By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Digital Health Startups and Strategically Integrated Investors
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Digital Health Startups and Strategically Integrated Investors
BusinesseHealthFinanceTechnology

Digital Health Startups and Strategically Integrated Investors

ShahidShah
ShahidShah
Share
4 Min Read
digital health startups
SHARE

digital health startupsI have the pleasure of meeting or speaking with many digital health, health IT, medTech, and life sciences (especially genomics and bioinformatics) startups every week. As a serial entrepreneur and angel investor myself I know how hard it is these days to get to product/market fit while working with top-notch investors who understand how to help scale a business.

digital health startupsI have the pleasure of meeting or speaking with many digital health, health IT, medTech, and life sciences (especially genomics and bioinformatics) startups every week. As a serial entrepreneur and angel investor myself I know how hard it is these days to get to product/market fit while working with top-notch investors who understand how to help scale a business. Last week I wrote about how strategically integrated investors help de-risk innovations and I got some great questions via e-mail about how cofounders and startups should go about seeking such investors.

First, try to attend the MidAmerica Healthcare Venture Forum in Chicago next week. The advice, panels, and networking should be top-notch and worth the effort.

Second, try to figure out how you’re going to explain the risks in your business and de-risk your innovations.

More Read

Engage Your Patients and Members Where They Are – Not Where You Wish They Were
Healthcare Startup SwipeSense May Win WSJ’s Startup of the Year
What the Rise in Outpatient Care Means for Your Hospital
Fitness and Competition Make It to Your Phone
Person-Centered HealthCare: Connecting Homes and People to Improve Lives

What I call the “Venture Development Lifecycle” (VDLC) is the path from an idea to product/market fit and profitability. As you go from one phase to another in the VDLC and are seeking investors to join you on the journey you’ll have one key task at each phase: show how you’ve already reduced risk in the previous phases and which risks remain in future phases. Some of the highest risks for startups come when a venture is moving from one capital raise phase (e.g. seed or angel) to another (e.g. VC, growth equity, or PE).

Try and answer these questions for the various digital health investment phases:

  • Seed: how high is the innovation risk? Can you show that the idea works elsewhere?
  • Angel: have the requirements and innovation risks been ironed out enough so that a product’s technical risks are all that remain before landing a customer?
  • Super angel: Have the technical risks been ironed out so that pilots and initial customers are showing success?
  • Series A institutional: Have the product/market fit risks been ironed out so that it’s clear that scalable sales are the next barrier?
  • Series B and further: Have the initial sales risks been removed so that further scale and support are now the next barrier?

As you go through the VDLC you’ll see it’s mostly a matter of understanding your risks and ironing out the key ones at each stage. You should seek out investors at each stage that clearly understand the de-risk’ing process and could potentially work together as either a syndicate or a strategically integrated value chain. When you interview investors, see how many of them have worked together in the past in either a vertical integrated manner or even as a loosely affiliated approach. The more you lay out your process, the more you understand your risks and help investors understand how you’re de-risked, the easier time you’ll have in the capital raise process.

The post Digital health startups should de-risk using strategically integrated investors appeared first on The Healthcare IT Guy & Digital Health Nexus.

digital health / shutterstock

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

group practice digital marketing
Business

Future-Proof Digital Marketing for Group Practices

July 20, 2013

Can Patients Understand and Act on the Information Provided on Your Website? Or EHR?

November 15, 2012

47% of Teens Text with Their Eyes Closed!

May 2, 2011
open enrollment
BusinessFinanceHealth ReformPublic Health

The Return of Open Enrollment

November 1, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?