Tina Hossain

Before starting Ruby Health, the startup ideation phase was a wild ride that took me down excellent rabbit holes. My favorite one was spending months digging into the ~$3T (!!!) GovCon space. Quickly, a grand vision began to emerge: 1. Build a platform that helps SMBs find and *win* federal and local contracts, thus unlocking a huge revenue stream. 2. Aggregate a network of highly performant SMBs. 3. Unlimited karma? World domination? Profit? It literally had everything! AI, SMB, aggregation and fintech. What more can you want!? Alas, many devils were hiding in the vast details of this massive market - TAM traps, compliance gotchas, you name it! So after running into one devil too many I decided that this won’t be my grand vision to pursue. Instead, I did the next best thing and commemorated it for all of eternity in ideas.rip (link in comments) where you can explore and learn from the unrealized dreams of many aspiring founders. A really valuable initiative by Symbol. I remain a great believer in GovCon innovation so if you’re a team pursuing a venture in the space - I salute you! (Also feel free to reach out) Lastly, a huge thanks to Symbol (Yuval Ariav, Racheli Kogan, Lia Levin, Itamar Eliash) who were an incredible support to me and Amit Dadon throughout our GovCon adventure. The GovCon abides!

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To help bridge the information gap between founders & investors, Nick Khormaei & I built a comprehensive map of the Seattle venture ecosystem. Check out the slide deck below for a breakdown and reach out to us if you'd like to see our full data-set!

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This week at Association for Healthcare Philanthropy's International Conference, we released an additional study specific to healthcare donors and their perceptions of AI. Thanks to everyone who attended the pre-con session who got to see this data first! If you attended, what were your takeaways from the results? Also thrilled to see Zack Kass deliver the opening keynote and the AI optimism and the insights that will impact all of us. Lots of great sessions and discussions here at the conference as well. Nathan Chappell, MBA, MNA, CFRE and I expanded the original dataset to include 510 donors who specifically gave to healthcare organizations in the last 12 months, their age, income, giving amounts, and their perceptions of AI. Some key highlights: * Significant (majority) familiarity with AI * High comfortability with various fundraising use cases * Critical need for transparency and security but also the human touch in fundraising For those working in healthcare philanthropy, we hope these findings are helpful as you plan for 2025 and beyond!

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Need some insight on hiring top talent that also fits your company culture? Interested in the mindset of true Leadership? Check in with this week's episode of Digital Health Heavyweights Podcast heavy with CEO of Reimagine Care THE Dan Nardi! Dan jumps into his philosophy on hiring, "Define what you need, not exactly who you want." Dan believes it all starts with clearly defining the role and finding the right fit. But it doesn’t stop there. He also emphasizes the importance of diversity of thought, ensuring that new hires bring fresh perspectives and ideas. "Don't get so caught up in pedigree or resume even." FOCUS on what you need, then go find the people that can deliver on it. 💪 I really enjoy working with Dan because Dan understands that an org needs to take recruiting seriously, and prioritize it IF you are going to be successful. 🤝Dan is also particularly talented at building an incredible culture. What does that culture look like? An element of it, is a feedback-rich culture: According to him, feedback isn’t just about correcting mistakes—it’s about fostering growth and continuous improvement. This makes a team more cohesive and engaged. 🔉🔊🔊 When it comes out to leadership, Dan stressed the importance of making decisions quickly and with conviction. Leaders don’t always have the luxury of waiting for all the data—sometimes, you have to trust your gut and move fast. His mantra? "Take as much information as you can, be comfortable, make a decision, and move." 💡 Working on the business, not just in it: As a leader, Dan stresses the importance of stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Know when you should be working on the business, and not just getting caught up in day-to-day operations. If you’re in healthcare, leading a startup, or simply passionate about team culture and leadership, you’re going to get so much out of this episode. Dan’s insights on leadership, decision-making, and building a resilient culture are incredibly valuable—whether you’re running a company or managing a team. Learn about the INCREDIBLE work Reimagine is doing. Bringing quality cancer care into the comfort of a patient's home. Imagine a world where you can avoid clinic wait times, visits aren't rushed, care is provided in the home, and clinical oncology experts seamlessly connect with patients 24/7, triaging, offering expert guidance AND it's better for the healthcare system. Reducing the number of ER visits, acute care visits, schedule interruptions, allowing providers to see more patients and practice at a higher level. Well, you don't have to check out Reimagine. Because they are ABLE to support so many patients and providers don't have to do email response, or on demand clinic visits, they are ENABLING clients to have higher volume. Huge. Be sure to catch this episode as Dan brings his expertise from Livongo, Carrum Health and now leading Reimagine!! A TON to learn from this one. https://lnkd.in/d7PcniYW

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Today, I had to push myself not to cancel the Alliance’s Health Equity Advisory Committee meeting, as we’re all processing a significant shift in our national political landscape. The recent election outcome has created a sense of uncertainty for many of us working to make healthcare accessible and equitable for all. Instead, we started the abbreviated meeting with a beautiful mindfulness session led by my colleague, Nana Kufuor, recognizing that many of us had not taken time to pause and breathe today, which is so necessary in this work. The five minutes we carved out to just breathe in and out (off camera) ushered in a sense of peace and calm that allowed us to carry on with the tasks at hand, while acknowledging the chaos awaiting us. But if today has reinforced anything, it’s that our work cannot stop; the environment may differ but the mission is the same. Health equity remains a critical issue, and we need community-centered solutions that involve everyone at the table, including industry, community organizations, policymakers, our governement, and patients, who need it the most. This is not a time to lose momentum (although we do need time to acknowledge and process). We must continue to prioritize access, understanding, and compassion in healthcare. Together, we’ll keep moving toward the goal of equity, because health can’t wait. #healthequity #healthcare

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Want to talk GTM? Join us on October 2nd at Gasworks Brewing for another round of Seattle Founders GTM. #founders #entrepreneurs #startups #gtm Sign up with the link below.

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When we are talking about student centered community schools, we necessarily are talking about language: it’s the core of what makes us human and brings us together in community. However, we often treat language like a hardship or a commodity to acquire — the framing of course often depending on your skin color, income level, or immigration status. Community schools are about connection and mattering. Not just services, not just “engaging community.” And language is at the heart. Anya Hurwitz and I love talking and writing about this stuff… but it requires us to ACT and SUPPORT and PERSIST. Some LEAs are seizing the current grant funding in CA to ACT; others aren’t. Potato potahto. It ain’t about the grant y’all. It’s about the intention and commitment to create the learning environments so students thrive. Take a read. 😁

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Great gig at the heart of #progressive #impactinvesting and #venturecapital. Let me know in the comments or dm me if you are interested!

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Recently, I had the privilege of hosting a workshop for founders and entrepreneurs at my alma mater, the University of Southern California, in collaboration with VentureSpark and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. It was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the early days of Supportiv and those intense months leading up to launching the company. Back in 2016-2017, platforms like Ginger.io (now part of Headspace) were experimenting with predictive well-being models—one of the first examples of #AI in #mentalhealth. At the same time, 7 Cups of Tea (a Y Combinator graduate) was tackling #peersupport with some incredible #growthhacking - before most people even knew what that term meant! To my surprise during the workshop, a couple of students raised their hands and mentioned they had served as "listeners" on 7 Cups. One student, only 19 at the time, shared that she had been connected to an adult going through a divorce—with zero formal training on how to help. She had no idea what to do! It hit home how much was at stake with these early models. In fact, the platform’s shortcomings were so pronounced that someone even wrote a book about it: The Ugly Truth About 7 Cups: https://a.co/d/bxesyEh This was exactly the gap Supportiv set out to fill. Back then, 7 Cups’ version of peer support was pairing people who had nothing in common. Supportiv flipped the script. We redefined #peersupport by using advanced #AI to match users with others who were going through similar struggles. Connections are now meaningful with an instant sense of belonging. But we didn’t stop there. Supportiv’s human moderators go through over 100 days of testing and training before they ever interact with users, and their education doesn’t end there. Continuous monitoring, supervision, and ongoing clinical oversight ensure that the support provided is not only real-time and 24/7, but also reliable and high-quality. But we didn’t stop there either... there's so much more to share about how we’ve pushed boundaries and redefined what’s possible. But this post is long enough already, so stay tuned for the next episode!

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MiSalud Health just snagged $8M in funding, led by Samsung Next with backing from Ulu Ventures, Magnify Ventures, and Lowercase Capital. For a company literally named “My Health,” they’re taking the phrase from a statement to a movement. At a time when healthcare feels more like a maze than a lifeline for underserved communities, MiSalud is cutting through the noise with culturally aligned care that actually meets people where they are—on their phones, in their language, and with solutions tailored to their needs. This isn’t just about telehealth—it’s about crafting a healthcare model that understands a patient’s culture as much as it understands their condition. With bilingual consultations, personalized care plans, and a focus on chronic condition management, MiSalud delivers more than check-ups—it’s delivering trust. Their same-day appointment model isn’t a perk; it’s an antidote to the slow and siloed systems that leave millions waiting for care they can’t afford to delay. The result? A 90%+ patient satisfaction rate and a footprint in key markets like California, Texas, and Florida, with plans to scale nationally. The team behind this is as sharp as their product. Bismarck Lepe knows how to scale—whether it’s building Ooyala or guiding Wizeline to success, his track record isn’t just a string of wins; it’s proof that execution eats hype for breakfast. Pair that with Wendy Johansson’s design-driven ethos—honed at Amazon and Publicis Sapient—and you’ve got leadership that turns vision into velocity. Together, they’ve built a platform that’s as technically sound as it is deeply human. Samsung Next and their fellow investors aren’t throwing cash at a feel-good project. They see the numbers. Healthcare inequality isn’t just a moral crisis—it’s a $4.5 trillion inefficiency. MiSalud is showing how solving access issues isn’t charity; it’s good business. By aligning patient outcomes with economic incentives for employers and payers, they’re proving that equitable care can also be scalable care. The bigger picture here isn’t just about a company or a round of funding. MiSalud is setting a standard for how businesses should think about the intersection of culture, community, and commerce. The healthcare industry loves its buzzwords, but MiSalud skips the jargon and gets straight to the heart of the matter: fixing what’s broken and serving those who’ve been left behind. #Startups #StartupFunding #HealthCare #TeleHealth #ChronicConditions #PatientCare #Technology #Innovation #Techcosystem #StartupEcosystem #VentureCapital

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Blue Startups acceleration complete—and wow, did we accelerate! 🐧 🚀 We wrapped up with a demo day in San Francisco, and I even did a bonus one in NYC. You have to check out the pitches! https://lnkd.in/gyzF9mGF If you’re wondering whether an accelerator is right for you, or if you’re building in isolation and want to grow as a founder, read on. When we applied to Blue, we were at $40K in monthly revenue. By the end of the cohort, we hit $135K. Even though I’m American, all my startup experience was in China. I wasn’t familiar with the fundraising process or how American VCs think. I also didn’t have a strong network here. I needed to level up my game. If you want to build something huge, you can’t do it alone—you need mentorship and advice. And Blue Startups provided that in spades. We started with a bang thanks to Patrick Lee (Rotten Tomatoes founder), who gave an incredible presentation on focus. The guidance from Blue’s founder and director, Chenoa Farnsworth, was invaluable. She’s unapologetically tough, forcing you to maintain a high standard. Her far-reaching connections brought us every type of advice we could need. We were introduced to an amazing lead mentor and advisor, Steve Markowitz. Everyone needs to find their “Steve”—someone who's done it before and will go with you the whole way. Blue helped us build a network. We got connected with incredible founders and advisors, like Joey Katzen, Christopher Farm, Holly Liu, Chris Yeh, Keyvan Peymani, Nobu Morita, Jennifer Apy, Rachan (Butch) Reddy, Assaf Karmon— and so many more amazing people who have already helped us immensely on this journey. David Holt always went the extra mile (as did Kia Yang). Chris Lam helped me think about design. Cristina Moon taught zen and resilience. Romesh Jayawickrama was invaluable in guiding mindset and balance. Blue also partnered with Piʻikū Co. and brought on two amazing designers (Gage Minamoto and Michelle Tran) to give the app a needed glow up. But most importantly—our cohort. I can’t imagine building a startup alone. The cohort becomes like family, and it's important to surround yourself with brilliant passionate people. Huge shoutout to Cohort 16: Sirisha Kaipa and Madhu Vohra, Jacqueline Hall (Sunday grinders club), Randy Marsden and Arianna Rose, Mathew Goldsborough, Mario Soave, Paul Karaffa, Dr. Stevens Bonhomme, D.B.A, M.A, Melis Dural, Vincent Brathwaite, Andrew Spencer, Michael Choi Special thanks to Trung Lam and Johnny Chankhamany of ThriveHI for introducing me to Hawaii’s tech community and Clif Purkiser for guiding me in. And, of course, we can’t forget Maya Rogers and Tetris! Why do an accelerator in Hawaii? Because building a startup is hard, and you need support from people that really care about you. Blue startups isn't just an accelerator, it's Ohana 🤙

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I highly recommend SF local founders check out a free "Founder-Led Sales" lecture Peter Kazanjy is giving on Wednesday Dec 11th. The single biggest mistake I see founders make is abstracting themselves from sales prematurely. It hemorrhages cash, runway and founder and employee equity. They think the moment they leave their accelerator or raise capital that's the signal for others to take the reigns of sales sleigh. #error Pete demystifies much of what it takes get founder-led sales right. Book your place using the link in the comments. #sales #saas #startups #GTMdebt #venturecapital

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🌟 Maximize Your Nonprofit's Impact with Predictive AI and Data Science! 🌟 As someone passionate about the transformative power of AI, I'm thrilled to share our latest cutting-edge paper from CCS Fundraising. In today's competitive landscape, nonprofits need advanced tools and timely insights to stay agile and effective. Our new paper on AI in Fundraising explores how predictive AI, powered by machine learning and advanced statistical methods, can revolutionize your fundraising strategy. Discover how these innovations can boost efficiency and lead to more impactful philanthropy. Dive into this interactive paper and see how AI can change the game for your nonprofit! 📖 Read more: https://lnkd.in/em33jKgv #PredictiveAnalytics #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Fundraising #NonprofitInnovation

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Do your homework Every funder is unique. Comprehensive research to understand prospective donors is crucial for successful fundraising. Here are the unique aspects of funders that grant seekers need to understand for successful outreach 🔥Size of grants given 🔥Interests and themes 🔥Geographical regions they fund 🔥Openness to relationship building 🔥Size of organization that they fund 🔥Application requirements and guidelines 🔥Structures and decision-making processes By thoroughly understanding these aspects, nonprofits can tailor their outreach efforts, align their proposals with funder priorities, and ultimately increase their chances of securing much-needed support. FYI: We offer FREE Virtual Masterclasses on grant fundraising strategies. Stay in the loop by signing up below for updates on our FREE Masterclasses: https://lnkd.in/dwz8uUGn

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Last night's Technology Association of Oregon panel discussion on raising capital for AI ventures was full of interesting takeaways. The event brought together leading PNW VCs, CEOs, and funders to share their perspectives and best practices. Here's what you need to know: ➡ The AI/ML space is rapidly evolving, presenting huge opportunities for startups tackling real business problems. VCs are actively seeking out the most ambitious and disruptive companies in this domain. ➡ Having an "unfair advantage" is key - whether that's proprietary data sets, unique domain expertise, or unparalleled access to customers. AI ventures need strong differentiation to stand out. ➡ Build relationships early with VCs, even before you're ready to raise. Their insights and connections can accelerate your journey. The PNW venture ecosystem is highly collaborative and accessible. ➡ Don't be deterred by the perceived lack of local funding. Great companies with compelling visions will get funded, period. Leverage the PNW's strengths in developer/engineering talent. ➡ Recognize and proactively address the potential downsides of AI - from data privacy to model bias. Building responsibly is both an obligation and an opportunity. ➡ Move fast, be bold. Raising capital is always hard, but fortune favors the brave in this space. With the right team, tech and traction, you can build a world-changing business here in the PNW. Thanks to the fantastic panelists Diane Fraiman (Voyager Capital), Geoff Harris (Flying Fish), Jon Maroney (OVF), Chris Sestito (Hidden Layer), Jon Turow (Madrona) for sharing their insights, and to Kristy Edwards for moderating!

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📈 Demand for fertility services is rising -> 💼 PE recognizes this and wants in -> 🏜 but opportunities are scarce (https://lnkd.in/g6zXEVZh). Highly recommend anyone who wants a deeper understanding of what's going with fertility and fertility tech read Aya Spencer's *2024 State of fertility tech report* (https://lnkd.in/gVjK_UpX) - it's a great summary

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Please join us on: Re:Publica - Talk&Panel 29.05. - 14:00/2pm at the Google Booth. Title: “Who cares about… Making public Health Truly Public” Host: Götz "GG" Gottschalk, MBA (Head of Health, DE, YouTube) Panel Guests: Niels H. CEO KENHUB & Sebastian Kaulitzki CEO SciePro Short Description: In our increasingly digital world, the next phase in health communication is video, where we can connect with people and answer their questions in a way that is both visual and personal. information is a determinant of health and the degree to which information and communication impact health outcomes has been brought into sharp view over the last few years. Video is an incredibly effective format for sharing health information in engaging, digestible, and emotionally supportive ways. YouTube Health partners with public health and clinical experts, such as the WHO, from all over the world to provide equitable access to highly authoritative health information that is evidence-based and culturally relevant. YouTube is focusing on two areas in the effort to provide equitable access to highly authoritative health information: information quality and information equity. People can utilize YouTube to learn from health experts and accredited organizations who have developed the skills to connect at scale with engaging and helpful information. YouTube Health’s mission is to make public health truly public, for the platform’s 2 billion users. This begins with revolutionizing the way people engage, interact, and receive accessible health information via video. Now, we’re looking to inspire the healthcare industry & professionals alike, to contribute towards the greater mission to raise health literacy and accelerate progress towards universal health coverage & harnessing the Power of Digital Technologies for Global Health.

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“We really focus on building community power because over the last four years, and really, my whole life. If we don't figure out how to work together, we are not going to be successful. I've been doing entrepreneurial ecosystem building for 10 years, but before that, for 20 years, I worked with young people, I worked with communities, and I did youth development education. What I've seen in my 30 years of work is if you're fragmented, you're weak. We need to figure out how to get fragmented and siloed groups of people to work together as a larger entity. This is the crux of this Summit. How do we get people doing great work connected and pooling resources? How do we advocate for more resources from the federal government, from our state governments, from our local governments? How do we actually work as a group with JP Morgan Chase and get some actual funding that can be systemic and long-term to actually grow small businesses? I think we have to create a space where we can all win together,” This is the vision behind the Building Community Power Summit the ESO Foundation is hosting with Startup Champions Network 10/30-11/1... check out the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gGAmUdq6 #SCNBayArea #Buildwhereyouare #Communitypower #startupecosystem #nexteconomy #ecosystembuilders

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