Kyle Pierce

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)

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🔋 #TodayinVC - All of the biggest deal announcements in venture capital - July 9th, 2024. Sourced from Litquidity's Exec Sum. 💰 Fundraising Announcements: - HarmonyCares, a provider of value-based in-home longitudinal care, raised a $200M round led by General Catalyst, McKesson Ventures, and a national payor (FN) - Gymdesk, a member management SaaS for fitness/wellness firms, raised a $32.5M growth investment from Five Elms Capital (PRN) - Polystyvert, a recycling startup focused on styrenic plastics, raised a $16M Series B led by Infinity Recycling (PRN) - Database startup Tembo raised a $14M round led by GreatPoint Ventures (TC) - Eneida, Lda, a Portuguese deep grid operational analytics platform, raised a $11.4M Series B led by Junction Growth Investors (FN) - Niva, a global business identity platform, raised a $3.3M seed round led by Gradient Ventures (BW) - GoJoe, a gamified employee health and fitness app, raised a $3M seed round led by Venrex and Redrice Ventures (EU) Congrats to all - what #startups do you have your eyes on? 👀 Follow @Today in VC for daily #venturecapital news! 📆

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If you begin with a grand vision and avoid playing "small ball," you can win in DTC in healthcare and allied health industries. In fact, I'd like to propose that eventually "all healthcare will be DTC." DTC means different things to different companies across different industries. In home security, one of my DTC heroes Jamie Siminoff proved that a category could be created or at least massively disrupted and morphed. Marc Benioff began his SFDC journey one salesperson at a time via direct marketing of a sales automation solution in a DTC way. How did they successfully disrupt stale low-margin, small-ball markets and gain scale and momentum? They built trust, leveraged user validation and word of mouth, and then went wide and deep with an ecosystem and a flywheel. And yes, they had a crackerjack, fresh and innovative product/service that worked, to earn trust, excitement and WOM virality. But that was the appetizer, not the main course. Healthcare has even more of this, as it involves risk reduction and building trust via personal-use validation and word of mouth with "reputational risk." This is one of the hallmarks of premier brand DTC product-led-growth. If you think about healthcare like a premier, aspirational brand, it begins to make more sense. It's expensive, it reflects your perceived social status (when/if you share it) and it is important to you to have value and trust in the brand. What if a healthcare brand could engender the same kind of connection and trust as, say: LVMH, Hermès, Apple, JLR, Zabar's, The MICHELIN Guide, and more. If you can build a large enterprise that can move from DTC and product-led-growth and early adoption, to scaled GTM via partners and leveraging or assembling an ecosystem to support it and build a flywheel to shift the unit economics and LCV (lifetime customer value), then you win. In fact, as we move further into outright recognition that so many Americans are essentially self-funding their healthcare via high-deductible plans.... "all healthcare will be DTC" in the sense that via price transparency, provider discovery and competition, trust and quality, all of healthcare will eventually need to be accountable to the same kinds of brand value, trust and reputational pressures as we see today in classic DTC businesses. Every consumer wants trust, value, brand reflection and quality. Especially in a high-spend, high emotional category like healthcare. #trust #value #wordofmouth #GTM #productledgrowth #Ecosystemledgrowth

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NEW: Healthcare deals are finally picking up again after a funding slump. And those deals — to the relief of many VCs — don't look like they did before the downturn. In 2021, some healthcare startups getting funded had little to no revenue, minimal market traction, or hadn't proved their ability to significantly help patients. Investors have higher standards now, and they're writing smaller checks at lower valuation multiples. But there's one area of healthcare that's making an exception — artificial intelligence. In my latest for Business Insider, here's how healthcare AI deals are bucking the industry's new normal, and what types of healthcare AI startups are bound to get more VC cash: https://lnkd.in/euBSHf4u (Thanks so much to Scott Barclay, Nina Achadjian, Todd Cozzens, Garheng Kong, and Andrew Arruda for these great insights!!)

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2 things are universally true about the US’s mental health crisis: 1) its growing urgency, and 2) its enormous access barrier, with the price untenable for most due to the prevalence of out-of-pocket practices. Today, ~1:4 Americans have a treatable mental health condition, but most don’t get care. Accessibility is the primary culprit — finding a therapist that’s a great fit is a notoriously painful process of trial and error, let alone the added layer of trying to find someone who accepts insurance. Historically, therapists have been forced to make the painful trade-off of building their practice efficiently on their own terms or go the cumbersome, costly route of accepting insurance. The upshot is that only a third accept it, hence the cost hurdle keeping countless consumers from care. Exhausted by his own search for a therapist that accepted his insurance in San Francisco and then all over again in New York City, Andrew Adams built Headway to eliminate this bottleneck. The company’s business-in-a-box offering leads with the ability for providers to accept insurance, and in doing so builds a mental healthcare system that everyone can access. At Forerunner, we’ve been doubling down on opportunities that reshape small business growth for SMBs & solopreneurs historically late to benefit from modern commerce tools—e.g., independent retailers (Faire), independent travel agents (Fora Travel), restauranteurs (Table22), local home service pros (Topline Pro), registered dietitians (Fay)—and Headway has proven therapists to be a highly consequential class of small business owners to build for. The platform’s value to consumers, therapists and insurance providers is abundantly clear. In the burgeoning market it pioneered in 2019, Headway has scaled its network to a market-leading 34K providers leveraging its platform to run their private practices, and is in-network today with 40+ commercial health plans across 50 states. Next up: Medicare Advantage and Medicaid. Andrew & the Headway team are building to win in a category of the utmost consequence to society. Forerunner and I couldn’t be more motivated by the vision, nor happier to back the next chapter alongside William R. and Spark Capital, Thrive Capital, a16z Bio + Health and Accel. CC Forerunner & good ole Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

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The healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by advancements in technology and a deeper understanding of patient care. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ambar Bhattacharyya, Co-Managing Partner at Maverick Ventures, on the latest episode of The Full Ratchet. Ambar has partnered with numerous billion-dollar companies like hims & hers, Cityblock Health, Devoted Health, and ConcertAI. His unique journey from rural America to becoming a prominent figure in venture capital offers invaluable insights into the future of healthcare and technology. We discuss his investment strategy at Maverick Ventures, the megatrends shaping healthcare, the impact of AI on the industry, and the importance of integrated care. Ambar also shares his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in healthcare investment, offering a comprehensive view of what lies ahead. Check out TFR Episode 438 to catch our conversation. You'll be glad you listened.

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PitchBook's Q1 Healthcare IT Report released this morning, charting another sleepy quarter for both PE and VC deal activity. Clients can access the full report via the platform. Download a preview here: https://lnkd.in/g_esy7ZF Highlights: VC cumulative deal value was roughly flat QoQ at +3.3%. PE deal count declined 14.8% QoQ. Two major conferences - JPM and HIMSS - bookended the quarter and both were dominated by AI chatter. This has not translated into significant AI HCIT deal flow outside of ambient clinical documentation and a few other concentrated bets. The RPM/CCM space is highly fragmented, boasts positive reimbursement trends, and has the potential to transform care for high-risk populations. However, it has also seen companies struggle to achieve clinical adoption and good unit economics at scale. Sunstone Partners's investment in Accuhealth points toward a play for sponsors who can successfully navigate these dynamics. Following on from our diabetes distribution spotlight in the Q1 Healthcare Services Report (https://lnkd.in/g7MB4HVc), we unpack diabetes care model innovation and highlight innovators including Stability Health, Valendo Health, Diathrive Health, and ZeOmega.

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Couple of weeks ago had the pleasure of sharing my story to Alexander Benkendorf about starting CastPrint and later moving on to join Verge HealthTech Fund and the learning along the way. Some topics we discussed: 💡What does it take to bring innvation in healthcare 💡How did my startup background help me better prepare for VC work 💡How founders can better engage with VCs and what are the tips and tricks from the "other side" Thanks Alexander for having me!

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This article by the WSJ is critically important for public health officials and HealthTech entrepreneurs to internalize. We need multiple solutions for patients to move towards post GLP-1 usage. These solutions need to be easy to implement, non-disruptive to daily life and focused on caloric restriction , lifestyle change and muscle gain. Too many startups are still focused on GLP-1 prescription and delivery. Not enough people focused on the next stage of the weight management journey. As the Journal states, the benefits of the GLP-1 craze are only going to be successful long term if the transition off of them is successful. Otherwise, we risk unforeseen, long term consequences to a large group of patients stuck on GLP-1's with no healthy way to transition off. https://lnkd.in/dYBd3HaN Meghan FitzGerald James Stearns Dominic Perks John LaMattina Raju Kucherlapati

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Talkiatry Raises $130M To Expand Behavioral Health Access – MedCity News - MedCity News #Funding Announcement: Talkiatry Raises $130M Talkiatry, a telepsychiatry platform, has secured $130 million in funding to expand access to behavioral health services. This funding will allow Talkiatry to reach more patients in need of psychiatric care. #TalkiatryFunding #Telepsychiatry Expansion With the new funding, Talkiatry plans to expand its telepsychiatry services, making it easier for patients to access mental health care. This expansion will help address the growing demand for behavioral health services. #TelepsychiatryExpansion #Improving Psychiatry Value Talkiatry aims to improve the value of psychiatry by offering convenient and accessible mental health services. By leveraging technology, Talk ai.mediformatica.com #health #talkiatry #behavioralhealth #andreeenhorowitz #depreion #funding #patients #seriesc #a16z #aetna #anxiety #bluecroblueshield #digitalhealth #healthit #healthtech #healthcaretechnology @MediFormatica (https://buff.ly/4enc7BL)

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"You won’t be around in five years if you don’t make a profit, but your long-term vision will never come to fruition if you focus on short-term growth," Yuvo Health CEO Cesar Herrera advises fellow founders and CEOs of growing companies. So, how can you strike the balance between growth and profitability? Cesar shares six tips in his latest article for Forbes, including: ✔ Keep your long-term vision front of mind. ✔ Ditch the 'growth at any cost mindset. ✔ Set expectations with investing partners. ✔ Focus on quality investments: market to the right clientele and choose the right products. ✔ Make tactful operational decisions: invest in scalable solutions and infrastructure. ✔ Be mindful of staffing needs: build a dedicated team that will grow with the company. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g6e9vKBH

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Another large funding round in the virtual behavioral health space. It's interesting to note Talkiatry's focus on a physician-centric care model with W-2 providers, as opposed to most of the other players who are delivering care with 1099 mid-level therapists. However, it's still not clear to me how they are measuring care quality and outcomes, which is the foundation of true value-based care.

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The opioid crisis was a sad hallmark of my years working for the Baker Administration. In a time of extreme partisanship at the federal level, this was one area where public policy, civil discourse, and private enterprise seemed aligned and sufficiently motivated to find a solution. What we learned, however, is that dollars and access only go so far in combatting a disease that knows no so specific demographic. Instead, it's apparent that a battery of tools is needed to combat and prevent addiction--ranging from strong safety nets, to novel non-addictive pain therapies, and better technology. Introducing Marigold Health. Shrenik Jain, Ravi Shah, Tracey Cohen, MD, FASAM and team have built a proprietary NLP-based platform that--most significantly--improves the lives of those suffering from SUD/SMI. One customer we spoke with noted, "We needed a unique treatment intervention that had supportive research, fit into a CMS established model with a recognized service code, and that would provide positive clinical outcomes in an efficacious and fiscally responsible manner”. Another plainly said: "Marigold is our best hope to reach into the lives and help those who many have already given up on." Honored to join Bill Evans, Sean Day, and the entire syndicate in doing our part to scale a tool we believe will become essential in the fight against addiction. Marigold Health Innospark Ventures Rock Health KdT Ventures Matt Fates Lily Zarrella Venkat Srinivasan

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I used to spend 2-3 hours daily on clinic notes, skeptical of AI scribe technology. However, I've been impressed with RevMaxx, a generative AI company transforming clinical note creation by listening to physician-patient conversations and automatically generating comprehensive notes. This platform accurately captures crucial ICD-10 codes, saving valuable time ⏰. 👉 Why This Matters: - **Reducing Physician Burnout:** Administrative tasks are a significant contributor to physician burnout. Innovations like RevMaxx alleviate this burden effectively. #HealthcareInnovation #AI #PhysicianBurnout #MedicalDocumentation #HealthTech #RevMaxx

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One of my proudest moments as an investor occurred today as Alaffia Health announced its series A because it shows how the Aperture® Venture Capital vision of multi-level, multi-generational #impactinvesting is succeeding in the marketplace. Here’s the model in its most basic form : ✅As diverse fund managers with meaningful capital to allocate, we are changing the VC landscape every day just by doing our day jobs. ✅As Black/Brown investors with ~40 years experience collectively, Aperture GPs have access to talent /excellence that others do not, so our portfolio *organically* is more inclusive by race, gender and geography even while optimizing for financial outcomes (all about the alpha). ✅Our most successful portco’s are using financial #innovation to solve market problems that impact underrepresented demographics and underserved communities. Alaffia Health is a shining example of the impact portion of our overall fund thesis, and we couldn’t be prouder of TJ Ademiluyi and Adun Akanni, MPH, PMP - the dynamic brother-sister founder duo whose vision we have steadfastly supported on their journey. Congratulations to TJ and Adun from William Crowder and myself, as well as the whole Aperture team- Marjorie King Philip McKenzie Yves Louis-Jacques Tanvi Lal Michelle Dhansinghani Lisha Bell Katie Kelly Amy Chung Cindy Chong, CFA Brian Fernandes-Halloran Monroe France Jayden Pantel Darren Herman Evan Wladis Neal Triplett Thomas Scriven Peter Ammon Irina Bit-Babik Tim Milanich Rob Rahbari

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🏥 Find out the dire consequences of habitual understaffing in healthcare with Alex Gorecki on 'Unmasked.' Learn about a NJ hospital where understaffing led to 286 adverse events and a major lawsuit. Tune in for insights on why accountability in healthcare can't be overlooked. Want to hear more? Find us wherever you enjoy your podcasts! Get the full scoop here 👉 https://bit.ly/3R6Q8EY #PatientSafety #HealthcareEthics #UnmaskedPodcast

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📣 Hey founders – we’re thrilled to partner with Alex Flynn and Mark G., founders of Deck Doctors, for a pop-up webinar this Thursday on building a killer investor deck. Join us for an interactive session where Alex and Mark will share their approach to pitch crafting and offer live feedback to a few volunteers. Take advantage of everything these guys have learned from working with over 200 founders. And be sure to come prepared with your pitch decks and questions! 🕐 Thursday, May 16 at 4PM ET 👇 Registration link in comments Let's go 🚀 #pitchdeck #startups #accelerator #fundraising #venturecapital

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