Tag Archives: Startups

Download Two Apps and Call Me in the Morning

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Will medically prescribed “Apps” cure health care ills, as this New York Times article suggests?  Increased patient compliance with physician recommendations has enormous potential to reduce health care costs and improve patient outcomes.  This is true in a wide range of areas, such as post-surgery recovery, maintaining a heart healthy diet, and physical therapy.  But, aside from consumer fitness and diet apps, this market is yet to evolve.  What’s needed in a winning “app”?  For starters:

  1. A multi-format approach, mobile and web, to reach the broadest range of patients, so just a mobile “app” won’t cut it.
  2. MD-administered controls, enabling tailoring for each patient
  3. A patient compliance mechanism, such as feedback back to a health care professional
  4. A system incentive for the health care pros to engage, such as reimbursement incentives (or penalties), or links to outcomes.

Click here for the article.

3 Reasons to Look to the Angels for Start-up Funding

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From Inc. Magazine, here are 3 reasons why angel investors can help you build your startup:

  1. Operational Expertise.  Angels with operational experience, especially within your industry, can provide invaluable contacts and advice, and angel investors are almost always current or former industry executives themselves.
  2. Patience.  Angels don’t expect to get their money out within three to five years at some pre-determined rate of return. As long as your company is doing well, most angels are happy to let their investment “ride” for the long haul. For the most part, angels are patient, long-term investors.
  3. Valuation and Ownership. Angels will usually give you a better valuation and financing terms, allowing you to retain more of the equity and board control of your company. 

Read the full piece by Langley Steinert, CarGurus.com founder, here.

The Decade of the Angel Investor

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Investor Paul Singh covers the common wisdom about angel investing.  Very sensible.  A good plan.  Hard to argue.  Let’s call it the base case…

  • “The takeaway for angels is you shouldn’t get into this asset class unless you’re willing to do 20 deals,” Singh said. “Do not get excited about any one company.”
  • “What I’m doing is going to the blackjack table, playing the minimum hand while I count the cards,” Singh said. “When I see a pattern I double down heavy.”
  • “Bad bets fail fast,” Singh said. “Smaller check sizes force companies to figure stuff out quickly.”

More here.