Observations by a European Venture Capitalist
What happens when a venture capitalist known for precision bets in digital health dives headfirst into the wild world of pheromone research?
You get one of the strangest—and potentially most fascinating—collaborations in startup science: The House of Pheromones x Min-Sung Sean Kim.
Pheromone colognes and perfumes have been floating around the internet for at least 20 years now. But …
Traction is great. But if your unit economics don’t work, you’re just accelerating toward a cliff.
In digital health, where margins can vanish behind compliance costs, clinical onboarding, or sales cycles longer than a Netflix series, VCs want to know: can this business actually make money?
Here’s how to understand—and clearly present—the unit economics that matter when raising capital.
Not all great ideas get funded.
Some die quietly in a VC’s inbox. Others flame out in a 12-slide deck that looked perfect in Canva but landed with all the force of a deflated whoopee cushion. The idea might be good. The timing might be great. But if you don’t understand what digital health investors are actually looking for? You’re …
You’ve nailed the pitch. Your deck is crisp. The investor nods along.
But then? Diligence hits. And suddenly, your narrative isn’t enough—it needs receipts.
In digital health, due diligence isn’t just a legal formality. It’s where deals get made—or quietly die. Why? Because health tech is not like building the next social app. There’s real-world risk, regulatory complexity, and lives …
Some pitches flop not because the idea is bad, but because the delivery makes investors quietly click the mental “pass” button.
In digital health, this effect is magnified. The stakes are higher. The jargon is thicker. The scrutiny is brutal. Founders walk in with a pitch and walk out thinking the VC just didn’t get it.
Truth is, they got …
Ever wonder what actually happens after you walk out of a pitch meeting? Here’s a hint: the real decision-making happens after you leave the room.
Digital health VCs are a specific breed. They’re not just asking, “Is this exciting?” They’re weighing risk like clinicians, evaluating business models like payers, and checking traction like SaaS pros. The decision to invest—or pass—is …
Venture capital plays a crucial role in scaling digital health innovations from promising prototypes to market-ready solutions. In recent years the flow of investment into telemedicine platforms, remote monitoring devices and AI-driven diagnostic tools has enabled entrepreneurs to build products that can be deployed across healthcare systems.
Investors are looking beyond flashy technology to businesses that can navigate regulatory pathways, …
Getting a VC meeting is one thing. Getting the right VC to take you seriously, lean forward, and eventually wire money? Entirely different ballgame.
Too many digital health founders get stuck in the spray-and-pray stage—blasting cold emails to generic investor lists, hoping something sticks. But smart founders treat VC selection the same way good VCs treat startups: they research hard, …
Your pitch deck isn’t just a PDF—it’s a filter. A litmus test. A silent first impression that determines whether an investor hits delete or leans in.
Digital health founders often get this wrong. Either it’s a glorified product demo with no business model, or it’s a 40-slide manifesto that reads like a regulatory policy doc.
In a space where both …
Twenty years ago, Frank Westermann was diagnosed with type‑1 diabetes and quickly realised that managing the condition meant making dozens of life‑or‑death decisions every day. The emergence of smartphones gave him a way to collect and analyse the data that underpin those decisions. In 2012 he co‑founded mySugr, an app that helps people with diabetes manage their condition more easily. …