I'm shutting down my startup, RAVACAN. 5 years after I founded it. Here are 5 lessons and reflections: ↓ 1. We don't have product-market fit - Building an enterprise-grade software is incredibly costly - No buying intent from Direct procurement - Procurement managers lack the authority to drive changes internally 2. Creating a new category is hard - Manufacturing companies prefer highly customizable solutions over SAAS - Educating the market about a new category requires significant time and resources - Buyers can't compare and feel the risk is higher 3. Why I'm Stopping This - We had minimal returns despite significant effort - We cannot build what the market needs with minimal capital, and open-source solutions exist (more on this soon!) - Manufacturers are secretive and don't share the word with their peers even when they are very happy 4. Things I Would Have Done Differently - Targeted more dynamic niches like semiconductors or raw materials - Engage smaller companies instead of enterprises - Offer the product for free to get references 5. My Most Critical Learnings - Don't build something people need, but something they want - Better be the second best than the first (Edit: Better be challenger than pioneer) - Use funding momentum and don't let it go away Richard Branson said, "The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all." I try to live by this every day. On one hand, it's tough to shut down something I've poured my heart into. On the other hand, I feel a sense of relief and gratitude. The journey with RAVACAN has been an incredible learning experience. The lessons I've gained, the skills I've developed, and the insights I've gathered are invaluable. While RAVACAN's chapter is closing, these experiences will undoubtedly shape my future endeavors. I’m eager to apply what I’ve learned to whatever comes next. Thank you to my talented and tenacious teammates Benjamin BEGUIN, Carles Ballester, to our first clients who saw the future with us, especially Mike Maloney, to our investors who supported me every step of the way Vincent Diallo, Laura Brady, Benjamin Ling, Collin Gutman, Jeff Weinstein. My mentor Gary Geschwind.

Antares Capital LP, Global Entrepreneurship Network, and Hello Alice want to help you REACH your goals this year💸🚀✨ Apply now for one of 150 spots in this 12-week digital growth accelerator where you’ll get access to expert-led sessions, education, mentorship, a peer support network, and so much more. Plus, if you are accepted into the program, you’ll also have the opportunity to be considered to receive a grant package of up to $20,000! *Acceptance into the Boost Camp does not guarantee funding. To be eligible, a small business owner must be: • An entrepreneur who is the leading executive (i.e. Founder and/or President, CEO, CFO, COO, or any such other similar title) of a business that meets the below business criteria; and • Eighteen (18) years of age or older (19 in AL and NE). To be eligible, a business must be: • A for-profit business with an established product or service that generated over $50,000 in revenue in 2023; • Majority (51%+) owned by an individual(s) who is from a historically underrepresented  group, including by income, background, sexual orientation or identity, disability, as well as veterans and veteran family members; and • Located and registered in one of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico. In a comment below, share this opportunity with a fellow entrepreneur who has big goals they’re trying to reach this year. Then, learn more and apply before June 28, 2024 at 6 p.m. ET: https://lnkd.in/eiH4ChN6

🎉 Happy Equal Research Day! 🎉 Three years ago, Priyanka Jain and the team Evvy launched ⚡ Equal Research Day⚡to raise #awareness of the severe gaps in medical research and insight specific to #womenshealth. This year, in addition to celebrating & amplifying⚡Equal Research Day⚡, they've launched the BEST #coffee #table #book I have ever seen. A few excerpts from “100 Effed Facts About The Gender Health Gap”: ⚫ “To this day, women are still diagnosed on average #4 #years #later than men across hundreds of diseases. We’re more likely to die from heart attacks, react poorly to prescription drugs, and have our pain symptoms dismissed by doctors. ⚫ Why? Because #women and people with #vaginas #were #not #required to be included in US #clinical #research until June 10th, 1993 – decades after many of the foundational studies on which modern medicine is based.” And a few stats – the most egregious of the 100: ▶ No #11 – Less than half of medical schools have women’s health curricula. ▶ No #12 – Women are 32% more likely to die if their surgeon is a man. ▶ No. #72 – Doctors often view men with chronic pain as “brave” or “stoic”, but view women with chronic pain as “emotional” or “hysterical”. ▶ No. #77 – Only 29% of OB-GYNs receive menopause training. ▶ No. #92 – 76% of students believe they are taught more about the biology of frogs than the female body. Shocked? Angry? Motivated? Celebrate ⚡Equal Research Day ⚡by buying a book! It will #inform the questions you ask and the care you seek -- all while #making #evident the gaslighting you experience. 👉 Get your book here: Evvy & #EqualResearchDay, https://lnkd.in/gT8VCtCh 👉 All proceeds go to: Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM), https://whamnow.org/ ** Evvy’s launch event for this book was milestone moment 6️⃣ for me at #NYTechWeek !! **

What a privilege to spend the day at Project W's Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp | Health Tech with the twelve amazing #femalefounders in the cohort and more than two dozen healthcare investors and experts, all of whom are building or investing in solutions that will #transform #healthcare. Keep an eye on these founders: ✔️ Shireen Abdullah, MBA, PMP, Lori Arakaki, Rachel Brown, Devina Desai, Jen Flexman, PhD, MBA, Sanna Gaspard, PhD, Anne Germain, Aagya Mathur, Rachel Mertensmeyer, Liza Ray, Betsy Riley, and Amelia Wilcox 💭 They are: 💠 Addressing health issues of underserved populations 💠 Developing solutions to improve treatment of chronic conditions 💠 Helping providers deliver more efficient, effective, and empathetic care 💠 Using generative AI to accelerate the pace of innovation in the healthcare sector Thanks to these remarkable women we can look forward to a healthier future.

We couldn't be more excited to announce the #femalefounders in our 12th Women Entrepreneurs Boot Camp -- WEB | Health Tech. These trailblazing and innovative women are building solutions that: ✔     Improve patient outcomes ✔     Deliver healthcare faster and more effectively ✔ Close the health equity gap ✔     Accelerate the pace of R&D We look forward to spending the day with the WEB | Health Tech cohort and the many healthcare experts and investors joining us at Techstars LA on June 13. ✔️ Shireen Abdullah, MBA, PMP, Lori Arakaki, Rachel Brown, Devina Desai, Jen Flexman, PhD, MBA, Sanna Gaspard, PhD, Anne Germain, Aagya Mathur, Rachel Mertensmeyer, Liza Ray, Betsy Riley, and Amelia Wilcox 💭 Click below to learn more. #healthtech #digitalhealth #medtech https://lnkd.in/e-uMUSyX

There's one meeting I look forward to every couple weeks, because I always walk away feeling smarter and inspired: It's our HIT Like a Girl Pod / Like a Girl Media #healthcare #policy #bookclub. We mostly cover draft and #final #rules from #ONC #HHS and other governing bodies to see how policymakers are shaping the landscape we all get the privilege to navigate; topics like #cybersecurity, #HIPAA as it relates to #reproductive healthcare, even Uché Blackstock, MD's book #Legacy. This past Monday's meeting was no different. We used #chatPDF to help us dig through the 1902-page "#Medicare and #Medicaid Programs, #IPPS for #Hospitals and policy changes to the 2025 fiscal year rates*" document (title intentionally shortened, because its length is ridiculous!). We discovered in our hour together that #CMS is seeking comments around setting standards for #maternal care in #rural areas and maternal #deserts across the U.S. where there is limited obstetric services and critical access hospitals with even fewer resources. In fact, they tucked in about 50 very specific questions around page 1400 that address standardizing staff training, minimum equipment standards, and how CMS could better understand #patients #experience of #maternity care. I am going to go ahead and assume reading this draft rule is not how most moms spend their free time, especially at this crazy time of year when school dances, teacher appreciation, graduation, and #MothersDay are all jam packed together. Since CMS should really be hearing from #women, #birthingpeople, #doulas, #midwifes, #OBGYNs, #nurses, anyone working in #femtech, anyone with lived experience being #pregnant in a rural area, I decided to extract the questions and make it easier for people to share their opinions. Here's an opportunity to affect change at a National level. Add your voice to the conversation about improving maternal care in rural areas! I've created a Google Form to streamline the process. It outlines each of the questions CMS is asking in the draft rule and allows you to easily submit your comments. HIT Like a Girl Pod will then compile all the comments and submit them directly to ONC HHS before the deadline of June 10, 2024. Let's make sure the voices of those most impacted by these changes are heard! Fill out the Google Form Here: https://bit.ly/3yehz9i #maternalcare #ruralhealth #womeninhealthcare #makeanimpact P.S. Feel free to share this post and the Google Form link with anyone who might be interested in contributing! Susan Clark Cheryl Mason Shereese Maynard, MS, MBA She/Her Dr. Shannan Swafford, MBA, FACHDM, RHIT, CHDA, CCS, Avery Haller Dr. Bayo C. Kat McDavitt