Hello my Healthcare Innovation Peeps!
It's Friday morning and the time is right to finish off our weeks by doing a few more great things, then on to the weekend! Sure there is a war in Ukraine and democracy, women's rights and the checks and balances of our government are all under attack, but... but...
ok well, that all sucks ass.
There is no but.
Except maybe this: We do our best to speak truth to power, we support the causes we believe in, we vote, and we work daily to fix what we can in the hopes that it has a positive impact. Everyone I know is trying to make things better every day but still, the Putins and Martin Shkrelis of the world keep doing their part to screw things up. Well, at least one is in jail and the other is getting his butt kicked daily by our Ukrainian brothers with the help of Hellfire and Brimstone missile systems from the US and UK (so there is a good butt!) Even Iran wouldn't support the Russian "cause" so there is also hope. I doubt things will go well for the people that orchestrated the overthrow of civil liberties in the US in the US either. Hell hath no fury like 100+ million women scorned and regardless of how much you distort the truth, redraw district lines and create a Christian kangaroo supreme court, these changes will not be permanent and may end in something like getting rid of the electoral college and the emergence of true democracy. ... but I digress.
We launched MedStartr on the 4th of July ten years ago with this video, opening with a tune from the Black Eyed Peas, and 256 of you supported the project on the original MedStartr crowdfunding site, depicted above. Since then thousands of you have since entered our contests and millions have supported the ideas and companies in our contests, platforms, events, and now portfolio. What began as a simple little meetup group has grown and helped change healthcare. I just wanted to say thanks for all that and to note that despite all the negative things we see in the world, there is always hope and it happens one small thing at a time and only when we all work together, supporting the people with the good new ideas. We ARE winning in healthcare innovation in many ways, but we aren't done yet. As new challenges like COVID and now the end of Roe v. Wade come at us, we will find new solutions. Your support for the new ideas is meaningful and helps them get out to market faster and fix things. So thank you 🙏🏼!
Other than ranting about the power of crowds to fix the world, believe it or not, I did have a few things to tell you about in today's newsletter.
Let's be brief since I know you have great things to get done today and fun things to get to this weekend.
1. More Innovation Partners Please! We have lined up the stages and events for the next nine months and are seeking partners in innovation that are looking for the best new ideas to pilot, partner and invest in. Our model for investing and accelerating companies is all about working with the teams that get the most grassroots support so everyone gets a say in which companies get funded. Our contests generally start online but always end on the biggest stages at large conferences to gather the largest crowds to weigh in on the top teams. Unfortunately, COVID shut all that down and we only did online contests for 18 months. Now, we have rebuilt the MedMo World Tour Schedule and are ready to roll! This brings true democracy to healthcare innovation funding but it also seems to be 20x better at predicting which companies will become the next unicorns of healthcare. It was Dr. Lisa Kennedy from GE who first asked for our help in this since winners of their challenges failed to thrive despite their smartest people picking them. She wanted to see how well our crowds of patients, doctors, nurses, hospital leaders, partners, and healthcare innovation enthusiasts of all stripes would do. A little company named Medable won that first crowd challenge, back when it was pretty much just Dr, Michelle Longmire. Now Medable is worth billions and has changed healthcare for the better. Lisa was right, it works great! So if you want to work with us to find, fund, and bring to market faster the next Medable, UniteUs, Valera, Care+Wear, DirectShifts, Twiage, YourCoach or the like, book a time to talk here.
2. Going Back To Cali. As our regular readers know we have done events in 33 cities throughout the US since 2016 but we haven't been to Cali since JPM 2020. Well, we are coming next week. Meet us at the event we are promoting below (with discounts) or book a time to talk here.
3. Join us at the Venture Summit West. Learn more below and get the discount using the code "MedStartrVIP for $300 off.
4. Prime Health Innovation Challenge Deadline is Today - more info below.
Thanks for reading and all you do to drive healthcare forward faster!
Warm Regards,
Alex Fair
Managing Partner, MedStartr.VC
Book a time to talk here
Email here
Call: Main: 530-MEDSTAR (530.633.7827)
@MedStartr @alexbfair Linkedin
Prime Health Innovation Challenge Application
The annual Prime Health Innovation Challenge is back with double the funding and double the fun. This year companies will be making connections, getting exposure, and the potential to win pilots and funding in Colorado and California. It’s a great opportunity to make an impact in public health and rural and safety net populations. This is a fantastic program that has been running for years and is one of the best in the country for driving startup success. We are also helping judge and will do some startup advisement!
Deadline for applications is TODAY July 15th.
Learn more here: https://www.primehealthco.com/challenge-companies
Also, if you are not aware, the Colorado Health Innovation Summit is coming up soon on July 21. Learn more about that here
Pro Tip: Many of the judges for the challenge will be there, come pitch us!
New Partner: Venture Summit / West
MedStartr is pleased to announce (again) its newest partnership and invite you to join us at Venture Summit \ West
Special offer: Register Now & Save $300 off (Use discount code “MedStartrVIP")
WHERE INNOVATION MEETS CAPITAL
JULY 19th - 20th, 2022
Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA.
Venture Summit \ West in Silicon Valley will showcase more than 180 of the hottest early-stage and emerging-growth technology, life sciences, healthcare, medtech, fintech, and clean-tech innovators!
Whether you’re a startup seeking capital and exposure, or an investor seeking new deals, Venture Summit \ West presented by youngStartup Ventures - is the event of the year you won't want to miss.
A highly productive venture conference, this exclusive program is dedicated to showcasing early-stage VCs, Corporate VCs and angel investors committed to funding venture-backed, emerging and early-stage companies as well as showcasing over 100 Top Innovators.
PARTIAL LINEUP of OVER 130 VCs CONFIRMED
Abdulaziz Al-Dayel, Principal, Global Ventures
Abolaji Omitogun, Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, Serial Capital
Ajey Kaushal, Investor, JLL Spark
Alex Fair, Managing Partner, MedStartr Ventures
Alexandra Argo, Investor, GSV Ventures
Alice Liu, Associate, K5 Ventures
Allen Chen, Investor, BMW i Ventures
Amy Henry, CEO, Eunike Ventures
Andrew Ive, Managing GP, Big Idea Ventures
Andrew McClure, Partner, Forgepoint
Anthony Bajoras, Founder & MD, CANCER FUND
Ashish Bhatia, Angel Investor
Ashish Kakran, Principal, Thomvest Ventures
Ben Jen, Managing Director, Ben Jen Holdings
Bianca Caban, Principal, AIX Ventures
Branden Fini, Principal, Providence Ventures
Charles Aunger, MD / Partner, Health2047 Capital Partners
Damien Petty, Partner, Morpheus
Dan Altschuler, Managing Partner, Unovis
Dan Miller, Managing Director, The Roda Group
Darwin Ling, Founder and GP, Good AI Capital
David Goldman, Partner, Celesta Capital
Deepak Gupta, Managing Partner, Blue Bear Ventures
Denis Kalyshkin, Principal, I2BF Global Ventures
Elisa Jagerson, Managing Director, Wildcat Venture Partners
Ephraim Lindenbaum, Managing Director, Advance Ventures
Eric Lee, Vice President, Aligned Climate Capital
Garnet Heraman, General Partner, Aperture Venture Capital
Gary Gershony, Founding GP, BayMed Venture Partners
Gary Jinks, Founder, MD, South Valley Angels
Hee Jung, Head of Investment, SK Gas Ventures
Ivan Landabaso, Partner, JME Ventures
Judy Li, Vice President, Energy Foundry
June W Choi, Managing Partner, Serval Ventures
Kevin Chen, Partner, Lam Capital
Kian Beyzavi, Venture Partner, Cota Capital
Kim Kolt, General Partner, Bay Bridge Ventures
Laleh Masnavi, Operating Partner, Candou Ventures
Leighanne Oh, Investor, Sofinnova
Lizzie Lee, Sr. Director, McKesson Ventures
Louis Millon, Senior Associate, Systemiq Capital
Luca Parolari, Senior Associate, DCVC Bio
Mary Long-Irwin, Director of Int'l Development, Northern Ontario Angels
Miao Hong, Founding Partner, Silicon Valley Future Capital
Michael Kim, MD, US Investments, Singtel Innov8 Ventures
Mika Nishimura, Operational Partner, Gilde Healthcare
Mike Edelhart, Managing Director, Joyance Partners
Mukul Agarwal, CEO & Founder, BootUP World
Neel Mehta, VC/Investor, G2 Venture Partners
Nick Arnold, Associate, HG Ventures
Paul Jordan, Principal, Activate Capital
Prativa Joshi, Investor, Highmark Ventures
Ruchit Majmudar, Senior Analyst, JetBlue Ventures
Sameer Chopra, Venture Investor, Monta Vista Capital
SC Moatti, Founding MP, Mighty Capital
Shaun Johnson, Managing Partner, AIX Ventures
Shintaro Enomoto, VP, MS&AD Ventures
Steven Gonzalez, Venture Partner, Seldor Capital
Subbu Nambi, Director, General Atlantic
Tarik Galijasevic, Managing Director, Allstate Strategic Ventures
Tatiana Mulry, General Partner, Steamwork Ventures
Tim Hsia, Managing Partner, Context Ventures
Tim Kazurayama, Senior Director, Presidio Ventures
Tom Munson, Analyst, Adit Ventures
Vineet Jain, VC Investor, VU Venture Partners
Wade Bitaraf, Founder, Plug and Play
Walter Leung, Principal, Micron Ventures
Zhenni Liu, Partner, MaC Venture Capital
SPECIAL OFFER: SAVE $300
MedStart has made special arrangements for our network to receive a steep discount of $300 off. This conference will be attended by the best people in the industry. Please register early to avoid disappointment.
Register Today & Save $300. (Use promo code "medstartrVIP”)
In addition to providing access to leading Investors, the conference will feature more than 100 pre-screened venture-backed, emerging and early-stage companies seeking capital, and hardcore networking.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Learn more and Register here: https://youngstartup.com/events/summer22