Michael Katchen

How to think about the founder who won’t take “No.” for an answer. Regulatory barrier? They find a workaround. Technical limitation? They build around it. Market rejection? They pivot the approach. Funding door slams? They find another way in. Too many investors see this and think, "Difficult. Stubborn. Won't listen." I see it differently, "Problem solver. Unstoppable. Will find a way." The smooth-talking sales founder who charms everyone is often the bigger risk. The enthusiasm and charisma is great for getting funding, but doesn’t always translate to the ability to find their way around barriers. When building a startup, finding ways around barriers is the single most important skill. Don’t give up on the first, “No.” The founder who sees barriers as challenges to overcome... that's who builds something special.

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I’m thrilled to announce defy.vc’s investment in Birches Health as part of their $20M combined Seed and Series A funding round, alongside incredible partners like AlleyCorp, General Catalyst, Will Ventures, and others. As someone deeply passionate about backing companies that tackle important problems for our society, I couldn’t be more excited about what Birches is building—a national virtual clinic dedicated to treating gambling addiction and related behavioral disorders like gaming, sex, porn, and internet addictions. What excites me most is Birches’ innovative health assurance model: proactive, accessible, and affordable care that’s evidence-based and delivered right at home. With the explosion of legal sports betting—think nearly $1.5 billion wagered on this year’s Super Bowl alone—we’re staring down a looming public health emergency. Traditional options like hotlines or generic therapy fall short for this high-acuity issue, but Birches changes that by offering specialized therapy from trained clinicians, multimodal treatment, and peer support, all covered by major insurers like United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. It’s available in all 50 states, breaking down geographical and financial barriers that have left so many without help. The impact is already profound: 96% of patients report an improved quality of life, and 94% give Birches a 5/5 rating. By partnering with state governments, payors, and policymakers, Birches is pushing gambling addiction into the spotlight of behavioral health conversations, where it’s been neglected for too long—often leading to shame, worsened outcomes, and higher suicidality risks. This funding will supercharge their growth: expanding the provider network, boosting clinical excellence, scaling infrastructure, and deepening insurance and state partnerships to meet surging demand. Very excited to partner with Elliott Rapaport and the entire Birches team! See more about our POV in the blog post linked in the comments. #GamblingAddiction #BehavioralHealth #HealthTech #VentureCapital #Innovation

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In venture, it's really easy to overthink the current iteration of the product/idea and to underthink the founder and their vision. Like Ed Catmull explains in Creativity Inc, great people will find their way to great ideas and build great things, and bad builders will botch great ideas. Yes, the product and how the founder is thinking about it can give you a lot of insight into the thoughtfulness and ability of the founder. But make no mistake that the founder is everything, especially at the earliest stages. Invest in great people building in a direction you believe in. Don't overthink the current iteration.

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The Full-Stack Venture Capital BDC model, led by Capital Q Ventures Inc. in our flagship fund CAPQ BDC Inc., is purpose-built to meet institutional investors and portfolio companies where they need us in the capital stack. This structure aligns seamlessly with the Total Portfolio Approach (TPA) that CalPERS is already implementing. It seems CalPERS has moved beyond mere discussions. Under the leadership of CIO Stephen Gilmore, the board has been guided through educational sessions, defined a comprehensive risk framework, and is now moving toward the operational launch of TPA. TPA enables decision-making that prioritizes portfolio-wide impact over rigid asset-class allocations. It emphasizes dynamic capital deployment based on marginal value—an approach mirrored in how CAPQ BDC Inc. dynamically allocates capital across venture capital, private credit, and private equity to deliver a multi-asset total return for our fund investors and co-investors in our portfolio companies. https://lnkd.in/eMkTjAgg

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