- Founder-managing partners are healthcare industry veterans who
have invested in or advised more than 80 companies
- Closed first fund of $21 million to power firm’s purpose:
invest in technologies that payers can leverage to improve access
to care for everyone, enhance the patient experience and facilitate
better health outcomes
- Parallel investing focus on technologies that pharmaceutical
companies can tap to recruit and retain patients for clinical
trials, as later-stage trial needs swell in the industry
- Create Health Ventures’ seeks portfolio company founders with
healthcare backgrounds; firm offers value-added platform that
supports scaling their businesses
Create Health Ventures, a venture capital firm exclusively
focused on early-stage digital health startups with founders from
the healthcare industry, announced today the close of its first
fund of $21 million and its mission to invest in innovations that
improve access to care for everyone, enhance the patient experience
and facilitate better patient health outcomes. The firm invests in
business-to-business (B2B) solutions that both payers and
pharmaceutical companies can leverage to meet business goals
ranging from enhanced patient engagement and a more effective care
journey to recruitment and retention in clinical trials as the need
for participants accelerates.
“We’ve heard firsthand from payers, providers and pharmaceutical
companies that their business goals are to elevate the patient
experience, facilitate better health outcomes and improve access to
care for all, especially those with health disparities,” said Emma
Cartmell, co-founder and managing partner of Create Health
Ventures. “We know that founders from the healthcare industry
intimately understand how to meet these challenges leveraging
technology, and supporting them is the most powerful way that we
can invest and, in turn, positively impact the healthcare
industry.”
The firm is comprised of two founder-managing partners with over
45-years experience in healthcare operations and investing,
Cartmell and Amit Aysola, who together have invested in or advised
more than 80 high-growth companies. Austin-based Cartmell has 25
years experience in healthcare as a Chief Operating Officer, Chief
Revenue Officer, board member and VC investor, as well as an
advisor to Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealthcare, the University of
Texas at Austin Dell Medical School and the British Government.
Chicago-based Aysola has more than 20 years experience in
healthcare as a management consultant, operator, investment banker
and VC investor, and is an advisor to the Michigan Biomedical
Venture Fund and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in
Medicine at Northwestern University. Together they bring their
expertise, regulatory know-how and operational knowledge to their
portfolio companies, as well as deep industry relationships,
including limited partners (LPs) with successful exits who mentor
their firm’s founders and CEOs.
Focus on Payer-Facing Technologies and Clinical-Trial
Enablement
The seven largest public payers are sitting on record post-Covid
profitability totaling $49.1 billion at the end of 2023, and
McKinsey & Company expects continued growth to expand to up to
$75 billion by 2027. A key focus of Create Health Ventures is
investing in payer-facing technologies, as payers are subsidizing
or paying for provider-facing technologies to successfully execute
on value-based models and improve member experiences.
“Health plan members have an insurance card in their wallet
without an accompanying digital experience like they do in most
other facets of their lives. Payers want to fix that by digitizing
the member experience so that they can identify members in need and
better help them navigate their healthcare,” said Aysola. “Yet, the
biggest challenge in healthcare is still lack of data and workflow
connectivity among stakeholders. By backing technologies that sell
to a health plan, our firm is enabling more seamless data and
workflow aggregation that will change the game for payers,
providers and patients. Additionally, payers are able to more
effectively scale these technology solutions across geographies,
reaching a larger pool of stakeholders.”
In tandem, Create Health Ventures is investing in technologies
that strengthen pharmaceutical companies’ ability to recruit and
retain patients in clinical trials, as the industry is ramping up
later-stage clinical trials and manufacturing. Notably, the number
of drugs currently in phase three clinical trials (18 percent) has
surpassed pre-Covid levels (15 percent). Currently, the
pharmaceutical industry has a multitude of point solutions but, as
with the payer landscape, there is a lack of data and workflow
connectivity.
“There is a massive need for innovation in the pharmaceutical
field around clinical trials, as the number of late-stage trials
are increasing at a fast clip,” added Aysola. “More robust and
holistic technology solutions that enable the recruitment and
retention of trial participants are what’s needed to keep up with
this rising demand.”
Bringing Experience to Bear with Platform Fueling
Growth
Create Health Ventures has made five investments to date and
leverages a LP base of foundations, impact investors and strategic
industry partners. Many LPs are health industry veterans who have
founded and exited companies, creating a network that actively
mentors and assists the firms’ portfolio companies.
The firm offers a unique value-added services platform to
support its portfolio companies and leadership, provided at no
cost, that addresses the challenges of building and scaling. This
includes strategic partnerships that support recruiting, access to
executive performance coaches, business development support and
connections to healthcare industry veterans, among other benefits.
As their firm’s portfolio companies have a very targeted buyers’
universe, Create Health Ventures also creates opportunities for
cross-selling and support among its portfolio companies.
Additional Quotes on Create Health Ventures
“As a practicing physician passionate about solving the massive
problem of uncoordinated healthcare with technology, I recognized
early on the challenges of being a startup founder, like navigating
the investor landscape and the importance of selecting partners
with the expertise to support these efforts,” said Dr. Chip Grant,
an interventional cardiologist and founder and CEO of Watershed
Health. “It has been invaluable to partner with a firm of experts
who have helped me build out my team operationally, scale my
company quickly and grow our customer base of health plans and
fundraise our latest round.”
"Many investors pitch themselves as value-add partners. No one
lives this commitment like the Create Health Ventures team. They
are insightful, collaborative and active in helping us grow and
improve our business. I couldn't have asked for a better partner,"
said Shara Cohen, President and CEO of Carallel.
“Create Health Ventures has brought their expertise to every
step of our journey after fundraising including go-to-market
strategy and operations,” said Neil Batlivala, co-founder and CEO
of Pair Team. “As we continue to scale our customer base and reach
more underserved communities with high-quality care, our investor
team is helping us to manage our growth and make valuable
connections along the way.”
“As a purpose-driven marketing agency, it’s important that we
partner with organizations who share our values. Create Health
Ventures is working toward solutions that promise to create a
healthier world and a meaningful return for our stakeholders.
Together, our efforts extend beyond business outcomes to align
incentives in ways that positively impact people's lives by
connecting them with the care they need. This is the kind of
collective win that we’re seeking as an agency,” said Scott Ensign,
Chief Strategy Officer of Butler/Till.
About Create Health Ventures
Create Health Ventures is a venture capital firm exclusively
focused on early-stage digital health startups with founders from
the healthcare industry. The expertise of the firm’s founders in
the healthcare ecosystem powers their focus on investing in
innovations that improve access to care for everyone, enhance the
patient experience and facilitate better patient health outcomes.
The firm was launched in 2024 and is based in Austin, Texas, and
Chicago, Illinois. Visit www.createhealth.vc and follow on
LinkedIn.
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