Aagya Mathur

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 👇

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Exciting news from Monica Chopra, Jeffrey De Flavio, MD, Samantha Adelberg, and the rest of the Auxa Health team as they officially announce their $5.2M Seed round. The team's deep industry expertise and drive for change have led them to solve critical infrastructural friction to providing quality healthcare and adoption of value-based care. Auxa's AI benefit navigation platform is simplifying the complexities of healthcare by streamlining all of the fragmented and siloed data and information to make it actionable in real-time for healthcare organizations. For the 70% of Americans who aren't getting access to the health and social care benefits they deserve, Auxa's solution will be pivotal in enabling equitable care. We're thrilled to partner with co-investors Zeal Capital Partners, AlleyCorp, Laconia, and Chaac Ventures on this journey and look to share many more milestones ahead. Cc K50 Ventures, Ryan Bloomer, Daniel Vásquez, Nick Talwar, Stefanie Ng https://lnkd.in/dPDY7-Db

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What an amazing discussion! From regulations and implementation to finding news ways to utilize AI to save money, hyper scale your business and dominate your market, AI has tremendous potential if used judiciously. Gentreo @Alineaventures AuditMate

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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

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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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It was great to spend time with colleagues, investors, and friends at #DHISEast this week. Here are my key takeaways:  1️⃣ The two key themes of the conference were AI and GLP-1. Closely following was clinician burnout.  2️⃣ The consensus was that Value-Based Care (VBC) is here to stay, although its adoption has been slower than anticipated in some cases. 3️⃣ The era of company extension rounds appears to be over and we will start to see priced rounds again. The majority of venture capitalists are shifting to later-stage investments, seeking less risk. (I wonder how this will impact the number of early-stage companies). Here are some of my thoughts to connect the dots: ☑ For VBC, it is crucial to allocate resources to the right patients, not to all patients. ☑ AI is a key part of the solution for both VBC and clinician burnout, but it must be validated and seamlessly integrated into clinicians' workflows. ☑ Regarding GLP-1, this is just the beginning. Real-World Evidence (RWE) must be collected, new indications will be revealed, and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) will surface. Guidelines should be established and the black market for these medications needs to be controlled. #AI #GLP1 #VBC #polypharmacy #medicationmanagement #populationhealth #ACO #digitalhealth #RWE #ADRs Benjamin Lakin, PhD Nandini Kashyap Megann Watters Samir Malik Ian Chiang 📷: https://lnkd.in/dGTEu8gZ

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I had a lot of fun recording a podcast episode with Shiva Singh Sangwan. We discussed the evolution of Humba Ventures & Susa Ventures; tips for raising and building a fund; how to improve investment sourcing & picking; the role of luck in investing, and so on. https://lnkd.in/eiqsStej

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We are thrilled to announce that our upcoming TECH WEEK by a16z event is going to be bigger than ever before! We’ve partnered with amazing women-led brands like The Fourth Effect with Breen Sullivan and Katrin de Haën , zant, and 2FIT BRANDS to bring you an unforgettable experience. Furthermore, we're adding two sessions on advancements in #AI and women's health to foster insightful discussions and exchange ideas. Join us for an evening of networking and deep dives into #GenAI during #NYTechWeek, personalized women’s health empowerment, and investment opportunities. We're excited to offer you the opportunity to join two exclusive sessions led by Marina Vieva, an active participant in the Bay Area community and leader in women's health. These sessions are packed with insider information, innovative solutions, and engaging discussions with industry leaders. Don’t miss out—spaces are limited to ensure interactive conversations! Session 1: GenAI Trends, Silicon Valley Vision, Concerns, and Opportunities Get insider access to the latest GenAI trends, visions from Silicon Valley, and the concerns and opportunities shaping the future. Marina Vieva will share her unique insights, and you'll have the chance to engage in a lively discussion with industry players. Session 2: Women's Health Perspective on GenAI and Future Advancements Discover how GenAI can revolutionize women's health. Marina Vieva will present innovative solutions and a forward-looking vision for the future of women's health. Participate in stimulating discussions and connect with market leaders. Sign Up Now! https://lu.ma/6esiktxd Future of AI: New horizons in Digital Health. Discussion, brainstorming, networking. NY #TechWeek · Luma #GenerativeAI #LeadershipInAI #WomenInTech #AIInnovation #FutureOfAI #TechSummit #NYTechWeek #AILeadership #AIConference #AI2024 #WomenInLeadership #AIRevolution #AICommunity #InspireAI #TechTalks #MarinaVieva #FemiSpace #AIEvent #AIInsights #TheForthEffect #Zant #2FITBRANDS

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How does the American Cancer Society innovate & scale the mission, by launching its own VC fund & accelerator. Tomorrow on #AustinNext, I chat with Alice Lin Pomponio, who is leading these efforts. Venture & a non-profit are an unconventional combo, but could lead to fascinating results. #VentureCapital #Cancer #Innovation #AmericanCancerSociety #AustinNext

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Today, Two Chairs announces $72M of new funding to continue building a world where everyone has access to exceptional mental health care. Since late 2017, when Maveron led the Two Chairs Series A, the need for mental health services has grown considerably as our society has become lonelier and more isolated than ever. At the same time, our culture’s willingness to openly acknowledge these challenges is greater than ever. Sadly, the rapid growth of Two Chairs affirms the fact that our society is in desperate need of better mental health support. Two Chairs has built a business that believes clinical quality is the defining characteristic of success. Alex Katz has always emphasized the paramountcy of measurement-based clinical outcomes, which the team works tirelessly to achieve. In the process, Two Chairs has illustrated that embracing the ‘move fast and break things’ mentality doesn’t always work. Instead, Two Chairs opted for a different approach: they went slow to go fast. They built a proprietary algorithm that matches patients with the perfect therapist at the onset and hired a team of W2 clinicians oriented toward providing the highest quality care available. Even as the Two Chairs team has grown, their culture has remained small. This has enabled more intimate relationships within the team and between clients and clinicians. Reflecting on this milestone brings me back to the founding of Maveron and the values we hold dear. In 1998, my friend Howard Schultz and I founded Maveron to help entrepreneurs build companies that improve the lives of everyday people—their employees and their customers. There is perhaps no better example of this than Two Chairs. *** Thank you to TechCrunch's Marina Temkin, CFA for the great write-up. https://tcrn.ch/4aMt7yG

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I’m more of a value + application person.  I’ve worked with amazing tech developers who keep my guardrails up, but developing new products for product-market fit is key. That said,  I want to show appreciation to NYU Langone Health's initiative to use AI for making doctors' notes more patient-friendly.  It is a testament to the potential of generative AI in enhancing healthcare communication. This approach not only promises to bridge the gap between patient understanding and professional medical knowledge but also showcases the practical value of AI in improving patient-provider interactions. By making health information more accessible, we're stepping into a future where healthcare is inclusive, empowering patients through education. This development represents a promising application of generative AI with significant product value. Learn more here.

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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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☀ Frequently Asked Questions - Summer 2024 ☀ (1) What are you up to right now? This is my third year working as a fractional commercial executive to health tech startups, VC and PE firms, and new ventures teams. I’m helping my current clients with solution definition, go-to-market strategy development, and strategic partnerships management. (2) How can I help you? Thanks. I’m always looking to connect with additional health-focused startups and venture capital teams that need commercial support now, or in the future. Some teams need support refining and finalizing their GTM plans and messaging over 1-2 months, and other teams are looking for support across multiple commercial initiatives for 6-12 months. I can support both models. (3) Will you invest in my startup? Will you join my advisory board? I currently invest in pre-seed and seed-stage health and climate-focused companies. I view family / parent tech as health, too, because of course it is. Key things I focus on as an investor:  ☑ The unmet need served ☑ Target outcomes (clinical, cost, etc.) ☑ The team’s understanding of the market and target customers ☑ Demonstrated traction ☑ Go-to-market plans and supporting market insights ☑ Thoughtfulness around team buildout and associated timing I am always open to joining the advisory boards of startups when there is a defined need and I think there’s a fit with my experience. When you reach out about advisory board support, please lead with which specific experience and skillsets you’re looking for from new advisors. Many founders are making this ask without doing this thinking first. (4) What are the some of startups you are excited about right now? Thread Health - Adolescent health https://lnkd.in/gx5kkadn Neu Health - Accessible Parkinson's and dementia care https://neu.health/ ArcHouse - Operations software for hospice https://lnkd.in/gkHaYfrH Maribel Health - Making the home the center of the health system https://maribelhealth.com/ ecologicca - Bridging the gap between healthcare and air quality  https://ecologicca.com/ (5) Are you hiring for your own team, or for your clients? Not at the moment. I will share opportunities within my clients directly with people as I learn about them. If you’re looking for your next thing, please let me know which types of roles you’re focused on, and I can stay in touch. #healthtech #climatetech #startups #consulting #investing #summer -- Hi, I’m Brittany Ryan, Founder & Principal at Sunrise Advisors. I serve as a fractional commercial executive to health tech and life sciences startups, investment firms, and venture-building teams. I'll be in Boston for most of the summer. Reach out if you'd like to meet up!

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Startup founders, you don't have to do it alone! Apply now to join the Techstars Boston Accelerator and gain access to our extensive network! We are looking to select 12 high-growth startups to participate in our 13-week Techstars Boston accelerator program kicking off in September -- apply now or tag a founder below who you think might be a good fit!  https://lnkd.in/gbi3hAGi #startups #founders #entrepreneurs #boston 

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The best way to make progress on improving outcomes for diseases like #breastcancer is to foster collaboration between different healthcare organizations - working together to share knowledge and leverage data in a privacy preserving manner. That's why this partnership between Rhino Health and International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM)'s learning collaboratives is especially exciting.

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Enjoyed digging into the complexities of finding effective product-market fit for health companies. To read the full article go to the Animus Health page. What's your best advice on getting to product-market fit?

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Congratulations to our portfolio company Mae for closing their oversubscribed seed round to reduce maternal health disparities! We are proud to be part of this round as early investors alongside Avestria Ventures, Bright Ventures, and the Social Starts Health & Happiness Fund. The round was led by Jumpstart Nova and new investors include the Astia Fund, Impact Engine, Joyance Partners, and Gratitude Railroad. "The urgent need for interventions in Black maternal health is underscored by stark statistics: Black Americans face a maternal mortality rate more than two and a half times higher than other demographic groups. Furthermore, an estimated 16% of Black babies are born in areas with limited or no access to maternity care services, exacerbating existing disparities. Against this backdrop, Mae’s seed raise represents a crucial step towards addressing these inequalities and improving maternal and infant health outcomes. Mae’s approach combines a digital engagement and risk-tracking platform with community-based doula support to empower expectant mothers, particularly those from underserved communities. By centering the pregnant person throughout the perinatal journey, Mae aims to reduce disparate maternal health outcomes, including preterm births and non-medically necessary C-sections." Cheers to you Maya Hardigan, Rachel Nance Wade, Alisha Lalani, Courtney Webster, Britney Morgan, Jennifer Ekunkunbor, Jessica Gaddis, Maia Gokhale, Angelica G., Lydia Harris, and team!

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For #MemberMonday, please meet Kristen Berman, CEO & Co-Founder of Irrational Labs. Her team specializes in behavioral economics, driving engagement in HealthTech. Plus, she has an awesome product teardown Substack, and started a compound featured in The New York Times, Vox, and The Atlantic 🚀 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 I’m CEO & Co-Founder of Irrational Labs. We’re a behavioral economics and design consulting shop that works on behavior change; we co-founded Google's behavioral economics group.  I also have a popular Substack where I do product teardowns (link in comment) Fun fact: I started a 20-person compound in Oakland called Radish, featured in The New York Times, Vox, and The Atlantic (link in comment) 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 At Irrational Labs, we are experts at behavior change, focused on driving engagement for patients, members, and providers. We give you psychology insights about your users and translate those into behavior-change strategies and designs. Sample projects include: • One Medical's onboarding flow, driving a 20% lift in bookings\ • Optum's and other payers’ product launches, telehealth adoption, and mobile app design • Behavior change strategy and design for Roche, Belong Health, Talkspace, TytoCare, and Aetna, a CVS Health Company • Partner regularly with the biggest names in the Valley (LinkedIn, Intuit, PayPal) If you need to understand and build for your user’s psychology -- hit us up! We’d love to talk with you. You can send me (Kristen Berman) a DM or email at kristen@irrationallabs.com. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘀 HealthTech Hang 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁? I went to a HealthTech Hang dinner and made a friend AND got a warm intro to a potential client!  #MemberMonday #HealthTech #BehaviorChange

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Looking forward to discussing how changing demographics and culture norms are affecting investment opportunities in longevity, health and well-being at The Care Summit today Alongside Cake Ventures' Monique Woodard, Ziegler's Dan Hermann, Oak HC/FT's Billy Deitch and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Jennifer Edwards, we’ll dive into the trends shaping how we are investing in the space: - Last year marked one of the most significant social and economic moments in modern times: The number of older adults—those aged 50 and over- surpassed the number of children under the age of 15 for the first time. - In 2020 the 50 plus population contributed $45 trillion to global GDP, or 34% of the total. That equates to about 3x the revenue of the world’s 100 highest- earning companies in 2020. - The U.S. population grew by 24.5 million from 2010 to 2022, and Hispanics accounted for 53% of this increase – a greater share than any other racial or ethnic group. - Women around the world and across all ages drive 64% of consumer spending

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