Tag Archives: Health Moonshots

Enhance-d: Empowering Everybody Living with Diabetes to Reach Their Exercise Goals



This week on the StartUp Health NOW podcast, we sit down with Sam Scott, PhD, CEO & Co-founder of Enhance-d, a Switzerland-based company transforming how people with diabetes approach exercise.

Sam shares how his experience working with professional athletes living with Type 1 diabetes inspired a digital coaching platform that integrates CGM and wearable data to personalize workouts and improve glucose control. He also talks about the company’s new clinical pilots with Dexcom, its growing global community of users, and the next generation of AI-powered coaching tools.

Listen in to learn how Enhance-d is helping people with diabetes turn movement into medicine – and why collaboration across sports tech, med tech, and clinical care will shape the future of active diabetes management.


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 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.


How NEXT Life Sciences Is Redefining Contraception for Men with Plan A™



For the first time in decades, a major innovation in reproductive health is on the horizon.

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, StartUp Health community member Dr. Darlene Walley, CEO of NEXT Life Sciences, joins Unity Stoakes to discuss Plan A™, a long-acting, non-hormonal, fully reversible male contraceptive that could reshape how couples share family planning.

Dr. Walley explains how Plan A works as a medical device, the company’s global license for Vasalgel®, and the breakthrough results from 100% successful delivery device trials across two continents. With FDA-approved development plans and growing clinical momentum, the company is on track to submit for approval by 2027.

Beyond science, this conversation explores a cultural shift: how men are stepping up to share responsibility for contraception and how this innovation could expand access, improve preventive care, and strengthen relationships worldwide.

Listen in for a look at the future of men’s health, reproductive equity, and one of the most anticipated breakthroughs in medical innovation.


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 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.


Introducing the StartUp Health Network: A New Era of Collaboration

Why We Opened the StartUp Health Network to the Ecosystem



An insider interview with StartUp Health co-founder Unity Stoakes on our new membership that invites the world’s leading investors, buyers, industry experts, and policymakers to our exclusive member community dedicated to health innovation and achieving health moonshots.

We flipped the script. In this special episode of StartUp Health NOW, our regular host Unity Stoakes sits in the guest chair while Logan Plaster leads the interview. Unity shares why StartUp Health is opening the StartUp Health Network to a broader community of investors, buyers, and industry leaders, and how a curated, 24/7 platform helps builders connect with the people who can help them scale.

The conversation gets personal and practical. Unity explains his “5 to 80 rule” for communicating ideas that resonate across ages, plus a story about bringing kids into professional spaces to remind us who we serve. You will hear how our online community ties together Health Moonshot groups like brain health, women’s health, diabetes, access to care, and longevity, and why a vetted, niche network can cut through the noise of generic platforms.

Unity also breaks down how the membership model removes friction for both founders and the wider ecosystem. For industry and ecosystem members, the StartUp Health Network is a vetted, paid membership that acts as a smart filter, with simple, inexpensive monthly or annual dues. Members get 24/7 access to the online community, curated intros to founders across Health Moonshots, private roundtables and fireside chats with industry leaders, real-time trend discussions, and VIP access to meetups at major gatherings like JP Morgan, HLTH, and ViVE. Investors can compare notes and share deal flow in a trusted forum. Buyers and operators can scout solutions faster, pressure test needs with peers, and shorten the path from first meeting to pilot. Founders continue to have dedicated membership plans with peer circles, weekly office hours, and a robust perks platform that can deliver meaningful savings on tools and services. Unity explains why the membership model removes friction by eliminating equity and complex legal lift, making it simple to participate whether you are pre-seed or scaling globally.

What is the StartUp Health Network?
A private global community for visionary decision makers, thought leaders, funders, and innovators transforming the future of health. If you are a healthcare executive, operator, investor, or industry stakeholder who wants to stay connected to the people and ideas driving what is next, this is your place to collaborate with:

  • Healthcare executives and operators – leaders inside health systems, payers, and pharma who are shaping the future of care delivery

  • Investors – venture firms, strategics, angels, and family offices backing transformative ideas

  • Mission-driven stakeholders – clinicians, researchers, policy makers, educators, nonprofit leaders, technologists, and ecosystem builders across the health landscape

  • Founders and entrepreneurs – the backbone of our community, building breakthroughs in digital health, biotech, medtech, and life sciences, with dedicated membership plans designed for entrepreneurs

Stay to the end for a VIP thank you that unlocks a special rate on Network membership. You can use the code LOGAN at checkout for a VIP rate on an annual StartUp Health Network membership.


 

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.


ENCORE: From Caregiver to Changemaker, Becoming a Voice for Alzheimer's

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



We’re taking a short break while we work on our new season, but in the meantime, we’ve got a special encore episode from our archives where we chat with 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.

Stay tuned, and we’ll be back soon with more fresh content!


 

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 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.


NeuroEM: Taking on Alzheimer’s With Radio Waves

Radio Waves, Real Results: Inside NeuroEM’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot



In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, we dive into one of the most fascinating innovation stories in health tech. Our guest is Chuck Papageorgiou, CEO of NeuroEM Therapeutics, a company that’s part of StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community and is making waves with a radically different approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease — using radio waves.

What started as a research study to prove that cell phones cause brain cancer led to an unexpected breakthrough: the very same radio frequencies used in phones appeared to improve brain health in mice with Alzheimer’s. The discovery sparked a scientific journey that has since included promising human trials, FDA Breakthrough Device designation, partnerships, and progress towards bringing this non-invasive, affordable, at-home therapy to millions.

Papageorgiou shares how NeuroEM’s wearable headset is helping untangle the brain’s toxic proteins, the science behind this counterintuitive tech, and why the impact could rival — or even surpass — that of current Alzheimer’s drugs.

If you’re looking for an inspiring story about accidental genius ideas, bold leadership, and breakthrough innovation in brain health, this one’s a must-listen.


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 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.


Veravas Improves Diagnostic Tests by Purifying Samples

How Veravas Brings Clarity to Diagnostics by Cleaning Samples



When your health is on the line, accurate diagnostics are crucial. But many blood tests suffer from false positives, false negatives, and frustrating gray areas. In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, host Logan Plaster sits down with John Forrest, CEO & Co-founder of Veravas, a member of the StartUp Health community, to discuss their groundbreaking solution.

  • VeraBIND: Learn how Veravas’ patented technology cleans blood samples to remove impurities, dramatically increasing diagnostic accuracy and eliminating ambiguous results.
  • Transforming Alzheimer’s Detection: Find out how VeraBIND results in a test with a single result that says yes, you have the disease, or no, you don’t.
  • Beyond Blood: Explore the potential of VeraBIND to transform diagnostics for a wide range of diseases, even using saliva samples – which are much easier for older patients to manage on a regular basis.
  • The Future: Hear Forrest’s insights on the challenges and opportunities in the health tech industry and how Veravas is poised to make a significant impact.

Tune in for the conversation and learn how Veravas is turning the tide on diagnostic uncertainty.

 


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 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.


DatosX Boosts Innovation Through Faster Tech Trials

DatosX Boosts Innovation & Product-Market Fit Through Faster Tech Trials



Are health tech founders building what the market actually needs? At StartUp Health, we see firsthand their biggest challenge: achieving product-market fit. But it’s more than just market alignment. Investor Robert Garber of 7wireVentures calls it “contract-market fit”—proof that people will pay.

This week, we talk with Robin Roberts, CEO & Founder of DatosX, a company in the StartUp Health community that is helping digital health startups achieve just that.

  • The Problem: Many early-stage health companies struggle with product-market fit. They may be building amazing technology, but the market isn’t ready.
  • The Solution: DatosX is a two-sided marketplace connecting health tech buyers (like hospitals) with startups. This enables:
    • Pre-validation of purchases by hospitals.
    • Creation of buyable products by startups.
  • The Insight: This unique position gives Roberts a front-row seat to what hospitals really want (hint: it involves physician efficiency) and where startups often miss the mark.
  • The Opportunity: We explore these critical trends and discover the opportunities for savvy startups in 2025.

Listen in as Roberts shares his insights on achieving product-market fit and contract-market fit in the digital health space.

The Access to Care Moonshot Community is comprised of mission-aligned founders and CEOs collaborating to accelerate breakthroughs to deliver quality care to everyone, regardless of location or income.
» Meet the Access to Care Moonshot Community
» Join a Health Moonshot Community


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.


Can taking a selfie be good for your health?

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.


Robert Garber, 7wireVentures

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.


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.