Tag Archives: Health Transformers

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.


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.

 


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.


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.


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.