We Back Healthcare Underdogs1.

Introduction

Those who confronted healthcare challenges have the best ideas about how the system can be improved for all. But these individuals tend to be overlooked.

Our goal is to infuse healthcare with the ideas borne of the lived experiences of the underdogs.

Say Hello →Read the Study Synoposis →

1 Healthcare Underdog (n):
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A person who, despite deep firsthand experiences, is assumed to have little chance of changing the healthcare system for the better.
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Usage:
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"As a healthcare underdog, Alina wasn't surprised by investors who couldn't see how a lifetime of chronic disease management could help her create more successful products."
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Synonyms:
Patient, caregiver, advocate

BAckground INformation
Study Protocol Synopsis v1.1 20may2024

A Phase I Comparative Study, Measuring Viability and Impact of Innovations Built Upon Ideas of Healthcare Underdogs vs. Traditional Disruptors

Study Rationale

Healthcare startups underperform.

Evidence

  • Too many new healthcare startups fail before achieving their full potential. (see fig. 1)
  • The ones which grow to go public underperform compared to the overall market.  (see fig. 2)
fig 1. digital health startup Landscape, 2018 - 2023 2

Capital Invested
‍$137B+

Long-Term fail rate
‍92%

2.CB INsights, State of Digital Health 2023 Report

fig 2. Public Market Performance, 2018 - 2023 3

NASDAQ
‍‍+65%

Healthcare
‍‍+36%

Health Tech
-28%

3. Bessemer Venture Partners, State of HealthTech 2023 Report

Our Hypothesis

Companies should be guided by the Underdog Perspective.

Study Rationale
‍Those who faced healthcare's challenges head-on know best how to change the system.  
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However, the underdog cohort is less likely to be identified, mentored, and funded than the current standard of investment vehicle, the traditional disruptor4.

4 Traditional Disruptor (n):
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Individuals whose resumes are adorned with markers  traditionally seen as potential (e.g. diplomas from top colleges, dropping out of top colleges, networks built at name-brand business schools, summer internships at prestigious companies)
Usage:
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"Chas checked all the boxes of the traditional disruptor: By the time he'd turned 22, he had already dropped out of Stanford, interned at OpenAI, and regularly referred to himself as a 'serial entrepreneur.'"
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Synonyms:
Tech/finance bro, "wunderkind," a powerful person's favorite niece

Our Experiment

Build a world-class incubator for the underdogs.

‍Intervention
Build an entrepreneurship support structure specifically capable of supporting the needs of healthcare underdogs (see: fig. 2).

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  • Recruit initial cohort of underdog entrepreneurs to help generate and validate new product and service ideas.
  • Match entrepreneurs with a growing internal studio team to provide tools necessary to validate business concepts. This team will deploy across all studio projects whilst researching new opportunities, cultivating industry relationships, and establishing sales pathways for current and future Studio projects.
  • Develop and amplify the talents of the underdogs.
  • Build on early successes and challenges to deepen an experiential and reputational competitive advantage within the sector that cannot be matched over time.
Objectives and Endpoits

Produce a new generation of sustainable innovations.

Primary Objective

Demonstrate improved viability of underdog ideas, as compared to current standard of investment.

Primary Endpoints

  • Number of incubated ideas which graduate to become independent businesses (see: fig. 3)
  • Number of incubated ideas which become long-term Studio products (i.e. remain active but do not become independent companies)

    Secondary Objective

    Demonstrate longer-lasting impact of underdog ideas, as compared to current standard of investment.

    Secondary Endpoints

    • Number of incubated companies which operate for 5+ years post-spinout.
    • Number of products which operate as ROI-positive business lines for the Studio, for 5+ years.
      fig 2. Studio Design
      1
      Honor the Lived Experience.
      ‍
      The underdog perspective is the most important
      2
      A Bench of Experts
      ‍
      ‍      The Studio itself is a small bench of craftspeople, from engineering to sales, from design to marketing.
      1
      Underdog Entrepreneurs
      Supported By
      2
      Engineering + Design
      Sales + Marketing
      Research + Operations
      fig 3. The Commercialization Pathway
      1
      Ideate
      The Studio constantly seeks out and recruits underdog entrepreneurs, with whom we collaborate in the brainstorming and researching of new, industry-changing ideas.
      2
      Validate
      We rapidly build initial prototypes to demonstrate to our growing network of industry experts and customers. This process provides the critical market signals needed to build viable products.
      3
      Iterate
      Now, with the underdogs, the Studio, and industry all working together,   we're able to evolve our prototypes into real products. With initial customers providing more and more feedback, our products grow stronger, faster.  
      4
      Graduate
      Once a product shows enough market traction, we recruit the team that can take it to the next level. From team construction to fundraising, our team focuses on preparing the business to operate as an independent, sustainable organization.  

      A humble & opinionated approach.

      Elevate the Lived Experience.
      We seek to elevate those who have lived the life of a patient or caregiver. By creating a system of nurturing exceptional talent with uncommon insight, the Studio builds and deepens an unfair competitive moat.

      Match Experience With Expertise.
      The Studio itself is a small bench of craftspeople, from engineering to sales, from design to marketing. This group researches ideas, cultivates industry relationships, and builds sales pathways for current and future Studio products.

      Never Be Caught In a Rush.
      The Studio will build upon a foundation of cashflow-generating products and services. Some ideas we test to become independent businesses may not make it; these will become a part of the overall Studio product line to further bolster the revenue engine. By generating its own profits, the Studio will never be caught in a rush to deliver unrealistic returns to impatient investors.
      ‍
      Test and iterate. Again and again.
      Day in and day out, we test ideas, iterate on product concepts, interview potential customers, and validate the market. We launch products, we retire concepts and, because of our structure, we are never forced to lie to ourselves about what is and is not working.

      Scale Up & Spin out.
      For the ideas that show the most promise and gain significant traction, we begin preparations to scale up the product and prepare it for a spinout. This includes recruiting a team to run the new independent business, working with investor partners to line up a fundraise, and ensure that the company is formulated for success.

      Patient Studio

      We need to do better than this.

      The digital health Landscape, since 2019

      Total Venture Capital Invested
      ‍      $135B+

      ‍Digital Health startup fail rate
      98%

      The Unique Difficulties of Building a New Business in healthcare

      the wrong ideas Are the Easiest to Fund
      In a world of pattern-matching venture capital, the easiest way to fundraise is to follow old templates: "We're the ChatGPT of XYZ!"

      In healthcare, this leads to a glut of similar tele-health platforms, new systems to match patients to treatments or clinical trials, and (especially since ChatGPT's mainstream success) AI this-and-that. All noble ideas, of course. But these are ideas that fail under the strain of the industry's purchasing behavior.  

      Hell is Healthcare Buying Cycles
      The healthcare sector is especially brutal to teams commercializing their products for the first time. Sales cycles that take more than 6-7 months to close are the norm, not the exception.

      Even teams with killer products and friendly industry relationships need a fair bit of luck to land their first set of serious prospective customers. And even with a full pipeline of prospects, all manner of issues can lead to deals shrinking, morphing unexpectedly, or altogether disappearing.

      The Siren Song of the "Pilot"
      Here's one such hurdle: A promising lead saying, excited and happy: "We may be able to greenlight a pilot!"

      Data about B2B sales cycles in healthcare are further confused by a common distraction: the "pilot" with a large potential customer.

      It works like this: An internal champion wants, sincerely, to get a new tool into their organization. But their superiors need data to justify signing off on new projects. At the same time, a startup has energy and moves at considerable pace...but there isn't "data" per se.

      So a deal is struck: Customize the tool in this way and that ("minor tweaks," the internal champion and startup leadership agree); go through a months-long cycle just as arduous as a proper sales effort; then, maybe, see the project through to launch. Everyone hopes for a large enterprise contract after the six-month pilot.

      Fingers crossed.

      The Problem with Traditional Venture Capital
      VCs will happily tell you that the name of the game is numbers. As in, place a high number of bets, and hope that one hit pays off the rest.

      But the math doesn't work out. VCs still look for quarterly performance.

      Let's assume a VC 

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      Current Projects

      Our Roster
      Plain Language Health Design

      Branding, messaging, and design specialized for the unique needs of healthcare companies.

      Visit →
      Services
      PatientlyIQ

      A first-of-its kind, realtime  database of patient experience metrics, organized by therapeutic area and disease.

      Coming Soon
      Software
      OrbitOn Health

      Beautiful technology tools made with the patient adherence experience in mind.

      Coming Soon
      Software
      Hardware

      Ongoing Projects

      Studio Pipeline 2024
      Active
      Plain Language Health Design
      Sector
      ‍      Services, Creative
      Launched
      ‍      2021

      Branding, messaging, and design specialized for the unique needs of healthcare companies.

      Visit →
      In Closed Beta
      Patiently IQ
      Sector
      Software,
      Data Analytics
      Launched
      2022

      A first-of-its kind, realtime database of patient experience metrics, organized by therapeutic area and disease.

      Coming Soon
      In Closed Alpha
      ReOrbit Health
      Sector
      Software + Hardware,
      Patient Experience
      Launched
      ‍      2024

      Beautiful technology that reimagines patient adherence as lively, empathetic, and delightful experiences.

      Coming Soon
      In Validation
      Patiently AI
      Sector
      Artificial Intelligence,
      Data Analytics
      Launched
      ‍      Market Validation Phase

      A focused artificial intelligence model, trained on proprietary patient experience data and designed for maximal privacy & security.

      Coming Soon
      Current Focus Areas
      Digital Health
      Digital health tools and services have yet to find significant traction in the broader healthcare industry, despite the concept becoming mainstream due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We feel that there are structural issues in how digital health concepts are funded, and that there's significant value to unlock here.
      Research + Data
      Patient sentiment and experience data is a wide-open field that has yet to be standardized in any meaningful way. As such, there's still an opportunity to build industry-leading products that drive meaningful benefits for the end patient.
      Artificial Intelligence
      There's gotta be a pony in here somewhere. The AI boom is in its gold rush phase, so we're experimenting with smaller ideas that have more ready, customer-appropriate applications.

      Let's Get Working

      Patiently is hiring and partnering rapidly. If you feel that there is a fit to work together, please get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.

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      Should you need to be in touch sooner, please feel to email us at team@patiently.studio.
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