SpringTide Ventures

Raising venture capital is historically difficult, and Steve Jobs' experience raising money for fledgling Apple Computer outlined below is a case in point. Some key takeaways for entrepreneurs are: 1. Lead with product; 2. Persevere and build proof; no does not mean no forever; and 3. Conviction among investors is often built as a network function. Apple's seed financing timeline: 1. Tom Perkins and Eugene Kleiner (Kleiner Perkins) refused to meet Jobs. 2. Bill Draper dismissed Jobs and Wozniak as "arrogant" after an associate's visit. 3. Pitch Johnson doubted home computers, asking, "Are you going to put recipes on it?" 4. Stan Veit rejected Jobs' $10,000 offer for 10% of Apple, mistrusting Jobs' appearance. 5. Nolan Bushnell declined to buy one-third of Apple for $50,000 but introduced Jobs to Don Valentine, founder of Sequoia. 6. Regis McKenna refused to design Apple's commercials for a 20% stake, saying, "20% of nothing is worth approximately nothing," but also introduced Jobs to Valentine. 7. Don Valentine was skeptical but guided Jobs on management and marketing. Valentine introduced Jobs to three contacts; Mike Markkula, the third, saw potential in Wozniak's design and invested $91,000 for 26% of Apple, becoming its first angel investor. Markkula convinced McKenna to help Apple with publicity, leading to the creation of Apple's iconic logo. Markkula persuaded Venrock's Hank Smith to invest $300,000 for 10% of Apple. Eventually, Don Valentine invested a small portion, believing his presence on Apple's board would be beneficial. H/t to Angelos Georgakis for the graphic and storyline.

IgniteData is driving remarkable advancements in EHR to Electronic Data Capture (EDC) interoperability. This piece delves into how Ignite Data is revolutionizing clinical trials with innovative technology that enhances efficiency and data integrity. Check out the full article to hear from CEO Zach Taft, MBA and learn more about their cutting-edge solutions!

Wellsheet is using LLMs to supercharge clinical workflows and increase care team productivity. At Concord Hospital, Wellsheet's Smart EHR UI has delivered $8M savings per hospital per year and a 8X+ ROI and a 16.3% decrease in length of stay. https://lnkd.in/gkhfHF8t

AI is already transforming medicine for the better, and one particular area of promise according to Ray Kurzweil, is that, "AI is starting to turn medicine into an exact science. Instead of painstaking trial-and-error in an experimental lab, molecular biosimulation—precise computer modelling that aids the study of the human body and how drugs work—can quickly assess billions of options to find the most promising medicines." A few key points from his recent article in The Economist (full article linked in comments) include: --Last summer the first drug designed end-to-end by ai entered phase-2 trials for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease. Dozens of other ai-designed drugs are now entering trials. --In all of history until 2022, science had determined the shapes of around 190,000 proteins. That year DeepMind’s AlphaFold 2 discovered over 200m, which have been released free of charge to researchers to help develop new treatments. --Digital trials will let us tailor medicines to each individual patient. The potential is breathtaking: to cure not just diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, but the harmful effects of ageing itself. #aiforgood (Illustration by Dan Williams)

We were honored to partner on Atlantic Health System's inaugural Venture & Innovation Summit last week, and congratulate Doug Hayes, Jenny Soriano, MBA, Gina-Marie Verrone, Kevin Lenahan, CPA, FHFMA, Brian Gragnolati, and the entire AHS team on a successful event that brought together so many wonderful companies (including our own Prolucent, IgniteData, Wellsheet, Paterna Biosciences, and Intellihealth), executives, caregivers, and investors. Oliver Keown, MD - Camila Caso - Conceivable Life Sciences - Ben Freeberg @ Oncology Ventures - Harvey Karp, MD, FAAP - Happiest Baby (the maker of SNOO) - Taylor Whitman @ Concord Health Partners - Aman Y. Shah @ VNS Health - Paul Tirjan @ AllSpire Health Partners

It's clear that existing EHRs fall short in improving patient care. Shockingly, less than 20% of clinicians at the VA feel that Cerner enables "high quality care" according to a survey recently conducted by KLAS Research. Companies like Wellsheet can be the solution. By transforming the user experience, clinicians can be more efficient within the EHR, lessening clinician burnout and improving quality of care. https://lnkd.in/g7nWxnGT

🌟 Big Announcement 🌟 Soundtrace is now the Trusted Vendor for Bridgestone Americas! This achievement is an important milestone in the mission of Soundtrace to improve hearing health globally. Jeff Wilson, Matthew Reinhold, Cintrifuse Capital

We're thrilled to announce Raydiant Oximetry, Inc.'s oversubscription of their $7.5 million Series A financing. Our profound admiration and gratitude to Neil Ray for his leadership of Raydiant, a clinical-stage medical device company that develops medical technologies to improve outcomes for mothers and babies during childbirth. We're also happy to be co-invested with Cross-Border Impact Ventures, RH Capital, Global Health Impact Fund, VCapital Investments and the March of Dimes Innovation Fund. Let's go!! Full press release: https://lnkd.in/geeDzfZw

We are thrilled to announce the promotions of Brad Otto and Claire Elizabeth Smith to Partners at SpringTide! Their aplomb, solid and true values, and deep experience in tech and finance are tremendous assets to the founders we aspire to support. #healthelevated For full Business Wire press release: https://lnkd.in/gkJHkqiG

Digital health is dead. I have been reading that all over the internet lately. It is true. Digital health was heralded as a savior to our ailing healthcare industry. Nearly a decade later, with tens of billions of venture dollars behind us, there is not much progress to show. There is scant academic literature to show the quality or cost effectiveness of digital health solutions. Overall health outcomes in developed countries have not improved in decades. Yet given a long enough horizon technology will prevail. Even in healthcare. Outliers will always rise above the noise. We should retire the term “digital health”, but we should continue building healthcare technologies with an eye towards a better future. The bar is higher now. The savvy entrepreneurs won’t notice a difference. The hype-chasers have already moved on to something new. Healthcare is still the largest industry in the world. Today’s entrepreneurs are building tomorrow’s standards of care. It may take decades, but at SpringTide we’re looking to back transformational companies, not incremental ones. We’re looking for entrepreneurs who want to disrupt incumbents, not be acquired by them. If that sounds like you, let's chat.