Kat Weaver

What happened in mental health last week? ⏺ The Biden administration announced a rule to strengthen mental health parity, ensuring equal coverage with physical health care ⏺ Wundrsight Health raises $400k from Inflection Point Ventures for their VR digital therapeutics ⏺ Lyra Health expand their Lyra Complex Care program by offering nationwide access to Lyra Renew for alcohol and substance use disorders and Lyra DBT (Dialectical Behvioural Therapy) ⏺ The Digital Therapeutics Alliance issues their comment letter in response to the CMS’ 2025 proposed physician fee schedule. If you are in the DTx space, you need to be on top of this. ⏺ Doctorpresso, a Korean company, launched REDI, a voice-based diary app designed to detect depression by analyzing voice characteristics ⏺ maze impact announced their funding of Miinta, a Whatsapp based psychological support for Gen Z ⏺ The Australian government has committed to imposing an age limit on social media (despite push back from many major mental health research organisations) ⏺ Mindset Health published the results of their RCT, showing very impressive results for their app-delivered gut-directed hypnotherapy (not quite mental health but super interesting) (Links in the comments) __ If you liked this and want insights on the mental health industry in your inbox every week, subscribe to The Hemingway Report newsletter and follow me Steve Duke 📩 #mentalhealth #behaviouralhealth

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An interesting article below, that demonstrates out how San Diego is punching above its weight.  And how Connect's strategy and execution over time, contintues to be central to that success. The article describes the current state of the market in Seattle.  (And i love Seattle.) It's a market that we tend to track with relative to venture fundings.  They used to kick our butts, we outraised them each of the last three years.  This despite the fact they have 3x as many funds there, and 9x the amount of resident capital there. (per pitchbook) Some key takeaways:  * They continue to compare themselves to SIlicon Valley. Instead, we leverage our proximity. *They whine there's not enough local investors (see note above - they have more than us). We bring over 200 VCs to SD annually! * They say founders are not connected with one another. We bring CEOs together regularly, in a variety of ways - private dinners and through our Springboard program. * They say they need to elevate their image on a national & international stage. Why we created and continue to build Five.Ten.Thirty (aka Inno Day).  * And the last paragraph - they need to concentrate on making their region a great place to live. Our mantra: "It's about Better, not Bigger." (See XEO, TL Fund). THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE ON A MISSION TOGETHER!!!  (Comments, whining, suggestions on SD always welcome.) https://lnkd.in/g6Rq_f2Y

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If you're not subscribed to Digital Health Heavyweights Podcast, then honestly you are missing OUT. "I actually think people sometimes miss how IMPACTFUL the TONE is in an area like obesity care." What would combining digital health innovation with high-touch care and a non-judgmental engagement in supporting individuals with obesity look like? What about all that AND a personalized approach to obesity management? Let's put the🔦 spotlight 🔦 on Ilant Health!! Elina Onitskansky, founder and CEO of Ilant Health, sits down with me this week and we chat value-based care, driving member experience, clinical value, and financial sustainability. She walked me through how they partner with employers and health plans to create personalized programs to engage the right individuals and provide them with the most effective treatment options, whether it's medication, surgery, or behavioral therapy. Ilant is taking obesity management to the NEXT LEVEL with data-driven decision-making and open communication to ensure the best outcomes for their members. We jump into all of it! Most of the cost sits over 40 BMI, and how Ilant engages each person where they are. Whether it's Bariatric surgery, GLP-1s, behavioral therapy, other anti obesity medications, etc. Ilant is teating 27 BMI - 80 BMI, all the while, aligning treatment with the person they're speaking to. "I do not believe that everyone should be on GLPs, I do not believe that no one should be on GLPs." Listening to Elina share her perspective was beautiful. I love hearing how she is passionate about making sure the patient understands the repercussions of the medication or approach they are taking. That clarity is often lacking in many areas of healthcare. Takeaways 🩺 Value-based care in obesity management involves driving member experience, clinical value, and financial sustainability. 🌐 Combining digital health innovation with high-touch care is essential for effective healthcare solutions. 📊 Ilant emphasizes data-driven decision-making and open communication to ensure the best outcomes for their members. 🔍 They aim to de-average care and drive better value in the obesity management space. Check out the entire episode! Comment, subscribe, you know what to do 😊

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Great time on the Embracing Erosion podcast w/Devon O'Rourke! We talked about: 🚀 How to scale a company from concept to 9-figure exit 🔄 How to break away from the traditional consulting model and apply product approaches ⏩ Why it’s important to iterate quickly and often with messaging 💸📈What signals are important to pay attention to when investing in startups and much more!

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Are you struggling to build traction with investors? Could it be that you actually don't fully recognise investors' own needs and objectives? Thank you Yasmin Siraj of BACKED VC for hosting such an insightful discussion with the nextGEN community and addressing so openly some of the most common mistakes you see #founders make. Join the conversation at nextGEN @LifeScience ORG. #biotech #medtech #lifesciences #venturecapital #fundraising

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🧬 This week's Austin Bio + Health Roundup has acquisitions, funding, leader’s insights on national healthcare news, critical new infrastructure, and developments from across the Texas Bio Triangle. 🧬 🤝 M&A and Partnerships Subjectwell, a patient access marketplace connecting patients to clinical trials and treatments, was acquired by Windrose Health Investors.  This acquisition will also provide Subjectwell with additional capital for its next growth phase. 💰 Funding Thoughtful Automation, an AI company specializing in revenue-cycle management tools for healthcare providers, has announced its move to Austin and has secured $12.5M in funding. Congrats and welcome to Central Texas! 💡 Insights from Local Builders and Innovators Michelle Davey, Founder and CEO of Wheel, provided her commentary to FierceHealthcare on the recent exits from the virtual care market by major players Walmart and Optum. Michelle said, “It's not just about being big—it's about the platform that drives the care delivery itself - and how it's purpose-built to scale to mass adoption and repeat utilization." 🏗️ Infrastructure Dell Med is launching a Center for Rare Diseases, focusing on cutting-edge research and therapies. This initiative will support advances in diagnostics and boost awareness, providing critical assistance for patients and families dealing with rare conditions. 🚀 Launches, Expansions, and Milestones The co-founder of artist collaborative Meow Wolf is leaving to launch a new $15M wellness and spa experience in Austin. They are branding it as the “world’s first neuroscience-enabled spa,” bringing a new element to the Austin’s strength at the convergence of bio, health, and tech. 🚩 Texas Bio Triangle First Bight Ventures’ industrial biology accelerator, BioWell, is now seeking its first cohort of 10 companies, with applications due by May 15. The STRONG STAR Consortium has secured $17 million in DoD funding to address brain injuries, PTSD, and related conditions, which will launch 8 programs spanning detection, prevention, and treatment. As always, the news is as varied and dynamic as our region, let’s keep it up! What’s Next? #AustinNext #LifeSciences #Healthcare #Biotechnology

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Wanna see what behind scenes at Pisgah Peaks Ventures ? I see more & more folks going out on there own & wanted to share more about our growth and some lessons. Inspired by Nick Lafferty and his public build. Backstory: I founded PPV after leaving Franny's Farmacy in early 2020 right at beg of COVID lockdowns My wife thought I was nuts I started it with few grand & a laptop. I found one client on Upwork & did some cheap work for a friend who had started a SaaS product. I got testimonials Used those to get a paying client Then another Etc I made literally no money for first 18 ish months. Few hundred bucks here & there My wife had a job with benefits and we made some $ selling a house in a hot market so was able to afford it. I could not have done it without this. Pure facts. Lessons: 1) Don’t niche down right away. You’ll narrow focus too soon & miss out on opportunities IMHO. Learn what you can deliver & how you can make $ doing it 2) Network every day. I used to take ANY (and I mean any lol) networkint call. I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on random calls. It increases your surface area for luck early on. Take a lot of shots. Most will miss. 3) Don’t over invest in fancy website / logo / CRM / mar tech etc early on. If you’re selling B2B services; people buy YOU not a site. I’ve seen folks close 5-6 fig deals with a google doc. I haven’t updated my site in years 4) Open a biz checking account quickly and expenses everything you can to claim a loss while you can. I see folks co mingling their personal & biz expenses. That’s messy and will cause issues later. 5) Have a cash runway. If you are expecting to replace your income from your old job in first few quarters you’ll most likely be disappointed. You now are paying FICA tax (14.5%) and all other taxes (state & fed). You’re getting no benefits or retirement either. Just assume 50 - 60 cents for every dollar you earn will be not end up in your pocket 6) Grind every day but not all day. Don’t expect to take 2-3 week vacations and maintain momentum. It’s not like the gurus make it seem in their ads or posts. You won’t be posted up on a beach 🏖️ but also remember to give yourself grace and don’t burn yourself out too quickly. 7) Keep notes & build systems once you know your path. I didn’t do this early & am working backwards now. 8) Don’t measure weekly trends or monthly trends. Focus on quarters. You’ll get discouraged if you over analyze. It likely won’t go as fast as you want it to. I’m going on 5 years and last month I netted more than I netted my entire 2nd year doing this biz. We’re on a 7 fig run rate currently 🚀🤯 Keep at it. HMU if you need help

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