Kirby Vosburgh’s Post

Most startups fail. It's the nature of entrepreneurship, and the healthcare industry is no exception. While egregious failures— like Done, uBiome, and of course Theranos— get outsized media attention… Very few failures in our space are actually rooted in fraud or intentional deception. The difficulty of building in healthcare, combined with bad timing and bad luck, can lead to solutions that simply don't succeed, even when it comes from the best of intentions. Startups are built upon dozens, if not hundreds, of assumptions about how the future will unfold. Founders assume a product will work as envisioned, that acquiring customers will be economically feasible, that somebody will pay for the product or service, that competitors will respond in a certain way, that the regulatory environment will remain favorable, that investors will fund them, and the list goes on and on. When a startup fails, it’s generally because one of the core assumptions did not pan out. Ultimately, building a successful healthcare startup is a Herculean feat requiring skill, experience, connections, and also some serendipity. For those who are up to the challenge, the rewards could not be higher. Not just in terms of financial success, but in making healthcare massively better for all. #startups #digitalhealth #vc https://lnkd.in/gdRJdc_f

Digitalization is reshaping the global healthcare industry as demand for personalized, more accessible care fuels innovative market solutions. Local startups have recently attracted some sizeable investments, despite the broader downturn in funding elsewhere in the world. Read our full alert here: https://whcs.law/4aICn6n #Investments #Startups #SoutheastAsia

“Government announces it will cut a check to health startups for 50% of the amount they directly save the healthcare system” This is a dream news headline for me, health entrepreneurs and dreamers alike. The idea works a little something like this. Startup proposes to have a particular ROI value to the public payer and integration value to a specific hospital. All agree to KPIs and hospital agrees to provide the data. Company promises to fully support the scope of the trial at no direct fee to the hospital. Government pays 50% (or any %) of money saved back to the company AND remunerates the hospital a (smaller) fixed % for taking on risk. All ethical checks and balances are preserved. _________- In short — Entrepreneurs and startups are attracted to a sector due to seamless and guaranteed returns when results are achieved Hospitals are incentivized to identify and take on priority focus areas and viable projects — and are remunerated for their work and risk Governments still save cents on the dollar for healthcare improvements now, but foster and grow a strong entrepreneurial sector that can thrive, grow internationally and drive broader economic success. There are 999 reasons why this might now work. But there are at least 1000 reasons why it might work well. #startup #healthcare #disruptivethinking

Healthcare is a tough industry for startups. Aside from its well-known risk aversion and regulation, the industry has complex sets of players, demands perfection, and dislikes iterative approaches that can cause confusion. https://lnkd.in/gKGQdKU4 #ways #startups #succeeding #healthcareindustry #healthcareinnovation #healthcare #healthcareimprovement #technology

I'm reading this again! It's all TRUE! 10 reasons why health care startups fail: 1. Failure to properly articulate your value proposition 2. Not having an end-to-end evidence generation strategy 3. Choosing the wrong CEO 4. Staying in stealth too long 5. Thinking the direct-to-consumer model will make life easier 6. Choosing the wrong initial indication 7. Product doesn’t fit into existing workflows 8. Misunderstanding the payment and reimbursement dynamic 9. Putting too much money and effort into pilot programs 10. Staying in your echo chamber https://lnkd.in/gcHycF63

Dive into the world of healthcare entrepreneurship and discover the art of resilience in the face of challenges! Learn how innovative minds navigate regulatory hurdles, funding scarcity, and complex market dynamics to revolutionize healthcare delivery. Unlock the secrets to building mental toughness and maintaining motivation in this dynamic landscape. Are you ready to embark on a journey towards transformative change in healthcare? 🌟 #HealthcareEntrepreneurship #Resilience #Innovation https://lnkd.in/dqMgtzUV

Thane-based healthtech startup, Watchyourhealth.com, has successfully raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by Cornerstone Ventures from India and Conquest Global from Singapore. The funds will be utilized to scale operations, expand the user base both domestically and internationally, and enhance the company's technological infrastructure and platform capabilities. “This investment will enable us to enhance our technological infrastructure, expand our user base, and introduce innovative health management solutions,” said Ratheesh Nair, Co-founder of Watch Your Health. Founded in 2015 by Ratheesh Nair, Abhitosh Pandey, Jay Patel, and Prachi Shinde, Watch Your Health operates in the business-to-business (B2B) sector, assisting insurers and pharmaceutical companies in improving customer experience and engagement. The startup employs advanced analytics to offer personalized recommendations on health improvements, diet management, exercise routines, and lifestyle changes. It also aims to introduce electronic behavior records, mental health support, advanced predictive analytics for disease prevention, chronic disease management, and post-hospitalization care programs. “Our mission is to transform the way people manage their health by leveraging AI-driven insights and personalized care. We believe proactive health management is the key to a healthier future, and this funding brings us closer to achieving that goal,” Nair added. Watch Your Health has established partnerships with several healthcare providers to integrate their services into its platform, including notable partners in the UAE such as Watania Takaful and Shalina Healthcare. It competes with other healthtech startups, such as HealthifyMe, GOQii, Zyla, Vitality, and Sanlam. “We believe Watch Your Health is targeting a globally relevant and complex need. It not only improves persistence with intelligent algorithms to enable underwritten premium discounts but, more importantly, enhances health and wellbeing through continuous engagement, leading to lower claims for insurance companies. Truly built from India for a healthier India. What we appreciate most about the platform is its ability to clearly demonstrate the value it creates for its clients, resulting in a value-share driven business model,” said Nanika Kakkar, Partner at Cornerstone Ventures. #WatchYourHealth #ThaneStartup #HealthTech #Funding #FundingAlert #FundraiserAlert #CornerstoneVentures #ConquestGlobal #VentureCapital #GlobalExpansion #BusinessGrowth #B2B #PharmaCompanies #CustomerExperience #HealthierIndia #HealthAndFitness #MentalHealthSupport #DiseasePrevention #ChronicDiseaseManagement #PostHospitalization #CarePrograms #AI #PersonalizedCare #HealthInnovation #HealthcareEcosystem #AllBoutCorps

5 unexpected benefits of being a Clinician Entrepreneur: 𝟏. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 Don’t know how to “sell?” Have no idea how to read - let alone build - a financial model? Hate being rejected? Feel awkward at networking events? Never had to manage people more skilled and experienced than you? Well whether you like it or not… you have to learn and grow at all of these and more. 𝟐. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 Most healthcare inventions get stuck in a neverending pilot or research study, and never make it to true innovation that is disseminated across a healthcare system. But until you have the urgency to try and scale something (i.e. you go out of business if you don’t get broad dissemination), you don’t actually learn if your idea could be sustained. Is there a viable, sustainable business model? Does your invention only work in your own health system (especially because you were personally driving it), but it’s actually too complicated or not important enough to get adopted elsewhere? It’s easy to speculate that your invention will scale… until you actually have to prove it. 𝟑. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 Assuming you’re working on something innovative, most people you pitch won’t be believers. But the few visionaries and early adopters that get on board? Wow, those are some special, courageous, forward thinking providers. For unimaginable reasons, they will break down doors for you and evangelize your vision with you. And you get to collaborate with them and learn from them. How amazing is that? 𝟒. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 Unlike clinical care, there’s no guaranteed market for an innovative new product. So you’re forced to learn about all the different possible incentives, reimbursement models, key stakeholders and more. You’re forced to ask healthcare decision makers what their priorities REALLY are (and often get surprised by what you hear). Because if you can’t figure out a viable business model, you’re toast. As much as clinicians grew up being told “business is evil”, the reality is that the only way to improve healthcare at scale is to deeply understand how the business of healthcare works. 𝟓. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭… 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. With decades of experience, most clinicians will become masters of their craft. As an entrepreneur, the moment you get “good enough” at one new skill to survive… you’ve simply earned the right to learn a new one. The goals just get bigger and the mountain you climb just gets higher. What did I miss?

Healthcare can be tricky for startups. In addition to all the usual uphill battles that entrepreneurs in any industry face, healthcare has a heavy legacy layer that adds another level of complexity for new companies to navigate. I recently spoke with Stephen Wunker, a contributor to Forbes, about four key lessons we implemented at Arrive Health. Picking a stakeholder: Because healthcare is so fragmented, it can be hard to turn partnerships into broader success. What we did: Arrive Health focused hard on making the system compelling for doctors. Demand from the health systems then enabled other stakeholders to get on board. Use regulation to your advantage: Regulation is often seen as an enemy, but sometimes it can create new opportunities. In our case, Medicare changed its rules in 2021 to require that Medicare Part D plans offer “a real-time drug benefit tool." That was huge for us. Experimentation: Experimentation sometimes gets a bad rap in healthcare. To some stakeholders, it suggests that those companies' products or services are unreliable or inaccurate. In reality, constant iteration is just as important for startups in healthcare as it is in any other industry. Planning for growth: Startups often have to look to adjacent markets for growth. One example: When doctors used paper slips, you could go wherever you wanted for prescriptions. We adopted e-prescribing, and consumer choice went away. But here's the catch: there’s opportunity to leverage new technologies to re-introduce consumer choice at the point of care and throughout the patient experience. That is what Arrive Health is doing. A big thanks to Steve for doing the interview – the full version is here: https://lnkd.in/g8At8umM #startup #healthcare #regulation #startups

The digital health market is attracting significant attention in 2024, with several notable trends emerging.   According to the latest Rock Health report, private equity firms are increasingly targeting digital health startups, driven by opportunities for rapid growth through innovative technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). The latest strategic moves include private equity firm Altaris, LLC announcing its plans to acquire Sharecare while Function Health reached $53M in total funding, including backing from various celebrities. In contrast, larger digital health companies are adopting a more conservative acquisition strategy, slowing their activity in this space compared to last year.   The market is also witnessing a surge of public exits and a strong focus on early-stage deals, indicating that digital health is gaining traction and poised for growth.    Read our full analysis below and share your perspective in the comments. As private equity firms increase their acquisitions in digital health startups, how will their strategies compare to those of larger digital health companies? How will the rise of innovative tools like AI continue to reshape the investment landscape? #ro3llc #Healthcare #DigitalHealth #PrivateEquity #MergersandAcquisitions #Startups