

Former CEO of Cleveland Clinic Talks Leadership and the Economics of Hospital Innovation

A Masterclass with Healthcare Heavyweight Dr. Toby Cosgrove Join StartUp Health for a Masterclass with a healthcare visionary: Dr. Toby Cosgrove, former CEO of the #2 ranked hospital in America, Cleveland Clinic, and a member of StartUp Health's Board of Directors. In this exclusive episode, you'll hear Dr. Cosgrove discuss: Hospital economics and the state of healthcare delivery Leadership insights gleaned from his 13-year tenure Building a legacy of excellence at Cleveland Clinic Q&A with members of the StartUp Health community on navigating the healthcare landscape This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about healthcare innovation, leadership strategies, and the future of American hospitals. Listen now and gain Dr. Cosgrove's invaluable insights! Are you ready to join a Health Moonshot Community? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

October 2, 2024

Are You Ready to Join a Health Moonshot Community?

Want to be part of the StartUp Health community? This special episode of StartUp Health NOW goes behind the scenes here at StartUp Health as we unveil new health moonshot community offerings! Join host Logan Plaster as he talks with the co-founders of StartUp Health, Steven Krein and Unity Stoakes, on the evolution of StartUp Health's global community. Discover: An exciting new offering for the StartUp Health community Exclusive events and a new member app fostering deeper connections The unifying idea that fuels community success How YOU can qualify for a health moonshot community and apply This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of healthcare innovation and the power of community in driving change. Listen now and learn how you can get involved! Are you ready to join a Health Moonshot Community? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 19, 2024

From Caregiver to Changemaker: Inside the Impact Board with Meryl Comer on Fighting Alzheimer’s

This week on StartUp Health NOW, we meet a powerful force in the fight against Alzheimer's disease: Meryl Comer, a member of our Alzheimer's Moonshot Impact Board. Driven by personal experience watching her husband battle the disease, Comer transformed from award-winning journalist to passionate advocate. She is the Co-founder & Board Member of UsAgainstAlzheimers; the U.S. Representative for the Global Brain Trust; and Vice-Chair of WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters). Hear her story: Witnessing the devastating effects of Alzheimer's firsthand Taking action through co-founding UsAgainstAlzheimers The critical role of advocacy and policy change The emotional and physical burden of caregiving Comer also shares her insights on: Destigmatizing Alzheimer's diagnosis Anchoring innovation in the realities of care Treating the source of the disease This episode is a must-listen for anyone affected by Alzheimer's, passionate about healthcare innovation, or inspired by the power of advocacy. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 12, 2024

T1D Therapeutics: Two Health Transformers Tackle Type 1 Diabetes at the Source

Join StartUp Health NOW for a groundbreaking episode exploring the latest advancements in Type 1 diabetes research. We delve into our T1D Moonshot Community dedicated to improving detection, management, and treatment of the disease, and uncover promising developments on the therapeutic front. Hear from leading innovators: Warren Marcus, PhD, CEO & Founder of WiNK Therapeutics, shares insights on his mission to cure Type 1 diabetes using the body's own beta islet cells. Mike Moradi, CEO & Co-founder of Sensulin, discusses the creation of a glucose-responsive insulin for personalized diabetes management. Discover: The cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of Type 1 diabetes treatment The progress being made towards a potential cure The impact these innovations can have on the lives of people with diabetes This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in diabetes research, healthcare innovation, and the inspiring work of entrepreneurs making a difference. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 6, 2024

Bridging the Divide: How Mindr Is Bringing Alzheimer’s Research to Life

Alzheimer's disease has long been a formidable challenge, but recent scientific breakthroughs offer a glimmer of hope. The FINGER study, a landmark in Alzheimer's research, demonstrated the power of simple lifestyle changes in preventing cognitive decline. However, translating these findings into practical, everyday strategies has proven elusive. In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, we explore how Mindr, a pioneering startup in our Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community, is bridging the gap between research – the FINGER study – and real-world application in the lives of people at risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia. By leveraging the best of modern consumer tech – like a well designed app on your phone – Mindr aims to make internationally-recognized advances in healthcare accessible to everyone. This is a story that applies in almost every area of health. We have the information, but we struggle to get it out of the lab, out of the peer reviewed journal, and into everyday life. Mindr's co-founders Adam Schultz and Ariana Myers explain how they’re attempting to bridge this divide and what it will take to succeed on a bigger scale. Join us as we discuss the importance of connecting research to practice and how Mindr is empowering individuals to take proactive steps toward a healthier brain. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

August 30, 2024

Old School Tech Meets Big Impact in Cognitive Care: Reporting from the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference

This episode of StartUp Health NOW throws out the tech buzzwords and dives into the power of seemingly simple solutions. We meet two innovative founders in our Alzheimer's Moonshot Community who are using familiar technologies – the telephone and television – to tackle major healthcare challenges. First up, Paul Campbell, CEO & Co-founder of Moneta Health, explains how their evidence-based dementia care program utilizes an "old school meets new school" approach, using AI plus the humble landline to reach a wider audience and overcome tech barriers for patients with early-stage dementia and Alzheimer's. Then, Bill Uniowski, CEO & Co-founder of Zinnia, shares how his company is creating smart video content specifically designed for people with advanced dementia, offering a calming and therapeutic experience that reduces the need for medication and improves lives for both patients and caregivers. Join us for a refreshing look at how low-tech solutions can deliver high-impact healthcare. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

August 23, 2024

American Diabetes Association Launches Obesity Association

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, Chuck Henderson, the CEO of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and a member of StartUp Health's Health Moonshot Impact Board, took time out of his busy schedule at the recent ADA Scientific Sessions – the ADA’s annual global gathering of more than 11,000 people working on foundational products and bleeding-edge ideas related to both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes – to chat with us about innovation, collaboration, and the ADA's latest initiatives. Launch of the Obesity Association: The ADA has announced the formation of the Obesity Association, which will now be a division within the ADA, focusing heavily on integrating obesity care into diabetes standards. Cutting-Edge Research: The ADA is doubling down on its efforts to combat obesity by incorporating it more thoroughly into their standards of care, considered a critical resource in diabetes management. Health Equity: A significant focus is on health equity, ensuring that all programs are accessible and beneficial to underserved communities, including rural areas. Community Outreach: The ADA has initiated programs like mobile clinics in rural Alabama to address diabetic retinopathy, demonstrating their commitment to reaching underserved populations. Innovation and Competition: The ADA values innovation and competition, fostering early-stage research and encouraging disruptive ideas to push forward diabetes care and treatment. Collaboration with StartUp Health: Chuck Henderson expressed his appreciation for his involvement with StartUp Health. He highlights StartUp Health's role in connecting communities and emphasized the importance of our ecosystem in addressing chronic illnesses through innovative solutions like the Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

August 15, 2024

An Insider’s Perspective on the Near Future of Alzheimer’s Care

"Academia is a great area and fosters innovation, but then taking that science and translating it into something that can actually impact human health has a number of challenges. So trying to understand what those barriers are and how we can help bridge them is something that we have been able to do at ADDF and in collaboration with StartUp Health." In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, we chat with Laura Nisenbaum, PhD, Executive Director of Drug Development at the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF). Organizations like ADDF are working to translate scientific research into real patient impact, particularly in the field of Alzheimer's disease, by funding innovative ventures and supporting startups in the biotech space. Dr. Nisenbaum talks with us about new Alzheimer’s tests and therapeutics and pulls back the curtain on how ADDF supports startups. Key Insights: We are at a tipping point in Alzheimer’s. Our ability to predict and detect – and then treat – Alzheimer’s disease is growing faster than ever. Dr. Laura Nisenbaum was involved in the launch of StartUp Health's Alzheimer's Moonshot, a collaboration with The Gates Foundation and ADDF, which is important for advancing research in the field of Alzheimer's disease. Academia fosters innovation, but translating scientific work into real patient impact poses challenges that need to be understood and bridged. Venture philanthropy model enables funding for innovators who may not receive funding from for-profit companies, allowing for more risky endeavors. The Diagnostics Accelerator challenges the research community to develop cutting-edge biomarkers and explore novel diagnostic technologies that will aid in Alzheimer’s diagnosis and clinical trial design. The potential for AI to revolutionize Alzheimer's research and diagnosis is evident in the funding and support for innovative companies in the field. Focusing on the biology of aging, including inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction, could be key in developing novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease. The field of Alzheimer's research and care is at an amazing point with the first demonstration of some efficacy for drugs and a huge innovation curve from a biomarkers and diagnostics perspective. We can now detect amyloid in the brain through blood tests, marking an amazing point of innovation in the field of Alzheimer's research. Pursue innovative ideas with great gusto and perseverance, and take advantage of the incredible network of mentors and collaborators to thrive in the biotech and startup space. The momentum is building in the field of Alzheimer's research, thanks to the support from organizations like ADDF.

August 9, 2024

How AI Is Creating an Inflection Point in Brain Health Innovation: Reporting from the AAIC

Join StartUp Health NOW for a powerful episode recorded live at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC)! We explore the exciting inflection point in Alzheimer's research fueled by AI and machine learning. Hear directly from passionate founders in the StartUp Health Alzheimer's Moonshot Community: Catherine Bornbaum, PhD, CBO at RetiSpec, fresh off the company's $10M Series A, unveils a groundbreaking AI-powered device that analyzes the retina for insights into brain health. Ken Mariash, CEO of Sinaptica Therapeutics, discusses using AI and neuromodulation to potentially slow Alzheimer's and strengthen brain function in healthy individuals. Discover: How AI is unlocking a multi-modal understanding of the brain The potential for revolutionizing treatment for all brain conditions The cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of Alzheimer's research This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about brain health and the fight against Alzheimer's! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

August 1, 2024

Innovation at Altitude: Make Life Easier for People with Diabetes

Transforming diabetes management with DCB: On this week's StartUp Health NOW, we chat with Greta Ehlers from Diabetes Center Berne (DCB) at the 2024 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions. DCB's mission? Revolutionize diabetes management with a unique global innovation challenge. We explore: Cutting-edge trends: Discover how AI and non-invasive monitoring are simplifying daily life for people with diabetes. A supportive launchpad: Learn about DCB's program, featuring an application process, expert evaluation, and an in-person boot camp in Switzerland for finalists. Building a community: This intensive boot camp fosters collaboration, one-on-one coaching, and lasting connections between startups. Making a global impact: Funded by a private benefactor, DCB offers startups the resources and connections they need to transform diabetes management worldwide. Making it personal: Ehlers, like many DCB team members, has a personal connection to diabetes, enhancing the commitment and understanding of the challenges faced by those living with diabetes. Listen in to see how DCB is bringing the future of diabetes care closer, one innovative idea at a time! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

July 25, 2024

Navigating the Longevity Economy: An AgeTech Masterclass with Mary Furlong

The heart of AgeTech, according to Mary Furlong: "Baby Boomers want a vision of the future, not a memory of the past." In this week's StartUp Health NOW podcast episode, we dive into the booming longevity market with Mary Furlong, a legendary figure in AgeTech (senior innovation). In this excerpt from a Masterclass held for members of the StartUp Health community, Furlong shares her practical wisdom gained from more than 30 years in the industry, raising over $300 million for senior-focused businesses. In this action-packed Masterclass, you'll learn: Creative, holistic, and practical go-to-market strategies for the longevity market. How to identify real senior needs - sometimes it starts with a simple happy hour! Proven tips for building socially conscious businesses that serve this rapidly growing population. Mary Furlong is a leading authority on the longevity market. As the President and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA), she's a champion for companies creating products and services that empower older adults. She was named one of the top 100 women in Silicon Valley and received the first-ever lifetime achievement award from Aging 2.0. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the best! This is an actionable and inspiring masterclass excerpt - take notes and get ready to take your longevity business to the next level. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

July 19, 2024

Inside the Impact Board: How Katya Hancock Supports Youth Wellbeing in the Digital Age

This week on StartUp Health NOW, we explore youth wellbeing in the digital age with Katya Hancock, Founding Executive Director of Young Futures and a member of StartUp Health's Health Moonshot Impact Board. After 10 years as part of the StartUp Health executive team, Hancock brings her experience to this innovative non-profit focused on helping young people thrive online. We'll move beyond the "screen time villain" narrative and explore real solutions for navigating the digital world's tensions. We'll discuss Young Futures' first million-dollar funding challenge, tackling loneliness, social connection, and wellbeing. Inspired by the Surgeon General's call to action, they're empowering youth-led efforts alongside established organizations. Focus on Youth Wellbeing: Young Futures aims to improve youth wellbeing and mental health, especially in marginalized communities. The organization seeks to shift the narrative from focusing on challenges to providing practical solutions. Innovative Support for Nonprofits: The organization hosts funding challenges to support innovative nonprofits working to improve youth well-being. The first challenge, called The Lonely Hearts Club, focused on addressing loneliness and social connection. Building a Collaborative Ecosystem: Like StartUp Health, Young Futures brings together grantees in an ecosystem to collaborate and support each other. This approach helps create a stronger network of organizations working towards common goals. Real-World Applications: Examples of supported organizations include Hip Hop Into Learning, which helps kids express themselves and find community through hip hop, and Sesame 3G, which connects seniors, teens, and preschoolers for mentoring and social-emotional learning. Challenges and Opportunities: Hancock emphasizes the importance of addressing the digital tension young people face and providing them with the tools to navigate the digital world healthily. She also discusses the need for nonprofit leaders to adopt practices from the for-profit startup world, such as long-term goal setting and effective communication with funders. Supporting StartUp Health: Hancock expresses her commitment to ensuring young people are part of the conversation in healthcare. She appreciates StartUp Health's model and media presence, which can help raise awareness about youth mental health and integrate it into broader health discussions. Personal Insights and Future Goals: Hancock shares her personal journey and how her work with StartUp Health and Young Futures has influenced her views on technology and parenting. She envisions Young Futures becoming more of an entertaining media company to engage and support young people effectively. Join us for a dive into the future of youth and technology! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

July 11, 2024

Reporting from the ADA Scientific Sessions: Diabetes Innovation and Health Moonshot Communities

This episode of StartUp Health NOW dives deep into the world of diabetes research and innovation. Host Logan Plaster takes you inside the American Diabetes Association's annual conference in Orlando, Florida. Insights from industry leaders: Logan interviews StartUp Health's Impact Board members Chuck Henderson, CEO of the ADA, and Sean Sullivan, Program Officer at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. Get the latest updates: Hear directly from these leaders on the cutting edge of diabetes research, as they talk about the future of diabetes care and the role of startups in the broader ecosystem. Metabolic Moonshot on the horizon: Explore the upcoming launch of StartUp Health's Metabolic Moonshot, designed to build a community of founders and researchers tackling metabolic diseases. Tune in for a compelling look at the fight against diabetes and the innovative solutions emerging from the research community. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

June 27, 2024

From Biotech to Walgreens: Lessons From 25 Years as a Physician Executive

This episode of StartUp Health NOW features a special guest host, Steven Krein, CEO & Co-founder of StartUp Health. Earlier this week, Steve led a Masterclass with Harry Leider, MD, a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience. Dr. Leider offers invaluable insights for entrepreneurs, sharing his expertise across various sectors – from biotech to the world of retail pharmacy giants like Walgreens. Get ready for tactical advice on understanding your customers, launching minimum viable products (MVPs), navigating lengthy sales cycles, and much more, in this Q&A with real questions from founders in the StartUp Health community. This episode is packed with wisdom for anyone building a business in the healthcare industry. Tune in and learn from Dr. Leider's extensive experience. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

June 20, 2024

A Masterclass with the Founder of One of the Great Success Stories in Health Tech

Virta Health is one of the greatest success stories in health tech today. Join us for an insightful StartUp Health NOW episode featuring Sami Inkinen, the visionary CEO & Co-founder of Virta Health, a pioneering company focused on the reversal of Type 2 diabetes. In this Masterclass, originally recorded in front of a virtual audience of entrepreneurs in the StartUp Health community, Inkinen – also a member of the community – shares his journey and the innovative strategies behind Virta Health's success. Inkinen's impressive background includes co-founding Trulia, leading it to a successful IPO and eventual sale to Zillow Group. At Virta Health, he's raised $366M and achieved a $2B valuation, with the company recognized as a TIME100 Most Influential Company in 2023. Beyond his business acumen, Sami is a world-class athlete and health advocate, known for his rowing expedition to raise awareness about diabetes. In this episode, Inkinen delves into: The biggest surprises he faced as a health tech founder Balancing his roles as CEO, father, and husband The strategic planning rhythms that drive Virta's mission His personal journey, from existential crises to global health impact As is typical of members of the StartUp Health community, Inkinen is generous in sharing his wisdom. Tune in to learn from his experience and gain valuable insights into leadership and achieving sustainable product-market fit in the health tech industry. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

June 14, 2024

Gates Ventures’ Aishu Sukumar Is Fostering Collaboration on StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot Impact Board

Breaking Down Silos for Alzheimer's Innovation: A Conversation with Aishu Sukumar of Gates Ventures This episode of StartUp Health NOW welcomes Aishu Sukumar of Gates Ventures in another in our series of conversations with our Alzheimer’s Moonshot Impact Board. A champion for collaboration: Explore Sukumar's vision for leveraging data and fostering collaboration among Alzheimer's innovators. From research scientist to moonshot leader: Discover Sukumar's unique career path that bridges science, business, and healthcare, taking her from Harvard Medical School and Berkeley to working at startups and then to Gates Ventures. The power of a Health Moonshot Community: Learn how this initiative is uniting innovators to accelerate progress against Alzheimer's. This episode is for you if: You're passionate about finding a cure for Alzheimer's. You believe in the power of collaboration in tackling complex challenges. You're curious about the journeys of inspiring healthcare leaders. Want even more about Alzheimer’s disease innovation? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot Meet the first companies to join the Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community Meet Phyllis Ferrell, Chief Impact Officer for StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot Join us as we explore how Aishu Sukumar's diverse background is shaping the future of Alzheimer's research as a member of our Alzheimer's Moonshot Impact Board. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

June 7, 2024

Why Dr. Craig Ritchie Brings Optimism to StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot Impact Board

This episode of StartUp Health NOW challenges your perception of Alzheimer's in another in our series of conversations with our Alzheimer’s Moonshot Impact Board. This week's guest is Craig Ritchie, MD, PhD, CEO & Founder of Scottish Brain Sciences and a Professor at University of St. Andrews. A new view of Alzheimer's: Discover the distinction between what Dr. Ritchie calls Alzheimer's disease vs Alzheimer's dementia. The invisible threat: Learn how Alzheimer's can exist without noticeable symptoms, impacting younger individuals. Shifting the research focus: Explore the importance of studying pre-symptomatic Alzheimer's for effective treatment. Unleashing innovation: Gain insights into Dr. Ritchie's optimism for StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community. This episode is for you if: You're interested in the latest Alzheimer's research. You want to understand the different stages of Alzheimer's. You're curious about the power of collaboration in tackling Alzheimer's. Want even more about Alzheimer’s disease innovation? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot Meet the first companies to join the Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community. Meet Phyllis Ferrell, Chief Impact Officer for StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot Join us as we redefine Alzheimer's and ignite hope for a future free from dementia! Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

May 31, 2024

Gates Ventures’ Kristina Malzbender Joins Alzheimer’s Moonshot Impact Board

Hope on the Horizon: A New Era of Alzheimer's Innovation This episode of StartUp Health NOW dives deep into the fight against Alzheimer's disease in the second in our series of conversations with our Alzheimer's Moonshot Impact Board. Join us as we chat with Kristina Malzbender, the Associate Director, Health & Life Sciences, at Gates Ventures. Hear from this key leader about the concrete realities behind the optimism in Alzheimer's innovation. A century of relentless pursuit: Learn how the tide is turning after decades of dedicated research. Early detection, slowed progression, and even potential cures: Explore exciting advancements in Alzheimer's treatment. Gates Ventures and the Diagnostic Accelerator (DxA): Find out how Gates Ventures and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) are supporting companies and academic researchers developing novel biomarkers and diagnostics for Alzheimer's. Introducing StartUp Health's Alzheimer's Moonshot: Discover a powerful collaboration aimed at accelerating progress This episode is for you if: You're passionate about Alzheimer's disease. You're curious about the latest advancements in dementia research. You want to learn how you can contribute to the fight against Alzheimer's. Want even more about Alzheimer’s disease innovation? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot Meet the first companies to join the Alzheimer's Moonshot Community. Meet Phyllis Ferrell, Chief Impact Officer for StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot Join us as we ignite hope for the future of Alzheimer's innovation! Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

May 23, 2024

This Startup Uses Global Workforce Arbitrage to Make Mental Healthcare Accessible

This episode explores how MindCo Health, a company in the StartUp Health community, is leveraging "psychologist arbitrage" to make mental healthcare more accessible. Join us as we chat with Health Transformer Emilio Goldenhersch, CEO & Co-founder of MindCo Health to find out more about how his company is making mental healthcare more affordable with global talent. You'll learn about: How MindCo connects patients with highly-trained therapists from Latin America. The role of AI in making therapy affordable and efficient. Why "global workforce arbitrage" could be the key to unlocking telemedicine's potential. How MindCo is breaking down barriers to early intervention mental healthcare. This episode is for you if: You're interested in the future of telemedicine. You're looking for affordable mental health resources. You're curious about innovative solutions in healthcare access. Tune in to learn how MindCo's fresh approach can breathe new life into telemedicine! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

May 17, 2024

Taking a Breath of Fresh Air: Innovation in Respiratory Health

This episode of StartUp Health NOW shines a light on respiratory health with guest Sathya Elumalai, CEO & Co-founder of Aidar Health – a long-time member of the StartUp Health community. The power of breath: Explore how Elumalai's company, Aidar Health, is revolutionizing respiratory health with their innovative MouthLab device. More than just a breathalyzer: Discover how MouthLab measures over 10 vital signs, opening doors for future biometric applications. Combating COPD: Learn how Aidar Health's technology tackles chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a debilitating lung condition. This episode is for you if: You're interested in healthcare innovation. You're curious about the future of respiratory health. You want to learn about the power of breath in health monitoring. Get ready to be inspired by the future of lung health! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

May 10, 2024

Inside the Impact Board: A Conversation with Microsoft & the ADA on Global Health Innovation

This StartUp Health NOW episode features two key members of StartUp Health's Health Moonshot Impact Board: Kimmi Grewal and Chuck Henderson. Kimmi Grewal, Microsoft: Learn how Microsoft helps startups scale globally, tackle security challenges, and leverage AI. Discover how Kimmi's experience informs StartUp Health's approach to supporting early-stage healthcare ventures. Chuck Henderson, American Diabetes Association: Explore how Chuck's leadership is shaping StartUp Health's vision for tackling metabolic disorders. Gain insights into the power of collaboration between established organizations and healthcare startups. This episode is for you if: You're interested in healthcare innovation. You're curious about the role of collaboration in tackling health challenges. You want to learn from inspiring leaders in the healthcare space. Get ready to be inspired by the future of healthcare! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

May 1, 2024

Crowdfunding for Health Startups: A Masterclass From a Founder Who Raised Millions

Think crowdfunding isn't for healthcare? Think again. Join us for a Masterclass with Jim Iversen, CEO & Co-founder of Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical. A long-time member of our StartUp Health community, Iversen reveals how he raised over $3 million through platforms like Red Crow and WeFunder. In this episode, you'll learn: Crowdfunding platforms best suited for health startups Strategies for launching a successful campaign Creative investor incentives, including fractional patent royalties Building a communication strategy to retain investors This episode is perfect for you if: You're a health entrepreneur seeking funding You're curious about alternative funding methods You're interested in learning from a successful crowdfunder Get ready to unlock the power of crowdfunding for your health startup! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

April 26, 2024

AI in Healthcare: Separating Hype from Reality on the Front Lines

Tired of overblown claims about AI in healthcare? This episode dives deep into the real, impactful ways AI is transforming patient care. Join us as we chat with founders in the StartUp Health community who are making waves: Jerrod Ullah, HealthTalk A.I.: Hear how his experience as an ICU nurse fueled an AI platform that boosts engagement for both patients and providers. Kavi Misri, Hibiscus Health: Discover how their end-to-end solution empowers people with metabolic conditions to take control of their health. This episode is for you if: You're curious about the practical applications of AI in healthcare. You want to hear inspiring stories from healthcare entrepreneurs. You're eager to learn how AI can improve patient outcomes. Get ready for a refreshing take on AI in healthcare! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

April 19, 2024

Remote Work, Compensation, and Age Dynamics: Unpacking Digital Health Workforce Trends

In this week's StartUp Health NOW episode, we’re talking about work. Specifically the digital health workforce, and we’re talking with the one and only Polina Hanin, senior principle at Aequitas Partners. Here at StartUp Health, we had the pleasure of working with Polina for several years, and it's unlikely anyone has a better grasp on the digital health ecosystem. She’s worked with hundreds of founders and executives across healthcare. When she moved over to Aequitas, an executive recruiting firm in the digital health space, we knew she was going to continue to help a lot of people. One thing she did, and the reason behind this interview, is launch the industry’s first – and certainly most comprehensive – workforce survey. If you work in digital health, you’ve probably seen information about it in your inbox. In our conversation, which took place at ViVE in Los Angeles, we get into exactly what Polina has learned after four years of conducting this workforce survey. Particularly of interest were the trends around remote work compensation, attitudes towards hiring remote workers, and how work priorities shift as we age. Lets get right into it. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

April 10, 2024

Funding the Future of Health: Two Founders Share Successful Strategies for a Tough Market

As a healthcare startup, you can have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t have the capital to hire the right people, build your product, and survive a long sales cycle, you’re unlikely to have a huge impact. To put it simply, raising funds has been challenging for health startups over the last couple years. In this StartUp Health NOW episode, we dive into the realm of funding challenges – and despite the hurdles, we bring you tales of hope and inspiration from two remarkable founders who successfully raised significant capital. First up is Matt Swanson, CEO & Co-founder of Reciprocity Health. Reciprocity Health – which joined the StartUp Health community in 2023 shortly after their launch – offers personalized digital programs with financial incentives for completing health actions, aiming to improve patient engagement. Despite being in business for just one year, Swanson and his team secured more than $5 million in funding to expand their innovative financial incentive program. Swanson shares the critical elements that paved the way for their successful first raise. Next, we sit down with Anton Kittleberger, Co-CEO & Co-founder of 9amHealth. 9amHealth – which joined StartUp Health in 2022 – offers comprehensive care for chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and obesity through a virtual clinic. Kittleberger and his team recently closed a substantial $9.5 million Series A extension, leveraging a unique leadership structure and capitalizing on emerging trends in the healthcare market. Discover how they navigated the challenges and capitalized on opportunities to propel their virtual clinic for cardiometabolic conditions to new heights. Join us as we uncover the strategies, insights, and stories behind these funding successes. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this episode offers invaluable lessons and inspiration for anyone navigating the healthcare startup landscape. Tune in and get ready to be inspired! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

April 4, 2024

StartUp Health Masterclass with Lee Shapiro: How Founders Should Navigate Fundraising in 2024

On today’s StartUp Health NOW episode we're bringing you an excerpt from a recent StartUp Health Masterclass featuring Lee Shapiro, the managing partner at 7wireVentures. Very few people, if any, have the experience and market understanding that Lee Shapiro has. As we’ll get into in the conversation, he’s been an investor as well as an operator, guiding Allscripts and then Livongo. More than that industry expertise, however, we appreciate Lee’s ability to put work and life in perspective. He’s become a real sage, and in this Masterclass he shares wisdom on how to thrive and grow even when the markets are constrained. The Masterclass was held in front of a live virtual audience of around 40 founders from the StartUp Health community. Towards the end of the class we opened up the line for questions, so you’ll get to hear Lee’s practical feedback to founders working in the trenches. This session was so rich with insights and takeaways that we turned it into a video and a blog post as well. The video breaks down Lee’s 21 top insights from the session, so if you want to skim through those, head over to StartUp Health TV on YouTube. Enjoy the Masterclass. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

March 28, 2024

Inside the Health Moonshot Impact Board: A Conversation with Margaret Laws and Shirley Bergin

This week on StartUp Health NOW, we have again handed over the microphones to two members of our Health Moonshot Impact Board and having them interview each other. At one end of the table we’ve got Margaret Laws, CEO & President of HopeLab, former Director of Innovations for the Underserved at CHCF, and Founder of the CHCF Health Innovation Fund, and at the other end of the interview table is Shirley Bergin, Senior Advisor at ARPA-H, Former CMO/COO of TEDMED, and Advisor to Ellipsis Health and Cure. The goal of the conversation was simply to hear about the latest projects and passions of two of the most influential and interesting people in health innovation. In the interview, which took place in person at the Lake Nona Impact Forum in Florida, we cover a range of topics, from youth mental health, to the role of AI in diagnostics, to education to address global gaps in the healthcare workforce. Margaret Laws and Shirley Bergin are thought leaders in health innovation, but they’re also deeply involved in directing funds towards promising programs, so it will be interesting to see how their curiosities and passions as played out here will lead to concrete moves in the future. Enjoy the conversation. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Learn how you can get one of the last spots in our T1D Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

March 22, 2024

Inside the Health Moonshot Impact Board: Esther Dyson & Roger Jansen Get Candid on Health Innovation

Welcome back to StartUp Health NOW! We think it’s fair to say that when people think of StartUp Health, they think about entrepreneurs and founders. Over the last 12 or 13 years we’ve supported more than 500 health tech startups and nearly 1000 founders, many of whom have been featured on this show. Perhaps less well known is what happens behind the scenes at StartUp Health. In this episode we pull back that curtain a little bit, particularly as it pertains to our Health Moonshot Impact Board. We’ve got this advisory team of about 17 amazing individuals across multiple disciplines. These are people like Dr. Toby Cosgrove, former head of the Cleveland Clinic; Chuck Henderson, the CEO of the American Diabetes Association; and Sue Siegel, former head of GE Ventures – just to name three. You can see the whole Health Moonshot Impact Board here on our website. Recently, we brought together our Health Moonshot Impact Board in real life at the Lake Nona Impact Forum in Florida. Not only did the team get to learn from luminaries like Jeff Bezos, David Feinberg, and Peter Lee, but they got to go deeper on ideas with one another. In the spirit of encouraging a more radically collaborative impact board, we decided to flip the script a bit and have members of our board interview one another for this podcast. The hope was that this would lead to some unexpected lines of questioning and some uniquely candid moments. The first conversation in this series is between Esther Dyson, legendary angel investor and founder of Wellville, and Roger Jansen, PhD, the Chief Innovation & Digital Health Officer at Michigan State University Health Care. The conversation was just as wide-ranging and unstructured as we hoped it would be, and it touched on some incredibly powerful topics. We hope you enjoy. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Learn how you can get one of the last spots in our T1D Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

March 8, 2024

Two Startups Bringing Health Innovation to Vulnerable Communities

Because of the nature of the work we do at StartUp Health, we’re often dealing with bleeding-edge ideas and technologies. Just last week on the show we talked to a founder creating what could be the smallest implantable devices on the market. Others are working on molecules that could cure diseases. But there’s another kind of innovation that we’re equally passionate about at StartUp Health. That’s the kind of business model innovation that brings the best care and technology already available to new places and new people. There are many vulnerable communities that don’t get to benefit from the latest technical advances and it takes creative founders to bridge the gap. Today on the podcast we’re highlighting two such founders. The first is Shruti Gurudanti, the CEO & Co-founder of Televëda – a member of the StartUp Health community since 2021. Gurudanti and her team are working with Native American veterans with the goal of lowering rates of suicide and suicidal ideation. They’ve got a tech platform that enables community building and telemedicine-style services, but what Gurudanti has found is that sometimes the most meaningful change is something basic: building trust with communities, particularly those long ignored. After the conversation with Gurudanti we’ll hear from Kehlin Swain, CEO & Co-founder of Greens by Xplosion Technology, a member of the StartUp Health T1D Moonshot Community. Greens is an app designed to help vulnerable communities – particularly Black and Brown communities in the American South – manage diabetes in a culturally competent way. The app is called “Greens” in honor of one of the biggest cultural disconnects a family member faced as he navigated changing his diet after a diabetes diagnosis. The common thread between Gurudanti and Swain is using the best tech of today to meet people where they are and to really understand what’s holding them back. Sometimes it’s something basic, like improving internet access or tech literacy, or bringing basic accountability to disease management. Let’s get into the interviews, recorded live at a recent health tech conference. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Learn how you can get one of the last spots in our T1D Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

February 23, 2024

Qura’s Tiny Implantables Could Revolutionize How We Treat Hypertension

When it comes to health technology, often the next big thing is really, really small. Our guest on the show this week, Dr. Will Hendron, has seen personally that when it comes to implanting a medical device in the body, size matters. Dr. Hendron spent decades as a surgeon working with rescue devices like pacemakers, which themselves have evolved from being the size of a pack of cigarettes to being smaller than a triple A battery. It doesn’t take a degree in biomechanical engineering to appreciate that you want a lower profile machine sitting next to your heart. Now, with his company Qura – a member of the StartUp Health community since 2016 – Dr. Hendron is taking that concept to the next level. He and his team are the leading edge of miniaturizing medical devices to such an extreme degree that it opens up a whole new market for remote patient monitoring. In our interview we’ll talk about how Dr. Hendron and his team have built an implantable the size of a vitamin that can take blood pressure readings passively and transmit that information to the patient and their caregiver wirelessly. We’ll talk about some of the tiny tech that it was necessary to invent in order to make this breakthrough possible, and we’ll talk about how remote monitoring at scale could be a gamechanger for hypertension and heart disease, which are two of the top causes of death globally. Let’s get into it! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

February 16, 2024

Collaborative Innovation Within Health Systems: Wisdom From an EVP & Chief Digital Officer

At StartUp Health, we get the pleasure of talking with many, many founders of healthcare startups. It’s a perk of the job, because each founder, each new idea, inspires us and gives us hope that we’re on the cusp of some major breakthroughs. Then reality sets in, and we’re reminded just how hard it is to go from an idea – even a brilliant one with validation – to commercialization and broad use. It’s one thing for a founder to find a single clinic to use their platform or device, but a common question is: How do you get your startup adopted at a large hospital, or better yet, a hospital system? Do you just call up the Chief Digital Officer, or Chief Innovation Officer, and they’ll get it sorted? Not exactly, according to our guest today. For one thing, the role of hospital’s Chief Digital Officer has changed dramatically. Sara Vaezy is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Digital Officer for Providence, where she is responsible for system strategy and digital innovation for the integrated delivery network (IDN), which includes 52 hospitals and 1,085 clinics and serves over 5 million unique patients. So, how can a startup work with a hospital system effectively? What do hospitals look for in a startup and what are some of the red flags for a project that’s going nowhere? And what are the greatest pain points for which hospitals are actively seeking solutions? To answer these questions, we invited Vaezy onto a Masterclass, which are virtual sessions we hold in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health community. We’ve cut the session down to share the highlights with you, and we’ve included some of the founder questions from the Q&A as well, since they are very practical and relevant. Let’s dive in! Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

February 9, 2024

Dr. Phyllis Ferrell Named Chief Impact Officer for StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot

In January, StartUp Health launched the Alzheimer’s Moonshot with support from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and Gates Ventures. The Alzheimer’s Moonshot is an invitation to Health Transformers, Alzheimer’s funders, foundations, advocates, and innovators, as well as leading startups and research teams, to unite in pioneering comprehensive, collaborative approaches to Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community is powered by StartUp Health and our Health Transformer University, an entrepreneurial mastery program and lifelong learning community for ambitious founders and funders who are solving the biggest health challenges of our time. That brings us to our podcast guest this week. Dr. Phyllis Ferrell will serve as the Chief Impact Officer of the Alzheimer’s Moonshot and lead its Impact Board. Dr. Ferrell has three decades of related experience, most recently serving as the Global Head of Alzheimer’s and Neurodegeneration at Eli Lilly and Strategic Advisor to the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative. The Alzheimer’s Moonshot Impact Board will also include representatives from the ADDF, Gates Ventures, and a diverse group of stakeholders from industry, clinical medicine, academia, investment and patient and caregiver communities. As we will discuss in the episode, shortly after Dr. Ferrell transferred from a marketing and sales role at Lilly to leading their Alzheimer’s division, her father was diagnosed with the devastating disease. She threw herself into the work and eventually became a leading voice in Alzheimer’s research and drug development. She’s served as a strategic advisor to multiple high-profile Alzheimer’s organizations, and now she’s marshaling her experience to lead StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot. We caught up with her to get a better understanding of where she sees this initiative going and why this is such a unique moment in time for Alzheimer’s innovation. Enjoy the episode and then learn more about StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot at startuphealth.com/alzheimers. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

February 2, 2024

Mission Aligned: Helmsley Charitable Trust and StartUp Health on T1D Moonshot

Welcome back to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we hear directly from the entrepreneurs and innovators who are transforming health. Typically on this show we talk to founders of startups. We’re all about understanding what’s new and next in health, and that often means talking to the people who are in the early days of creating a product or business. Most early-stage startups – healthcare or otherwise – have one thing in common. They need money. It takes a long time to get a healthcare business profitable, and so founders need outside funds to get an idea off the ground, complete their research, or scale up. That brings us to this week's guest, David Panzirer, Trustee at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. To put it in simple startup terms, David is a funder. The Helmsley Charitable Trust is an $8 billion dollar philanthropy renowned for its work funding healthcare research and innovative programs. Of course David’s a lot more than a funder. He’s a father, for one thing, a fact that’s driven his work more than anything else. David’s also a firebrand and an instigator in an industry that often needs a little push in the right direction. The reason for our interview, which took place at a recent health tech event, is that the Helmsley Charitable Trust has been the anchor partner for StartUp Health’s Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot, and David has been instrumental in getting that effort off the ground. He’s been part of our T1D Impact Board and has met with founders on multiple occasions to give them invaluable feedback and advice. In this episode, we talk about the wild west of conversational AI, promising new T1D therapeutics, rural medicine, and why Helmsley has positioned itself as a high risk/high reward funder. Let’s get into it. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Contact us to learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion

January 26, 2024

Gamification in Healthcare: How Two Founders Are Using Games to Heal

This week, we're talking about gamification in healthcare. Gamification has been a popular buzzword in tech and in health, but it just means using elements we associate with games in non-game contexts. It means capitalizing on the motivations we find in games through things like progress updates and level-up badges to change behaviors and get us to do things that are going to be good for our health. Today on the show, we're talking to two founders who are gamifying the healthcare experience in two unique ways. The first conversation is with Raj Amin, CEO & Co-founder of Arcade Therapeutics, a company that has been in the StartUp Health community since TK. They are a science-first game studio developing games that act like medicine, focusing on mental health. We’ll hear exactly what they’re building and why clinical research is key to their approach. Then we’ll hear from Farhaneh Ahmadi, PhD, CEO & Co-founder of eddii, a company that is part of our T1D Moonshot. She and her team are using mobile gaming elements to help young people with their Type 1 diabetes management. Her company uses a character named eddii that talks to the user, tells them stories, and plays games with them – making it more relatable and more enjoyable to manage diabetes. Listen in to learn more about these innovative approaches to improving health. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Innovating in Alzheimer's disease? Contact us to learn how you can join our Alzheimer's Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? Contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

January 12, 2024

Why the CEO of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Joined StartUp Health’s Health Moonshot Impact Board

Since 2020, Charles "Chuck" Henderson has led the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as CEO. In 2023, he joined StartUp Health's Health Moonshot Impact Board, a unique, multi-disciplinary group of stakeholders passionate about advancing health innovation. On the Health Moonshot Impact Board, Henderson joins top thought leaders like Dr. Toby Cosgrove (former CEO, Cleveland Clinic) and Sue Siegel (former CEO, GE Ventures). In this StartUp Health NOW episode, StartUp Health's Logan Plaster sat down with Henderson to learn about his priorities in leading the ADA and why it was important to him to join StartUp Health's moonshot community. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

January 4, 2024

No More Suffering in Silence: Meet Two Founders Tackling Gut Health

On this week’s StartUp Health NOW episode, we're talking about the future of gut health with Jeff Glueck, CEO & Co-founder of Salvo Health, and Swathi Arulguppe, CEO & Founder at BetterMeal AI. There's no doubt gut health is having a moment. For a long time, health issues in the gut, like irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease, were met with outdated pamphlets about diets. The result was millions of people suffering in silence with painful, life-limiting conditions. It's not that GI doctors didn't want to help. There just didn't seem to be a lot that they could do. Thankfully our understanding of the importance of gut health – and its connection to mental health and whole health – has resulted in a wave of innovation. And on this podcast episode, we’ll talk to some amazing entrepreneurs working to break this cycle and bring relief to patients. Our first guest, Jeff Glueck was the CEO of Foursquare before he co-founded Salvo Health. He's taking on gut health from two innovative angles. The first is through the establishment of a digital clinic which makes specialty GI care available to patients at scale and on demand. Second, Glueck and his team are capitalizing on the latest research connecting gut health to mental health and other conditions. This connection between the gut microbiome and whole health is just exploding and Salvo is helping patients stay on the cutting edge. Then we'll check in with Swathi Arulguppe, CEO & Founder of BetterMeal AI. You'll hear how Arulguppe has taken her own journey with a debilitating GI condition, combined it with her passion for data, and built a platform for helping deliver AI-driven personalized meal recommendations to patients. By understanding the biological connections between human gut and food at the deepest level, she has built an app that helps guide its users on how to best manage their gut health through their nutrition. Let's jump in and find out where we are in gut health innovation. — Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

December 15, 2023

10 Years Later: A Health Tech Investor Reflects on Her Early Days at StartUp Health

Ten years ago, Irem Rami became one of the first Fellows to join StartUp Health. In her role she helped vet the very first companies to join our community. That was back when it seemed very audacious indeed to have a goal of supporting 1000 healthcare startups. A few years later and we’ve now welcomed 500 startups into the community and are still going strong. In that time Rami moved on, went to business school, and is now a principle health investor at Norwest, a $3B multi-stage fund. We called up Rami up for this StartUp Health NOW podcast episode to give us that decade look back – you know, it’s hard to understand where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from. She’s got a unique perspective on the durability of the StartUp Health vision and what it means to chase the same seemingly impossible dream for more than 10 years. We also wanted to hear Rami’s advice for health innovators seeking to raise funds in this difficult market. She evaluates opportunities on a daily basis and had some sage advice to share for our listeners. Enjoy the episode. — Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

December 7, 2023

How Two Founders Are Using AI to Tackle Wasteful Healthcare Spending

On this StartUp Health NOW episode, we’re talking about wasteful spending in healthcare. This is one of those topics that’s hard to put in perspective. The institute of medicine says that 30% of healthcare spending could be categorized as wasteful, putting the total tab north of $750 million. It could be a trillion dollars. Health insurance premiums are up 7% year over year, according to Health Affairs. Analysts point to inflation as a strong cause, but this nearly trillion dollars in unnecessary spending isn’t helping the equation. Bottom line, healthcare costs are out of control and driving many people into medical bankruptcy. If 30% of healthcare spending is unnecessary, we’ve got to get this under control. Thankfully, we’ve got founders in the StartUp Health community who are passionate about this issue. Jude Odu, CEO & Founder of Health Cost IQ, and Pinaki Dasgupta, CEO & Founder of Hindsait, will help us understand what constitutes wasteful spending and how advances in AI allow us to root it out at the source. This is the kind of innovation that takes some courage, because pointing out to a hospital that they’re double billing or telling an insurer that they’re making massive errors doesn’t make you popular with either party. But it’s got to be done if we’re going to get overall health costs under control. Enjoy the episode. — Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

November 30, 2023

Thriving Seniors: How These Founders Are Upgrading Senior Care from Early Disease Detection to Care Coordination

Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease. It’s the most common cause of dementia, impacting around 55 million people globally. It’s a leading of death for the elderly, but mortality isn’t the worst thing about Alzheimer’s disease. Before they die, this disease robs people of their minds, taking away the interests and knowledge that made them who they are. In a tragic way, it steals people’s identities. That’s the challenge, and it’s a big one. Thankfully, there are incredible entrepreneurs and researchers working to tackle Alzheimer’s disease, and we’ve got one of them on the show this week. You’ll get to hear from Christian Dansereau, PhD, the CEO & Co-founder of Perceiv AI. Christian will share how his Canadian company – which joined the StartUp Health community in 2022 – is using decades of work in artificial intelligence to predict Alzheimer’s years earlier, so that the disease can be treated, slowed down, or even cured. After Christian, we’ll talk to another founder passionate about helping seniors thrive as they age. Colby Takeda built Pear Suite after spending years running a senior care facility. Pear Suite – which also joined the StartUp Health community in 2022 – is a digital platform designed to empower community health workers, those front line providers and organizations that really understand the needs of the community on a block by block level. While they started with a focus on senior care, they’ve expanded their mission to new, often neglected communities, and their team is expanding as well. Perceiv AI and Pear Suite offer two complementary takes on helping seniors living longer, healthier lives. It represents the marriage of early diagnosis, deep data, AI, and daily care, delivered by the right people, served up in actionable ways. Listen in to learn more. --- Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

November 22, 2023

Food as Medicine: The Next Wave of Tech-Enabled Nutrition

At StartUp Health we’re all about what’s new and what’s next in health, and that often means talking about cutting-edge technology. But sometimes the most radical way to improve is also the simplest. One example? Our food. This week, as we head into Thanksgiving in the United States, we’re talking about the role food plays in managing not just our weight and fitness, but actual chronic diseases. Some people use the term 'Food as Medicine,' and the more research we do, the more ways we find that tuning our nutrition can sometimes be superior to taking more pharmaceuticals. While the idea of seeing food as a legitimate healthcare tool isn’t new, per se, there are some exciting new tools and platforms that leverage nutritional information and make it more accessible to the world. And that’s what we’re going to talk about on this episode. Our first guest is Shireen Abdullah, CEO & Founder at Yumlish, who joined the StartUp Health community in 2019. Shireen’s platform puts a virtual nutritionist in your pocket, with a strong emphasis on boosting health literacy. She’s also worked very closely with the Air Force on workforce readiness. Turns out there are so many young people who are overweight and inactive that it’s hindering military recruitment and becoming a national security threat. After Shireen we’ll hear from Victor Penev, CEO & Founder of Edamam, a Health Transformer since all the way back in 2013. Victor has made the world’s food knowledge more searchable through Edamam's API so that users of platforms like NOOM and Virta Health can get personalized meal recommendations. We’ll also hear about their brand new integration with Open AI that brings a ChatGPT experience to the process of finding personalized meal plans. Enjoy the episode! Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

November 16, 2023

Why Wingwomen Took the Leap from Virtual Support to Real-World Care for Reproductive Health

When Adonica Shaw founded Wingwomen, it was to address a very specific, personal need. Shaw had experienced a difficult pregnancy – preeclampsia turned an otherwise healthy pregnancy into a medical emergency. Afterward she looked around and there was no one to talk to about what she’d been through and nowhere she felt she could go for advice. So she built a safe space to talk about issues around women’s health and maternal health. It was all virtual at first and provided curated communities of support. But one day Shaw realized that there were services she wanted to provide to her customers that just couldn’t be handled on an app. There were also services she wanted to provide that couldn’t get reimbursed without a physical component. So she made a leap that very few health tech founders make: she decided to open up a physical clinic. She found suitable space in South Boston, fitted it out to her specifications, and put out her proverbial shingle. As we discuss, in this StartUp Health NOW podcast episode, this has come with serious challenges. There’s a reason why many founders prefer SaaS business models over bricks and mortar. Dealing with local zoning, difficult neighbors, staffing... it’s a lot. But designing a physical space also allows Shaw to lay the foundation for a new way for women to get care and to support one another along the way. Let’s get into the conversation. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

November 9, 2023

Neolth Teams Up with NBA Star Kenny Thomas to Bring Mental Health Tools to Kids

According to some estimates, out of the HHS, nearly 50% of kids have experienced some kind of mental health challenge. And not just anxiety about an upcoming test or depression over a breakup, but persistent feelings that interfere with daily activities. Health innovation companies have been on the case for years, including many from the StartUp Health community. They're tackling the science – like what's the best way to treat mental health challenges in teens – and they're also tackling engagement. You can have the best tools in the world after all, but if a young person doesn't want to get help, it'll never go anywhere. Enter Katherine Grill, PhD, CEO & Co-founder of Neolth, one of our guests on this podcast episode. She's taken her doctorate in behavioral neuroscience and her experience as a clinician, combined with hundreds of interviews with young people, in order to build a platform that meets kids where they're at – offering self-guided mental health support in a variety of forms and flavors. Joining the podcast with us is former pro basketball player, Kenny Thomas. After spending 11 seasons in the NBA, Thomas became an entrepreneur and community advocate, with a focus on youth experiencing financial hardship via his own foundation. And now he's throwing his influence behind Neolth in order to help young people, particularly those involved in sports, gain access to mental health services. On this StartUp Health NOW episode, we’ll cover the ins and outs of the Neolth platform as well as some of Dr. Grill’s strategy behind working with a brand ambassador, which is somewhat unique in the world of early-stage health startups. Let's get into it. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

November 2, 2023

These Founders Are Pairing AI + SDoH to Re-humanize Healthcare

Our episode this week was recorded during our StartUp Health Studio interviews at the recent HLTH conference in Las Vegas. At the event, a hot topic was how artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI, is going to fundamentally shift healthcare delivery. AI can help us comb through mountains of information and take action on data points that were previously hidden from view. But many people have a serious concern – even a fear – that AI will degrade the doctor-patient relationship and effectively dehumanize healthcare. Our two guests today both joined the StartUp Health community earlier in 2023. They are pushing back against that narrative and suggesting with their companies that AI and big data can be leveraged to re-humanize healthcare delivery. First we’ll talk with Nicole Cook, the CEO & Founder of Alvee Health, who is on a health moonshot mission to use AI-driven solutions to promote health equity and improve health outcomes for all. Cook reminds us that doctors are spending an inordinate amount of their time with a patient tapping away at a screen. The status quo is not working, so can new patient data tools help? Can they bring the right information to the surface at the right time and the right way, so healthcare providers can get back to making eye contact with patients? What’s Cook is building at Alvee Health is resonating, as she went on to win the HLTH Startup Pitch Competition. Next, we hear from Chris Turner, CEO and Co-founder at HealthBook+, who is attempting to create a fuller, more human picture of each patient using all available data including data from some nontraditional sources. HealthBook+ provides a simple-to-use, digital-first care platform which consolidates health data and keeps it private, as well as predicts conditions and recommends the next best health actions. If the top line story for this episode is how data and AI could be used to create a more human electronic health record, the secondary story is about who can benefit from this technology. Everyone's talking about social determinants of health. This idea that we need to address the non-medical drivers of health, like access to fresh food and transportation. Healthcare providers care about these issues but don't have the time or resources to analyze the data. That's where Alvee Health and HealthBook+ can come in. Providing a fuller, more human analysis of patient data means taking into account important barriers to care and getting smart about how to overcome them. So let's get into it. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

October 26, 2023

A Deep Dive with Jetsweat Founders: Bridging the Gap from Physical to Emotional Fitness

This week’s StartUp Health NOW podcast episode is a conversation with Health Transformers Alexandra Dantzig and Erin Frankel, the co-founders of Jetsweat. As you'll hear, their company started out as a fittech marketplace for boutique fitness brands, helping these small independent fitness companies create high-quality digital content and reach new audiences. Recently, however, Jetsweat – which joined StartUp Health in 2022 – has made moves into the realm of value-based, whole person care. They've launched what they call Jetsweat Health and they have their sights set on helping large employers and insurers keep their people healthy. The idea is instead of offering your employees or members a simple discount to a couple of national fitness chains, offer them access to a marketplace of hundreds or even thousands of unique high-quality boutique fitness brands that meet their specific needs and desires. Jetsweat is also stepping into mental health with new offerings around emotional fitness. They're making very clear connections between preventative physical fitness and preventative emotional fitness by treating mental health more like a daily workout that everyone can benefit from. They're lowering the barriers to care and decreasing the stigma attached with seeking help. Listen in for their journey. Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

October 19, 2023

Quantifying Mental Health: How Mobio Interactive Is Unleashing Precision Psychiatry at Scale

There's a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in business: “You can't manage what you can't measure.” It's a quote attributed to Peter Drucker, the famed management consultant.‌ If business leaders such as Peter Drucker are right, not being able to measure the effect of an action would make it impossible to know if we should be doing more or less of that action – or if we should be doing it at all. But if the saying is true in management, it's even more true in clinical medicine in most areas of healthcare. Despite this seeming to be self evident, you’ve got to measure it to manage it yet there are still swathes of care that are delivered by some version of trial and error.‌ Our guest this week is Bechara Saab, PhD, CEO, Chief Scientist & Co-founder of Mobio Interactive, a company that joined the StartUp Health community in 2022.‌ Dr. Saab started as an academic researcher. It's safe to say he loves measuring, loves gathering hard data and proving that he has found causation not just correlation in his work. So when his research introduced him to the modern world of mental health diagnosis and mental healthcare, he was taken aback by what he saw as a lack of solid objective measurements.‌ How could you help someone with anxiety, for instance, if you couldn't accurately measure their anxiety before and after a treatment?‌ That is the thorny challenge that Dr. Saab is tackling with Mobio Interactive. As you’ll hear, he’ll explain just how his research led to a solution that provides those objective measurements. His company, based in Singapore, came up with an accessible tool that provides clinically-validated therapy within a platform that objectively quantifies how a patient’s mental health is affected by therapy in real time and without a wearable, thereby allowing personalization of mental health therapy at scale. Enjoy! Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

October 5, 2023

Virtual Reality for Brain Health: Virtuleap’s New Platform Uses VR to Detect Cognitive Decline Early

Our StartUp Health NOW guest this week is Amir Bozorgzadeh, CEO and Co-founder of Virtuleap, a brain health company that joined StartUp Health in 2019. Headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, and expanding to Barcelona, Spain, Virtuleap improves brain health with VR. In this chat, Amir will walk us through their new platform – Cogniclear VR – that combines neuroscience with virtual reality games and activities to detect cognitive disorders. He’ll explain how VR can play an important role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's and other dementias, why VR needs to be applied with care in health, and where virtual reality is going next. Enjoy! Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

September 28, 2023

How GO-Pen’s “Insulin Pen for All” Is Making High-Quality T1D Care Globally Accessible

Our StartUp Health NOW guest this week is Ole Kjerkegaard Nielsen, PhD, CEO & Co-founder of GO-Pen, a company in our Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot community. As you'll hear, Nielsen and his team based in Denmark have built a new kind of insulin pen, one that is affordable and accessible to all while also adhering to the absolute highest standards of quality. This more accessible insulin pen could change millions of people's lives. We'll also get a glimpse into the uniquely challenging startup journey of developing a physical medical device. Nielsen and his team have been winning awards and grants on a regular basis, but the road is still steep. Whether it's negotiating with a manufacturer across the globe or getting FDA approval, bringing a medical device to market as a startup with limited funds is a challenge that could intimidate even the most market-tested CEOs. Nielsen pulls back the curtain and lets us see that challenge from the inside and shows us where GO-Pen is going next. Enjoy! Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

September 22, 2023

10-Year Overnight Success: UnaliWear Tops Wirecutter List of Medical Alert Systems

We’re back with a new season of the StartUp Health NOW podcast! This week we’re chatting with Richard Hirsch from UnaliWear. UnaliWear, under the guidance of CEO & Founder Jean Anne Booth, is a long-time StartUp Health community member that is changing the game in medical alerts for seniors. UnaliWear built the voice-first Kanega watch that provides discreet support for falls, medication reminders, and a guard against wandering – and allows seniors to call for help if they need it. It gives seniors independence without making them wear a stigmatizing alert button around their necks. And, now, after years of other awards and accolades, the Kanega watch was just named by The New York Times Wirecutter as the best medical alert device for people on the go. That's the kind of market validation that startups dream about. Listen in as Hirsch shares insights on how UnaliWear grew into a "10-year overnight success." ------ Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

September 14, 2023

From the Archives: Naheed Kurji of Recursion Takes a Deep Dive into Artificial Intelligence for Drug Discovery

For this StartUp Health NOW episode, we dive back into an interview we did with a long-time Health Transformer, Naheed Kurji. At the time of the interview, Naheed was the CEO, President & Co-founder of Cyclica, a StartUp Health company that is considered one of the pioneers of what is now the increasingly hot space of using AI for drug discovery and development. We wanted to revisit this conversation because in the time since we aired it, Cyclica had huge news. In May 2023, the company was acquired by Recursion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RXRX), a clinical-stage biotech player. Naheed now leads Recursion’s Canadian operations and is putting his experience to use accelerating innovation in drug discovery in whole new ways. By looking back at Naheed’s experience at Cyclica, we can gain a glimpse into how he was so successful piloting a startup from launch to acquisition and how he might lead Recursion moving forward. Naheed will also give us an inside look at how Cyclica reshaped this market – then he’ll zoom way out: as the chair of the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Health, Naheed can help us understand where the AI for health industry is going. We will be back with fresh episodes after Labor Day! Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 30, 2023

From the Archives: Why Media Giant Jon Miller, Former CEO at AOL and IAC, Joined StartUp Health’s Board of Directors

As we gear up for the launch of the next season of this podcast, which will drop after Labor Day, we're bringing you replays of favorite episodes from the past. This week, we're featuring a conversation with Jon Miller, a member of the StartUp Health Board of Directors. Miller is best known for being a former CEO of AOL, Head of Digital Media at News Corp, and Chief Executive of the media powerhouse IAC. With all of that experience in media, Miller might seem like an interesting choice for a board focused on health innovation. After all, on the StartUp Health board he joins the likes of Toby Cosgrove, MD, whose pedigree as the former head of the Cleveland Clinic needs little explanation. In our conversation, we talk about how Miller's experience in business, finance, and media translates to health moonshots – these audacious goals that guide us at StartUp Health. Specifically, we wanted to know what media tools could be used to speed up health innovation and help startups bring their solutions to the market more successfully. What we learned was that many of the advancements and opportunities Miller has seen in media over the last couple decades – advancements in consumerism and community – are absolutely core to improving health in scalable digital ways. Listen in to hear Miller explain that vision and why he’s more excited than ever to support a global community of health tech entrepreneurs – this band of like-minded founders we call Health Transformers. We will be back with fresh episodes after Labor Day! Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 24, 2023

From the Archives: Dr. Robert Wilson on How Partnering with PreventScripts Enhanced His Medical Practice

Typically on this show we talk to the health tech founders – who we call Health Transformers – that are creating the tools and platforms that will modernize our health system. Or we talk to top investors on what they're looking for in startups. But, on this week’s StartUp Health NOW, we look back at one of our most-popular podcast episodes, which featured a different kind of guest: one that helps round out the picture of how healthcare innovation goes from idea to real-world implementation. Robert Wilson, MD, is a family physician who runs CovenantCare Family Practice, a multi-site medical practice in Tennessee. Dr. Wilson popped up on our radar because he was an early partner for PreventScripts, a startup that’s part of the StartUp Health community. PreventScripts, led by Brandi Harless and Natalie Davis, MD, has created a platform that helps family doctors like Dr. Wilson identify patients who would benefit from chronic care management. Think about a patient who is pre-diabetic and all signs point towards a long battle with Type 2 diabetes. While Dr. Wilson might be too overextended to identify and coach this patient before the disease sets in, PreventScripts can identify the risk and put the patient on a clinically-proven program. Patients with chronic diseases, or the risk of disease, get heightened care between visits, and Dr. Wilson gets added reimbursement. We wanted to talk to Dr. Wilson to understand why he was interested in partnering with a health startup, as this is one of the key hurdles for any health innovator. How do you find the right clinical partner, a place to prove out your brilliant idea in the real world, and then iterate based on user feedback? In the conversation – our most-downloaded episode in the past year – we’ll get into the real-world challenges that Dr. Wilson faces, his motivation for evolving his practice, and how PreventScripts has helped him fill gaps in patient care. We will be back with fresh episodes after Labor Day! Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 9, 2023

From the Archives: Aaron Kowalski, PhD, CEO of JDRF, Brings His Professional & Personal Experience to StartUp Health’s T1D Moonshot Impact Board

For this StartUp Health NOW episode, we are taking a look back at a great episode featuring Aaron Kowalski, PhD, the CEO of JDRF International. Anyone orbiting in the universe of Type 1 diabetes knows that JDRF is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of T1D research. In his role atop the organization, Kowalski has combined his professional experience as a molecular biologist and executive with his personal passion to fight Type 1 diabetes in order to impact patients like his own brother. Kowalski is also an exciting addition to StartUp Health’s Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot Impact Board. This board is a cross-disciplinary team of T1D experts spanning the gamut from research to funding to commercialization. We are thrilled that Kowalski is bringing his vast experience to this community in order to speed up innovation and support a generation of health entrepreneurs. We will be back with fresh episodes after Labor Day! Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 4, 2023

From the Archives: A Look at How Andreessen Horowitz Invests in the Future of Health

On this week’s StartUp Health NOW, we look back at one of our most-popular podcast episodes: a chat with Julie Yoo, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz where she leads investments in healthcare technology, with a focus on companies that are modernizing how we access, pay for, and experience the healthcare system. During this chat in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health community, Yoo talked about the growth of home health, fintech for healthcare, and her personal passions around solving for provider shortage issues and the mismatch of supply and demand. Listen in for insights that are just as relevant today as in November 2021, such as Yoo's tip that top investors like a16z are less interested in startups who have all the answers – because they don’t – but in entrepreneurs who can identify and overcome obstacles and can communicate that journey with clarity. We will be back with fresh episodes after Labor Day! Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

July 27, 2023

Scaling Your Health Tech Business to $100 Million, Featuring Sofia Guerra of Bessemer Venture Partners

On our episode today we are getting down into the details, deep the weeds, in order to understand what it takes to scale a healthcare business to $100M. For that wisdom we turned to Sofia Guerra, an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners. We had her on our Health Transformer University Masterclass series to share top takeaways from a recent benchmarks report published by her firm. She distilled their very detailed work into five key takeaways and then hung around to answer questions from our audience of StartUp Health founders. In this session, which was hosted by Jamey Edwards, Chief Platform Officer here at StartUp Health, Sofia gets into all the critical operation, financial, and clinical performance metrics that healthcare companies need to care about if they’re going to thrive and scale. For the purpose of this podcast, we’ll drop right into the middle of the conversation between Jamey and Sofia, focusing on her advice for founders. Enjoy! Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

July 21, 2023

How Avanlee Care Is Teaming Up with Retailers to Address the Caregiver Crisis

Our podcast guest this week is Avanlee Christine, CEO and Co-founder of Avanlee Care, a company that joined StartUp Health in 2022. A few years ago Avanlee found herself helping to coordinate care for her grandmother. Everyone in the family wanted to help, but she lived far away, and there just wasn’t a good way to check in on her health and be the kind of support that Avanlee and her family wanted to be. As many entrepreneurs do, Avanlee said to herself: There must be a better way. So She raised some funds (that’s a story in itself), built a team, and set out to design a platform that eases the burden on unpaid caregivers. And she did all while having her first child. Listen in as she explains the details of the Avanlee Care product as it stands today and about how she’s finding eager partners in some of the country’s largest retailers and employers. Turns out easing the caregiver burden isn’t just a moral good, it’s also good for a company’s bottom line. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

July 14, 2023

Two Top Health Investors Share Their 2023 Tips for Founders

Whether they like it or not - and they probably don’t – every health tech founder needs to think about money. How much they need, and how to get it. For many founders, raising outside funds becomes a whole new full time job that they have to take on. This year, funding in the sector has dipped sharply, making that job even harder and more stressful. On our podcast this week, we hear from the other side of the table. We sat down with the heads of two major health tech investment firms and got their advice for health innovation entrepreneurs in 2023. First up is Lee Shapiro, managing partner at 7wireVentures and long-time collaborator with StartUp Health. Shapiro is a luminary in digital health investing so we asked him for his macro view of the industry and got a few practical tips for founders raising funds today. Then we hear from Shawn Ellis, managing partner at Distributed Ventures, a $100M fund that invests in Seed and Series A deals and has a strong health tech focus. In our chat Ellis broke down where his firm has found success recently and exactly what he looks for in a pitch. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

July 6, 2023

Maximizing Your Impact: Building and Leading a Strategic Board

Our guest this week is Matt Blumberg, CEO and Co-founder at Bolster. He’s the author of the books “Startup CEO,” “Startup CXO,” and most recently “Startup Boards.” That last one was why we wanted to have him in for a special masterclass with the founders from the StartUp Health community. As you’ll hear, Blumberg has developed a detailed strategy for maximizing your startup’s board. It’s a time-tested framework for making sure your board is an asset to your business not a tax. Drawing on his own experiences as a CEO and board member, Matt discusses the importance of diversity in leadership and decision-making and provides practical tips and strategies for building a board that represents the full range of perspectives and experiences of your stakeholders. As a startup leader looking to build or scale your board, this chat will provide valuable insights and actionable advice to help you grow. This conversation was held in front of a live audience of entrepreneurs, so you’ll get to hear some very practical questions on board management during our Q&A. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

June 30, 2023

(Re)Meet Pelago: Well-Funded Quit Genius Rebrands to Make Addiction Treatment More Accessible

When we first met today’s StartUp Heatlh NOW podcast guest, he was a newly-minted doctorpreneur. After finishing med school Yusuf Sherwani, MD, teamed up with a couple fellow doctors to tackle a massive, pervasive problem they were facing in their clinics: Day after day they were seeing patients struggling with addiction, whether smoking or drinking or opioids. These were people stigmatized by their addictions into fear and inaction or they’d reached out for help and found the options unsuccessful. This group of physicians thought, with today’s technology and breakthroughs in addiction management, there has to be a better way. So they built Quit Genius, the world’s first virtual clinic for substance use management. They combined the best digital health tools with leading cognitive behavioral therapy and medication assisted treatment. Their solution met a hungry market. Since inception, Dr. Sherwani and his team – who joined StartUp Health in 2020 – have helped more than 750,000 people manage their substance use, and with $77 million raised, they are poised to scale even further. We wanted to sit down with Dr. Sherwani to hear their scale-up vision and also to get the story behind their recent rebrand to Pelago. In this episode, Dr. Sherwani explains the name change – it’s derived from the word archipelago – and shares where this growing company is heading next. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

June 15, 2023

How Health Tech Startups Can Launch with Government Contracts

So you’re healthcare founder who has designed and built, by the sweat of your brow, a new platform or product that can help people live longer, healthier lives. Now, you just need to get it into people’s hands so they can use it, give feedback, help you iterate, and ultimately scale. As every founder knows, building the product is just a first step. Getting to market is a whole other challenge. There are lots of different approaches for go-to-market strategy – with StartUp Health’s community of nearly 500 companies we’ve seen them all. One we wanted to highlight today is the idea of pursuing partnerships with the government or military. Given the enormous number of people that fall within the care of the military and federal agencies and the funding that gets allocated for their health, this is a tempting strategy. But it’s not for the faint of heart or those short on runway. In this week’s podcast episode we’ll talk to two people who are making this marriage of startups and government contracts work – from two different angles. First we’ll hear from Shireen Abdullah, CEO & Founder of Yumlish (which joined StartUp Health in 2019), about how she’s working with the US Air Force to help keep recruits healthy and service ready. Turns out, poor nutrition could actually become a national security threat. Second, we’ll hear from the other side of the table. Suzy Shirley heads up community engagement at the VA’s Pathfinder program. Pathfinder was established just recently with the express purpose of making it easier for startups to access the Veterans Health Administration, which, if you’re not familiar, is massive. The VHA is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, providing care at more than 1200 facilities, covering over nine million enrolled veterans. Many healthcare startups would love to work with this patient population, but traditionally the administrative barriers have been high. Suzy Shirley explains how her team is changing the paradigm. She provides some practical tips for how runway-limited startups can make meaningful headway with such a huge government institution and start piloting high-impact products. Enjoy the episode, which was recorded at the ViVE 2023 conference in Nashville. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

June 9, 2023

How These FemTech Founders Are Upgrading Below-the-Belt Health

For years we’ve tracked investment trends at StartUp Health and talked quarter after quarter about how women’s health has been underfunded. Finally, that is changing, and more founders and more funders are actively bridging that divide, creating new, necessary solutions for women, whether in fitness, pre- and post-natal care, chronic conditions, fertility, or menopause. Our podcast guests this week are two Health Transformers who have been dedicated to FemTech before the new surge in interest in women’s health innovation. First we'll talk to Wendy Powell, CEO & Founder of MUTU System, a UK-based fitness platform that helps women recover from pregnancy and regain independence and confidence – focusing on core and pelvic floor reconnection, recovery, and strengthening. Wendy’s been in business for more than a decade and joined StartUp Health last year to help expand her reach. Then we’ll hear from Missy Lavender, CEO & Founder of Renalis, about how she’s helping women with below-the-belt conditions like overactive bladder get the care they need through an AI chatbot called CeCe. Missy's company – which joined StartUp Health in 2019 – is bringing therapy to women who have suffered in silence with pelvic health conditions. She’s not just extending a lifeline to women, but to their doctors as well, who have struggled to figure out how to manage these challenging conditions. Enjoy the episode, which was recorded at the ViVE 2023 conference in Nashville, with these two founders breaking through the stigma around women's pelvic health. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

June 2, 2023

How These Entrepreneurs Are Empowering Community-Based Healthcare

Some startups provide tools directly consumers and patients while others tackle issues in the hospital, at the other end of the care journey. Our two guests today, Dr. Scott Kaiser from Determined Health and Nick Lockett from Pear Suite, occupy a sort of middle ground. They empower communities and community-based organizations to provide better care for vulnerable people. It doesn’t take much to see the need for more empowered communities in healthcare. Every day we see more headlines about an epidemic of loneliness and the role of social connection in health outcomes. That data is in, and it’s not good. We know from our own experience that there are health concerns you might share with a friend before turning to a doctor. Nowhere is the need for community-based health intervention more clear than with seniors. According to our guests today, that process starts with empowering authentic, actionable communication. So they’ve built unique tools and platforms designed make that process scaleable, replicable, and easy. Our first guest today is Scott Kaiser, MD, CEO & Co-founder of Determined Health, a company that joined StartUp Health in 2022. Dr. Kaiser, a trained geriatrician, along with this team, was recently recognized by CHIME and ScaleHealth as a finalist in their patent engagement challenge. After receiving the award in the “digital front door” category, he likened his company to being the Walmart greeter for the healthcare system. Our next guest is Nick Lockett, CTO & Co-founder at Pear Suite. As you’ll hear, Pear Suite – also a StartUp Health company since 2022 – gives organizations the tools necessary to track community-driven care and identify social determinants of health. Their data-driven approach upgrades a life-saving process that has often been relegated to pen and paper. Enjoy the episode, which was recorded at the ViVE 2023 conference in Nashville. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

May 25, 2023

Safer, Faster, Smarter: How Entrepreneurs Are Upgrading Hospital Tech

Welcome to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators who are transforming health. So when you go to the hospital for care, you accept that the outcome isn't completely under your or your doctor's control. Even with textbook healthcare, bad things can happen for a variety of reasons and your health can decline. Put another way, it's hard enough when good care results in a bad outcome. But what about when a preventable error occurs? It can seem incomprehensible, bewildering. This idea that mistakes can happen in the hospital – mistakes that can take an already tenuous situation and make it even worse – and yet to err is human and hospitals are full of humans, so mistakes happen. Thankfully, there are brilliant people out in the world working to reduce these preventable hospital errors in creative ways like our first guest on today's show: Fox Holt, CEO of Vigilant. This startup – which joined StartUp Health in 2022 – is digitizing medication tracking by doing away with handwritten medication notes. No more scribbling instructions on the side of an IV bag or, worse, on a syringe. With Vigilant’s easy-to-launch system, nurses can immediately start labeling and tracking meds in automated ways. This ensures patients get the right dose every time and no preventable medication errors occur. As a bonus, hospitals reap the benefits of all that medication data on the back end, data they were missing with handwritten labels. Our second guest is also streamlining operations in the hospital, but with more of a mind towards provider satisfaction versus direct patient safety. Although it's easy to see where the two intersect downstream. Sanji Silva is the Chief Product Officer & Chief Technology Officer at Mocingbird, a startup upgrading and streamlining the provider credentialing process. If Mocingbird – which joined StartUp Health in 2020 – has their way, gone will be the days lost to credentialing paperwork and hospitals having to scramble to find qualified workers as these standards shift from state to state. It will all be one unified system that keeps providers up to date with continuing education and keeps hospitals fully staffed. It's not just about paperwork, as onerous credentialing processes lead to burnout which push providers out of the profession entirely, leading to poorer quality care due to fewer available physicians. Listen in to this week’s podcast to hear these vastly different approaches with one goal: improving healthcare. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

May 19, 2023

Creative Collaborations: Bringing Next-Gen Alzheimer’s Tech to West Africa

One of the words that gets thrown around so much at StartUp Health that you might get tired of hearing it is 'collaboration.' We say it a lot. However, you’ll only get sick of the word if you think it’s just startup jargon or lip service. But at StartUp Health that’s just not the case. StartUp Health was designed from day one to promote a collaborative ecosystem in health innovation. For more than a decade we’ve been bringing like-minded founders together to learn from each other and support each other. It can be lonely out there as a founder, and StartUp Health has made it a top priority to connect people in meaningful ways. So that companies can grow faster, yes. But also so that founders survive and thrive in the face of the day-to-day grind of entrepreneurship. We say all of that because it explains why our StartUp Health NOW guests today resonate so much for our team. David Nguyen, PhD, CEO & Co-founder of BrainScanology, and Ismail Badjie, PharmD, CEO & Founder of Innovarx Global Health, are from two very different health sectors – and two very different regions of the world. But they met at a StartUp Health event. And because they were fellow Health Transformers they knew they shared certain values. That prompted a connection and a conversation, which then allowed them to leapfrog into a business partnership. In the interview we’ll get into how they met and what they’ve building together to help patients thrive into old age in West Africa. And we’ll also talk about the role of creative collaborations in achieving audacious health moonshot goals. Enjoy! Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

May 12, 2023

Unpluq Helps People Get Off Their Screens and Back into Life

Our StartUp Health NOW guest this week is Caroline Cadwell, the CEO and Co-founder of Unpluq – a Dutch company that joined StartUp Health in 2021. Unpluq is on a mission to empower people to change their digital habits and improve their wellbeing. Cadwell and her team have designed a consumer-facing device and platform that helps people regain control and intentionality with their time. They’re pushing back against a world where attention span is eroding, which has contributed to lower feelings of wellbeing and a decline in executive function. Listen in to hear how they’ve tackled the problem. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

May 3, 2023

How These Two Founders Are Upgrading Maternal Health Through Cultural Competence and Remote Monitoring

Today in the United States, we do an entirely poor job of taking care of our pregnant mothers. If you look at statistics like maternal morbidity and mortality, it's been going up. And, through the pandemic, it's only gone downhill. We're one of the worst – actually the worst – of any advanced country. Welcome back to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators who are transforming health. Today we've got two very special guests on the show talking about one extremely important topic: maternal health. This is a topic that has been front and center in health news lately and not for good reasons. In spite of all our progress in healthtech, the US has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world. The World Health Organization reports that a maternal death occurred almost every two minutes in 2020. What's worse, maternal health brings to light racial health inequities in a stark and disturbing way. According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. But we're not here just to talk about the problem. Our guests are two Health Transformers who have dedicated their lives to changing the maternal health story. First, you'll get to hear from Jade Kearney, CEO & Founder of She Matters, a new platform that trains doctors in culturally-competent care so that – among other things – Black women are heard and understood during childbirth. They also created a virtual community for moms to get support and improve the health outcomes for Black mothers. Next, we'll have a conversation with Anish Sebastian, CEO & Co-founder of Babyscripts. Babyscripts is a long-time member of our community that is bringing virtual care and remote monitoring into the pregnancy and postpartum journey so that more women get the care they need when and where they need it most. Listen in for their stories and solutions for upgrading maternal health. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

April 27, 2023

How Lifestores Is Using Their $3M Raise to Upgrade Drug Procurement in West Africa

Our guest this week is Andrew Garza, co-founder of Lifestores Healthcare, a company that joined StartUp Health in 2019. When Andrew and his co-founder Bryan Mezue were launching their business in Lagos, Nigeria, their focus was on creating a chain of tech-enabled pharmacies – and by doing so, they’d create an accessible avenue for primary care in one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Fast forward a few years and they’ve done a couple key things, which we’ll cover in the interview. They’ve layered on top of the pharmacy business a platform for drug procurement and logistics that saves hospitals money while raising the bar on quality. And, they’ve raised a $3M pre-Series A, which will allow them to expand in exciting ways. We’ll get into all of that in the conversation, plus hear a bit about Andrew’s journey from the East Coast of the US to the West Coast of Africa. We hope you enjoy. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

April 20, 2023

Welcome to the Genomic Medicine Revolution

On this episode of StartUp Health NOW, we’re talking with Jo Bhakdi, CEO & Founder of Quantgene, a company that joined StartUp Health in 2019. Bhakdi and his team have made a name for themselves by offering a kind of deep genomic profiling that allows them to identify cancers early, detect hereditary diseases, and find adverse drug interactions. The name of the game here is genomic medicine and we're not talking about 23andMe or Ancestry.com. As you'll hear in the interview, Bhakdi has a revolutionary vision for where the field of genomic medicine is heading in the next five years. And he's got a strategy for getting there. Spoiler alert: Bhakdi believes that if we can get the cost of genomic testing down – which he's actively working on – and can scale access to genomic medicine to millions of people, that could knock cancer out of the top 10 list of leading causes of death entirely. Since cancer is currently at number two, it's a pretty radical idea, but Bhakdi has a strong track record and a compelling market strategy through Quantgene's new offering called Serenity. We’ll let him explain the vision in this episode. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

April 14, 2023

ChatGPT Was Just the Beginning: Victor Wang on the Future of AI in Healthcare

Victor Wang, CEO & Founder of StartUp Health company care.coach, is at the tip of the spear of the AI-in-health revolution. He’s got an insider’s understanding of how technology like ChatGPT will shape healthcare. An MIT-trained roboticist who worked for NASA, Victor has created a conversational avatar that cares for seniors and people with disabilities. Currently there’s a human in the loop, but as you’ll hear in the interview, Victor has no trouble imagining a future where conversational AI is able to care for people in a more autonomous, scaleable way. Perhaps most telling, and timely, about this interview, is hearing Victor’s words of caution about the future of artificial intelligence in healthcare and the burden that rests on companies doing this work to get it right, so that we don’t have an AI backlash and lose out on all the ways this technology can help humanity. Victor is a brilliant founder and always a pleasure to sit down with, even on the noisy floor of a healthcare conference like ViVE. We hope you enjoy. Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

April 6, 2023

How Scan.com Is Using Their Recent Series A Funding to Break into the US Market

On this week's StartUp Health NOW podcast episode, we sat down with Charlie Bullock, the CEO and Co-founder of Scan.com, which is, to oversimplify, an online marketplace for diagnostic imaging services. We wanted to dial Charlie up for two reasons. The first is that this StartUp Health company has officially grown from their UK roots to developing a significant beachhead in the United States. We wanted to get a play by play about that process and distill some useful cross-border growth strategies for our listeners. The second reason for the call was that Scan.com just – this week – announced a major fundraise, which is going to put this US expansion into high gear. In our conversation Charlie shares a bit of his personal journey as an entrepreneur, gets into all the details about their recent raise, and outlines some do’s and don’ts for breaking into the US market. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

March 24, 2023

Cybersecurity: How Startups Can Stay Secure as Healthcare Ransomware Attacks Skyrocket

According to multiple news sources, cyber attacks surged in 2022. That doesn’t necessarily surprise anyone, but what may be a surprise is learning that healthcare is the most targeted sector. Turns out, patient records have a high resale value, and ransomware attacks on hospitals can be profitable. This increase in cyber threats coincides with waves of new companies making data more accessible to patients. So on one hand we’ve got a groundswell of startups fighting the good fight of leveraging patient data and new technology to improve lives. On the other hand we have an increasingly aggressive and sophisticated network of cyber criminals who are a constant threat to our healthcare system and, ultimately, patients’ lives. Bridging these two worlds is our guest, Steve Cagle, CEO at Clearwater. In this episode, Steve helps us understand the magnitude of the cybersecurity threat in healthcare and, more importantly, gives us practical strategies that founders can employ in order to keep patient data safe and keep their company compliant with current regulations. Steve also explains how, by making a few smart moves, a startup can turn cybersecurity from a business threat to a competitive advantage, particularly as they pitch to wary health systems and payers. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

March 17, 2023

Expanding Globally: How This African Startup Is Building a Roadmap for the US Market

Welcome to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators who are transforming health. One of our favorite things about the StartUp Health community of nearly 500 companies and upwards of a 1000 entrepreneurs is how global it is. It is so easy to get caught up in your local challenges and your standard ways of doing business and forget that there is this global village of entrepreneurs, many of whom are thinking in wonderfully different and creative ways about the same challenges you’re facing. We need each other, and we need to build strong lines of communication. One way that we see cross-border innovation is when a startup attempts to break into a new global market. On this podcast episode, we’re bringing you one such story, a snapshot of a startup working to expand from South Africa to the United States. The conversation is with Herman Lintvelt and Michael (Fox) van der Linde, the founders of Augmental Technologies, a StartUp Health portfolio company providing digital coaching and content that supports families with children who have ADHD, autism, Tourette syndrome, and other neurodivergent conditions. We wanted to learn some of the practical ways they’re adapting to a new market environment. Like, are they setting up a physical office in the United States or going all virtual? How are they handling marketing and branding? How did they locate collaboration partners? And we also wanted to hear what they’re bringing with them that’s unique to South African entrepreneurs. We need a diversity of perspectives – different styles of ingenuity – in order to break out of the intractable problems we experience in health. Entrepreneurs from resource-constrained environments have to solve business challenges with their own blend of creativity and pragmatism. As Augmental Tech brings their platform from South Africa to the United States, they're bringing that ingenuity with them, and using it to build a market advantage. In our chat they offered us a slice of life of a startup in the midst of international expansion and share a number of helpful nuggets of wisdom that’ll be useful to entrepreneurs at any stage of growth. Enjoy! Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

March 10, 2023

Prioritizing Health Equity Through Sustained Action and Equitable Innovation

Last year StartUp Health launched a Health Equity Moonshot with the goal of creating a guiding equity framework for how we support health startups. That work has been led by our Chief Impact Officer Kaakpema "KP" Yelpaala. One of the first things KP did was to build a cross-disciplinary impact board who could help us guide our policies, and one of the first people he turned to for that task was today’s guest, Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH. Dr. Maybank is the Chief Health Equity Officer & Senior VP at the American Medical Association. In the world of health equity, that’s a big deal because she guides critical policy decisions for an organization that numbers more than a quarter of a million healthcare professionals. We wanted to have Dr. Maybank in for a Fireside Chat to get a candid look at the work she’s been doing at the AMA and hear her vision for the future. In the conversation, which was hosted by KP Yelpaala and held in front of a virtual audience of Health Transformers from our portfolio, Dr. Maybank draws a line between intention and outcomes and explains why more institutions need to do the hard internal work of examining inequitable structures. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

March 3, 2023

How One Founder Raised $5M to Help Women Detect Breast Cancer Earlier

On this StartUp Health NOW episode, we go to Portland, Oregon, to meet a Health Transformer helping women assess their risk for breast cancer. We chat with Kaitlin Christine, CEO & Founder of Gabbi, because she successfully raised more than $4M in 2022, at a time when many other young startups were struggling to raise. We stress with the startups in our portfolio that raising capital is just one small piece of the health moonshot journey, but there is no denying that it can give rocket fuel to a great idea, so we wanted to hear how she did it. What were the strategies and mindsets that helped her grow from a passionate solopreneur to building her first executive team and scalable product? And, what lessons could she share with other founders who find themselves facing a similar challenge? Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

February 24, 2023

New Hubs for Health Innovation: Why These Health Transformers Are Building Their Startups in Columbus, Pittsburgh & Baltimore

Every quarter we publish a little thing called the StartUp Health Insights report. It’s all about health innovation funding, and one of the data points we track is where in the world health innovation funding is landing. We call these health innovation hubs, and the same three or four cities always dominate the list. Companies in San Francisco, New York, Boston, and London account for the vast majority of dollars raised in healthcare. However, at StartUp Health, we know it takes a global village to transform health and there is so much inspiring work happening outside of these cities. Steve Case, former CEO of AOL and an early investor in StartUp Health, famously launched the “Rise of the Rest” campaign which was aimed at showcasing the innovation happening in so-called “flyover cities” like St. Louis, Detroit, and Omaha. We agree with Case that it’s imperative that we back entrepreneurs in more places in order to benefit from a diversity of thought and experience. At StartUp Health we’ve invested in companies from 29 countries, so we wanted to take an episode of the podcast and dedicate it to a few of these stories. Great startups being built in, let’s call them, “less conspicuous” cities. In this StartUp Health NOW episode, you’ll hear interviews with Health Transformers from our portfolio who have chosen to build their companies near Columbus, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. And not because they couldn’t pay the San Francisco rent, but because these environments held hidden gems and opportunities for their businesses, from local talent to affordable workspaces to engaged professional networks. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

February 17, 2023

Inside Healthcare Sales: Building a Revenue Strategy for Your Health Moonshot

Welcome to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators who are transforming health. As we've reported recently, the health tech funding landscape has tightened in the last year. In other words, it's harder to raise money for your business. But there's an upside to this cooler market: There's a heightened emphasis being put on the fundamentals of business like cash flow and profitability. That means less noise being generated around innovations that turn out to be smoke and mirrors and more focused on smart, sustainable business ideas. That's good news for the right kind of founders, the ones we call Health Transformers. But, it still isn't easy. When a startup is facing an ever-shrinking runway and having to show strong revenue numbers, it can be difficult to take the time to formulate a cohesive sales strategy that allows the business not only to survive the long sales cycle in healthcare, but thrive long term as it seeks to achieve its audacious health moonshot. To help founders tackle this challenge head on, we invited Collin Stewart, the CEO of Predictable Revenue, to join us for a recent Fireside Chat. The conversation was hosted by Jamey Edwards in front of a live virtual audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. They cover themes like being radically open to market feedback and even pull some wisdom from Collin's days as a professional musician. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

February 10, 2023

Raising My First Million: The Health Moonshot Mindsets & Tactics That Helped Perceiv AI Close $1.5M During a Down Market

Welcome to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators who are transforming health. It’s no secret that 2022 was a down year for health innovation funding. Earlier this month we published our Year-End Insights Report, which showed a 50% drop-off in digital health funding compared with 2021. Of course, you have to take those numbers in context. For one, 2021 was a crazy, exuberant year for funding, fueled by a COVID-induced rush to virtual healthcare. Second, when you look at health innovation funding over 10 years, we’re still on a dramatic upward growth curve. That said, 2022 was a scary year for startups that needed to raise funds, so we called up a founder in the StartUp Health portfolio who’d made it happen. Christian Dansereau, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of Perceiv AI, closed his first round, $1.5M, in November 2022, while many other companies were experiencing down rounds, acquisitions, and or even closing their doors. So, how’d they raise their first million plus in spite of rocky market conditions? What strategies and mindsets did they use that other founders can learn from? In this podcast episode, we get tactical about lead gen, decks, and nailing your first meeting, and also talk about the importance of aligning with partners at a health moonshot level. Learn more and connect with Health Transformers like Perceiv AI. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

February 2, 2023

Facing the Music: Critical Lessons in Healthcare Leadership

Welcome to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators who are transforming health. What can music teach us about the confusing, inspiring, sometimes frustrating world of healthcare? According to Dr. Stephen Klasko, our guest in this first StartUp Health NOW episode of 2023, the answer is a lot. Dr. Klasko was the President of Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. He launched JeffConnect, a pioneering initiative in telemedicine, and grew Jefferson Health from three hospitals to 14. He’s the author of the new book How the Message in the Music Can Save Healthcare in America, in which he throws back to his roots as a radio DJ in order to help the reader think more creatively about the changes that need to take place in healthcare. Now, he’s getting involved in the startup scene through his work as an executive in residence at General Catalyst. We wanted to bring Dr. Klasko in for a special session with our Health Transformers because he’s solved healthcare problems at the highest level and understands just how interconnected this ecosystem really is. Bonus: he tells it like it is. The conversation, which took place in front a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio, was co-hosted by Elizabeth Dale, who worked closely with Dr. Klasko at Jefferson. Learn more and connect with Health Transformers. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

January 27, 2023

Is Value-Based Care Finally at a Tipping Point? Cityblock and Enlace Health Share Thoughts from StartUp Health @ HLTH

Welcome to StartUp Health NOW, the podcast where we celebrate the entrepreneurs and innovators transforming the future of health. Value-based care has the dubious distinction of being the oldest new idea in health innovation. For decades we’ve talked about the benefits of creating medical payment structures that tie compensation to the patient’s outcome, rather than simply paying for services. It’s pretty clear that if a hospital makes its money off of performing certain tests or procedures, it’s going to have a bias – whether overt or subconscious – towards doing more of those tests and procedures. There’s no financial incentive to give the patient a lower-cost option that’s just as effective. The alternative to America’s “fee for service” model is one where financial risk is shared by multiple entities, and pricing is bundled in a transparent way. This so-called value-based structure does away with surprise bills, and makes sure that doctors and hospitals are financially incentivized to keep patients healthy. Of course, that’s an oversimplification, and we could have a whole other episode about the role of fee-for-service medicine, but that’s not our subject for today. Today, we’re getting a look at how value-based healthcare companies are faring through the lens of two StartUp Health companies, Cityblock Health and Enlace Health. Recently, StartUp Health brought together nearly 100 of our portfolio companies at HLTH in Las Vegas, and while on the show floor, we caught up with some of our top founders in the StartUp Health Studio. That included Bill Nordmark, CEO of Enlace Health, which last year raised a $60M series D, and Dr. Kameron Matthews, Chief Health Officer at Cityblock Health, which is now valued at more than a billion dollars. Both of these companies are making value-based care business models a reality. For Enlace, it’s about building a new infrastructure that allows other companies to operate successfully within a new financial model. For Cityblock, it’s about deploying value-based care at scale in a way that addresses the needs of vulnerable populations. Listen in for Logan Plaster's chats with Bill Nordmark and Dr. Kameron Matthews, held in the busy StartUp Health Pavilion at HLTH in Las Vegas. Learn more and connect with Health Transformers. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: Contact us to learn how to invest in Health Moonshots Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

November 23, 2022

Why Any Digital Health Startup Needs an Interoperability Strategy w/ Troy Bannister, Particle Health

Troy Bannister is the CEO & Founder of Particle Health, a StartUp Health portfolio company that is shaping the new standard of healthcare data exchange with a user-friendly API platform. Fresh off their $25M capital raise, Troy shares his views on the future of interoperability and why interoperability needs to be a core pillar in any healthcare startup’s playbook. Healthcare’s future is about data, and in front of a live, interactive audience of Health Transformers, Troy chats with StartUp Health's Jamey Edwards for a deep dive on how to develop an interoperability strategy and partner with the right company to fulfill your moonshot mission. Join us at the StartUp Health Festival @ HLTH, Nov 13-16, 2022, in Las Vegas to meet Troy Bannister, Jamey Edwards, and hundreds of other Health Transformers in person: https://www.startuphealth.com/startuphealthfestival Learn more and connect with the team at Particle Health. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

November 8, 2022

Sue Siegel, Former CEO of GE Ventures and Chief Innovation Officer at GE, Joins StartUp Health’s Impact Board to Advance Health Moonshots

In this week's StartUp Health NOW episode, we continue a series we’ve been running where we sit down with members of StartUp Health’s Impact Board to learn a bit about their stories and why they’re so passionate about this health moonshot model of supporting founders at scale. Today we’re talking to the venerable Sue Siegel, former Chief Innovation Officer at GE and CEO at GE Ventures and at Healthymagination, an initiative GE launched in order to invest billions of dollars into helping deliver better healthcare to more people at a lower cost. Now, Siegel is leveraging all of that experience to help StartUp Health scale our mission of inspiring, educating, and investing in a global army of Health Transformers. In our interview, we get to hear Siegel’s wisdom about what it’s really going to take to move the needle on health. She also shares why she’s so passionate about professional mentorship and gives a few rules for the road for would-be mentors. As you’ll hear in the interview, in addition to be a wealth of knowledge, Siegel brings an enormous level of empathy and humility to her work. We were inspired talking to her and are excited to share the conversation here. Join us at the StartUp Health Festival @ HLTH, Nov 13-16, 2022, in Las Vegas, to learn more and get involved with our health moonshots. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

November 1, 2022

Aaron Kowalski, PhD, CEO of JDRF, Brings His Professional & Personal Experience to StartUp Health’s T1D Moonshot Impact Board

For this StartUp Health NOW episode, we are joined by Aaron Kowalski, PhD, the CEO of JDRF International. Anyone orbiting in the universe of Type 1 diabetes will know that JDRF is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of T1D research. In his role atop the organization, Kowalski has combined his professional experience as a molecular biologist and executive with his personal passion to fight Type 1 diabetes in order to impact patients like his own brother. Kowalski is also a recent addition to StartUp Health’s Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot Impact Board. This board is a cross-disciplinary team of T1D experts spanning the gamut from research to funding to commercialization. We are thrilled that Kowalski is bringing his vast experience to this cohort in order to speed up innovation and support a generation of health entrepreneurs. Join us at the StartUp Health Festival @ HLTH, Nov 13-16 in Las Vegas, to learn more and get involved with our T1D Moonshot. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

October 25, 2022

AI-Powered Health: Naheed Kurji of Cyclica Takes a Deep Dive into Artificial Intelligence for the Healthcare Industry

Our guest this week is Naheed Kurji, the CEO and Co-founder of Cyclica, which joined StartUp Health way back in 2014. He’s going to get us up to speed on the world of AI-powered drug discovery. We’ll learn how artificial intelligence and machine learning are speeding up our ability to identify molecules and find new uses for market-tested drugs. Naheed will give us an inside look at how Cyclica is specifically trying to reshape this market, then he’ll zoom way out. As the chair of the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Health, Naheed can help us understand where the AI for health industry is going. Join us at the StartUp Health Festival @ HLTH, Nov 13-16, 2022, in Las Vegas to meet Naheed Kurji in person. Learn more and connect with the team at Cyclica. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

October 18, 2022

How to Partner with Investors to Grow & Scale Your Company w/ Cheryl Cheng, CEO & Founder of Vive Collective

This week we welcome Cheryl Cheng to the interview chair. Cheryl is the CEO & Founder of Vive Collective. Previously Cheryl was a Partner at BlueRun Ventures, one of the top VC firms in Silicon Valley. At Vive, she’s taking her 15 years of experience growing startups and putting it specifically into building, funding, and scaling digital health companies. Cheryl is also an advisor to the Stanford Biodesign program and is on the advisory board for Yale Medical School's Digital Health and Innovation Center. We wanted to have Cheryl on one of our Fireside Chats to learn about Vive Collective – since it’s a relatively new kid on the block – and hear what kinds of opportunities she’s seeing in the market. We held this conversation in front of a live virtual audience of Health Transformers from the StartUp Health Portfolio, so you’ll get to hear some of their tactical questions mixed in throughout the session. The goal for these sessions is to have candid conversations with people who can cut through the corporate speak and investment jargon, and Cheryl Cheng understood the assignment. We hope you enjoy. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

October 11, 2022

How Brian Neman Has Cultivated an Award-Winning Workplace at Sanguine Biosciences

This week, our guest is Brian Neman, the CEO and Founder of Sanguine Biosciences, a company that joined the StartUp Health portfolio in 2018. Brian and his team first made a splash by bringing an at-home on-demand business model to specimen collection for clinical trials. Instead of having to get yourself to a lab, you tap a few buttons on your phone and a nurse shows up at your house to take your blood. That business has evolved significantly over the years, which we’ll get into in the interview. But the spark for this interview had more to do with people than products. You see, Brian’s company was just selected for the Forbes list of 100 Best Small Workplaces and top 10 in biopharma. Sanguine was also on Inc.’s list of fastest growing private companies, and Comparably named him on their list of best CEOs for women and for diversity in the workplace. In this interview, Brian will talk about how he cultivates company culture, particularly in an era of remote work – and he had loads of wisdom to share, so we hope you enjoy. Connect with the team at Sanguine Biosciences via email. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

October 4, 2022

Health Innovation Implementation: Dr. Robert Wilson on How Partnering with PreventScripts Enhanced His Medical Practice

Typically on this show we talk to the health tech founders – who we call Health Transformers – that are creating the tools and platforms that will modernize our health system. This week we have a different kind of guest who will help round out the picture of how healthcare innovation goes from idea to real-world implementation. Our guest is Robert Wilson, MD, a family physician who runs CovenantCare Family Practice, a multi-site medical practice in Tennessee. Dr. Wilson popped up on our radar because he was an early partner for PreventScripts, a startup that’s part of the StartUp Health portfolio. PreventScripts, led by Brandi Harless and Natalie Davis, MD, has created a platform that helps family doctors like Dr. Wilson identify patients who would benefit from chronic care management. Think about a patient who is pre-diabetic and all signs point towards a long battle with Type 2 diabetes. While Dr. Wilson might be too overextended to identify and coach this patient before the disease sets in, PreventScripts can identify the risk and put the patient on a clinically-proven program. Patients with chronic diseases, or the risk of disease, get heightened care between visits, and Dr. Wilson gets added reimbursement. We wanted to talk to Dr. Wilson to understand why he was interested in partnering with a health startup, as this is one of the key hurdles for any health innovator. How do you find the right clinical partner, a place to prove out your brilliant idea in the real world, and then iterate based on user feedback? In the conversation, we’ll get into the real-world challenges that Dr. Wilson faces, his motivation for evolving his practice, and how PreventScripts has helped him fill gaps in patient care. Learn more and connect with the team at PreventScripts. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

September 27, 2022

KP Yelpaala Shares the Mission & Vision Behind StartUp Health’s Health Equity Moonshot

As our listeners will know, StartUp Health invests in what we call health moonshots. These are big, audacious health goals that guide us as we push innovative health entrepreneurs — our global army of Health Transformers — to collaborate and focus on long-term impact. We have health moonshots around curing cancer, improving women’s health, ending the opioid crisis, and we’ve recently added another focused on Type 1 diabetes. This week, we launched a Health Equity Moonshot at the Clinton Global Initiative in order to build a framework that re-orients these inspiring problem solvers to tackle the challenge beneath the challenge, the social and systemic factors that drive health inequities. This transformative initiative will be integrated into all of StartUp Health’s other health moonshots, breaking down silos and encouraging local and global collaboration. Leading StartUp Health’s Health Equity Moonshot is Kaakpema “KP” Yelpaala, a global health entrepreneur and long-time Health Transformer (he is the CEO & Co-founder of StartUp Health portfolio company InOn Health) who has dedicated his life to reducing health disparities. Yelpaala is an American of Ghanaian heritage and sits at the intersection of the immigrant and Black experiences in the United States. In this StartUp Health NOW podcast episode, Yelpaala will share his vision for a Health Equity Moonshot and why it is necessary today. Want to join this Health Equity Moonshot? If you’re an investor who believes in this vision, we want to hear from you. Are you a founder focused on breaking down health barriers for historically marginalized communities or who has been held back based on systemic bias in race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation? We want to hear from you. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 20, 2022

The Future of Virtual Health, with Amwell’s Dr. Roy Schoenberg & Murray Brozinsky

We’ve talked extensively on this podcast about how COVID ushered in a period of rapid adoption of telemedicine. According to McKinsey, we went from around 11% of people using telehealth to around 46% during the pandemic. Few companies in the world were better poised to capitalize on this moment than Amwell. What’s so interesting about Amwell is that they weren’t created to meet this moment. They have been patiently and persistently ringing the telemedicine bell since 2006. Back then, seeing your doctor over your computer seemed like a pipe dream, or worse, some dystopian future. Now, well, things look a bit different. Building the infrastructure to deliver healthcare virtually is an idea whose time has come. And Amwell’s persistence has made them a world leader in the market. Now, Amwell is expanding the definition of virtual care. Last year they acquired StartUp Health portfolio company Conversa Health, which uses chatbot functionality to automate care in between visits to improve efficiency and outcomes. This episode of the podcast is pulled from a Fireside Chat where we sat down with Roy Schoenberg, MD, CEO and Co-founder of Amwell, and Murray Brozinsky, CEO of Conversa Health. The chat, which was moderated by Steven Krein, CEO and Co-founder of StartUp Health, pulls back the curtain on how these two companies came together, the lessons learned from the process, and what it all means for the future of virtual care. Roy and Murray are a wealth of wisdom and experience when it comes to digital health, so it was a powerful conversation. Hope you enjoy. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

September 13, 2022

Why Jon Miller, Former CEO at AOL and IAC, Joined StartUp Health’s Board of Directors

Jon Miller is best known for being a former CEO of AOL, Head of Digital Media at News Corp, and Chief Executive of the media powerhouse IAC. With all of that experience in media, Miller might seem like an interesting choice for the StartUp Health board of directors, which he joined recently. After all, on the board he joins the likes of Toby Cosgrove, MD, whose pedigree as the former head of the Cleveland Clinic needs little explanation. Obviously, Miller’s experience in business, finance, and media has been vast, but how does that translate to health moonshots, these audacious goals that guide investments at StartUp Health? To find out, we called him up for a chat. Specifically, we wanted to know what tools of media could be used to speed up health innovation and help startups bring their solutions to market more successfully. What we learned was that many of the advancements and opportunities Miller has seen in media over the last couple decades – advancements in consumerism and community – are absolutely core to improving health in scalable digital ways. Listen in to hear Miller explain that vision and why he’s more excited than ever to support a global army of health tech entrepreneurs – this band of like-minded founders we call Health Transformers. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

September 6, 2022

Affectifi’s ThinkHuman Platform Uses Streaming TV to Make Emotional Regulation Easy, Fun, and Accessible

Emotional regulation. It’s a fancy term for something very simple, and something we often take for granted. Emotional regulation is a person's ability to effectively manage and respond to an emotional experience. We do this work unconsciously all day long, deciding how to respond when we’re cut off in traffic or when we see something we disagree with on social media. How we respond to emotional situations can have massive ramifications for our lives, yet we don’t typically spend much time thinking about it or trying to improve. Our guests this week, Melissa Cesarano and Ilya Lyashevsky, got their PhDs at Columbia University studying the science of this field, called social-emotional learning. Now, they’ve poured their academic work into a startup called Affectifi, which StartUp Health backed last year. In this conversation, we’ll hear from Mel and Ilya about their unique methodology for teaching emotional regulation to young people. It’s a platform called ThinkHuman and it actually piggy-backs training modules on top of popular content on streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+. Listen in to hear how it works. Learn more and connect with the team at Affectifi. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 30, 2022

At Trusty.care, Joseph Schneier Is Building a Better Infrastructure for Medicaid and Medicare Benefits

This week on StartUp Health NOW we’re talking to Joseph Schneier, the CEO and Co-founder of Trusty.care, a company that joined StartUp Health in 2018. Joseph holds a special place here at StartUp Health because not only is he a four-time serial entrepreneur, but he’s heading up his second StartUp Health-backed company. Joseph's latest endeavor, Trusty.care, is a platform that makes sense out of the byzantine world of Medicaid and Medicare benefits. It’s not flashy work – which Joseph is the first to admit – but therein lies the opportunity for impact. The chance to build a better infrastructure for health, the pipes and roads that make health insurance a more palatable, patient-centric experience. Trusty.care is making waves in the Medicaid/Medicare benefits market, and in this interview we pull back the curtain on that success and get a glimpse of what Joseph is planning next. Learn more and connect with the team at Trusty-care. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 23, 2022

Salvo Health: Travelocity and Foursquare Exec Jeff Glueck Has Raised $10.5M to Disrupt the GI Health Market

In health innovation – which is the world we inhabit at StartUp Health – there are certain issues that get the lion’s share of attention. Think wearables for tracking daily activity or new mental health solutions. A lot of attention is going towards interventions for seniors and addressing issues of loneliness and isolation. These are wonderful areas of development. But there are other areas of health that have huge implications across society, yet have a way of flying under the radar. There’s stigma – like our hesitance to talk about mental health struggles – and then there’s society’s reaction to gastrointestinal conditions. GI problems. Irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. Celiac disease. The list goes on. Each year, 62 million Americans are diagnosed with a digestive disorder. Another 30 million go undiagnosed. They’re often too embarrassed to even talk to their primary care provider about it, so they suffer in silence, and it has negative ripple effects across their entire life. Well, all that seems to be about to change. The virtual healthcare revolution has reached the GI market with the launch of Salvo Health, a company that’s using virtual care to bring the best gut health tools and therapies to millions of people. Heading up the effort is CEO and Co-founder Jeff Glueck, who is our guest on today’s episode. Jeff is a tech industry veteran, having been Chief Marketing Officer at Travelocity during their meteoric rise, and the CEO of the social app Foursquare. He’s leveraging that experience to disrupt an old school industry and bring relief to millions. The company, which joined StartUp Health last year, has just announced a $10.5M Seed raise to bring Salvo out of stealth mode and start to scale in earnest. How’s Jeff going to use his experience at Travelocity and Foursquare to disrupt the GI health market? We’ll let him explain in the interview. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 16, 2022

Former Dexcom Exec Claudia Graham Joins StartUp Health’s New T1D Moonshot Impact Board

"The more you know, the better you’ll do living with diabetes," says Claudia Graham. "There's nothing more important in diabetes than empowering patients." If you follow StartUp Health at all, you have seen headlines about our new Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot. To recap, we’ve launched an initiative designed to speed up innovation around Type 1 diabetes by bringing together a cross-disciplinary team of investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, researchers, and other industry experts. At the heart of the effort is an Impact Board – basically our T1D dream team – which brings together the top minds in the field for collaborative working sessions. We wanted to take some time on this podcast to introduce you to some of the inspiring folks on this Impact Board and invite you to get involved in the effort. On this episode you’ll meet Claudia Graham, former executive at Dexcom, the company that revolutionized the continuous glucose monitor. She served as VP of Marketing and SVP of Global Access. Now she’s putting her decades of experience at Dexcom – and as someone living with Type 1 diabetes – to work as an advisor and investor. We caught up with Claudia over zoom at her home in Idaho to learn about the opportunities and challenges she sees in the Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot, how StartUp Health helps get away from institutional thinking to break down barriers and empower patients, and how she thinks about leaving a legacy for the next generation. Entrepreneurs, are you working on a T1D solution? We want to hear from you. Investors, want to back an impact-driven fund laser focused on T1D? Contact us. Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

August 9, 2022

Dr. Toyin Ajayi, Cityblock Health: Building and Scaling a Company With an Impactful Mission

Toyin Ajayi, MD, co-founded Cityblock Health in 2017 with the goal of meeting patients where they are. Cityblock Health, which joined StartUp Health in 2019, provides patients with 24/7 support and care that is affordable and fits complex needs. Their mission is not just to improve quality of care, but to improve the health of whole communities. In this conversation, Dr. Ajayi, who stepped into the role of CEO this year, shares how their high-touch care concept adapted to COVID. She also explains how their unique model has specialists collaborating on patient care plans and gives some hard-earned leadership advice to founders. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

August 2, 2022

Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary of Wise Therapeutics Shares How to Use Your Anxiety to Thrive

Our guest this week, Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, PhD, doesn’t pull any punches. She’s the co-founder of Wise Therapeutics, which joined StartUp Health last year, and author of the new book Why Anxiety is Good for You (Even Though it Feels Bad). As you’ll hear in the interview, Dr. Dennis-Tiwary is on a bold mission to change how society thinks about anxiety, so that millions of people can thrive in the face of adversity rather than settling for being comfortably numb. She’ll also explain how her work in digital therapeutics uses simple mobile games to help people rewire their brains. Wise Therapeutics' research-backed app – called Personal Zen – trains users to make more positive subconscious choices, one swipe at a time. --- Learn more and connect with the team at Wise Therapeutics. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

July 26, 2022

Storytelling: A Key Driver of Value Creation, with Jared Bloom of 4th and King

Health Transformers – what we call the entrepreneurs that we invest in and work with every day at StartUp Health – didn’t get into this business to create pitch decks. They didn’t start their companies in order to have investor meetings. They wanted to solve big problems in health. They wanted to heal people and help them live longer. However, the reality is that to achieve your health moonshot will generally require you to attract the necessary capital and talent – and that, in turn, hinges on your ability to tell your story. Whether it’s through your verbal delivery or your presentation deck, it’s essential that founders are able to frame the challenge effectively, inspire confidence in their team, and drive action. This is precisely where our guest this week, Jared Bloom, has focused his talents. He’s the co-founder of 4th and King, an agency dedicated solely to helping companies craft, design, and deliver fundraising presentations. They’ve worked with more than 200 companies now, helping them to raise a cumulative $7B in capital. The conversation you’ll hear is excerpted from a Fireside Chat that was held in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. In addition to Bloom's wisdom on telling your story and nailing your next business presentation, you’ll hear his answers to a range of tactical questions from the Health Transformers in the audience. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

July 19, 2022

David Weingard Breaks Down the Mission and Vision of StartUp Health’s New T1D Moonshot

This week’s episode is a conversation with a very special guest, David Weingard. For years StartUp Health backed his work as a founder as he built up a startup called Cecelia Health that provides a combination of high-tech and high-touch care for people with diabetes. Now David is leading a new initiative here at StartUp Health, the Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot. As the Chief Impact Officer, David has brought together an all-star team of T1D advocates to further this moonshot by onboarding investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers who are building the future of health. Hear how the Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot Impact Board is breaking down silos and speeding up innovation — and how you can join the effort. Entrepreneurs, are you working on a T1D solution? We want to hear from you. Investors, want to back an impact-driven fund laser focused on T1D? Contact us. Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

July 12, 2022

From the Archives: Practical Tips and Wisdom From the Gates Foundation

One year ago, we chatted with Annie Ye, the Program Manager of Digital Health Innovation at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation during a StartUp Health Fireside Chat in front of an audience of Health Transformers from the StartUp Health portfolio. Ye has experience in technology and analytics strategy and joined the Foundation at the outset of the pandemic to refine and connect a number of technological initiatives and strategy teams. In this episode Ye discusses foundation priorities and best practices for startups seeking to partner on health projects. Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

July 5, 2022

BUA FIT Hits One Million Engagements in Support of Outdoor Fitness

One in four adults is physically inactive according to a global health study published in the Lancet a few years ago. That’s an enormous number. It doesn’t take much research or imagination to figure out that this leads directly to poorer health outcomes – and just a lower quality of life in general. Our bodies need to move for our physical and mental wellbeing. Dave Stapleton, our guest today, is working to solve this problem. Dave played semi-pro rugby in Ireland and then moved to London to work in finance. Because of his years on the field, he prefers outdoor fitness classes. He was taking part in these various bootcamps and high intensity training sessions around London when he realized two things. The first was that outdoor training was more accessible to the people who needed it most. People who feared the judgment or complexity of a gym seemed to see outdoor classes as an entry point to fitness. The second was that the outdoor fitness market was incredibly fractured and disorganized. So Dave did what great entrepreneurs do. He dove deep into market research, found like-minded collaborators, and began to build. The platform he created, BUA FIT, just celebrated facilitating its one millionth engagement, so we wanted to get Dave on the phone from London and hear more about how their journey has played out since StartUp Health invested in the company last year. Learn more and connect with the team at BUA FIT. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 28, 2022

Lactation Lab Gets FDA Breakthrough Device Designation to Help Babies Get the Nutrition They Need

Our guest this week is Stephanie Canale, MD, the CEO & Founder of Lactation Lab, which StartUp Health backed in 2019. As a family doctor and as a mother, Dr. Canale saw firsthand the challenges faced by new moms when it comes to feeding their babies. What she saw again and again was that mothers simply didn’t have information about their own breastmilk. Was it low in certain nutrients? Would the child benefit from a supplement? Why, she wondered, was there so much guesswork about something so essential to infant thriving? So, she came up with a testing kit that analyzes breast milk to show exactly what nutrition their infant is getting, allowing mothers to replenish anything that is deficient. We dialed up Dr. Canale this week for two reasons. One was to get her take on the current infant formula shortage, since she works so closely with new parents. But also, in exciting news, Lactation Lab has just received FDA Breakthrough designation for a device they’ve built that’s being used in hospitals to make sure that the most at-risk babies get the nutrients they need to grow and thrive. Dr. Canale explains all about it in our interview and how this FDA Breakthrough Device designation has changed her company’s trajectory in interesting ways. Learn more and connect with the team at Lactation Lab. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 21, 2022

Living the Moonshot Mindset, with Lee Shapiro of 7wireVentures

This week we bring you a conversation between Unity Stoakes, President & Co-founder of StartUp Health, and a very special guest, long-time StartUp Health investor, collaborator, and friend Lee Shapiro. Lee is the Managing Partner at 7wireVentures, a leading health tech investment firm, but that’s just one of the many hats he’s worn in recent years. The "beachside chat," which was held live at the 2022 StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE in Miami Beach, covers a range of topics, from what 7wireVentures looks for in a startup to how healthcare can learn from adjacent industries, like gaming and banking. Lee Shapiro is one of those rare voices in the industry that combines hard-earned operational experience with the health moonshot wisdom of a philosopher. He embodies the characteristics of tenacity and humility that he looks for in a startup founder, and he’s always a pleasure to talk to. Enjoy the conversation. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 14, 2022

How Health Innovation Startups Can Partner with Anthem

In health innovation, you can have the most amazing idea and a rock-solid business plan, but in order to scale, you might still need to find the right enterprise partner. Topping this list for many entrepreneurs is Anthem, which serves 40 million people and is ranked #57 on the Fortune 500 list. It’s safe to say that if your startup can get distribution through this network, it’s going to put you on a whole new trajectory. In order to find out how Anthem works with startups, we invited Omid Toloui, Anthem’s Vice President of Innovation, to join us for a chat. Anthem has had a range of programs in recent years aimed at collaborating with nimble, forward-thinking startups, like their Innovation Studio in Atlanta and their Digital Incubator Program. But we wanted Omid to pull back the curtain on exactly how Anthem thinks about innovation, and how startups can partner with them. This StartUp Health NOW episode was excerpted from a Fireside Chat held in front of a live audience of Health Transformers from the StartUp Health portfolio. Enjoy. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 7, 2022

With Particle Health’s API, Troy Bannister Is Making Health Data Interoperability a Reality

A 2021 report in Bloomberg Law stated that though “Health IT pros and federal regulators dream of a healthcare system in which the flow of information happens seamlessly through a simple mouse-click, at least 70% of healthcare providers still exchange medical information by fax.” In the world of health innovation, we know what can be unlocked when patient data can move safely and quickly from point A to point B. We know it because we saw it in the world of personal finance. Interoperable financial data empowered normal people to take charge of their finances, sending and receiving money, investing with a click of a button. It also empowered a new generation of apps like Venmo and Robin Hood. This week we bring you a conversation with Troy Bannister, CEO and Co-founder of Particle Health, a StartUp Health portfolio company that is working to bring to healthcare the same level of data interoperability that we’ve experienced in personal finance. Their API framework is a foundation for healthcare innovators to build upon, so really we’re just at the very beginning of seeing what’s possible. Troy explains what they’ve built, and what’s coming next in health data interoperability in this conversation with Katya Hancock, partner at StartUp Health. The chat was held in front of a live audience at the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE in Miami Beach in March. Learn more and connect with the team at Particle Health. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 31, 2022

Strategies – From an Australian – on Breaking Into New Global Health Tech Markets

This week on the podcast we sat down with Peter Birch, the founder and host of the Talking HealthTech podcast. Peter hails from Australia and over the course of producing some 240 episodes of his podcast, he’s gained a unique perspective on his healthcare ecosystem. He’s seen what works, what doesn’t, and what it takes for a foreign health company to make inroads in the Australian market. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 24, 2022

Luis Santiago on How a Recent Team Tragedy Brought PEGASI’s Health Moonshot Into Focus

Every company in the StartUp Health portfolio can draw a line between their business objectives and a very real human impact. Even companies working on highly technical, administrative solutions are doing so, at the end of the day, in order to help people get the care they need faster or better. Our stance is that no database integration, supply chain management tool, or insurance platform should exist apart from its ability to improve lives. In other words, health innovation is personal. For some founders, like our guest today, the human face of healthcare technology is startlingly clear. Our guest is Luis Santiago, the CEO and Co-founder of PEGASI, which StartUp Health backed in 2020. PEGASI is in the business of digitizing health information systems in Latin America, and they’re currently focused on upgrading those systems within oncology so that cancer patients can get diagnosed and treated sooner. That mission gained a tragic level of clarity this year as PEGASI’s CTO Janper Garbi went through a devastating battle with cancer. Luis Santiago shares that personal story, and how it could have ended differently had the hospital been using a digital platform to speed up diagnosis and treatment. This isn’t just a story about what could have been, but how a tragedy becomes fuel for a health moonshot that could improve the lives of millions. — Learn more and connect with the team a PEGASI. — Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 17, 2022

KP Yelpaala of InOn Health: Health Equity Isn’t Just the Right Thing to Do, It’s Also Good for Business

Today’s guest is Kaakpema "KP" Yelpaala, the CEO and Co-founder of InOn Health, a StartUp Health portfolio company that delivers patient engagement solutions with an emphasis on cross-cultural communication. This conversation you’ll hear is pulled from a Fireside Chat at the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE and is hosted by Katya Hancock, a partner at StartUp Health. The two discuss KP’s work at InOn Health, which centers around health literacy and patient communication. And they also dig into health equity – an area of particular passion and focus for KP – to try to get beyond the hype and the buzzwords. They tackle the question: what is it going to take to break down barriers and open up access to care for all people? For one thing, he says, we have to realize that health equity isn't just the right thing to do, it's also good for business. — Learn more and connect with the team at InOn Health. — Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 10, 2022

Does Teladoc’s Stock Drop Matter? Jamey Edwards on Achieving Health Moonshots in the Face of Rocky Public Markets

This week’s episode of StartUp Health NOW is a conversation with Jamey Edwards, Chief Operating Officer at StartUp Health. Jamey has been working in the telemedicine space for more than a decade, and his last company, Cloudbreak, went public via SPAC last year. So when we saw the headlines that Teladoc's stock dropped 40% – alongside other dips in the telemedicine public market – we called him up for a dose of perspective. In this conversation with host Logan Plaster, Edwards breaks down the news from Wall Street and gives startups some health moonshot wisdom. Bottom line: stay focused on the mission because improving global health is a marathon, not a sprint. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 3, 2022

Alyssa Jaffee of 7wireVentures on Finding Balance, Authenticity, and Founder-Market Fit

This week’s episode of StartUp Health NOW is pulled from a recent Fireside Chat we held with investor Alyssa Jaffee, a partner at 7wireVentures who focuses on digital health. Jaffee sits on the board of Ayogo Health and works with five health companies as a board observer, so she’s got a very hands-on understanding of what’s working and what’s not. In the interview, Jaffee shares some best practices for breaking through the noise and landing a meeting with an investor. She talks through the importance of founder-market fit – why passion is particularly important in healthcare – and why she’s so bullish on the health innovation market as a whole. We hold these candid conversations in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio, so you’ll get to learn from their questions as well. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

April 26, 2022

Live From the Conflict Zone: How David Sarabia of inRecovery Is Supporting His Team in Ukraine

This week, we talk with David Sarabia, the CEO and Founder of inRecovery, a StartUp Health-backed company that brings digital health tools to the addiction recovery market. David was on vacation in Mexico when he saw the headlines: Ukraine was under attack and Russian forces were moving in on the capital. After the initial shock of the news wore off, David snapped into action. He’d spent a good deal of time in Ukraine, cultivating a development team there for his startup. And now his team was in trouble. So instead of taking his flight back to California, he booked a ticket to Poland. He had no plan and few connections, just a desire to help. David has been on the ground in Krakow now for more than month, organizing supply runs into Ukraine while still running his company. When we heard about the important work he was doing we tracked him down for an interview. Exhausted but encouraged by the strength of the Ukrainian people, he shares a bit about the work he’s doing and how others can help. — Connect with the team at inRecovery via email. — Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

April 19, 2022

How Lazurite Scored Rapid FDA Approval for Their Wireless Surgical Camera

In health innovation, sometimes the eureka moment that sparks a business is subtle. Maybe you’re a physician clicking away on an electronic health record and it dawns on you that you could do the same thing with fewer clicks. An idea is born. At other times, inspiration smacks you in the face. Or, as in the case of Eugene Malinskiy, the CEO & Co-founder of Lazurite (a StartUp Health company since 2017), smacks someone else. In this podcast, we'll hear how a fateful day in the operating room set Malinskiy on a multi-year journey of creating the world’s first wireless minimally invasive camera system for use in the OR. The big challenge, as he’ll explain, was getting a powerful enough light system into the unit. This month, Malinskiy and his team celebrated the milestone of receiving FDA clearance for their ArthroFree camera, so we caught up with them to hear the latest. We also hit Malinskiy up for some practical advice on navigating the FDA process. One tip? Find and invest in an experienced regulatory partner early in the process. — Learn more and connect with the team at Lazurite. — Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

April 12, 2022

Health Transformers Live: Gray Oncology Solutions, Gennev, AvoMD, Valera Health

This week we wanted to break from our typical format and introduce you to four inspiring founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. This episode is excerpted from an on-stage Health Transformer discussion that was held at the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE in Miami Beach in March. You’ll hear from André Diamant, PhD, CEO & Founder of Gray Oncology Solutions, about how they’re improving efficiency in cancer care. Jill Angelo, CEO & Founder of Gennev, talks about how they’re improving women’s health in their post-reproductive years. Yair Saperstein, MD, CEO & Co-founder of AvoMD, explains how they’re crowdsourcing knowledge in order to put the best decision support tools in the palm of the physician’s hand. And finally, Tom Tsang, MD, CEO & Co-founder of Valera Health, explains how his company is bringing comprehensive mental health services to the virtual healthcare ecosystem. The session was hosted by Lauren Schafer from StartUp Health. In addition to sharing the moonshot missions of each of their companies, they talk about changes seen in health innovation due to COVID’s impact, their biggest messages for partners and investors, and more. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

April 5, 2022

Why Jonathan Bush Calls His New Startup Zus “The Waterboy for Health Innovation”

Our guest on this episode of StartUp Health NOW, Jonathan Bush, has been pushing and prodding and challenging the status quo since the dawn of the digital health revolution. He did it first as the CEO & Co-founder of athenahealth back in the late 90s, where he collaborated with Todd and Ed Park to build one of the industry’s first internet-based healthcare companies. For that work, Fortune included Jonathan Bush in its list of "34 Leaders Who Are Changing Healthcare." Now, Bush is back with an ambitious new startup called Zus Health, which uses a library of software tools to enable digital health companies to build their own unique experiences. StartUp Health President & Co-founder Unity Stoakes sat down with him on stage at the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE earlier in March to hear about what he’s building and where he sees health innovation growing next. And, why he likens Zus to being "the waterboy for health innovation." Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 29, 2022

The Tipping Point for Telemedicine, with Amwell’s Dr. Roy Schoenberg

Our guest this week is telemedicine pioneer Roy Schoenberg, MD, MPH, the Co-CEO and President of Amwell. COVID was an absolute game changer for telemedicine adoption, and Amwell was right there to seize the momentum. But before COVID, Dr. Schoenberg and his team labored for 14 years trying to bring the dream of telemedicine to reality. They learned a lot along the way, and we’ll hear some of those lessons in this conversation between Roy and Unity Stoakes, StartUp Health's President and Co-founder. The chat was held on stage at the StartUp Health Festival, which occurred at ViVE in Miami Beach in March 2022. You’ll hear Dr. Schoenberg's philosophy on health automation – why that shouldn’t be a dirty word – and a bit on why they acquired Conversa Health, a StartUp Health portfolio company that made its name building healthcare chatbots. Dr. Schoenberg also delivers some hard-won wisdom to today’s healthcare entrepreneurs, like the fact that persistence is the name of the game. If you want to change health, he says, you have to be ready for the long fight. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 22, 2022

Transcarent’s Glen Tullman on Building the Next Healthcare Ecosystem

This week is another StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE special, as we bring you a main stage conversation between Glen Tullman, CEO of Transcarent, and Unity Stoakes, the President and Co-founder of StartUp Health. In the conversation, held in front of a live audience, Tullman pulls back the curtain on what he’s building at Transcarent, and how it builds on the success he saw at Livongo. Tullman explains why healthcare is entering the era of “Big Customer” not “Big Tech” and why, if we want to make healthcare efficient and affordable, we have to completely rethink the process, not just make the current system work a little more smoothly. Stick around for the end of the interview, where Tullman gives some practical wisdom to entrepreneurs and innovators who are early in the journey. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 15, 2022

Live From the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE 2022

This week's podcast is coming to you live from the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE in Miami Beach where Health Transformers have come together from around the world. StartUp Health's Media Director, Logan Plaster, interviewed 26 Health Transformers on the first full day of the Festival, learning more about the news our portfolio companies are ready to announce to the StartUp Health community. In this conversation, Logan chats with our Social Media Coordinator, Rachel Freeman, about key takeaways from his interviews: including covering the basics in healthcare, developing surgeries that will solve a multitude of health problems, an exciting announcement from Welwaze, and so much more. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 8, 2022

With MouthWatch, Brant Herman Is Blazing a New Trail for Tele-Dentistry

Join us in Miami Beach next week for the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE 2022 to meet the MouthWatch team and dozens of other Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/festival — Thanks to COVID-19, the telemedicine industry saw an unprecedented boom over the last two years. Millions of people who never thought they’d see their doctor over a video call were introduced to the idea and discovered it was often pretty convenient. This phenomenon has gotten plenty of air time. But what about tele-dentistry? You may have to see your dentist in person if you want to get a cleaning done, but it turns out there’s a whole world of virtual dental care that has exploded in the last two years, following the same trend line as telehealth. At the forefront of this movement is our guest today, Brant Herman, the CEO and Co-founder of MouthWatch. This company – which StartUp Health backed in 2015 – saw the need years ago and has designed an intraoral camera that can help visualize what’s going on in the mouth and send that information to a remote specialist. They’ve also built Teledent, a leading platform for managing teledentistry practices. For this work they’ve won a host of awards, and for two years in a row have been on Inc’s list of fastest growing private companies. We’ll get into all of that in the interview, hear about the company’s journey, and talk about the critical role of oral health in holistic health. — Join us in Miami Beach from March 6-9 for the StartUp Health Festival @ ViVE 2022 to meet Brant and dozens of other Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/festival — Connect with the team at MouthWatch. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 28, 2022

Everyplace Labs Validates Self-Service Diagnostic Testing Kiosk

Here are two things we learned as a society from the COVID-19 pandemic: one is that knowledge is power, and a quick diagnostic test can help us understand our risk of spreading a virus to others; the second is we also learned that testing technology means nothing if it’s not accessible. If you have to schedule an appointment to get tested three days after symptoms start and then you wait another three days for results, the whole system grinds to a halt. Accurate tests aren’t enough. We also have to get them into the right hands at the right time. That’s where today’s guests come in. Michael Tu and Claire Zhou are the co-founders of Everyplace Labs, which StartUp Health backed in 2021. As the name suggests, Everyplace Labs is designing a way to make diagnostic testing – whether for COVID or anything else – available just about anywhere. They’ve built a kiosk – essentially a diagnostic testing vending machine that can walk a patient through the administration of a test, and then process the results right there in the machine. The product, really a first of its kind, is being piloted at large manufacturers, where workers can have a very hard time accessing healthcare resources, but it really has implications for any community lacking access to basic diagnostic testing. In our conversation we’ll get into their recent pilot, learn how the machine works, and hear what comes next for broader commercialization. — Join us in Miami Beach from March 6-9 for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022 to meet dozens of Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive — Connect with the team at Everyplace Labs. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 22, 2022

At Particle Health, Troy Bannister Is Bringing the Best of FinTech to Healthcare

Meet Troy Bannister and the Particle Health team when you join us in Miami Beach in March for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022: startuphealth.com/vive — It’s no secret that healthcare as an industry has lagged behind most industries when it comes to tech adoption. We can search and buy plane tickets on our phones, get a same-day delivery of toothpaste with a click of a button, but medical records often still need to be faxed in paper form from one hospital to another. Your response might be that's OK since healthcare is a lot more complicated, and data security is a bigger deal when it comes to health than it is in travel and retail. However, consider Exhibit B: Digital personal finance. Today, people deposit checks, send money, even invest in the stock market, with a click on their phones, in spite of the very sensitive nature of the data involved. I say all of this because my guest on the show today, Troy Bannister, is bringing the best of finance tech and bringing it to the healthcare industry. Troy is the CEO and Co-founder of Particle Health, which StartUp Health backed in 2018, and he’s on a mission to kill the fax machine and make the essential exchange of health data as easy as Venmo, Mint, or RobinHood. Particle Health is doing this through a clever API approach that helps developers build new, exciting apps. — Join us in Miami Beach from March 6-9 for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022 to meet the Particle Health team and dozens of other Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive — Learn more and connect with the team at Particle Health. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 15, 2022

How Nightingale Is Redefining Preventative Health

Join us in Miami Beach in March for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022: startuphealth.com/vive Nightingale Health, a Finnish company that StartUp Health backed in 2016, uses a new kind of blood testing to predict future disease risk so that people can change the course of their health before it’s too late. They’ve designed a way to analyze blood samples that pulls 250 times more data from that sample than a typical test. They use artificial intelligence and machine learning to correlate that data with future disease risk, like diabetes and heart disease. Then they put the result in simple terms so that patients can see trends and take action. This year, Nightingale took three big strides forward. They went public on the Finnish Nasdaq, which gave them capital to scale globally. They rolled out at-home testing kits so more people can benefit from Nightingale’s disease prediction. And they acquired a genomics company that will allow them to bake genetic information into their app and provide people with even more personalized health assessments. We sat down with Nightingale CEO and Co-founder Teemu Suna to hear more about their blood testing technology and how it could change preventative health globally by getting patients to see their potential future and then change the course of their health. Join us in Miami Beach in March at StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022 to meet Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive — Learn more and connect with the team at Nightingale. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 8, 2022

A Candid Conversation w/ Glen Tullman and Lee Shapiro, Investors in the StartUp Health Moonshots Impact Fund

Join us in Miami Beach in March for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022: startuphealth.com/vive --- This week on the show we’re revisiting a conversation that first aired in 2021. It’s from a fireside chat we had with Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman, the dynamic duo behind ventures like Allscripts, 7wire Ventures, and Livongo. On the call, the two talk with Steven Krein, StartUp Health CEO & Co-founder, about 25 years of lessons learned in investing and how they built health moonshot companies. We hear how Transcarent was "Hatched" and the success drivers behind Livongo. More importantly, we get a candid view of how two icons of health investors think about work and life. We also learn a bit about why both Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman have invested in the StartUp Health Moonshots Impact Fund, which launched last year. This fund makes it easy for investors to back a diverse portfolio of health startups, and you can learn all about it at healthmoonshots.com. Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman will be joining StartUp Health and more than 50 of our Health Transformers at ViVE, a premier health innovation event by HLTH and CHIME that’s happening in Miami Beach from March 6-9. StartUp Health @ ViVE will bring together founders, partners, and investors under one collaborative roof, and we’ll be broadcasting stories of health moonshot progress from the StartUp Health TV Studio. We hope you’ll join us in Miami Beach! Learn more and save on your ViVE registration at startuphealth.com/vive. --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox. Follow us on social media for daily updates on Health Transformers: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

February 1, 2022

How HLTH and StartUp Health Are Uniting the Health Innovation Ecosystem, with Rich Scarfo

On January 18, 2022, StartUp Health announced a multi-year partnership with HLTH, the leading platform for bringing together the health ecosystem around innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology. In order to understand more about the partnership, we sat down with Rich Scarfo, President of HLTH. In addition to hearing his take on the recent news, we get to hear some war stories about what it has been like to be in the event business during COVID-19, and how HLTH thrived in the face of some daunting challenges. Join us in Miami Beach in March for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022: startuphealth.com/vive --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 25, 2022

How to Clinically Validate Your Startup, With AliveCor’s Dr. Archana Dubey

Archana Dubey, MD, the Chief Clinical Officer at AliveCor, has worked as a primary care physician, on the enterprise side at HP, and in startups as a founder herself. AliveCor has been a pioneer in the med tech device market for a decade, introducing the world’s first single-lead ECG built for consumers. Our conversation centers on AliveCor's lessons learned in clinical validation, consumer marketing, and tech integrations. --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 18, 2022

Responsum Health’s Latest App Puts Long-COVID Front and Center

Our guest today is Andrew Rosenberg, CEO and Founder of Responsum Health, which StartUp Health backed in 2019. At Responsum, Rosenberg and his team have created disease-specific apps that bring together curated information and news about that disease as well as a professionally-moderated community chat, so patients can connect and learn in a safe environment. Their recent app developed around Long-COVID has exploded with activity, so we sat down with Rosenberg to hear what he’s learning from this community of patients. Join us in Miami Beach in March at StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022 and meet Andrew Rosenberg and other Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 10, 2022

Reversing Diabetes With Sami Inkinen of Virta Health

Join us in Miami Beach from March 6-9, 2022, for StartUp Health @ ViVE to meet Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive The numbers surrounding Type 2 diabetes are staggering. The WHO puts the number north of 400 million people globally, and it’s just getting worse. Health experts agree that Type 2 diabetes can largely be managed by a combination of nutrition, exercise, and medication. But what if it could be reversed completely? That’s the claim, and the health moonshot, of our guest today, Sami Inkinen, CEO and Founder of Virta, which StartUp Health backed in 2020. Specifically, Inkinen and his team want to reverse Type 2 diabetes in 100 million people by 2025. Before Virta, Inkinen disrupted the real estate industry by co-founding Trulia, which he sold to Zillow for $2.5B. Now with Virta, he’s raised more than $350M to date, giving him the capital needed to take a great idea and scale it in unprecedented ways. --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 4, 2022

Startup Strategies: The Secret to Successful Tech Transfer at a Major University

Our guest is Lukasz Kowalik, senior licensing and business development officer at Weill Cornell. Lukasz has a degree in chemistry, a PhD in neuroscience, and a postdoc in chemical biology. But he also works in business development, and his current position has him helping inventors and startups transition into commercialization in partnership with a large university health system. In this StartUp Health NOW episode we dig into how those worlds come together and learn what makes successful tech transfer partnerships. --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 21, 2021

How Echo Health Ventures Invests in Health Innovation, With Jessica Zeaske

On this StartUp Health Fireside Chat, held in front of a live audience of StartUp Health founders, we hear from Jessica Zeaske, partner at Echo Health Ventures. Prior to Echo, Jessica served as Director of Healthcare Investments at GE Ventures. She brings together a unique blend of public health, software development, and business experience, and she leverages that as an investor and on the many boards she sits on. --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 14, 2021

Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman Build Collaborative Partnerships to Achieve Health Moonshots

In this StartUp Health Fireside Chat, we bring you a conversation with Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman, the dynamic duo behind 7wire Ventures, Livongo, and now Transcarent. These two have worked side by side as friends and business partners for more than 30 years, investing in startups, scaling businesses, and taking companies public. Now, in addition to all the rest, the two are backing a diverse portfolio of early-stage health startups through the StartUp Health Moonshots Impact Fund. When it comes to health innovation, Lee and Glen have seen it all – always through the lens of a collaborative partnership. Steven Krein, StartUp Health’s CEO and Co-founder, leads the conversation, which covers everything from new market opportunities to practical strategies for working with investors. --- Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 7, 2021

For Ironman Athlete David Weingard, a Diabetes Diagnosis Was a Spark for Innovation

Join us in Miami Beach from March 6-9, 2022, for StartUp Health @ ViVE to meet the Cecelia Health team and other Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive === Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t been impacted by diabetes in some way. Globally, half a billion people are affected by the disease, and it was responsible for the deaths of 1.5M people globally in 2019. As frightening as those numbers are, there is also great hope to be found today in the entrepreneurs and innovations changing how we manage diabetes. To understand both sides of this coin – the very personal toll of diabetes plus the present and future promise of health technology – we talked to David Weingard, founder of Cecelia Health, which helps diabetics get the specialized health coaching they need. More importantly, David is a type 1 diabetic who has fought for his own life and knows the daily fears and challenges that this silent disease brings to millions. It’s that combination of experience that makes David’s journey so powerful. === Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 30, 2021

Julie Yoo: A Look at How Andreessen Horowitz Invests in the Future of Health

This week on the podcast we sat down with Andreessen Horowitz's General Partner, Julie Yoo. Julie leads the firm's investments in healthtech with a focus on companies that are modernizing how we access, how we pay for, and how we experience healthcare. During this Fireside Chat, Yoo talked about the growth of home health, fintech for healthcare, and her personal passions around solving for provider shortage issues and the mismatch of supply & demand. This session was hosted by StartUp Health's Logan Plaster in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 22, 2021

Market Strategy & Insights With Aetna’s Brigitte Nettesheim

This week on the podcast we sat down with Brigitte Nettesheim from Aetna, a CVS Health company. In this conversation, Brigitte shares how she and her team develop market strategies and what they look for in partnerships that strengthen member experience. Brigitte also gave an insider view of best practices to connect into Aetna, like focusing on personalized engagement, access to care, and reduced costs. This session was hosted by StartUp Health's Logan Plaster in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 15, 2021

youturn’s Shay Houser Is Making Addiction Treatment More Accessible

On this podcast episode, which was recorded live on the floor of HLTH in Boston in October, StartUp Health's Logan Plaster sits down with Shay Houser, the CEO and Co-founder of youturn. Shay and his team are working to fight addiction by making addiction treatment resources more accessible. They've recognized that it isn't just the addicted person who is effected, but a wide community of friends and family, so they're working with employers to address problems early and to respond to addiction as a community of support. Shay comes at youturn as both a serial entrepreneur and as someone who has struggled with addiction. That combination of tactical and personal experience has helped the startup secure important early partnerships, which Shay discusses in the interview. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 8, 2021

Two Founders Transforming Children’s Health

This special episode is part of our monthly Health Moonshot series. Each month we take one of StartUp Health’s 12 audacious health goals and highlight founders working to make the impossible a reality. Now, we’re talking about Children's Health. Hosts Logan Plaster and India Edwards discuss two entrepreneurs from the StartUp Health portfolio who have developed incredible technology to help advance children's healthcare. Dr. Sandy Whitehouse, CEO, Co-founder, and Chief Medical Officer of Tickit Health, a startup that’s based in Vancouver, works with educational, clinical, and youth service experts around the world to capture personal information from individuals via digitally empathetic surveys and assessments and other management tools to collect data to address the rise of stress, bullying, substance use, and other risky behaviors in youth. Danny Hui, the CEO & Founder of sameview, a startup out of Sydney, Australia, is working to bring teamwork into disability care. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 2, 2021

From Journalist to HealthTech Investor: Chrissy Farr, OMERS Ventures

This week on the podcast we sat down with Chrissy Farr, a HealthTech Investor at OMERS Ventures, where she focuses on women's health and behavioral health. In this interactive chat, Chrissy talked about her priorities for the remainder of the year, including focus areas of women's and behavioral health, as well as her experience making the change from being a full time journalist covering the health-tech beat at major publications like CNBC and Fast Company, to a venture capitalist, and how that has impacted her view on company storytelling. She also gave the inside scoop on OMERS Ventures and how to position yourself to get on her, and the broader company's, radar. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

October 19, 2021

The Future of Health Innovation With Microsoft’s Dr. David Rhew

This week on the podcast, we're bringing you a conversation with Dr. David Rhew, the Chief Medical Officer & Vice President of Healthcare at Microsoft. In this interactive session, Dr. Rhew broke down Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and explained how the broader suite of Microsoft tools – from natural language processing to using Teams for telehealth – can help healthcare startups scale more quickly. Bottom line? If a startup wants to move quickly, don't reinvent the wheel. The infrastructure you need might already exist in the marketplace. Finally, we learned specifics on how startups can partner with Microsoft directly. This interactive Fireside Chat was hosted by StartUp Health's Media Director Logan Plaster in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

October 12, 2021

How to Become a More Conscious Leader With Diana Chapman

Today we're talking about conscious leadership. What is conscious leadership? It has to do with the process of positive change within your team or organization. Now, you may wonder how do you do that and why it's so important when investing in innovative health startups. That's precisely what we learn today from our guest, Diana Chapman, the author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success. The pages in her book contain a comprehensive road map to guide you to shift from fear-based to trust-based leadership. And once you learn and start practicing conscious leadership you’ll get results in the form of more energy, clarity, focus and healthier relationships. This interactive workshop was hosted by StartUp Health's CEO & Co-founder Steven Krein, in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

October 5, 2021

These Three Startup Health Entrepreneurs Are Working to Fight Addiction and End the Opioid Epidemic

This special episode is part of our monthly Health Moonshot series. Each month we take one of StartUp Health’s 12 audacious health goals and highlight founders working to make the impossible a reality. This month we’re talking about the moonshot to End Addiction & the Opioid Crisis. Hosts Logan Plaster and India Edwards discuss three entrepreneurs from the StartUp Health portfolio who have developed incredible technology to help fight addiction. J.D. Meints, CEO and Founder of NuLife Virtual, has created a behavioral health platform that extends the benefits of a close-knit rehab community into the home. Yusuf Sherwani, MD, CEO & Co-founder of Quit Genius, has built one of the world's first digital clinic delivering a comprehensive medication-assisted treatment program for multiple addictions. Last but not least, Sumeet Maniar, CEO & Founder of WellBrain, has developed a digital chronic pain management platform for providers. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 28, 2021

Gray Oncology Solutions Is Building a New Operating System for Healthcare Workflows

Most people have experienced the frustration of having to wait for a healthcare appointment because the clinic is overbooked or the lab is backed up. Inefficiencies in healthcare cost time and money and frustration, but in oncology, dealing with cancer patients, the workflows are much more complex and the stakes even higher. That is why our guest today, André Diamant, PhD, co-founded Gray Oncology Solutions, which joined StartUp Health in 2021. André and his co-founder are building what they call an operating system for health, one that uses machine learning to line up and map out healthcare resources, so patients know what to expect and get the care they need on time. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 21, 2021

Sales Strategies With Reed Mollins and Brian Neman

This week on the podcast we get tactical with two founders from the StartUp Health portfolio to talk about sales strategies. Our first guest is Reed Mollins, the VP of Strategic Partnerships at Press Ganey. Mollins is well known in our community for co-founding Doctor.com and scaling it over most of a decade before being acquired by Press Ganey last year. Our second guest is Brian Neman, the CEO & Founder of Sanguine Biosciences. Brian built his clinical trials platform from zero to eight-figure revenue today. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 14, 2021

Dr. Bob Wachter and Dr. Howard Krein on Achieving Health Moonshots in a COVID World

On a recent Fireside Chat, Startup Health's Chief Medical Officer Howard Krein, MD, PhD, caught up with Bob Wachter, MD, renowned UCSF internist, bestselling author, and former podcast host of 'In the Bubble - From the Frontlines.' Over the last 18 months, Dr. Bob – who coined the term “hospitalist” and is a national leader in quality, patient safety, and the digitization of medicine – became a trusted voice on COVID. Our candid conversation covered navigating COVID and the after-COVID world, the state of digital innovation, and the future of healthcare. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

September 7, 2021

These Two StartUp Health Entrepreneurs Are Driving Down Healthcare Costs

This episode is part of our monthly Health Moonshot series. Last month it was all about mental health, today, we’re talking about founders and companies creating new ways to drive down healthcare costs. Ismail Badjie, CEO & Co-founder of Innovarx, has built a conglomerate of healthcare services including multiple brick and mortar stores, an e-commerce business, a global telemedicine platform, and a mobile clinical unit called, “Wellness on Wheels,” all formed to become the primary clinical service company in The Gambia. Bill Nordmark, CEO of Aver, has developed a purpose-built single instance, multitenant, HITRUST certified platform that supports payers to design and implement value-based contracts. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

August 30, 2021

Health Assurance With General Catalyst’s Chitra Nawbatt

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, we spoke with Chitra Nawbatt, Global Head of Health Assurance and Innovation at General Catalyst. During this 60-minute chat, Chitra shared her focus on investing in companies that are transforming the healthcare industry from a "sick care" system to a resilient, proactive health assurance system. She also gave her perspective on what makes a company stand the test of time and best practices to collaborate across systems, leaders, portfolio companies, partners, and operators. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

August 24, 2021

Melissa Buckley Gets Candid on How Philanthropies Partner With Startups

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, we sat down with Melissa Buckley, the Director of the Innovation Fund at the California Health Care Foundation, a non-profit with a unique mission and vision for how to support health innovation. In this conversation we unpack the philanthropic foundation and the unique way it invests in new ideas based on impact, strategies behind impact investing, how startups can find opportunities working with philanthropies, and how Melissa’s work in California can help us see where the market is heading next more broadly. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

August 16, 2021

Scott Powder Launches Advocate Aurora Enterprises to Build Health System Innovation Partnerships

On this episode we interview Scott Powder, president of Advocate Aurora Enterprises and former head of strategy at Advocate Aurora Health System. Advocate Aurora is rooted in the Midwest and covers 26 hospitals, 500 care sites and 75,000 employees, including 10,000 physicians. In our conversation, which was held in front of a live audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio, Scott breaks down the Advocate Aurora Enterprises investment thesis, and we discuss best practices for startups wanting to link arms with an enterprise health system. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

August 10, 2021

These Three Founders Are Upgrading the Mental Health Toolkit

This episode is part of our monthly Health Moonshot series. Last month it was all about brain health, today, we’re talking about founders and companies rethinking mental health and happiness. Areva Martin, CEO & Co-founder of Butterflly Health, has built a behavioral health platform that provides users with peer-to-peer support, therapist matching, access to coaching, and more. Kavi Misri, CEO & Founder of Rose Health, provides evidence-based mental health care for patients and providers on a platform built with tools and technology designed with the patient in mind. Lastly, Richard Hanbury, CEO & Founder of Sana Health, has developed a non-addictive simple mask and headphones that uses audiovisual stimulation to increase the balance between the left and right sides of the brain leading to greater relaxation. In this episode, co-hosted by Logan Plaster and India Edwards, the three entrepreneurs break down their innovative solutions and how they’re advancing mental healthcare. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

July 27, 2021

For Victor Penev, Good Leadership Starts With a Healthy Mind

Like so many founders, Edamam CEO & Founder Victor Penev went through a phase with his first startup where he worked all day and was stressed all night. He didn’t sleep enough. He gained weight. He was unhealthy and unhappy. That led to a crisis moment that opened the door to an entirely new way of thinking. In this recent conversation, we learn how Victor embraced healthy habits – both in body and mind, and for his team – while also remaining ambitious and driven in his current startup. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

July 20, 2021

Achieving Health Moonshots w/ Vinod Khosla

Last month, Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, came back for part II of his Fireside Chat where he joined our co-founder, Unity Stoakes, to talk about achieving Health Moonshots, how COVID opened more doors to innovation and experimentation, finding societal impact without expertise, and identifying your long-term and basecamp vision. Listen to part I here. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

July 12, 2021

Gates Foundation on Taking Investment Risks Others Can’t (or Won’t)

In a recent StartUp Health Fireside Chat, we chatted with Annie Ye, the Program Manager of Digital Health Innovation at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Ye has experience in technology and analytics strategy and joined the Foundation at the outset of the pandemic to refine and connect a number of technological initiatives and strategy teams. In this episode Ye discusses foundation priorities and best practices for startups seeking to partner on health projects. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

July 6, 2021

Four StartUp Health Entrepreneurs Tackling Cognitive Health Concerns

This episode is part of our monthly Health Moonshot series. Last month it was all about women’s health, today, we’re talking about founders and companies rethinking brain health. Kate Rosenbluth, PhD, Chief Science Officer & Founder at Cala Health, is transforming the standard of care for patients living with chronic diseases using non-invasive wearable neuromodulation therapies. The team has developed Cala Trio™, the first non-invasive targeted therapy that reduces hand tremor for people living with essential tremor (ET). Maor Cohen, CEO & Co-founder of n*gram health, is improving the quality of life for older adults with cognitive impairment using immersive digital experiences. RC21X co-founder Mark Cavicchia has developed two brain performance assessment tools, Roberto and RC21X, that create brain performance trend data for organizations through repeated use and produce session results in real-time, which bring about measurable improvements in work performance, productivity, and safety. Lastly, Amir Bozorgzadeh, CEO & Co-founder of Virtuleap, has created a virtual reality-based brain training platform. In this episode, the four entrepreneurs break down their innovative solutions and how they're unlocking the mysteries of the brain. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 29, 2021

Building Exceptional Healthcare Provider & Patient Experiences With Karen Martell

This week, we sat down (virtually) with an entrepreneur who's still in the thick of scaling a business, Karen Martell, VP and GM at Alto Pharmacy. Karen built her career in tech, working at Square, before joining Alto in 2018, which was a pharmacy tech company at the time making its name with delightful user experiences for medical providers and free same day prescription delivery. In a few short years they've grown to cover 36 million people across areas including New York, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and Las Vegas, and they recently raised $250 million to scale even more. In this conversation Karen gets candid about building relationships with providers, how Alto thinks through their growth strategy, and why they include a piece of candy with nearly every prescription delivery. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 22, 2021

Payor Collaboration With Terry Booker of Independence Blue Cross

Today we’re talking with Terry Booker, the VP of corporate development and innovation at Independence Blue Cross. Booker combines years of experience in investment banking and business development with an insider's knowledge of Independence Blue Cross, an insurer that serves more than seven million people. In our conversation, which was held in front of a live virtual audience of founders from the StartUp Health portfolio, we get tactical about how startups can best partner with the largest insurers in the world. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 15, 2021

How Babyscripts Powers ‘Connected Pregnancies’ and Brings OB Care Where It’s Needed

In this episode, we sit down with Juan Pablo Segura, co-founder of Babyscripts, about virtual healthcare for moms-to-be.Around 50% of counties in the United States don’t have an OBGYN to take care of moms when they’re expecting. That’s around 10 million women who don’t have access to an OB for prenatal or primary care. At Babyscripts, Juan Pablo and his co-founder Anish Sebastian put together a kit of devices that pairs with an app so that OBs can monitor the health of their patients every day, virtually. Given the access problem, It’s an area of health where virtual care just made a lot of sense, but the COVID pandemic tipped it over the edge. Technology that used to be a forward-thinking nice-to-have is now a must-have – which is good news for expectant moms everywhere. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 8, 2021

Safi Bahcall on Achieving Health ‘Loonshots’

Bestselling author Safi Bahcall, a physicist by training and the former CEO of Synta Pharmaceuticals, believes that a key to achieving transformative ‘loonshots’ lies in asking better questions. During a recent StartUp Health Fireside Chat, he spoke candidly on the value of getting curious – particularly about our failures – and how organizations can nurture game-changing ideas from within. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

June 1, 2021

Linking Clinical & Technical Worlds With Yauheni Solad, MD

In this podcast episode, we dialed up Dr. Yauheni Solad, Medical Director of Digital Health at Yale New Haven Health, who shared his practical wisdom about what it really takes to have a successful partnership between a startup and a large health system. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 25, 2021

Transforming Women’s Health With Dorothee Goldman and Missy Lavender

At StartUp Health, we strongly believe that being a woman shouldn’t be a health risk factor. That’s why we’ve devoted an entire health moonshot to improving the health of every woman all around the globe, no matter the barrier. In this podcast episode, we dialed up two female entrepreneurs in the StartUp Health portfolio innovating in the Women's Health Moonshot: Dorothee Goldman, the CEO and founder of Oratel Diagnostics, who built the first solution that can diagnose endometriosis using saliva, and Missy Lavender, CEO and founder of Renalis, who's created an innovative solution to improve experiences and outcomes for people with pelvic health conditions. Hosts Logan Plaster and India Edwards learn how Goldman and Lavender are working to change the health paradigm in areas of women's health that were neglected in the past.This episode is part of a new Health Moonshot Programming podcast series, where we'll highlight a new health moonshot – and inspiring health transformers – each month Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 18, 2021

Introducing the Smartphone Epinephrine Injector, by Detroit-Based Startup Alerje

For some people, allergies are an inconvenience. But for millions of people around the world – particularly children – severe allergies are a major health concern. Eat the wrong thing and you could go into anaphylactic shock! They also seem to be getting worse. Tackling this growing problem is our guest on this episode, Javier Evelyn, the CEO and Founder of Alerje, which joined StartUp Health in 2020. Javier combined his personal experience suffering from severe allergies with his knowledge as a software developer to create an app and a device that administers epinephrine, in order to make life a little easier and a little safer for folks with bad allergies. In our interview we’ll get into Javier’s story, what he’s built, and how this year the Detroit-based startup got a boost from Google. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 11, 2021

For Margaret Laws, Innovation Springs From Co-Creation

Longtime friend of StartUp Health Margaret Laws has built a career on cross-sector, interdisciplinary partnerships. For 17 years, she served as the Director of Public Financing and Policy and the Director of Innovation for the Underserved program at the California Health Care Foundation. Today, as CEO and President of HopeLab, a social innovation lab founded and funded by the creators of eBay, she’s shifted her focus toward improving the health and wellbeing of adolescents. HopeLab’s multifactorial approach seeks to broach the many systemic and structural causes of mental illness in young people: “If there’s one thing that really requires multi-sectoral collaboration, this is it,” Laws says. At a recent Fireside Chat with StartUp Health co-founder Steven Krein, Laws explained how HopeLab’s uniquely holistic approach allows the company to tackle challenges from every angle. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

May 4, 2021

Michelle Snyder Brings a Creative Spirit to Marketing and Investing

Michelle Snyder has done a bit of everything. Now a partner at McKesson Ventures (she joined the healthcare-oriented venture group in late 2020), the digital health veteran has seen innovation from every angle: driving the marketing behind startups like Epocrates and Welltok, mentoring early-stage entrepreneurs in accelerator and incubator programs, and making strategic investments at Welltok and now McKesson. But it’s her willingness to roll up her sleeves and develop creative solutions to challenges that makes Snyder an exceptional Jill-of-all-trades. Snyder took a look back on her career to date in a recent StartUp Health Fireside Chat that was as fun and freewheeling as it is chock-full of good advice. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

April 27, 2021

Medical Billing Startup Inbox Health Bags $15M to ‘Fix the Pipes in Healthcare’

Blake Walker, CEO and Co-founder of Inbox Health, which joined StartUp Health in 2014, is helping to upgrade medical billing by delivering a personalized billing experience to healthcare practices. They’ve built a billing tool that puts clear communication at the center, which has helped them grow by 500% in the last year, and they’re signing 100 new practices per month. And they just raised $15M to scale their platform even faster. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

April 20, 2021

With $8.5B Raised Globally in Q1 of 2021, Health Innovation Funding Hits New Milestone

What began as a rapid reaction to COVID-19 has become an enduring wave of interest, adoption, and investment in health innovation companies. According to this quarter’s record-breaking investment numbers, the After-Covid world has arrived, and health startups are leading the way. StartUp Health’s Editor-in-Chief Logan Plaster breaks down the full report in the latest podcast episode. Read the full report. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

April 9, 2021

Former Livongo President Dr. Jennifer Schneider Talks Moonshots, the Teladoc Merger, and How to Be a Transformative Leader

In this candid conversation with Unity Stoakes, President and Co-founder of StartUp Health, Dr. Schneider shares her hard-won wisdom and pulls back the curtain on one of healthcare’s biggest M&A transactions. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 30, 2021

Aidar Health Scores FDA Clearance for New Breath-Based “Tricorder” Health Monitoring Device

In this episode, we talk with Sathya Elumalai, CEO & Co-founder of Aidar Health, a StartUp Health company since 2016. Sathya and his team in Baltimore have invented something that could change healthcare as we know it. It’s a simple-looking device that you hold in your hand and breathe into for 30 seconds. From that simple act, the device -- MouthLab -- can pull more than 10 vitals. What’s even more impressive is that they’ve clinically validated the health tests at the highest level. Sathya breaks it all down in our interview and explains his moonshot vision for the future of remote monitoring and chronic disease management. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 23, 2021

GE Healthcare’s Karley Yoder Builds Bridges With AI

Karley Yoder made a name for herself in the digital health world at Doctor on Demand and Apple before launching a career at GE Healthcare, where she now serves as Vice President and General Manager of Artificial Intelligence. Today, she works to find the signal in the noise surrounding AI, helping the company leverage its potential to improve patient outcomes, rather than to apply, as she puts it, “technology for technology’s sake.” Yoder joined the StartUp Health community at a recent Fireside Chat, where she explained how impact-driven AI can help to expand care teams, why effective partnerships are built on practical approaches to problems, and how an ecosystem of “GE-plus-others” can help ensure positive, sustainable change. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 16, 2021

Cloudbreak’s Jamey Edwards Breaks Down the UpHealth Mega Deal and Why SPACs Work

Jamey Edwards, the CEO and Co-founder of Cloudbreak Health, has been in telemedicine for years, but his health moonshot impact is about to get a lot bigger. Thanks to a SPAC (which he breaks down in the podcast), his company has been "rolled up" into a new publicly-traded mega-company called UpHealth, which will bring to bear hundreds of millions of dollars and combine the offerings of multiple digital health entities. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 9, 2021

Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Toby Cosgrove Sees Moonshot Potential in an After-COVID World

While this may be the first global pandemic Toby Cosgrove, MD, has experienced, he’s seen a lot in his nearly 50-year career. The Executive Advisor and former CEO and President of Cleveland Clinic is also a former heart surgeon, a Vietnam War veteran, and now a member of the StartUp Health board of advisors and our Health Moonshot Impact Force. As Dr. Cosgrove sees it, COVID-19 has shifted the national healthcare puzzle to reveal its missing pieces, creating new openings for improvement and innovation. These include new delivery systems for healthcare, greater collaboration, better use of data, and accelerated innovation. In a recent conversation with the StartUp Health community led by Steven Krein and Unity Stoakes, Dr. Cosgrove shared his thoughts on our current moment and what comes next. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

March 2, 2021

A Moonshot Vision for Healthcare Virtual Reality With Dr. Brennan Spiegel

Dispense with everything you know about virtual reality. So says Dr. Brennan Spiegel at the opening of his new book, VRx: How Virtual Therapeutics will Revolutionize Medicine. Dr. Spiegel, our guest on this episode of StartUp Health TV, directs the Center for Outcomes Research and Education at Cedar Sinai Hospital in L.A. He’s one of the most influential and forward-thinking figures in health innovation today. The conversation went deep into the potential for virtual reality to transform therapeutic care, well beyond what many people see as possible. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 23, 2021

The Surprising Secret to Doctor.com’s Success

Andrei Zimiles and Reed Mollins, founders of Doctor.com, are longtime friends and longtime friends of StartUp Health. The two met as pre-teens at summer camp and led parallel lives before becoming partners and entrepreneurs, dropping out of high school at age 16 and transferring out of and into the very same colleges. And just as their friendship has been something of a journey, so, too, has their professional relationship, from Doctor.com’s origins at rented desks in a dusty Soho co-working space (the two vividly recall a garbage bag duct-taped over a broken window) to its acquisition this past fall by Press Ganey. Zimiles and Mollins joined StartUp Health back in 2013 and returned to share their hard-won wisdom at a recent Fireside Chat. In a wide-ranging conversation amongst friends, the duo explained how their attitude towards sales and approach to building partnerships took Doctor.com from its humble beginnings to its lucrative exit. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 16, 2021

Walmart Could Magnify Americans’ Access to Healthcare — With the Help of Key Startups

In the era of social distancing, a doctor’s appointment looks a little different than it did a year ago. But Evan Schnur, Director of Healthcare Information and Strategy at Walmart, says the experience will continue to evolve, even after in-person visits resume. Schnur trained as a pharmacist and currently leads the development of the growing range of healthcare services at Walmart Health, which now include primary care visits, diagnostics, and dentistry. The massive scale of the world’s largest company by revenue offers new avenues for prevention and treatment that could shatter the paradigm for medical care. In a recent StartUp Health Fireside Chat, Schnur explained what that future might look like and why healthcare startups might play a key role. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 11, 2021

Exit Strategies: M&A Wisdom From Entrepreneur-Investors Samer Hamadeh and James Marciano

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, StartUp Health co-founder Unity Stoakes dials up Samer Hamadeh, CEO and founder of Zeel, and James Marciano, founder of Tuck advisors, for a candid discussion on mergers and acquisition. According to both Hamadeh and Marciano – who have spent time on both sides of the M&A table – it's important for founders to build their startups as though they're going to sell one day, even if they don't. That means building the systems for clean accounting and transparent business operations from day one. They also discuss the elusive UFO (unsolicited flying offer) and how to know when an offer is worth pursuing. This straight talk on M&A is hard-earned wisdom that will benefit most people in the startup ecosystem. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

February 2, 2021

With Finess, Privy CEO Evi Heilbrunn Is Breaking Down Stigmas in the Women’s Health Aisle

Because she’s tackling a stigmatized area of women’s health, one that’s been swept to the side for a long time, Privy CEO Evi Heilbrunn has had to do her research and educate the market. By doing so, she’s showing retailers like Target – where Finess is now on the shelf – that women’s health products were in need of an upgrade, and that we’re on the cusp of a whole new way of thinking about the whole women’s health aisle. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 26, 2021

Vinod Khosla: Investing in the Future of Healthcare & Moonshot Thinking

The global pandemic ushered in a new era of health innovation. StartUp Health founders Steven Krein and Unity Stoakes sat down for an interactive Fireside Chat with Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures to discuss the future of health innovation in a post-pandemic world, why moonshot thinking is more important than ever, and to dig deep into topics like the power of mindset and collaboration. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 19, 2021

StartUp Health Fireside Chat: Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky, Health Innovation Investor

In a recent Fireside Chat with a few dozen founders from the StartUp Health portfolio, we were joined by Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, former Chief Medical Officer at Medicaid. Dr. Ostrovsky is a practicing doctor and an entrepreneur – in fact, he founded and sold a company that was a part of StartUp Health years ago. In 2016, Andrey took on the role of Chief Medical Officer of Medicaid. Then he rolled all that experience up and became a health innovation investor. Andrey’s done it all and is generous with that experience. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 12, 2021

StartUp Health Fireside Chat: Dr. Ashwini Zenooz, GM and Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce

In this episode, StartUp Health's Editor-in-Chief, Logan Plaster, talks (virtually) with Dr. Ashwini Zenooz, GM and Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce. Before taking on her role at the tech giant, Dr. Zenooz, who is a practicing Radiologist, oversaw the modernizing of electronic health records at the Veteran’s Administration. During her time at the VA, she was instrumental in pushing for regulations that allowed providers to be able to practice across state lines. In her role at Salesforce, Zenooz is exploring the many ways the company’s relationship management technology can be applied to health, from vaccine rollouts to individual patient records. In addition to Dr. Zenooz’s voice, you’ll hear some real-world questions from founders in the StartUp Health portfolio. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

January 5, 2021

Particle Health’s “Quark” Sandbox Gives Healthcare Companies Secure Access to Their Medical Data

In this podcast episode, CEO and Co-founder Troy Bannister reveals what his Brooklyn-based startup has been working on for the last 2+ years. And now, with Quark, their new HIPAA-compliant platform that converts EMR data into an easily digestible format, health tech app developers can play around with Particle's API that makes patient data instantly and securely available. Bannister also explains why, because of shifting patient data regulations, the time is now to innovate and destroy the fax machine for good. Connect with Troy and his team at Particle Health here. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 22, 2020

UCSF’s Dr. Michael Blum Talks How COVID-19 Changed Expectations Around Virtual Care at the Highest Institutional Levels

As a cardiologist and the Chief Digital Transformation Officer at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Michael Blum assesses and deploys digital health technology across UCSF's multi-layered health system. In this week's podcast episode, we get an inside look at how one of the biggest, most advanced hospital systems in the United States thinks about health innovation, what successful integration looks like, what he looks for in a startup partner, and how COVID-19 changed expectations around virtual care at the highest institutional levels. This episode is pulled from a recent StartUp Health Fireside Chat where StartUp Health's Editor-in-Chief, Logan Plaster, interviewed Dr. Michael Blum in a live session, which was attended by a panel of founders from the Startup Health portfolio. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 15, 2020

Conversa Health Built on Its Virtual Care Platform to Quickly Launch COVID-19 Screening Tools for Frontline Workers

Today’s episode is a conversation with Murray Brozinsky, CEO of Conversa Health. Before COVID-19 struck, Conversa was working with big health systems, supplying them with a type of chatbot that kept patients and doctors connected between appointments. Turns out a few well-worded and well-timed questions, even if they’re automated, can improve care and reduce costly bouncebacks. When COVID-19 hit, Murray and his team knew they had the technology – and institutional relationships – to really make a difference. They quickly scaled up multiple COVID-specific products using automated chat and have seen massive growth in 2020 as a result. This conversation with Murray is pulled from a recent Expert Office Hour, which was attended virtually by an audience of other founders from the StartUp Health portfolio. We dug into how Conversa was able to stay nimble and grow in spite of uncertainty, and other Health Transformers weigh in with their thoughts as well. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 8, 2020

Former NFL Wide Receiver Torrey Smith Partners With Rose Health to Promote Mental Health Resilience

This week, two-time Super Bowl Champion and former Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith announced that he was joining mental health startup Rose Health as an ambassador and investor. On this episode, StartUp Health's Logan Plaster catches up with Torrey to learn about life after the NFL, and why it was important for him to become an advocate for mental health resilience. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

December 2, 2020

Brand Newland Is Fighting Opioid Overprescribing by Improving and Standardizing the Surgery Experience

Established with the goal of improving recovery time and bettering outcomes for patients undergoing surgical procedures, the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have revolutionized that experience. Unfortunately, variations in surgical practices do not allow every patient to benefit. Brand Newland, CEO and Co-founder of Goldfinch Health, hopes to change that. Through Goldfinch, Newland is making sure that employers are able to provide their patients with the best surgery options available; An opportunity for patients to recover faster, employers pay less in sick leave, insurance companies pay for fewer complications and setbacks. Finally, and perhaps most importantly at this moment in history, faster recovery times mean less reliance on opioids. And Newland sees his work at Goldfinch as a critical upstream component to fighting the opioid crisis. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 24, 2020

Business Insider’s Megan Hernbroth on Pitching Your Health Startup’s Story

On this episode of the podcast we dive under the hood to talk about practical strategies for getting a startup’s story out into the world. We turned to Megan Hernbroth, the reporter who covers health tech and venture capital for Business Insider. Megan’s work has run the gamut from silicon valley PR to writing for a website that gets 375 million unique visitors per month. This episode is an excerpt from an Expert Office Hour session hosted by StartUp Health and attended by a group of Health Transformers from the StartUp Health Portfolio. In addition to our interview with Megan, you’ll get to hear directly from founders, some of the day-to-day challenges they face in sharing their stories, and Megan’s sage advice. Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

November 17, 2020

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