Kristian Andersen

I’m a lucky man - I get to talk about stuff I care about with people that feel the same way, but know how to approach it in fresh ways. This chat with Josh Au Yeung goes into another area I think needs much more attention - leadership. NHS providers recently published data showing only around a third of NHS CEOs have a clinical background: https://lnkd.in/givrbU_p . When evidence suggests that expert leadership is strongly associated with better outcomes, happier staff, and greater productivity, we need to work harder to identify, train, and support current and future clinical leaders. The burning question is this: when it comes to #HealthTech , who is the expert leader? A technologist? A clinician? A hybrid? Would love to hear your thoughts on this (and the podcast, naturally)

45

8 Comments

The practical application of AI to help manufacturers eliminate unplanned downtime is key to our current and future offering. We do not label ourselves as purely an AI company, as that is one component of our value delivery, but I can say we have a world class team of AI Engineers building incredible tech alongside a team of world class Condition Monitoring Engineers. I am bullish and excited to see how Central Ohio emerges as a global AI hub with Intel as an anchor. cc: Brian Graham, Seyed Mohammad Parvasi, Ph.D., Jaidev Krishnan, Matt Longhouse, Chris Berry

62

3 Comments

#Longevity Tech is on the rise ✌️ -Endeavor BioMedicines raised $135M at a $795M valuation in April 2024. -Humanaut Health secured an $8.7M Seed round, valued at $52M in May. -Superpower raised $4M, reaching a $24M valuation in May as well. These are just 3 of the 90+ #longevity startups highlighted in Dealroom.co's latest report (Link in the comments). In this newsletter, I dive into the Longevity Technology Market and the emerging trends shaping the future of health! 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3EZrAPH #Longevity #HealthTech #StartupFunding #Innovation

17

4 Comments

Bag is packed, and I'm heading off to HLTH Europe 🎉 HLTH Vegas was my first taste of the HLTH experience, so expectations are high for what Henry Stoneley and the team have crafted over in Amsterdam. The official agenda is appetising (https://lnkd.in/e3Y87Z8Z), with multiple stages themed around the senses. What am I looking forward to? 🪩 MAIN STAGE 18th: Ali Parsa talking about Babylon and his latest venture. Essential stuff 19th: "Transforming Perspectives on Psychedelics: A Journey Beyond the Trip" fits the tolerant and broad-minded nature of our host city well. 👁 SIGHT 19th: We have "Ghosts in the machine: Empowering healthcare to capitalise on GenAI", "Blinded by AI: The Turing Test live" and "Safekeeping: Is trust AI’s biggest hurdle?" all on the 19th * I'll be appearing on the live Health Tech Talk Show with Lisa B. and Kat McDavitt 👂🏼 SOUND STAGE 18th: Listening to the latest on Mental Health at "Navigating depression: New pathways in mental health"- supporting Erin Sivyer Lee and Team Flow Neuroscience 19th: Having wrapped my head around longevity tech in ArabHealth earlier this year, I'll be checking out "Beyond the Fountain of Youth: Unlocking the secrets of longevity" 20th: The Middle East summit takes over the stage * I'll also be catching up with Christophe Jauquet Mo Zouina and Aline Noizet to record some special Healthusiasm content 👃🏼 AROMA STAGE 18th: ChatGPT and Hospitals? IM IN 19th: Debate time! "This house believes there’s no role for government in healthcare" - I smell smoke... 20th: Data might be the new oil, but not all oils are the same "Goldmine or fool’s gold? Extracting value from health data" 👇🏻 TOUCH STAGE 18th: "Eighths and pains: The ongoing trials and tribulations of cannabis in healthcare" wins for the pun alone - 18th 19th: As a GP, I'll be cheering along to this one: "Undervalued, underinvested: Why keeping primary care as an afterthought costs lives" 20th: My mind was opened by recent talks from ☀️Maneesh Juneja. "Greener, leaner, cleaner: Healthcare's role in global warming" gets my vote 👅 TASTE HLTH do food really well: Survivors BBQ is locked in. 🌍 EVERYTHING ELSE There's the Startup Stage, HealthXL Global Gathering on Monday, AlbionVC mixer, Philips welcome reception, HLTH Networking party, and goodness knows what else. This is Amsterdam after all. 🌶️ For all of my neurospicy sisters and brothers, I'm bringing a wee gift for you. Let's stay hydrated and pace ourselves folks, we have a big week ahead of us! Anushka Patchava MD, MBA Darshak Sanghavi Adel B. Hassan Chaudhury Michael Watts Dr Cos Fantis Rochelle Morris Dr Dom Pimenta M.D. Dr Rizwan Malik Sam Shah Haris Shuaib Dr Harpreet Sood plus many, many more

152

42 Comments

Nic Poulos and I wrote an essay for Euclid Ventures, "An Era for Vertical Software." The TL;DR is that vertical SaaS is a distinct, enduring discipline that we believe is poised to dominate the software landscape over the next decade.   "2024 will represent a turning point, perhaps even a new era for venture capital. While the fog feels like it’s lifting, the path forward isn’t yet clear. One includes a soft landing for the US economy and the continuing recovery of software multiples, with ZIRP-era behaviors continuing around hot themes. Another sees a recessionary period in which VC capital inflows remain stagnant and startup funding the year dips below $100B. Either way, a more measured VC market in 2024 is a certainty. For many investors, that will come with a rude awakening as their strategy becomes more difficult to execute or their thesis of choice is negatively impacted by tightening markets.    We see this reversion of the venture ecosystem to its mean as a strong tailwind for Euclid and vertical software. As a category, Vertical SaaS is uniquely well suited to thrive in volatile market conditions and produce fund-returning outcomes. The sections below aim to answer the question: why is vertical software different? Our answer discusses the factors driving the natural market resilience we see in vertical software as a category–resilience that will help them thrive in 2024 and beyond."

117

16 Comments

We're teaming up with some amazing speakers for Chicago's free networking/panel event on May 15th: This time, we're going beyond founders, giving you access to investors, VCs, and industry experts. This is your chance to pick their brains, uncover insider tips, and make some quality connections. Roland Siebelink: Roland, founder & CEO of Midstage Institute, brings over 30 years of startup experience, having coached 2 unicorns and achieved 3 successful exits. As a certified Scaling Up facilitator and Forbes Coaches Council member, he specializes in helping early-stage startups grow into unicorn after the first product-market-fit. Roland, has been featured on prestigious podcasts like The Product Startup and Founders Space. Paulo J Machado: Paulo, Founder and CEO of Health Innovation Inc., is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, with a keen focus on improving care and outcomes in healthcare, startups, Agetech, Femtech, and AI. Having invested in over 40 companies at What If Ventures, he brings a wealth of experience to the table. Paulo has also served as a mentor at esteemed programs like AARP, SXSW accelerator, and Techstars Austin, among others. Ibraheem Alinur: Ibraheem is a serial entrepreneur and venture fund/studio builder in biotechnology and digital health. As Vice President of 2Flo Ventures, he builds businesses and facilitates the bi-directional flow of resources to improve the health of communities. Ibraheem’s work has been featured in publications like the Obama Foundation and Forbes. At TheTechGiveBack's last event in SF, some of you said that there wasn't enough time to network with the panelists. So this time, we're limiting registration spots to make sure you get ample time to network and learn from our speakers. Make sure to grab your spot before spots fill up. 👇 Don't miss out—RSVP now, it's 100% free 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gRrkarhd 🗓️ May 15th, Wednesday 6PM to 9PM 🕴 Hosts: Jairo Garcia, Ricardo Olmos, Brian Lung Special thanks to: mHUB | Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation | The Garage at Northwestern University | BlackRock #startup #entrepreneurship #founders #chicago #firesidechats

39

3 Comments

Just wrapped up a transformative QBR with the Sanford Health executive team. The message is clear: automation isn't just an option for rural healthcare—it's a necessity. Sanford's innovative use of the Notable AI platform is a prime example of how rural health systems can turn workforce challenges into opportunities for transformation. Notable outcomes they’ve achieved include: - Automating the personalization of forms, revenue cycle management (RCM), and payments, creating capacity equivalent to 115 full-time employees augmenting overburdened care givers and optimizing their ability to deliver excellent outcomes and experience to a growing number of patients. - A 19% reduction in no-show rates and a 30% increase in adult depression screenings, underscoring the potential of AI to improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency. - Simplifying the patient financial experience, leading to improved cash collections up over 25% year-over-year. - Being on track to personalize over 2.5 million patient interactions annually, eliminating millions of mundane, manual tasks that staff across their enterprise had to perform weekly. Building on this foundation, teams are already exploring every opportunity to embrace Flows for authorizations, quality measures, HCC coding, improved veteran care, and more. This approach mirrors how developing countries leapfrogged the PC era, going straight to mobile. Sanford is similarly leapfrogging traditional healthcare models, leveraging AI to overcome rural workforce constraints. Bill Gassen Matt Hocks Jared Antczak Tony Morrison Brad Reimer Erica DeBoer Jennifer Opitz Jeremy Cauwels Tiffany Ahrendt - your agile, iterative approach to deploying these solutions is setting a new standard. You're not just keeping pace; you're positioning Sanford to outpace urban counterparts who lack the urgency of workforce challenges. Rural health systems take note: embracing automation isn't just about catching up—it's about leading the way in healthcare innovation. Join us on a path to 10x productivity for the caregiving workforce. #RuralHealthcareInnovation #AIinHealthcare #WorkforceTransformation #SanfordHealth #HealthTech

109

4 Comments

DeepCast shipped a number of really cool new features recently in advance of a broad outreach push to podcast listeners. One new feature is our new Daily DeepDigest tool that sends you a concise daily email including any new episodes from the trailing 24 hours from any podcasts you Subscribe to (on DeepCast). Think daily podcast cliff notes or podcast news ticker tape, with a hint of Morning Brew various brews or PitchBook News—it's increasing information throughput when you're pressed for time. And this feature is rapidly evolving to distill other key extractions from shows you're already interested in, but also exposing you to other shows you might be unfamiliar with that also have nuggets to share—and thus increasing your aperture yet still conscious of your time. Want to go deeper on any given episode? Click the episode detail and you're off to an episode on DeepCast, where you can subsequently read a longer form distillation of that episode or go straight to the source and listen to the episode. (And podcaster friends, these pages are definitely increasing indexing and thus Google entry points to your shows!) I'm loving this feature as a user, personally. Can't wait to see what others think! #BuildingInPublic #Podcasts #AllTheWorldsInformation #HowYouWantIt

24

1 Comment

Abby Levy talks about venture's role in US healthcare and what we can expect to see as technology impacts the space on TFR. Check out the rest of the conversation with Abby & Alan Patricof of Primetime Partners on Episode 433.

34

6 Comments

Last week, I sat down with Vator to discuss AI applications in the workforce, and how founders in key industries like Healthtech, Fintech, and supply chain can apply AI in meaningful ways to reduce friction in day-to-day life. We have literally seen a usable, value-generating case of artificial intelligence inside pretty much every major vertical that exists in the last year or so, but many people are still not using AI to its full advantage. At Forum Ventures, we see thousands of B2B AI companies a quarter, and we are increasingly bullish on AI-powered verticalization. Read on to learn more about some of the exciting AI applications we see founders utilizing, the nuances we consider when finding great founders across diverse industries, and the importance of founder-market fit. https://lnkd.in/gh-hDSSG

41

We are excited to have announced our Series A lead investment in Abett. Founded by Mike Hanlon, the company provides a data layer that enables any self-insured employer in the US to receive a regular and consistent feed of their claims data so they can actually understand healthcare costs, the efficacy of their employee benefits, and how to better serve their employees (to whom they have a fiduciary responsibility). While this sounds like table stakes, it's far from the norm. After payroll, healthcare is the biggest cost consideration for American employers. A majority of Americans receive employer-based health insurance. A majority of those Americans receive insurance from a fully or partially self-funded plan (i.e., the employer is taking risk instead of the insurance company). Abett brings transparency and alignment to a thorny data problem to empower benefits leaders & CFOs. More to come on Acrew Capital's focus on the investing at the intersection of healthcare & data. cc: Mark Kraynak and Kwabena "KB" Nimo for their partnership on this investment.

119

4 Comments

If you sell in the Digital Health space, don't walk, RUN to listen to this episode. 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️💨💨💨 "I didn't realize that I was missing purpose in selling until I had it." This week I sit down with the incredible Brook West the CCO of Carrum Health! We cover so much ground!! Brook's career journey, sales advice, approach, and scaling sales organizations and creating high-performing teams. What made this episode especially interesting was that Brook and I have built teams together so it was awesome to discuss the mentality of hiring with Brook. I think what makes her have such a spectacular eye for talent is her no-stone-unturned approach which I have seen first hand be so effective. From the importance of relentless improvement in hiring, to removing bias from the hiring process. Brook even shares the key traits of successful salespeople in the benefits market. *Spoiler alert* 🌳resilience, 🔝 drive, 💪thick skin, and 💞belief in what they do. Relentless improvement is key to creating a team of A players. Continuously adapt the hiring profile and learn from each interview to find the right fit. 📈📈 Learn about the amazing things Carrum is doing for their patients and explore the onboarding process for new employers using Carrum and the future plans for the company! Quality is TRULY the foundation of everything at Carrum, from the product to how they behave and deliver services. Tune in to learn more about the amazing impact they are having in the Digital Health world partnering with employers across the country to address surgical care, and cancer care delivered at lower costs, improving healthcare outcomes, and ultimately ensuring a superior experience one patient at a time. https://lnkd.in/dRPUez7v

72

5 Comments

I recently sat down with Michael Batko, CEO at Startmate and Founder of Puddle Pod for Episode 11 of Insane Ambition. Startmate has invested in 230+ startups, much of it under Michael's leadership, and now has $3.5b in value across its portfolio companies. In this episode, we discussed: - Michael's journey from consulting, then living in the Amazon rainforest, to leading Australia's biggest startup accelerator - The future of Australia's startup ecosystem - The labour government's very stupid plan to make it harder for people to qualify as sophisticated investors (now thankfully shelved) - Startmate City! Startmate's plan to build Australia's first startup city. Probably the most ambitious idea I've ever heard from a startup accelerator. - The balance between visionary thinking and traditional startup advice (think Elon Musk's plan to colonise Mars, vs Y Combinator's problem/customer obsession) - "The Courage to Be Disliked", and its influence on Michael's approach to life and business. Links in the description below 👇

61

4 Comments

I 💯agree with Oz Merchant on this topic. Some folks advise founders to pitch very selectively and 'pick your pitch' - you get one shot, choose it wisely? I'm 180 degrees opposite of that - be a promiscuous pitcher! - ABP - ALWAYS BE PITCHING. Because your pitch gets better with every no, take that feedback, learn, iterate. Right now it's taking 50-100 no's for Triangle co's to get funding, it's still tough out there, so get through the no's fast to get to a yes. Check out the event - also go see others pitch, it all helps you get better - pitching is like PMF - lots of iteration, tons of grinding to get through to the other side.

41

1 Comment

If you start down the path of #enterpriseimaging – which many health systems are doing (or considering) – "there have to be some objectives and a clear understanding of what you're attempting to do," said Joseph Marion during a recent discussion with Alex Towbin and Lenny Reznik. What you don't want is to go into it with "a false expectation or limited expectation." https://lnkd.in/gg3PkCim AGFA HealthCare #itimaging #healthcareit #enterpriseimagemanagement #patientsafety #patientexperience

2

This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the non-US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 4-week period ending May 29, a total of 1,545 new companies were added, with 101,688 companies included in the non-US Health Tech, Med Tech, Fin Tech, AI Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. The non-US AI Tech saw the greatest percentage growth in new companies for the period, weighing in at a notable 27%, nearly two times the overall vertical average of 15%. The non-US Heath Tech vertical led the group in transactions. Non-US Med Tech vertical lead in both SEC Filings and news articles. Mikal Ventures publishes these stats on a rolling 4-week basis to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

5

Today at 12:09, I'll be on WBBM Radio Noon Business Hour to discuss AWE Nite Chicago | The Next Evolution - Technology Demo Day taking place on June 5th at 1871 (Listen Live link available at the website linked below. Event Registration link in the comments). Yesterday I spoke with Andy Giersher on the Gains Podcast about the current and near future of #VirtualReality and #AugmentedReality, and mentioned the upcoming event VRAR Chicago is producing. https://lnkd.in/gnbCYUzN As a result he asked me to join today's broadcast to talk about the event. We're bringing several technology demonstrations under one roof for one night - We'll have Meta Quest 2, and 3, Apple Vision Pro, HTC VIVE XR Elite, Lenovo VRX, zSpace, Inc. laptop, Mechdyne IT and Audio Visual Services #AR screen, Tilt Five, and more. If you haven't seen these with your own eyes or tried them with your own hands, then you don't fully understand the capabilities they provide. Last week, I spoke with Rob Hart about our implementation of #VR #CareerAwareness Day at KOMAREK SCHOOL DISTRICT 94, which is just one example of the capabilities this technology provides. Thanks to our sponsors, partners, and demonstrators for the upcoming event (XR Women, Two-Degrees.io, Nvzn Augmented Reality, Patched Reality, Omnia, TechViz, zSpace, Inc., Mechdyne IT and Audio Visual Services , Transfr, 2112 Creative Industries Incubator, Mostly Misfits, IGDA Chicago, Vennity, Inc.) Apologies if I'm missing anybody...

24

12 Comments

Someone broke down the estimated costs of a $15 Sweetgreen salad. We need these cost graphics for digital health to help future founders. Especially for tech enabled cos, the greatest cost is labor. Much of the "value created" is in curation and matching, which means the gross margins are reliant on labor arbitrage. Pay someone $X, but get paid $X+Y% per visit. The challenge with healthcare is that you often have to pick one of two business models: 1. specialized, low volume, high cost, low gross margin % 2. generalized, high volume, low cost, high gross margin % I'd argue founders should focus on gross dollars over the lifetime of the customer (like Jeff Bezos said) instead of gross margin %'s, but we'll leave that for another time. The challenge is that many tech enabled digital health cos have high cost of goods sold (labor) and moderately high product, design, and engineering budgets. We must build differentiated solutions for patients, clinicians, and clients to be out incumbents, however, we're realizing that companies are ultimately valued on the discounted value of future cash flows. And the high SG&A costs at most organizations might be inbalanced to the unit economics of the business. I'm not sure the math pencils out for everyone unfortunately. But I'm just a guy on the internet, would love to hear the thoughts from those smarter than I (you!). Comment below. --- p.s. I have no idea the accuracy of the graphic and not an investor in Sweetgreen. Cheers. Credit: David Crowther

113

27 Comments

While there are numerous pros and cons to consider when raising a seed round, I generally agree with Gary Tan’s assessment: companies succeed when they create products that solve problems and meet customer needs, not because of the size of the check VCs write. I understand the frustration for VCs who have been raising larger seed-stage funds and need to deploy more capital per deal, but I support the founder’s decision to limit dilution early on. My advice to founders is to stay strong, be bold, hustle and take a chance on yourself, if you can solve customer problems, the same VCs who are upset about your decision to raise and dilute less during the seed round will come knocking on your door. #startups #founders #dilution #believeinyourself #venturecapital https://lnkd.in/gdmKsUje

18

2 Comments