Monthly Archives: February 2023

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

February 24, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, Insights, StartupsBreast Cancer, Cancer, Funding, Gabbi, Health Mindsets, Health Moonshot, Insights, Kaitlin Christine, Logan Plaster, Mindsets, Moonshot Mindset, womens healthNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:22 — 24.2MB)

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?

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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.

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

February 17, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsBaltimore, Beth Sanders, Columbus, Health Transformers, LifeBio, Logan Plaster, Max Sims, MindTrace, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Shameet Luhar, Vheda HealthNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:00 — 31.1MB)

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

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.

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

February 10, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsCollin Stewart, Health Tech, Healthcare, Innovation, Jamey Edwards, Logan Plaster, Revenue, StartUp HealthNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:57 — 43.0MB)

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

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.

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

February 2, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, Insights, Startups, UncategorizedChristian Dansereau, Funding, Health Mindsets, Health Moonshots, Health Transformers, Insights, Logan Plaster, Mindsets, Perceiv AI, WisdomNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:35 — 19.8MB)

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

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.