Robert Kaminski 🎯

🧬 This week's Austin Bio + Health Roundup highlights significant data trends, my stance on covering funding announcements, new partnerships, and action across the Texas Bio Triangle. 🧬 💰 Funding: The Way I Plan to Cover Funding Announcements You may have seen reports of a local Bio & Health startup’s funding round through an SEC report filing. While some outlets have covered this, my position is not to. I prefer to support our builders directly rather than trolling the filings for scoops. There is plenty of real investigative journalism that our city would be well served by if that is where they focused. Remember I am not a journalist and I am not the media. When the company is ready to announce their round officially, I’ll gladly shout it to the rooftops. 📊 Data Peter Walker at Carta reports that in 2017, Biopharma and Medical Devices captured just under 10% of all VC dollars. By 2023, this figure rose to 17.7%, and in Q1 2024, it reached 24%. The overarching tailwinds favor our sector and region with trends towards Bio & Health and the physical & digital intersection. Energy and hardware, two other sector blossoming in Central Texas, also saw similar share gains. 🤝 M&A and Partnerships Sensi.AI, a 24/7 senior care intelligence agent, is partnering with Caring Senior Service to deploy SensiAI’s platform in Caring’s 50 locations across the US. This partnership allows seniors a better opportunity to age gracefully in their homes. 🚩 Texas Bio Triangle BioMedSA is hosting an event called Women in Bioscience, Thursday June 20th. It’s designed to connect and empower women in the bioscience industry across Central Texas, and features Randi Brosterman Hutchens discussing "Building your Personal Board." Find the link to the event in the comments. Houston-based Lokum, a staffing solution to connect clinicians and clinical staff to health care facilities, has raised a $700K pre-seed round. Congrats Ayoade (Joy) Ademuyewo on the raise. What’s Next? #AustinNext #LifeSciences #Healthcare #Biotechnology

16

7 Comments

This HealthTech company just raised a $53M Series A led by a16Z. Their goal is to help you live healthy past 100... and they're hiring. I've been following Mark Hyman, MD on social media for a while. One of his major focuses is the power of knowing your health data. Knowledge puts the power of prevention in your hands. I'm familiar seeing him on Intagram reels, not morning business TV. So I was surprised when I saw him on Squak Box two days ago. He was announcing the $53M Series A for Function Health. A little background on Function Health The Function Health founding team is stellar... Chief Medical Officer - Mark Hyman, MD: One of the nations foremost experts on health and longevity and founder of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. CEO - Jonathan Swerdlin: He's a 3x founder (Function will be #4) with a previous HealthTech startup under his belt. No shortage of experience and first time founder syndrome here. COO - Pranitha Patil: She published a medical paper in a scientific journal and led health strategy teams at Accenture before dropping out of grad school at Harvard during COVID to found the company. CTO - Mike Nemke: He's a former Green Beret (US Army Special Forces) who traded his rifle for a keyboard and became an AI engineer. Before Function, he was the Director of AI & Machine Learning for a management consulting firm. CPO - Seth Weisfeld: Started his career in creative design before becoming an early Vine product designer. For the last decade he was at Meta and spent the last two years working on Generative AI products. The product is stellar... The idea is to make getting your health data easy, affordable, and accessible. For just $499, they run over 100 tests two times per year and decode the results in an easy-to-understand report you can take action on or take to your primary care doctor. I see it as a way of preventing negative health outcomes and health anxiety by understanding what is happening in your body before it becomes an issue. They've already saved multiple lives through early disease detection. The traction is stellar... In their announcement, Andreessen Horowitz said, "Prior to Function, we'd only seen this level of organic, hockey-stick growth in companies that sell vices online." And the icing on the cake is that they're hiring for badass remote roles... - Medical Content Writer - Chief of Staff to CEO - Chief of Staff to COO - VP of Marketing - Head of B2B Channels - Director of People - VP of Finance - Software Engineer - Senior Product Designer - Junior Product Designer Don't sleep on applying. This company will be an exciting ride and, if successful, could change the way we approach medicine and health forever. — Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Kyle Thomas for more insights.

185

23 Comments

Big Company or Big Network: Which is the better partner? When you think partnerships, It’s easy to think of collaborating with companies. But have you considered partnering with a network? When I was in Austin, I struck a deal with Capital Factory. Community of 100,000 entrepreneurs. Portfolio valuation of $21 billion. This partnership opened doors to New brands, New investors, New level of growth. The takeaway? Partnering with a network doesn’t just add value— it channels it 🔮 #Networking #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

6

🧬 This week's Austin Bio + Health Roundup brings exciting funding announcements, important community events, accolades, partnerships, and milestones from across the Texas Bio Triangle. 🧬 💰 Funding Humanaut Health has secured an $8.7M seed round to bring access to health optimization and longevity to the general population. It's Austin funding Austin, as Midnight Venture Partners joined the round. Don't miss my short interview with Co-founder and CEO Jim Donnelly below! Optmycare, an AI platform in healthcare & risk management, raised a $3 million in Series A funding, led by Austin's own LiveOak Ventures, to accelerate its growth and build out its technology. 🏙️ Community Mark your calendars for the Nucleate Texas Final Pitch Showcase on May 17th. Catch the final pitches from 1pm to 5pm at Highpoint 2222, and discover what's next in platform discoveries, diagnostics, and therapeutics. 🏆 Recognition BrainCheck, a brain health diagnostic and tools company, received the Care Management Innovation Award at the 8th annual MedTech Breakthrough Awards. Congratulations Kim Rodriguez and the entire team for the well-deserved recognition of your work.   🤝 M&A and Partnerships Babson Diagnostics has announced a new partnership with Cynergy Wellness LLC, to provide clinician oversight for Babson’s customer-initiated BetterWay blood tests. One more step in providing access to this novel technology. Congrats David Stein, Eric Olson and the rest of the Babson team. 🚩 Texas Bio Triangle San Antonio-based Hera Biotech has released promising interim results for their groundbreaking endometriosis treatment. The data showed 92% sensitivity, 95% specificity, and 94% overall accuracy compared to histopathology. Congrats Somer Baburek, MBA on this important step in the development of a greatly needed diagnostic. This week underscores breadth and depth of sector. Let's keep the momentum going! What’s Next? #AustinNext #LifeSciences #Healthcare #Biotechnology

115

10 Comments

Summary: Trucks Venture Capital has announced a new $70 million fund to support early-stage startups in the transportation industry. Led by co-founder Reilly Brennan, the firm plans to invest in a diverse range of companies, including those working on autonomous vehicle tech, electric air taxis, and mobility data platforms. This is the firm's largest fund to date and its investment strategy has evolved to focus on great founders rather than specific sectors or ideas. Key takeaways: Trucks VC has a new $70 million fund to invest in early-stage transportation startups. The firm's investment strategy has shifted to focus on great founders rather than specific sectors or ideas. Previous investments from the new fund include charger installation-as-a-service startup Treehouse and zero-emissions jet aircraft company JetZero. Counter arguments: Some may argue that focusing on great founders rather than specific sectors or ideas may limit the firm's potential for success. The transportation industry is constantly changing and evolving, making it a risky investment for any venture capital firm. #startups #venturecapital #transportation

6

1 Comment

A blistering funding run has me revisiting a question I posed after Q3's VC funding data came out. Was Austin's modest $1.6B in H1 2024 signaling a slowdown or was Q3's $1B surge the real indicator? November's explosive activity gives us our answer: 💥Tricentis: $1.33B raise ($4.5B valuation) New 🦄 💥FireFly Aerospace: $175M ($2B valuation) 💥Ladder: $105M 💥Halcyon AI: $100M ($1B valuation) New 🦄 With these mega-rounds, Q4 is already approaching $2B with several weeks remaining. I am hearing about more significant rounds in the pipeline, though I don’t know whether they will announce in Dec or early '25. What a difference a quarter makes! Austin sits at ~$4B YTD, knocking at the door of 2023's $4.2B. The first half numbers now look more like timing quirks than a true slowdown. Our sector diversity (seen here in AI, Space, Bio & Health and Cybersecurity) reinforces what Peter Walker's analysis shows below; Austin's strength comes from our broad foundation & tech convergence. As Peter notes in his original post, "Austin is good in many areas, great in few." I see this as a strength, not a weakness (not implying that he was making this implication either). With ATX consistently ranking somewhere between 5th-7th in funding, and having strong momentum metrics, we have a bright future ahead. What's Next?

28

8 Comments

Someone broke down the estimated costs of a $15 Sweetgreen salad. We need these cost graphics for digital health to help future founders. Especially for tech enabled cos, the greatest cost is labor. Much of the "value created" is in curation and matching, which means the gross margins are reliant on labor arbitrage. Pay someone $X, but get paid $X+Y% per visit. The challenge with healthcare is that you often have to pick one of two business models: 1. specialized, low volume, high cost, low gross margin % 2. generalized, high volume, low cost, high gross margin % I'd argue founders should focus on gross dollars over the lifetime of the customer (like Jeff Bezos said) instead of gross margin %'s, but we'll leave that for another time. The challenge is that many tech enabled digital health cos have high cost of goods sold (labor) and moderately high product, design, and engineering budgets. We must build differentiated solutions for patients, clinicians, and clients to be out incumbents, however, we're realizing that companies are ultimately valued on the discounted value of future cash flows. And the high SG&A costs at most organizations might be inbalanced to the unit economics of the business. I'm not sure the math pencils out for everyone unfortunately. But I'm just a guy on the internet, would love to hear the thoughts from those smarter than I (you!). Comment below. --- p.s. I have no idea the accuracy of the graphic and not an investor in Sweetgreen. Cheers. Credit: David Crowther

112

27 Comments

🔥💰️ 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐩𝐩 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 “𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞” 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 $𝟗𝟖𝐊 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥 for a few days of high traffic, after their free app went viral. Here's how we did things differently at OmniCreator 👇️ Going "viral" and "scale at all costs" were over-glorified among VC-backed startups in ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) era. Daigo Tanaka, PhD and I hated this model. Serverless or not, we focused on creating a service many people find it worth paying the money from the beginning. As a result, Daigo went above and beyond to integrate a seamless payment processing system for users from the beginning. By doing this we made sure monthly fee could pay the server cost per user. We also controlled the signup quantity and quality via invitation-only system. This allowed us to manage bugs, focus on customer success, and grow at a sustainable rate. We never intended to raise money. Our growth is much slower but we are making more than we pay. IMO that's a pretty damn good business model these days. #medtech #technology #socialmedia #socialmediamarketing #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur

11

4 Comments

✨ Breaking: Halogen Ventures Announces New Fund.- Halogen Ventures Halogen Ventures focuses on early-stage consumer technology startups with at least one woman on the founding team. The fund announced a $10 million investment to support female founders in Alabama. https://halogenvc.com/ Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups #Venturecapital

8

I have this rule where if I see/hear the same thing 3x in 1 week (ex. hear someone's name 3x, hear operators at diff co's are facing the same problem 3x, hear the same hot take 3x, etc)... then I carve out 3+ hrs & dive deep You have to notice repetition & action on it

69

13 Comments

A lot of start-ups fail because they don’t understand product market fit. If you too are on the prenatal stage of figuring your business out, don’t miss this PMF concept. Sarah Jenkins recently interviewed Alex Burke, a product expert from Amazon, Airbnb, and Shopify, who shared insights on PMF’s three pillars: demand, satisfaction, and scalability. Many companies excel at demand and satisfaction—customers love and use their product—but struggle with scalability, ultimately leading to failure. Brands like Juicero and Fab had demand but couldn’t scale and didn’t survive. PMF evolves through four stages: → Stage 1 Your early customers are often personal connections. Red flags here include customers not missing your product if it disappeared or inconsistent core features. The focus is on truly understanding your target market. → Stage 2 At this point, the product should drive growth, not your sales team. A churn rate above 20% or stagnant growth signals trouble. → Stage 3 (solid PMF)  If you have a significant number of customers, strong net revenue retention, and low churn rates, it indicates that your growth is on track. However, if your net revenue retention declines significantly, it may suggest retention issues that could hinder your ability to scale effectively. → Stage 4  If you have a substantial customer base, a strong sales conversion rate, and your earnings exceed your expenses, you’ve likely discovered a solid product-market fit. At every stage, remember the "4P" framework: Persona, Problem, Promise, Product. The key is continuous evolution—PMF is not static, and you need to keep fine-tuning as you scale. Anything you’d add? #ProductMarketFit #StartupSuccess #BusinessGrowth

84

11 Comments

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

7

Want to stand out in a VC screening call? Ask thoughtful questions. Why it matters: 1. Shows you've done your research 2. Demonstrates genuine interest 3. Helps you understand if they're a good fit Go beyond "What's your check size?" Get specific to that fund and even the person you’re talking to. Remember, it's not just about us evaluating you - you're evaluating us too. What's the best question you've asked (or been asked) in a VC meeting?

7

2 Comments

💰🎓VALUATION CAP💰🎓 Setting a valuation cap in fundraising is crucial as it limits the maximum valuation at which a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) converts to equity. This helps founders manage equity dilution and provides investors with a clear understanding of their potential ownership percentage, ensuring informed decision-making during fundraising rounds. Source: Peter Walker Great post! #valuationcap #investors #founders #raisingcapital #safes #fundraising #womenshealth #femhealth #medtech

8

Venture-backed teams need an operating system built for venture-backed companies. That's why I created Peak OS. You can read about how to get started today in my bestselling book, Peak Teams--or just come on down to the Collective Genius site and let's talk. #venturebacked #vcbacked #venturecapital #leadership #ceo #founder #operatingsystem #peakOS

17

1 Comment

I designed Peak OS for venture-backed companies after working with hundreds of them over the past 20 years. VC-backed teams are different, period. They need an operating system designed specifically for them. You can read about why (and get a step by step instruction manual to get started with Peak OS) in my bestselling book, Peak Teams. Check it out on Amazon and Audible. #venturebacked #vcbacked #venturecapital #leadership #ceo #founder #operatingsystem #peakOS

15

Great post by Josh Wagner on the importance of urgency. If you don't want to build a company characterized by urgency and extreme intensity over a long period of time - at least a decade - you would be better off not raising venture capital.

15

1 Comment

Remember SPACs? They are famous for horrible incentive alignment and generally turned out to be TERRIBLE. Well, not this one! hims & hers is a DTC healthcare company that went public in 2021 via SPAC. Today, it is trading at $4.7B in market cap. That's just about where it was at its peak right after its debut (no small feat given that was peak digital health euphoria in the stock markets!) Its revenue grew from $149M in 2020 to $872M in 2023, more than 6x in 3 years. It's done so without losing tons of cash, staying close to profitability every year, and it just had its first profitable quarter in Q1. So there are real SPAC'ed businesses after all! Any other examples come to mind? #Startups

29

2 Comments

Advice for raising your first VC fund from Nichole Wischoff, who grew up on food stamps in Arkansas and closed her $20 million Fund 2 in 2022. 1) Get in the mix. Get in the culture. Start building your network. Show up to events, meet people, ask questions, and start helping them. 2) Share. When you meet an interesting founder, connect them with people who can help. Connect them to investors you want to get to know better to build the strength of your own network. 3) When raising a fund, LP relationships are sacred. Build trust with your network over time through steps 1 and 2 above before raising a fund. "Get as close to the nucleus of what’s going on as you can” Nichole is one of the most interesting people I’ve met in the past few years. She grew up on food stamps in Arkansas and recently raised a $20 million Fund 2 for Wischoff Ventures. Listen to her full story + all her actionable advice for others in the comments 👇

155

16 Comments