Katharina Juenger

Create Health Ventures Launches Inaugural $21M Fund for Early-Stage Digital Health Startups  Create Health Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage digital health companies, has closed its debut fund, raising $21 million, surpassing its initial target. Launched in 2024, Create Health Ventures is based in Austin, TX, and Chicago, IL. The firm focuses on technologies that enhance healthcare access, improve patient experiences, and deliver value across payers, providers, and pharmaceutical companies. *Its primary focus includes:   1. Payer-Facing Technologies: Solutions that improve member experiences, enable seamless data and workflow integration, and scale technology across geographies.   2. Clinical Trial Enablement: Tools to help pharmaceutical companies recruit and retain participants for late-stage clinical trials as demand increases. *Founders and Approach:   Create Health Ventures was co-founded by Emma Cartmell and Amit Aysola, healthcare veterans with over 45 years of combined experience. They bring operational expertise, regulatory insight, and an extensive network to portfolio companies. The firm exclusively invests in startups led by healthcare industry founders, leveraging its unique value-added platform for scaling businesses.  *The platform includes: - Business development support   - Access to executive coaches   - Connections to healthcare leaders   - Cross-selling opportunities among portfolio companies  *Key Quotes by GPs:  - Emma Cartmell: “Founders from the healthcare industry understand the challenges and opportunities to improve patient outcomes. Supporting them is the most impactful way we can positively transform healthcare.”   - Amit Aysola: “Payers and pharmaceutical companies are driving demand for connected, scalable solutions, and we are investing in companies to meet these needs.”  *Investments and Impact:  The firm has made five investments so far and partners with foundations, impact investors, and strategic healthcare veterans to mentor portfolio companies.  *Portfolio CEO Feedback:   - Dr. Chip Grant (Watershed Health): “Create Health Ventures has been invaluable in scaling operations and fundraising.”   - Shara Cohen (Carallel): “They are the most collaborative and active investor team I’ve worked with.”   - Neil Batlivala (Pair Team): “They’ve helped us manage growth and reach underserved communities.” If you are experiencing difficulties in raising fresh capital and would require warm introductions to new LPs, contact G+QUANT     ▶ Please use G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks, or send your inquiry directly to [email protected] #VentureCapital #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #Startups #ClinicalTrials #PatientCare #HealthTech #HealthEquity #CreateHealthVentures

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💡Benchmarks in the investment industry serve as a standard for measuring the performance of securities, mutual funds, or investment managers. They provide a reference point for analyzing allocation, risk, and return of a portfolio, enabling investors to make informed decisions. Thanks Peter Walker for keeping us all informed!! Can’t wait for this!! Follow and get on the waitlist for this one! #benchmarks #fundraising #Capitalraise #founders #womenshealth #femhealth #medtech #wellness

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Listen to Ricardo Regalado, tell us his story of startup success. He decided to follow his passion for technology even though he initially started in a different industry. It all started when he took a leap of faith in himself and won a pitch competition. "I did it, and we are here today". His motto is "Just do it, man. What do you have to lose?". 👉The full episode https://bit.ly/4aKLRPl

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📝 FOUNDER fundraising hack = write an investment memo for VCs (template linked below). Raising VC is a multi-step sales process. First you need to convince a single partner to invest, and then that partner needs to bring your deal to Investment Committee (IC) to convince the other partners. The initial VC partner (aka deal champion) will write an investment memo to convince the other partners to vote for your deal during IC. If a VC will write their own memo, why write one for them? Three reasons: 1. Control the frame = dictate how your story is told 2. Signal insider status = show you understand how VCs think 3. Reduce friction to $$$ = VCs will copy/paste from your memo to theirs 😂 🪟 Control the frame There are good ways and bad ways to frame your startup. It's possible that a well-meaning VC will write a memo that frames your startup in sub-optimal ways. The less experience and domain knowledge a VC has, the higher the risk. You want to arm your deal champion with ammo to tell a bullet-proof investment story. Don't leave this up to chance. Write a memo and share it with the VC to make sure they hit the right talking points in their own memo. 🥼 Signal insider status I love when founders provide a written memo alongside the usual pitch deck and financial model. It shows they're clued in to the game. They understand how VC firms work. They're an insider. VCs want to invest in insiders, because insiders are more likely to raise subsequent financing and get to an exit. Outsiders are learning how the game works for the first time and will make rookie mistakes on the VC's dollar. Don't be an outsider. 💵 Reduce friction to $$$ You know how great product companies obsessively reduce the # of clicks a customer needs to make before paying for the product? Speed matters. A 2006 Amazon study found that every 100ms in added page load time cost them 1% in sales. VC is no different. The faster you can make the diligence process, the more likely you'll be able to raise capital. Your fundraising collateral is your product, and a memo is a key way to reduce time to funding (TTF). Every VC will have a set of questions during diligence. Answer them up front in a memo, and watch your prospective investors eyes light up. Deals can be a grueling process involving several late/all-nighters, so the deal team will be thankful if you save them work and make their lives easier. Here is a link to the investment memo template I use. Feel free to repurpose for your own needs: https://lnkd.in/ekGBjGWs

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Looking beyond #VC funding for your #startup? Aakash Shah of Wyndly (YC W21) reveals how he built a multi-million dollar #healthtech company using creative capital strategies. Learn how he leveraged Y Combinator's network and alternative funding methods to revolutionize allergy treatment. In case you missed it, you can watch the #FundraisingDemystified #podcast here: https://lnkd.in/eZT63YS4

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How To Assess Product-Market Compatibility, as discussed by a16z & Sequoia Capital. Discover more at https://buff.ly/4bJnqSi Gain insights into determining the fit between your product and the market with expertise from leading venture capital firms. #ProductMarketFit #StartupInsights

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Interesting post by Howard (Lee) Mosbacker IV, PhD on changing VC thinking in non Silicon Valley ecosystems. And yes, things have got to change. Howard argues that we need an active secondary market for VC positions at Series A rather than wait for those companies to become Decacorns. I completely agree... to an extent. Those secondary markets already exist, however. They are called stock markets. Hear me out. The VC world is so obsessed with Decacorn NASDAQ listings, that they've forgotten what built our industry. CISCO, Nvidia, AMD, Adobe, Amazon, Intel, all IPOd at sub $500m valuations. Companies are now being advised to wait until they have $500 Million in ARR before listing. This is madness. To be fair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules and our litigious culture make a US IPO at a sub $1B valuation extremely difficult. Costs in the US are too high. Other global stock markets don't have that problem. For instance, on the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) AIM market companies regularly IPO doing $10-20m in ARR growing 30% a year. IPO costs are 30% vs US costs, the US has more class action shareholder lawsuits in a year than the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) has had in a decade. IN 2021, the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) had ~160 IPOs with an _average_ valuation of $100million. There's similar great small cap programs at the ASX, TSX Group and Euronext. The problem isn't the lack of a secondary market. The problem is that US VC's and board members don't look beyond the US to IPO. Maybe we should think outside of the box on this a little. BTW, I buy post Series B secondaries at Practical Venture Capital, and project manage small cap IPOs as a side hustle. You know... BYOL ( Bring Your Own Liquidity ) What would your fund's returns look like if you could get liquid at Series B?

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How to think about Founder Dilution In the just concluded educative live session, Peter Walker explained the Founder's dilution, fundraising, Bridge rounds and Safe conversion. Emphasis was made on key points using data from Carta and I would encourage #founders to use the Carta Launch platform to get a better insight on how #Safes and Investment rounds impact dilution. #Key take home, a founders' union is likened to a marriage, any potential friction could affect the company's dilution. It is a decision that should be thought through by the founder.

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🚀 This one’s for the founders: a masterclass in execution and innovation. This week, I sat down with Adhemar M., founder and CEO of Kovi, a Brazilian company redefining mobility through car subscriptions and connected tech in a market plagued by high costs and limited credit access. Backed by ~$145M in funding from the likes of Valor Capital Group, monashees, MAYA CAPITAL, Globo Ventures, Norte Ventures and Peter Thiel's family office, Kovi is addressing high car costs, tough credit barriers, and insurance gaps in one of the world’s most exciting markets. What we covered 👇🏻 ​🔑 Driving innovation: How Brazil’s mobility challenges are powering market transformation ​🤝 Connect the dots: Building stronger founder/VC partnerships through transparency and market education ⚙️ Complexity doesn’t scale: Lessons in building efficient, scalable operations 🌐 Break down silos: Creating synergy between tech and operations in a startup ​⚡ Clean win: How Brazil’s renewable edge and gig economy lead the EV growth Link in comments—don’t miss this one! 🎧 PS: Thank you Vander Corteze, MD for the intro to Adhemar and for some excellent question suggestions 👏🏻

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It’s been a year since we officially launched the fund, and I am beyond thrilled to share that GrowthCap Ventures has been featured in Outlook Money! In the fast-paced world of startups, choosing the right venture capital partner can make all the difference. At GrowthCap Ventures, we’re not just about providing capital to founders—we’re about empowering early-stage startups in 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝗦, and 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 with strategic guidance, mentorship, and invaluable industry connections. We’re proud to be an 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱, working hand-in-hand with our portfolio companies to ensure their success. Our goal is to support 10-12 early-stage companies through this maiden fund, helping them scale with not just money but a full spectrum of support. This coverage includes insights from our LPs and founders on what sets GCV apart and how we are building an operator fund from the ground up. This journey wouldn't be possible without our incredible backers who bring a wealth of experience and industry access to enrich our portfolio companies. To our amazing team— Jenny Mehta, Sakshi Vora, Jash Shah, our investee 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, and everyone who has been part of this journey—thank you for believing in our vision. Together, we’re navigating the startup seas with seasoned expertise, creating and scaling the next generation of innovators. If you're building something exciting, we would love to hear about it! Reach out to us and let’s explore how GrowthCap can help it grow. Here's to building the future, one startup at a time! Link to the full article - https://lnkd.in/d3zwer7T Ravi Shankar, Kapil Garg, Shankar Vailaya, Jayant Kumar, Dr Ritesh Jain, Beerud Sheth, Gaurav Bhojak, Naresh Naik, Ankur Jain, CFA Sanjit Nagarkatti, Pankaj Poddar, Deepak Sharma, Ram Naresh, Gaurav Duggal Mohit Jalan #GrowthCapVentures #StartupSuccess #VentureCapital #Fintech #SaaS #Deeptech #Innovation #Mentorship #StrategicGuidance

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AI Adoption Beats in Latam companies | Volume #2 The Age of AI is about 18 months old. Hundreds of $ billions have been invested in laying down the infrastructure needed to support this AI revolution – from Data Centers (GPUs) to more capable LLMs to Enterprise applications (AI Agents). And now businesses are beginning to bring these tools – such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Co-Pilot – to their workforce. From the media hype and the number of times CEOs mention AI in their earnings calls and investor days, you would think the average knowledge worker is using AI every day of an efficient and productive way. The truth: A very small group of knowledge workers is using AI every day. An even smaller group is using it effectively. And that means very few organizations are seeing ROI on their workforce AI investments. According to recent “AI Proficiency Report” by Section, only 7% of employees are in the “AI Leaders” class. These are people who have experimented with various LLMs, learned how to prompt, and integrated AI into their operations and workflows. In comparison, nearly 60% are “AI Newcomers” – people who have played around with ChatGPT a few times, but haven’t committed to it or learned to use it well. If your company is 60% of “AI Newcomers”, you have no idea (yet) what AI can do to transform your workforce. Pharma Moderna boasts an 80% AI employee adoption rate – suggesting that they are seeing significant productivity gains across their 6,000 person workforce. But they are the exception in 2024. Most companies won’t see the efficiencies they hope for with a small AI working group of superusers. So where should you start? The 82% of employees who are “AI Newcomers” or “AI Experimenters” are open-minded, but they need help. 60% of the “AI Leaders” are saving between 10% and 30% of their time each week with AI because they’re using it as more than a content creator. That’s 12+ hours (per week) ripe for more creative, strategic, and analytical thinking. So what’s stopping the 93% of other employees from doing the same?. What AI Leaders’ companies do differently? 1. Their company approves of AI (and says so publicly) AI Leaders members are more likely to be working in companies that have a clear AI policy that is in favor of AI use. 2. Their company has deployed AI training and paid for it The AI Leaders Class is the most likely to be receiving company support, largely in the form of AI training, from their employer. 3. Their company has deployed an LLM 77% of companies have not deployed company- or team-wide LLMs — but the largest segment of people who have access to one are in the AI Leaders Class (39%). Your turn: I hope it is useful… if you think it deserves a like, comment, repost, it will be welcome. On your side… if you want to share how you are going to design, plan and lead the AI Proficiency, Strategy and Roadmap Planning 2025… I’m just a DM or Free Discovery Call away (link on first comment). #AI #Adoption #Latam

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Community has been a massive influence on my life this past decade. I have travelled around the world with 75 digital nomads w/ Remote Year Seen 30 founders test out their Ideas w/ Founder Institute Engaged with 100s of startups launching w/ Start-Up Chile Created a product company that had a community of 200k at its peak I owe so much of what and who I am to these experiences They have molded me into the person I am today All the things that I've learned have lead me to what I am doing now Its time I started giving back Last year I had to start from nothing Some would find it a dreadful situation to be in It wasn't. It's only when you have nothing, that you're free to do anything. That is a super power So many people are addicted to their salary Their freedom tied to the dreams and benefit of others I could have done the same I didnt I wouldnt Not this time I had spent the last 5 years testing what I was capable of That experience didnt end the way I wanted it to. I was toxically attached to its success I knew that the people I was doing it with were not capable of seeing that end with me It was the right thing to do When I came home I refocused my energy's into this I am obsessed This is something that allows me to spread my chips across the table And to work with amazing people who want to see that same freedom To see something bigger than themselves to an end that only Community can bring. It's starting now. This Monday you can watch this presentation in whole, you can join the event here: https://lnkd.in/esbQY7Vb Don't miss it! If you want to join my free community, please dm me and I will share with you the links If you are a fractional CXO who went from a Chief Officer with everything they could need in their life, to all of a sudden needing to be an Entrepreneur, a Marketer, and Sales Pro. This paid community is for you. https://lnkd.in/eFJZ3y9J This is just a sample! I will be sharing clips every day for the next 10 days also be sure to checkout my podcast that I have launched to highlight and feature the great communities in my life, their leaders, how they were founded, by who, why, and how. This is going to be good. I hope you're a part of it Stay Tuned! 🚀

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Boldstart Ventures Raises $250M for Fund VII boldstart ventures, based in Miami, US, has successfully closed $250 million for its seventh fund, Boldstart Ventures VII L.P., with support from 68 investors. Led by Founder and General Partner Ed Sim and GP Eliot Durbin, Boldstart invests early in enterprise tech founders, often collaborating with them before incorporation. The firm specializes in "inception rounds," providing initial checks between $500k and $5 million and maintaining ample capital for follow-on investments. Boldstart’s portfolio includes leading enterprise-focused startups such as Snyk, Blockdaemon, Kustomer, BigID, and Superhuman. If you are experiencing difficulties in raising fresh capital and would require warm introductions to new LPs, contact G+QUANT🤝     ▶ Please use G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks, or send your inquiry to [email protected] #VentureCapital #BoldstartVentures #EnterpriseTech #EarlyStageFunding #InceptionRounds #EnterpriseStartups #MiamiTech

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Interesting post, Frank Rotman . I'd argue that rather than try to use your markups as traction for raising funds 2, 3 and 4 , emerging managers should consider helping their startups get earlier liquidity via suggesting listing on growth exchanges like the Toronto Stock Exchange, the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) or the ASX . DPI > IRR or TVPI when it comes to LPs. A VC that returns >2x in 7 years to LPs is going to have a much easier time raising the next fund than a fund with an IRR or TVPI of whatever. The entire vc industry has drank the kool aid that companies should be doing >$300m in ARR before listing. The LP community needs / wants liquidity before the 12 to 14 years its currently taking to IPO in the US, however. Startups can list on the above exchanges doing $20m in revenue with 30% YoY growth, they don't have to deal with Sarb Ox compliance and follow on raises are orders of magnitude easier for a listed company. Why? There's so many more public market investors than private market investors. The only other option for Emerging managers to stand out is by getting DPI via selling secondaries to a fund like Practical Venture Capital Chris Mayo, CFA Neil Shah Delilah Panio Amit Verma Dave McClure Aman Verjee, CFA Karin Tenenboim

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Square, Mercado Libre, Rappi, Zillow, and Stripe alumni have founded 1,511 startups over the last decade. That's a lot! And about 12% of these founders are building a fintech company. What is it about the DNA of these firms that they attract a lot of would-be founders? Some of the great fintech companies founded by ex-employees of this group include Pomelo, Ontop, Persona, Mundi, AgentSync, Divvy Homes, and Pacaso Square - 355 total startups, 32 in fintech Mercado Libre - 282 total startups, 37 in fintech Zillow - 294 total startups, 22 in fintech Rappi - 290 total startups, 28 in fintech Stripe - 290 total startups, 25 in fintech Read our full report ➡ https://bit.ly/GGMVFF Andrew Endicott Paula You David Erickson Kirstie Irmana Kristofer Jenk Josh Jagota Gilgamesh Ventures The Wharton School

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Valuing Pre-revenue Companies One of the most common questions that every founder has is: How do investors value pre-revenue companies? Even most angel investors are not aware of the factors leading investors consider when valuing pre-seed or seed-stage startups. If you have similar questions, check this guide by Kauffman Venturing to learn about how to value pre-revenue companies... 👇 Check out my free newsletter for more insights: https://lnkd.in/eggvJJRE . #startups #vc #funding #valuation #founders #investors #venturecapital #founder #startup #startuptips

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Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Rebecca DeGraw on the common legal pitfalls that could delay your funding and how to avoid them as you grow. As startups scale, converting notes and securing a priced round often becomes a key consideration. That's why getting your cap table, IP, and employment agreements in order is a must for closing the deal.

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Valuing Pre-revenue Companies One of the most common questions that every founder has is: How do investors value pre-revenue companies? Even most angel investors are not aware of the factors leading investors consider when valuing pre-seed or seed-stage startups. If you have similar questions, check this guide by Kauffman Venturing to learn about how to value pre-revenue companies... 👇 Worth a read! 💫 Check out my free newsletter for more insights: https://lnkd.in/d3QaTQwC . #startups #funding #founders #fundraising #money #founder #investors #invest #valuation #value #fund #investment

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Every experienced VC will tell you. At the beginning of their career when evaluating a new investment they were solely focused on TAM, Metrics, etc But as they got more time under their belt, they learned the only thing that matters is the people. Do I enjoy this person, Do I want to grab a beer with them after work? VC founder relationship is a marriage. You are going to be together for a minimum of 10 years. So you better make sure you like each other. Lior M. VC Battery Ventures Link to the full episode in comments

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