Monthly Archives: February 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.

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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
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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.


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.


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.