Katie Jacobs Stanton took an unusual and accidental path to becoming a healthcare investor.
After building products at Yahoo and Google, helping grow Twitter globally, and spending time at the White House, she began investing on the side. In 2016, she joined the genetic testing startup Color genomics as Marketing Director, where she took her first steps in the world of healthcare. This position deepened his interest in the industry – and specifically the role technology could play in improving it.
Stanton left the company in 2019 to launch Moxxie Ventures investing in early-stage startups, including a growing number focused on health. Seven years after founding the company, Stanton said she is still motivated by the enormous unmet needs in healthcare and the potential of AI to make the sector more efficient.
“In this world of rising healthcare prices and longer wait times to see your doctor, we’re seeing a pull from people who need better solutions at the consumer level, from doctors who need more time with their patients, from hospitals and health systems who need better tools to reduce costs and improve outcomes,” she noted.
Some of the healthcare startups in Moxxie’s portfolio include Dandelion Healthwhich applies AI to real patient data to generate clinical insights; Pharos Healthwhich automates patient safety and reporting quality so nurses don’t have to do manual work on data; Luminewhich automates workflows such as claims processing, referrals and physician payments; And Science of the Thronewhich makes a smart toilet sensor that monitors gut health and detects early signs of colon cancer.
In Stanton’s eyes, all of these companies share something in common: founders with deep expertise who understand the problems they are solving for their clients.
Below are three of the other boxes she needs to check when assessing whether a healthcare startup is worth backing.
Founder with a background in healthcare
Generic AI founders without healthcare experience rarely succeed in this field, Stanton noted.
She said healthcare startups need founders who have credibility with providers and/or payers, as well as a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and its regulatory and operational complexities. Without this expertise, even technically sound products will fail to gain adoption or navigate the system, Stanton explained.
Sustainability and defensibility
Because AI tools are becoming easy to create, investors need to ask questions like what makes this product unique, why this founder is the right person to solve the problem and whether the solution can survive in the heavily regulated healthcare world, Stanton said.
She believes that strong companies combine the following elements: well-suited founders, differentiators that set them apart from their competitors, and real, quantifiable elements. customer request.
A solid distribution strategy
A good product alone is not enough. Stanton emphasized that startups also need a realistic plan to reach their customers and get the tool into the hands of hospitals, payers or patients.
For healthcare AI companies, delivery often means leveraging the credibility and networks of the leadership team to navigate the fragmented healthcare landscape and quickly gain traction.
Before Moxxie invests, the startup team must convince the company that it knows how to get in front of the right decision-makers and build trust with providers and payers, Stanton said.
Photo: DBenitostock, Getty Images
