Health Care Tech Founders get support cultivating unique strengths, protecting against blind spots

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“MORE, MORE, MORE.”  

That was Paolo Narciso’s enthusiastic feedback following Stand Together Ventures Lab most recent Alignment Retreat. The unique offering was hosted in Nashville, Tennessee July 30 through August 1, 2024 for founders and innovators in health care. For Narciso, a repeat founder who has led several startups to successful exits, the experience was unique.  

“I'm amazed how you got these people in the room! The caliber of attendees was truly exceptional.” Narciso said, commenting on leaders ranging from serial entrepreneurs and savvy investors to healthcare subject matter experts. “This diverse mix of talent and experience created an environment where ideas could be rapidly refined, challenges discussed, and innovative solutions collaboratively developed. The connections forged during the retreat have extended far beyond those few days in Nashville, It’s not just about the weekend - it’s about the lasting impact on our ventures and the industry as a whole.”

The landscape in health care for innovation and disruption is ripe with opportunities. Health isn’t improving in America, with chronic and cardiovascular diseases and mental health events all rising. Health care continues to be very expensive, too – with 26 million Americans uninsured and many of those who are insured often facing much too high deductibles.  There is a lot of work to be done. To truly make a difference, founders need unique support that can help them close gaps and scale solutions.  

That’s where Stand Together Ventures Lab enters, with custom support for founders and innovators in health care that not only connects them with funding opportunities and other leaders, and also provides them with time and space to dive deeper into their own challenges and opportunities for growth and refinement.  

“At the Build Studio, our approach is simple: meet founders where they are, trust their insights, and provide personalized, honest support,” said Brian Howe, managing director of the Build Studio at Stand Together Ventures Lab. “By deeply understanding each participant, we tailor the experience to their personal needs, reinforcing their confidence through our belief in their unique greatness, and accelerating their purposeful work via curated connections and resources. We support founders to find their purpose in building entrepreneurial solutions to society’s greatest challenges.”

A founder-focused approach to tackling the problems they’re uniquely suited to solve

Anyone who has launched a start-up or been around one knows that founders need to be jack-of-all-trades for a great deal of time. However, there is also a fine line when that sort of dexterity must give way to growth in team or employment of outside support.  

Stand Together Ventures Lab wants to help founders discern that fine line by first giving them space to reflect on themselves – identifying strengths and weaknesses. Prior to the Alignment Retreat, participants were invited to establish a clear perspective on their passions, vision, motivation, meaning, story, and beliefs.  They were also asked to define for themselves values, strengths, blind spots or areas they are working on, and other notes that convey what they know to be true about their working style as an innovator.  

“Starting with “what do we believe” instead of “what problem are we trying to solve added much more depth and scope to my thinking,” said T Robinson, a build fellow at Stand Together Ventures Lab. “It was both expansive and clarifying, which then gave me the space to think more creatively about what to build, and how to magnify the impact of my idea.”

The Stand Together Ventures Lab team also wanted the creative thinking to impact founders following the retreat, too. So, they complied the information on strengths and weaknesses to create profiles. Then before the retreat, they considered how to connect individuals to other participants during the weekend who might be able to help fill gaps in their skill set or growing start up needs.  

“We recruit incredibly talented and experienced fellows to join our retreats, but when these experts meet each other, they all tend to have this profound realization that there is so much more to learn about an issue area like healthcare,” explained Kasey Clarke, engagement manager at Stand Together Ventures Lab. “Recognizing this delta could feel overwhelming. The number one thing Fellows ask for and offer each other is to challenge assumptions, and so the retreat is the start of many conversations that sharpen and even completely change each of our thinking and the actions we then take in pursuit of having an impact.”

The true value of the connections made at the retreat lies in the diverse and powerful network it creates. By bringing together serial entrepreneurs, investors, subject matter experts, and those closest to the challenges in the space, Stand Together Ventures Lab cultivates strong fellowship among innovators who are deeply passionate about solving these important problems. And the team continues to ignite meaningful change post-retreat by forging impactful connections, nurturing relationships that catalyze future investments, and empowering innovators to drive progress in their fields.

Robinson agrees.  

“It was really helpful to get to know the amazing Stand Together Ventures Lab team and ecosystem in depth and understand the scope and range of support available to builders. It gives me immense confidence in Stand Together Venture Lab’s team being able to ‘walk the walk’ as a partner."

Learn more about Stand Together Ventures Lab health care investments at: https://www.stventureslab.com/investment-areas/health-care  

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