Tag Archives: Covid 19

Everyplace Labs Validates Self-Service Diagnostic Testing Kiosk

February 22, 2022Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAccess to care, Covid, Covid 19, Health Moonshot Update, Health Transformer, Logan Plaster, Pandemic, Pandemic ResponseNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:12 — 21.3MB)

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.

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Join us in Miami Beach from March 6-9 for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022 to meet dozens of Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive

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Connect with the team at Everyplace Labs.

Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com

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

January 10, 2022Business, Health, Innovation, Insights, Startups, UncategorizedAccess to care, coronavirus, Covid, Covid 19, COVID19, Cure Disease, Health Moonshot Update, Health Moonshots, Logan Plaster, Pandemic Response, Responsum HealthNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:14 — 19.5MB)

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

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Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com

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

September 7, 2021Business, Health, Innovation, Insights, Startups, UncategorizedBob Wachter, coronavirus, Covid 19, hospitalist, Howard Krein, md, Pandemic Response, PhD, UCSFStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:39 — 70.9MB)

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

December 15, 2020Uncategorizedcoronavirus, Covid 19, COVID19, Logan Plaster, Pandemic ResponseStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:24 — 80.2MB)

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.

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

December 8, 2020UncategorizedAccess to care, coronavirus, Cost to Zero, Covid 19, COVID19, Cure Disease, Logan Plaster, Pandemic ResponseStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:30 — 68.0MB)

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

How LifeBio Is Using the Power of Storytelling to Improve Mental Health for Seniors

November 10, 2020Business, Health, Innovation, Startups, UncategorizedBeth Sanders, coronavirus, Covid 19, COVID19, elder care, Healthy Longevity, LifeBio, Logan Plaster, Loneliness, Longevity, memory care, mental health, Pandemic Response, senior, StartUp HealthStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:52 — 42.4MB)

In 2020, the coronavirus caused a societal lock-down like this generation has never seen before. Many who were already isolated and lonely — like seniors – were put into a desperate situation. Beth Sanders, CEO and Co-founder of LifeBio, a startup that’s been with StartUp Health since 2014, has always had a heart for isolated and lonely seniors. She’d worked with them for years, helping them to tell their stories, using what’s called reminiscence therapy. But COVID-19 put LifeBio and this important work into overdrive. Not only was the work needed more than ever, but LifeBio was able to connect the dots between fighting loneliness and improving health outcomes. Turns out a phone call with a trained conversationalist can fight depression, anxiety and keep you mentally nimble. Their findings got the attention of health systems, insurance companies, and even won them a coveted SBIR grant. Logan Plaster, Media Director at StartUp Health, caught up with Sanders to learn more about how LifeBio works and the critical role of storytelling in healthcare in a post-COVID world.

Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com
Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com

New VC Funds Put Women’s Health Moonshot Front and Center

November 4, 2020Business, Health, Innovation, Startups, UncategorizedBlack Female Entrepreneurs, Covid 19, female entrepreneurs, health innovation, investing, investment, Katya Hancock, Maria Velissaris, StartUp Health, SteelSky Ventures, VC firm, Venture, womens healthStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:47 — 62.9MB)

In today’s venture capital world, the vast majority of decisions are made by male investors – by one recent estimate, 87% of partners at digital health venture funds are men. This imbalance has resulted in an overall lack of investment in women’s health innovations, and in female founders. That’s shifting thanks in part to investors like Maria Velissaris, our guest on this week’s episode. Maria was a successful entrepreneur and business development maven before she became a managing Partner at SteelSky Ventures. SteelSky is a VC firm with a laser focus on women’s health, and a desire to see women-run startups get the funding they deserve. Today’s conversation has been pulled from an expert office hour held by StartUp Health and attended by entrepreneurs from the StartUp Health portfolio. So in addition to Maria’s insights – on investment trends, how to pitch, and how COVID-19 has changed the game – you’ll get to hear real-life questions from founders who are working in the trenches. The session was moderated by Katya Hancock, StartUp Health’s Investor Network Director. Enjoy.

Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com
Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com

Venus Williams Gets Candid About Entrepreneurship, Wellness and Bouncing Back From COVID-19

October 27, 2020Business, Health, Innovation, Startups, UncategorizedAlison Harmelin, Covid 19, COVID19, entrepreneurship, Health, health innovation, invest, investing, Logan Plaster, Longevity, massage, Startup, StartUp Health, Tennis, Venus Williams, ZeelStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:23 — 28.0MB)

Tennis icon and Olympian Venus Williams has built on her success on the court to become a savvy and successful investor, advisor and entrepreneur. Now she’s making her mark on health innovation. Venus Williams has partnered with Zeel, the wellness company that invented the idea of massage-on-demand. Now, Zeel has expanded to a tech-platform that offers a range of wellness on the go services. Recently, Zeel Co-founder Alison Harmelin sat down with the iconic tennis star to get her candid thoughts about health, entrepreneurship, and how startups can bounce back from COVID-19 even stronger than they started.

Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com
Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com

Raising Capital During a Pandemic

September 29, 2020Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsCovid 19, Curatio, entrepreneurs, Fund raise, Health Startup, investing, investor, Logan Plaster, Lynda Brown-Ganzert, pitch, pivot, Richard Hanbury, Sana Health, StartUp HealthStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:48 — 61.5MB)

An investor calls and holds off on wiring funds. A VC halts new investments. An angel decides to significantly cut back. These are anecdotes we’ve heard from entrepreneurs since the Covid pandemic hit six month ago, yet many continue to raise and close rounds of funding. How’d they do it? StartUp Health Health Transformers, Lynda Brown-Ganzert of Curatio who closed a Series A round in June, and Richard Hanbury of Sana Health who raised ~$6M in August, share how they successfully navigated the fundraise process before and during COVID. Key takeaways will include: finding your funding route, pivoting your pitch to be relevant in an After-Covid world, and best practices for telling your story and connecting with investors virtually.

Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health https://www.startuphealth.com/
Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots http://www.healthmoonshots.com

The Transformation of Digital Health in COVID Times

August 25, 2020Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsCovid 19, COVID19, Digital Health, Health Moonshot, Logan Plaster, moonshot, StartUp Health, Unity StoakesStartUp Health NOW

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:08 — 18.6MB)

It’s late August, approximately six months since the coronavirus pandemic sent us indoors, stunted the economy and sparked a rapid global transformation in healthcare. To get a high-level retrospective on those six months and what this period in history means for health innovation going forward, we dialed up Unity Stoakes, Co-founder and President of StartUp Health.

Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health https://www.startuphealth.com/
Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots http://www.healthmoonshots.com