Eli Blee-Goldman
United States
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About
If you are working on something cool, please reach out here: contact.character.vc, and…
Articles by Eli
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Weekend Edition: wrong AI an echo of a thought spurred by Thomas
Weekend Edition: wrong AI an echo of a thought spurred by Thomas
A frequently wrong AI may, nonetheless, discover important things. A hallucination may be a dream told awake.
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An Ethical Approach to Emergent Sentience in AI SystemsSep 19, 2023
An Ethical Approach to Emergent Sentience in AI Systems
As we stand on the precipice of a digital Renaissance, the ghosts in our machines—AI that dance on the cusp of…
144 Comments -
Founder Special - My Top Eleven Companies from Demo Day S23Sep 8, 2023
Founder Special - My Top Eleven Companies from Demo Day S23
Yesterday I shared some reflections from Y Combinator's S23 Demo Day (What All Founders Should Know after YC Demo Day…
234 Comments -
Writing and CreatingJul 11, 2023
Writing and Creating
Around 2,300 years ago Aristotle wrote a line in the Nicomachean Ethics that loosely translates to “the beginning is…
316 Comments -
Accelerate AI Development: An Open LetterApr 18, 2023
Accelerate AI Development: An Open Letter
The advent of highly capable AI systems has led prominent organizations (Future of Life), governments (the EU’s AI…
4515 Comments -
Startups and Category TheoryJul 27, 2020
Startups and Category Theory
I miss the big data days. For a few years I received an onslaught of pitches from startups in the space – sometimes…
153 Comments -
Techne – A Midwestern MarvelJul 21, 2020
Techne – A Midwestern Marvel
It’s Tuesday. Let’s talk GOAT.
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Contributions
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How can you find underserved niche markets for your startup?
Teams that methodically build, test, and learn in fast loops outperform those that aimlessly build. A key concept is to not spend too much time building prior to validating whether there is demand (note - this is general advice, not applicable in every case.) Nothing is more of a drain than spending months building for a niche that has no interest in your product. During a Design Sprint teams build a mock-up of a prototype and then test it with 5 customers the following day. Compressing your learning loop into a week, or several weeks, is a great strategy to quickly evaluate the reception of your product in niche markets.
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How can you evaluate your business model for funding?
Many VCs spend days (and then weeks, then months, then years 😅) reviewing decks. As such, they are often the most familiar and impactful document when fundraising. The first thing to recognize, fair or not, is that because VCs review so many decks they try to pattern match with other decks they've seen (fairly or unfairly) and it's mentally easier to find quick "no" rather than a nuanced yes. Here's what you need to be successful: a succinct overview of what you're building, why this is an important problem, why you are the unique right team to build this (**CRITICAL**), what you've built (demo ideally), the plan for the future (and potentially how much you are raising). Simple text and clean design is more important than being fancy.
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How can you build credibility as a startup founder?
Learn, build, test, and release. Repeat. If one or two super-interesting things come out of these cycles as you gain product-market-fit, spend a few hours writing something up, but don't sweat being a social media star. As Freddie Gibbs says: "Tryin' to make a million dollars, [not] a million downloads, But if that equal the same, then slice that up and give me my change" Focus on doing either of those things and then publicize it. Credibility starts from what you create, not what you say.
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How can you build credibility as a startup founder?
It is important to be targeted in your networking efforts as a founder, and to not become too spread in your social ambitions when building and delivering a product first is critical to making the startup work. That said, there are three categories of people that most founders should think about: other founders, potential team members, and investors. Online it's sometimes too easy to be transactional in utilizing social media (say as a recruiter looking for employees or as a founder looking for investment). Focusing on building direct relationships with other founders (especially a stage or two later) and prospective employees in an authentic way (i.e. no immediate ask) can yield dividends.
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How do VCs deal with board conflicts and challenges?
Years ago, I had the chance to attend board meetings for a company that wouldn’t make it. The root of the difficulty in correcting the course usually starts with the approach. As the Board became increasingly interventionist, the company seemed to accelerate toward its demise. It’s like if you try to grab an eel: the tighter you hold it, the faster it will slip from your grasp. One lesson that I took from this is that everyone must focus on the proper outcome rather than swinging to extreme action or inaction in an abrogation of fiduciary duty. Still, sometimes it’s worth stepping back and making sure the relationships have not devolved to the extent that makes this easy to happen. Don't get into the eel-catching business if possible.
Activity
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We’re excited to welcome Timothy Duignan to our team of researchers. Timothy joins us from The University of Queensland, and brings deep experience…
We’re excited to welcome Timothy Duignan to our team of researchers. Timothy joins us from The University of Queensland, and brings deep experience…
Liked by Eli Blee-Goldman
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We built Character Capital around Design Sprints not because they reduce risk for startups (even though they do), but because they enable founders to…
We built Character Capital around Design Sprints not because they reduce risk for startups (even though they do), but because they enable founders to…
Liked by Eli Blee-Goldman
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When a healthcare AI founder in our portfolio asked for advice, "everyone" (experts in his industry etc) told him to focus on the providers or payers…
When a healthcare AI founder in our portfolio asked for advice, "everyone" (experts in his industry etc) told him to focus on the providers or payers…
Liked by Eli Blee-Goldman
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Explore more posts
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Jim Roberts
Another Important article by Zachery Eanes in Axios Hey #RealEstate developers, MAYBE you should be investing into / sponsoring the #startup ecosystem to help more #Entrepreneurs get to scale so they need more LAB space. Yes we are the ones who make the introductions of the Entrepreneurs to the #investors to move the company forward. Give and TAKE https://lnkd.in/e6hDmTPj #Biotech #LifeSciences #NorthCarolina
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Michael A. Greeley
The (Healthcare) Ground Beneath Our Feet… This year it is likely that over $10 billion will be invested in the digital health sector – a robust amount, no doubt, but inconsequential when compared to the amount of capital tied up in healthcare real estate assets, which is estimated to be $1.2 trillion by Jones Lang Lasalle. Of that amount, approximately $790 billion is in the hospital sector while the remaining $490 billion is in medical office assets. It is estimated that there are 48.6k facilities with 3.4 billion square feet of healthcare real estate, 42% of which are owned by REITs and another 33% held by other private investment vehicles. Much of the digital health investment is meant to make the physical healthcare infrastructure more productive: greater operating efficiencies, greater patient throughput, more relevant personalized care models with better outcomes. As the healthcare system is being pushed to be more distributed to lower cost sites of care, accelerated now by the rapid proliferation of automation and AI capabilities, the potential impact on healthcare infrastructure assets will be profound. Thoughts on what that might look like... https://lnkd.in/eTfAdUbS #digitalhealth Flare Capital Partners
1096 Comments -
Natalie Dillon
Some VC investors believe that brick and mortar - referring to a physical presence of some kind - should be avoided at all costs. Yet, the track record of clinic and hybrid care businesses in health care indicates otherwise. ==> One Medical (sold for $3.9 billion to Amazon), Oak Street (bought by CVS for $10.6 billion), Lifestance (IPO at $7.5 billion market cap), and PE-backed Premise Health (acquired by OMERS Private Equity for $1.1 billion) If a clinic is indicated as the optimal way to deliver care for that patient population, there are creative ways to build and operate them. Full article below with advice and strategies on how to build and operate hybrid clinics from my teammate Anarghya Vardhana from Maveron, Amir Dan Rubin from OneMedical Group, Steven Eidelman from Modern Animal and more!
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Higinio Maycotte
Healthcare is highly suited for AI automation, with many opportunities to improve accessibility, affordability, and outcomes. AI can drive efficiencies across various functions, though it will inevitably reduce the need for some human roles. #higherorder #ai #automation #healthcare #healthtech
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Nick Moran
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. Link to the full episode is in the comment section below.
1178 Comments -
Kjael Skaalerud
Imagine swallowing the competition whole. That's what many players in tech do via roll-up strategies, gobbling up smaller firms to deliver richer solutions and amass greater market share. Where else are roll-up strategies common? // HEALTHCARE Picture being a patient at a medical practice that’s been part of a roll-up in Healthcare Services. It's an industry ripe for roll-ups due to its fragmented nature and potential for greater efficiency. // CONSUMER SERVICES Or let's say you needed your HVAC serviced, and notice your local repairman is now part of a bigger Consumer Services entity? Centralized management and scale economy turn these localized businesses into roll-up targets. // FINANCIAL SERVICES Think about your insurance agent or wealth management advisor. They're working in complex, highly regulated environments. In the Financial Services sector, roll-ups offer an effective way to consolidate expertise, streamline operations, and enhance customer offerings. // MANUFACTURING Now, imagine driving past factories under a new name — the result of Manufacturing and Industrial Services roll-ups. Bulk purchasing reduces costs, enhances production capabilities, and expands geographical footprints. // REAL ESTATE Lastly, envision your real estate brokerage firm. The industry sees roll-ups as a strategic move to increase market penetration, enhance service offerings, and hike up portfolio value. Roll-ups play a huge role in most industries, rather like a snowball rolling downhill, gaining momentum, and size. Are you seeing roll-ups in your sector or considering M&A?
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Matt Rappaport
Exciting news! We just sent out the inaugural newsletter for Future Frontier Capital, our pre-seed venture fund backing frontier tech startups. As I hit "send," I realized how launching FFC parallels the path of the founders we support. Starting FFC has required the same passion, perseverance, and self-belief that drive entrepreneurs. Just like a startup, getting a VC fund off the ground demands relentless hustle—building the brand, perfecting the pitch, and networking tirelessly. There are constant challenges that test your resolve and endless hours of unglamorous work behind the scenes. And perhaps most daunting - the self-doubt, wondering if you're crazy for attempting something so bold. Pushing through that negative self-talk requires unshakable faith in your mission. Raising this VC fund reminds me of starting our IP strategy and patent analytics firm two decades ago. It’s a powerful reminder of the perseverance, creativity, and resilience needed to turn an ambitious idea into reality. This experience makes us more empathetic partners, ready to support the founders we back. Our work is just beginning, and this inaugural newsletter underscores our commitment to supporting frontier tech startups every step of the way. #startups #VentureCapital #EmergingManagers #Entrepreneurship #InnovationMindSet
212 Comments -
Keith Grimes
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)
458 Comments -
Female Founders Fund
Today, we are thrilled to announce Maven Clinic's $125 million Series F funding round led by StepStone Group, with participation from existing investors including General Catalyst Partners III LP, Sequoia Capital, Oak HC/FT, and Lux Capital. To date, Maven has raised more than $425 million, and with this round the company is now valued at $1.7B. The company plans to use this funding to further invest in Maven Managed Benefit, Maven's fertility benefits administration platform, and to expand its end-to-end virtual care platform, for maternal care, parenting and pediatrics, and menopause. Over the last 10 years, FFF Founder & CEO Kate Ryder has redefined the model for care for women and families by putting the patient at the center of the healthcare experience. She shared that in this next decade, they have “the platform breadth, depth, and data required to create the scaled change this industry so sorely needs.” In addition to Amazon, Maven’s services are used by the nation’s leading employers, including Microsoft, AT&T, Morgan Stanley, and L’Oréal. Female Founders Fund is proud to be an early investor in Maven, and we are excited by Kate’s vision for the decade to come as the Maven team continues to reimagine the standard of care within the healthcare industry. Maven's model is setting a new standard for personalized, comprehensive care for women and families, shaping healthcare for generations to come & inspiring so many other female founders along the way. More from CNBC 👇 https://lnkd.in/ekf7Kk-Y
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Amy Yin
And my second investment at defy is in 🐶 zeroETL puppies 🐶... I mean PuppyGraph, which is all the beauty of a graph database, none of the data migration or continuous upkeep of a graph database. Sounds like magic? So are puppies 🐶 . Puppygraph is NOT a graph or a database. It is graph analytics engine that answers graph questions on your existing data warehouses, whether that is a Databricks datalake, Google BigQuery or postgres. Compared to SQL, it's faster, handles way more complexity, scales and has almost no upkeep. How did I get to conviction? 1. Tailwinds - 🌊 Lakehouses 🌊 have helped enterprises put all their data in one place, enabling Puppygraph to unlock insights previously unavailable. - 📚 LLMs! 📚AI and RAG cannot easily traverse fragmented data. Puppygraph's Graph RAG unlocks insights with their Knowledge Graph and spoonfeeds to the LLMs. 2. 👯 Team 👯 We have graph experts from Google, LinkedIn, Databricks, Tigergraph, and Instacart who are uniquely able to build this solution. 3. 💸 Customers 💸 . My alma mater Coinbase is a proud user. The feedback from my former colleagues was off the charts! A blockchain is very much a graph database and Puppygraph tracks down fraudulent transactions that go through mixers and helps identify patterns. Huge congrats to Weimo Liu Danfeng Xu Lei Huang Zhenni Wu Gary Hagmueller, defy.vc is proud to be an investor!!
273 Comments -
Dr. Prasun Mishra
"Digital health is no longer the future; it is the present, reshaping our healthcare landscape in real-time." Excited to be part of the UCSF Digital Health Hub Foundation's Quarterfinalist Party! As a past board member, I'm honored to celebrate the outstanding quarterfinalists. As we reflect on the state of digital health in 2024, it's evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally transformed healthcare delivery. The rapid adoption of telemedicine during the crisis has become a permanent fixture, with over 60% of physicians continuing to utilize this technology. The sprint towards smarter healthcare, catalyzed by necessity, has shattered preconceptions about digital-first health experiences. Virtual care is no longer a stopgap but an integral part of a seamless, anytime, anywhere health ecosystem. 🌍 We're witnessing the rise of B2B2C models in remote consultations, with companies like Teladoc Health and Amwell partnering with insurance providers to integrate their services into health plans. Public sector collaborations, like eConsult Health 's partnership with the NHS in the #UK, underscore the potential for remote consultations to enhance efficiency and accessibility at a national level. The digital health landscape is evolving rapidly, with advancements in remote consultations, mental health support, at-home diagnostics, and patient monitoring. AI and generative AI transform care delivery, making it more efficient, personalized, and patient-centric. 🤖 Yet, challenges remain. While venture capital funding for digital health has stabilized after the pandemic boom, it remains below its 2021 peak. Sectors like digital therapeutics face reimbursement hurdles, and we've seen major players like Walmart and Optum close telehealth businesses. Looking ahead, we anticipate further consolidation in digital health, driven by acquisitions to create broader ecosystems encompass telemedicine, mental health, and other specialized services. As healthcare leaders, we must leverage these digital advancements to improve access, enhance patient outcomes, and drive efficiency in our healthcare systems. The future of healthcare is digital, and the time to embrace this transformation is now. Congratulations to all the finalists! 🎉 Looking forward to the grand finale at #HLTH2024 in #LasVegas! 🙌 By the way, the pink drink that we were holding was delicious—and nonalcoholic! The Digital Health Hub Foundation - Digital Health Awards #HealthcareInnovation #DigitalHealth #UCSFHealthHub #Networking #HealthTech #Entrepreneurship #LasVegasFinale Walter Greenleaf, PhD Daniel Kraft, MD Unity Stoakes StartUp Health University of California, San Francisco UCSF Innovation Ventures American Association for Precision Medicine (AAPM) WISE World Investors & Entrepreneurs Society #AAPMhealth #aapm_health
947 Comments -
Jenn Summe
A little late, even though this process started in July.... Excited to share our latest investment in Heads Together Health!! We met Steve DeVrieze in October last year, and we think they are poised for impressive growth! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ecYcqqkn #earlystagestartup #earlystageinvesting #VCinvestment #ncstartups #nctechstartups
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Danish M.
Great article from PitchBook on why domain expertise amongst VCs matters. TL;DR -- in verticals like healthcare, having investors with high amount of domain expertise can result in up to 40% higher odds of achieving an IPO, 20% higher chance of being acquired and 30% higher chance of an overall successful exit. Importantly, the marginal value of having investors with domain expertise varies by sector and stage, and is not uniform, so your mileage may vary, and generalist investors still have a very important role to play in the venture ecosystem. https://lnkd.in/dXpi8gzm Curious to hear from founders: Do you have examples of seeing specialist investors be helpful in unique ways that you can share? Or alternatively, do you have an experience with a generalist investor who has been more helpful than the specialists?
1604 Comments -
Adriel Bercow
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
444 Comments -
Lenore Champagne Beirne
I’m optimistic about the potential of generative AI to reduce provider burnout and improve provider-patient interactions. However, that optimism is tempered by the data that indicates the technology is not quite ready yet. Bright Ventures is interested in digital health founders who understand the realities of provider-patient interactions, and the role technology can play in strengthening clinical outcomes. Which founders and teams are getting this right? Tag them in the comments below.
502 Comments -
Risto Rautakorpi
After the first deep dive discussion w/ founders I often hear a comment "I wish I had heard about this alternative [to all-in must-become-a-unicorn] way to build a startup earlier as I have wasted years in pursuing the wrong thing". Our mission is that no founder would ever need to say that again as it is such a waste. Us preaching the gospel 1:1 just doesn't scale, hence we use mass media to multiply our efforts - that's how Gorillacast came to be. The 1st episode is out, featuring yours truly. "How can you know what food you like unless you taste everything" said a chef. How can founders make informed choices about the best strategy for them to follow unless they know of all alternatives? This might not be of interest to you but pls spread the word so that the founders who should hear it can find it. I have a dream!
423 Comments -
Brent Zettel
#hiring If anyone knows an awesome engineer that would be interested in joining an emerging #AI company doing important work in #healthcare, please drop me a line! Andy AI is backed by General Catalyst, YCombinator, Greater Ventures, and others, and they’re looking to hire a full stack engineer (US based) who's excited about using AI to improve healthcare and reduce nurse burnout. Andy is AI software that automates clinical documentation for nurses who do home visits. A nurse makes an audio recording of the visit and Andy automatically generates a form that usually takes nurses 90 minutes to complete. Nurses love the product because it potentially saves them 15 hours of charting a week! The founders previously built healthcare AI at Google Health and Apple, and are now building their vision to transform home health. More about Andy AI: https://with-andy.com/ Nurses love it: https://lnkd.in/g9XqZrUq #GenAI #digitalhealth #hiring #engineers #healthtech
262 Comments -
Michael J. Cunningham, MBA
This week Mikal Ventures brings you a 4-week breakdown of the US capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 4-week period ending April 15, just over 900 new companies were added, with 94,109 companies included in the US Health Tech, Med Tech, Fin Tech, AI Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. AI Tech again saw the greatest percentage of growth in new companies and transactions, weighing in at over double the vertical averages for the period. The US Fin Tech vertical again led the way in SEC Filings and news articles. Mikal Ventures publishes these stats on a rolling 4-week basis to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.
33 Comments
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