Understanding Investor Expectations in Digital Health

One Pitch Deck Does Not Fit All — I Learned the Hard Way When I was a first-time digital health founder raising capital, I made a rookie mistake: I built one beautiful pitch deck, polished every slide… …and sent it to every investor I could find—strategics, VCs, angels. Here’s the truth: It wasn't all that effective, because different investors are playing different games, and I initially didn't understand that. It took me a while to course correct and realize the differences between strategic, institutional and Angel investors. Here's what I wish someone had told me when I first started pitching Strategic Investors Think: pharma, health systems, medtech, insurers, large corporates. What they care about: - Science and clinical validity - Strategic fit with their portfolio, pipeline, geography - How your solution helps them win—market share, cost savings, product differentiation - Integration risk and operational lift How to pitch them: Lead with the strategic opportunity—make it obvious why they should care; Show them partnership models, pilot pathways, IP/licensing options; Address adoption and implementation risks up front Venture Capitalists Think: institutional investors chasing growth and returns. What they care about: - Market size, defensibility, and exit potential - Scalable unit economics (LTV:CAC) - Speed and quality of execution - Whether this can be a big win in their fund How to pitch them: Lead with the market problem and the size of the opportunity. Show traction, strong unit economics, and growth levers. Make the exit potential crystal clear—and framed in terms of their returns, not just your vision Angel Investors Think: high-net-worth individuals, often with personal or industry ties. What they care about: - Founder vision and grit - A story they can connect with - Early proof you can execute How to pitch them: Keep it human—angels invest in you as much as the business and emphasize early traction and why their money will move the needle. Less jargon, more narrative Pro tip: Before you send your deck, ask: - Do I know this investor’s real motivation for investing? - Does my first 5 slides answer that motivation? - You don’t need three totally different decks. But you do need to change the opening, emphasis, and close so each investor sees what they came looking for. That’s how you turn crickets into callbacks. If you’re in the middle of a raise and want to run a tight, investor-ready process that actually gets results—let’s talk. #digitalhealth #healthcare #startup #founder #VC #venturecapital #fundraising

The Case for Evidence-Based Virtual Cardiometabolic Care: Why Investors Should Back Platforms with Proven Clinical and Economic Outcomes The virtual healthcare sector stands at a critical inflection point where clinical necessity, technological capability, and economic viability converge to create unprecedented investment opportunities. Among the most compelling segments within this landscape is virtual cardiometabolic care, where platforms addressing obesity and related chronic conditions are demonstrating both significant clinical impact and robust business model characteristics that savvy investors cannot afford to ignore. The traditional approach to evaluating health technology investments often emphasized user acquisition metrics, platform engagement, and total addressable market size. While these remain important considerations, a new generation of virtual care platforms is distinguished by something far more valuable: peer-reviewed clinical evidence and real-world economic data that demonstrates measurable value to patients and payers alike. This shift toward evidence-based validation represents a maturation of the digital health sector and signals the emergence of sustainable business models built on proven clinical and economic outcomes rather than speculative metrics. Recent independent research conducted by Milliman, one of the most respected actuarial consulting firms in healthcare, provides compelling evidence of the business model strength and clinical effectiveness of comprehensive virtual cardiometabolic care platforms. This research, based on real-world implementation with over 200,000 covered lives, offers investors unprecedented insight into the economic dynamics and clinical outcomes that define successful platforms in this space. The findings reveal cost avoidance opportunities ranging from one to three percent of total anti-obesity medication spending, medication adherence rates of 86%, and persistence metrics that far exceed industry benchmarks. For health tech investors seeking to identify platforms with sustainable competitive advantages and proven value propositions, the cardiometabolic care sector offers a unique opportunity to back companies whose success is measured not merely in user engagement or market penetration, but in tangible improvements to patient health outcomes and healthcare system economics. The platforms that have invested in generating peer-reviewed evidence and real-world data represent the most compelling investment opportunities in the current digital health landscape. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this essay are solely my own and do not reflect the views, opinions, or positions of my employer or any affiliated organizations. Full article linked in comments.

🚀 Digital health is holding steady with $6.4B invested in H1 2025 alone! 📈 Rock Health’s H1 2025 Market Overview makes one thing clear, that investors remain committed to digital health, backing 245 deals with a strong inclination toward purposeful & scalable solutions. One of the biggest takeaways? AI-enabled companies raised 62% of total digital health funding, and their average round size was 83% larger than peers. But with those dollars comes a higher bar. --- 💡 For product leaders, the signal is clear: 1. AI isn’t a strategy, but a tool. Teams must be focused on what real world problems AI is solving. Without clarity on the “why,” it’s just another buzzword. There must be crystal clarity and understanding of the real world problems. 2. Cross-functional depth and deep domain expertise is a must. Scalable and sustainable solutions demand teams that understand: •The clinical context which builds trust and relevance •The operational reality and barriers that impede scale •The business and reimbursement model in order to align with what payers and investors need to see 3. Execution matters more than ever. Companies like Hinge Health and Omada didn’t just raise capital... they turned clinical outcomes and operational discipline into value. That’s the bar! --- ✅ My final thoughts: Digital health is no longer in the “prove it” phase. With all the insights and learnings from past experiences, we're in the build it right and scale it smart phase. 🤓 This market won't just reward bold ideas. The market is looking for execution grounded in clarity, rigor, and product leaders who possess a cross-functional depth of knowledge. 💪🏼 Long-term value lies at the intersection of technology + clinical nuance + operational scalability. ♻️ #DigitalHealth #AI #ValueBasedCare #VentureCapital #HealthcareLeadership #HealthcareSaaS #NextGenRx #SmartRx