Katerina Markov Schneider

We're absolutely thrilled to announce a monumental milestone for Flo Health Inc.! After years of dedication to women's health, Flo, a long-standing member of the Target Global family, has secured over $200 million in Series C funding led by General Atlantic.This incredible investment propels Flo's valuation beyond $1 billion, officially making it a unicorn – a rare and remarkable feat in the femtech space. This accomplishment isn't just about numbers. It's a testament to the power of prioritizing women's health. Flo has seen phenomenal growth over eight years, becoming the #1 downloaded app in the Health & Fitness category. Today, Flo empowers nearly 70 million monthly active users (MAUs) and boasts close to 5 million paid subscribers. Notably, 1 in 4 US women trust Flo, solidifying its position as a leader in the global movement for women's health. But this is just the beginning! This investment fuels Flo's mission to revolutionize female healthcare experiences worldwide. By directing resources towards areas of critical yet unmet needs (which, let's be honest, encompasses a vast majority of women's health!), Flo will continue to be a driving force for positive change. Congratulations Dmitry Gurski,Yuri Gurski, and the entire Flo Health Inc. team! More in the Financial Times here ---->https://lnkd.in/dJZdajM4

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Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

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Let's finally get rid off the "VC alphabet song" and redo the system to become more founder friendly. "The benchmarks set by funding stages are often arbitrary and not necessarily aligned with the actual development needs of individual startups." #vc #venturecapital #founder #fundraising #startups #fundingstages #funding #fundingrounds #pitchbook

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The CATalyst Report - State of the Cat: Wellness and Nutrition 2024 is the most comprehensive and significant data set on "the state of the cat" in over a #decade!! #Data from #caregivers (#owners) and #veterinarians in this report will open eyes to #failures and #opportunites in veterinary education/training, care-giver education, delivery of care and #innovation in #feline vs #canine conditions #cats #felines #opportunities #wecandobetter https://lnkd.in/ga2DWtpp

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A recent monumental milestone for the femtech industry: Flo Health secured $200M in funding, achieving a valuation of over $1 billion as the world's first femtech unicorn. It’s important to acknowledge both the progress and the paradoxes within this achievement. Flo Health, a platform empowering women with vital health insights, was founded by two male cofounders. 🤔 This brings to light a critical discussion about representation and inclusivity in the femtech space. While their contribution is commendable, it underscores the necessity for more female founders and leaders in industries that primarily serve women. As the founder of BAD BITCH EMPIRE dedicated to breaking down barriers for women in business and investing, I see this as a call to action. We need more women at the helm of innovative solutions addressing our unique health needs. It's not just about creating products for women; it's about ensuring these products are driven by the voices and experiences of women themselves. This historic funding round proves that femtech is not only vital but also a lucrative market. Now, let's channel this momentum to elevate more female entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders who can drive the next wave of femtech innovations. #Femtech #WomenInTech #FemaleFounders #InvestInWomen https://lnkd.in/euwbhqVB

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Another edition of VCs Doing Work: Slauson & Co. 🎉Congrats to raising $100M for your second fund continuing your mission to make a difference!🎉 Wait... What and who is Slauson and Co? Slauson & Co. is a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology investments, founded by Austin Clements and Ajay Relan. The firm's mission centers on economic inclusion and democratizing access to entrepreneurship for underrepresented founders. Slauson & Co. primarily invests in: Preseed and seed SMB Tech (tools supporting small and medium businesses) Consumer technology The firm typically writes checks between $500,000 and $2 million, aiming to lead most rounds. Since its launch in 2020, Slauson & Co. has made significant strides: Raised a $75 million Fund I, exceeding its initial $50 million target Backed 38 companies, with a majority led by people of color and at least half by women Recently closed a $100 million Fund II, demonstrating continued investor interest in their inclusive approach The firm has garnered support from prominent investors and organizations, including: PayPal Ron Conway (veteran technology investor) Ashton Kutcher will.i.am True Capital Management Alpaca VC Slauson & Co. is just getting started! If you think you have a startup that fits their thesis and stage, reach out! #diversity #inclusion #venturecapital #consumer #smb Brittany Crockett #longla #losangeles #celebration #vcsdoingwork

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His career started when someone said to him, “well, have you thought about venture capital? We don’t think that you’d be any good at it.” The rest is history. Today’s Alt Goes Mainstream episode features one of the legends of the venture capital industry. Peter Barris joined New Enterprise Associates (NEA) in 1992 after a storied operating career as President and COO at Legent Corporation and an executive at GE Information Services. He served as Managing General Partner and Chairman of NEA from 1999 to March 2024. Under Peter's leadership, NEA saw tremendous success, growing into one of the world's largest venture capital firms and raising the largest-ever venture capital fund a number of times. Today, NEA's AUM stands over $25B. Peter was responsible for investing in a number of foundational and industry-transforming technology companies, including Salesforce, UUNET, Groupon, WebMD, Workday, CareerBuilder, Tempus AI, and more. We had a fascinating discussion about the early days of venture capital and how the industry has evolved. We covered: * The inside story of how almost every other Partner said no but Peter's investment turned out to be a 75x return. * What's the “best characteristic and the death characteristic” of an entrepreneur? * In today's hypercompetitive market do VCs have enough time to make good decisions? * Why the world of venture capital is about influence. * What does it mean to earn an entrepreneur’s trust as a VC? * Why VCs with operating backgrounds can bring unique value to startups. * How NEA came up with the term "Venture Growth Equity." * How can a VC tell that a founder is good at experimentation and that they have the good judgment? * Why specialization and domain expertise are prerequisites in today’s venture industry. Thanks to Ultimus Fund Solutions for sponsoring this episode of the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. Thanks Peter for coming on the show. It was an honor and a pleasure to hear your views on the evolution of an industry and for you to share your wisdom and experiences. https://lnkd.in/eEJGEFWe

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The obesity crisis in the U.S. has become unsustainable. We are broken, and we have to change... The prevalence of obesity in adults has grown from 14.5% in 1975 to 41.9% in 2020, and childhood obesity has more than TRIPPLED since the 1970s. The total annual cost of obesity is at a staggering $1.4 trillion. Treatment options range but the emergence of GLP-1's has taken on a national debate. It is our view at 7wireVentures that the growing obesity crisis requires innovative and personalized solutions and digital health companies are rising to meet this challenge. Our team took a deep dive into the market landscape and came up with key predictions on how the market will evolve. ✨ PREDICTION 1: The emergence of high-cost anti-obesity medications and their growing consumer demand will push employers and payers to seek increasingly creative plan design structures that tackle weight management as a discrete disease category.​ 💉 PREDICTION 2: Greater emphasis will be placed on proactive identification and management of patients with an obesity diagnosis 🔬 PREDICTION 3: Key differentiators of successful solutions will include long-term engagement and the ability to address multiple chronic conditions. 🤝 Innovative companies such as 9amHealth, Parsley Health, Transcarent, Everly Health, Foodsmart, Livongo, Season Health, Iron Health, Cylinder, and more. See our full analysis and perspectives on enabling positive change in weight management. 👇 #digitalhealth #obesity #GLP1 #disease #healthcare https://lnkd.in/gUCttSZj

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🛍️ Retailers: you can say goodbye to excess inventory headaches! Ganas Ventures is proud to invest in LiquiDonate, the tech that makes it happen, in community. Disney Petit, MBA, and the LiquiDonate team are transforming how retailers manage returns and inventory sustainably. Get in touch with Disney to learn more. #circulareconomy

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What do you do when a radical new technology puts your main product right in the crosshairs of disruption? Listen to David Okuniev — co-founder of Typeform | Ask awesomely — discuss the challenges of innovation within existing structures. David shared a game-changing insight: Radical innovation is really, really difficult to do inside your own product. He emphasized the need to break free from the constraints of familiarity and embrace change from outside the box. Henrik Werdelin and I have both seen our fair share of this in our respective careers. What struck us most was how David leveraged structure to overcome the innovator’s dilemma. By creating a culture of experimentation and providing space for bold ideas, he propelled Typeform beyond incremental improvements. What other hacks have you seen or employed to help your organization overcome the innovator’s dilemma? Share your stories below! 👇 And if you want to dive deeper into our conversation, click the link in the comments to catch the full podcast episode!

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TechCrunch broke news of an amazing #AI play with EGYM raising $200M at a $1.2B. What is amazing about this is that they are based in Europe, and they are actually generating meaningful revenue via their #AI play optimized for going to the gym as opposed to other plays that want you to work out at home. This will be a very interesting company to watch and should give #AI Investors pause for more generic plays that are 1) Raising more funds, 2) At higher valuations, 3) With less revenue. What do you think? #management #venturecapital #privateequity #capitalmarkets #ehealth

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🔥 🔥 🙌 🙌 🎆 🎆 I'm *fired up* to share this. #VentureIQ by the 9point8 Collective is officially live. We've heard from investors of every size and type that it takes too long and costs too much to evaluate deal flow; this limits the scale and speed at which these capital allocators can operate. To address this problem, we've created an innovative solution which delivers high fidelity diligence information near instantaneously. From a time and cost perspective, VentureIQ immediately creates leverage to look at more deals - and creates space to focus deeply on the most meaningful opportunities. To learn more, you can reach out to me directly or visit VentureIQ.ai. I'll close with some thoughts on my team, to whom I'm so grateful. Blair Merlino, Neal Ghosh and Evan Allen don't just talk about interesting concepts, point out problems or pontificate on what could be. Instead, they identify a problem, frame and validate the solution, and do the work to bring it to reality. VentureIQ is the best example I've seen of this, to date. #VentureCapital, #FamilyOffice, #PrivateEquity #CorporateDevelopment #Startups

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Red eye flights are cool, three learnings from the VC Platform Global Summit, and a special curtain call. I had the opportunity to spend the last few days with 500+ #VCPlatform professionals from around the globe. Sandwiched between my son’s basketball tournament (GO GOLD!), a red-eye to Miami, and my daughter’s 4th grade play, the VC Platform Global Community Annual Summit is an event I look forward to every single year. The growth of this community is something that is so special to have witnessed since I joined in 2017. We’ve gone from a small handful of people in a single conference room to a multi-track event touching all aspects of Platform. I walk away feeling as though I learn as much as I share. And while these lessons aren’t specifically Platform specific, they are things that I walked away with in order to be a better manager (and human being)! Here are some of the highlights: ❤️ Lesson 1: Take a moment to be empathetic: Up until this very moment, everybody has a unique journey to where they are in life. No two people see things the exact same way. This fact impacts how they perceive everything in front of them. What is logical to you could be unfathomable to someone else. Take a moment to try to understand what could be unfathomable to you, but is a valid and very real perspective for them. This is applicable in both my professional and personal lives. (A million thanks Julie for helping me remember this.) 🤫 Lesson 2: Thriving as an introvert: In what is seemingly an industry built for extroverts, finding your own way to thrive is nobody’s job but your own. Unbeknownst to me, Dominic and I have taken similar approaches to finding ways to thrive by applying data to our work. What I do with Scale Studio and Go-to-Market scaling, he does with Talent. (Introverts Unite!) 🤝 Lesson 3: Genuine relationships matter: It’s really easy to scan a QR code and connect with someone on LinkedIn, but those aren’t the relationships that truly matter. Sharing the struggle of being a parent, tips on visiting Disney, and talking about a shared passion for fitness are what makes us who we are and open up the doors to build trust and openness in a professional context. Creating these genuine relationships, and continually working on them, have helped me create the network that I come to rely on everyday. (Thanks to my dinner mates Allen, Huff, Stephen, Saydeah, Carolina, Julie, Jindra) Special thanks to the rest of the board at VC Platform (Joshua, Keji, Annie, Cory, Arabella, Brianna, Casey, Cliff, Elyse, Erica, Samantha) for putting this amazing event together. And yes, I made it back for the performance.

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If you believe that #Diversity and #Inclusion matter, specifically in times like this, join us on October 30th. We will discuss the challenges and success stories of promoting Diversity in 2024. With me you will find industry leaders who were able to pull it off (!) 💥💥💥 Dorit Dor, Hasan Abasi, Vered Raviv Schwarz, Gal Shaul Guesty, Augury, HAAT Delivery, Check Point Software Power in Diversity Glilot Capital Partners Poalim Tech, Meitar | Law Offices, ESOP - Phoenix, Microsoft, Calcalist כלכליסט #nomatterwhat

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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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Awesome report from Rock Health (in the comments) about H124 digital health funding. 📈 Despite broader economic challenges, the digital health sector, including mental health, has shown resilience, raising $5.7B across 266 deals. There is a strong Series A pipeline, tapering off of unlabeled funding rounds and 3 public exits in Q2 2024 indicating a revival in the exit market and a return to more sustainable funding patterns​. Key insights about the mental health market: 🧠 Mental health continues to be the leading clinical indication in digital health funding, securing $682 million in H1 2024. This consistent top ranking highlights the ongoing investor interest and the market's recognition of the critical need for mental health solutions. 🤖 The focus on mental health is driven by a combination of increased awareness, the rising demand for accessible mental health services, and the integration of tech solutions...🙄 In fact, AI has become a significant factor in digital health investments, with 34% of the total sector funding going to AI-startups. This trend is also reflected in mental health, where AI is being utilised to enhance diagnosis, personalise treatment plans, and provide scalable, efficient care solutions. Let's go!

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