The only thing that beats the feeling of trying to make a positive impact is when you sense that you have succeeded. Someone, or ideally a whole group of people, is better off due to something you helped orchestrate or do.
Nowhere is the opportunity for impact greater than in healthcare. While most people agree that the climate crisis is the biggest challenge we collectively face as humans, healthcare has many structural challenges that are perhaps more tangible and directly addressable by new innovative solutions. Where there is a ton of value for great entrepreneurs to unlock if you get it right. For society as such. But most importantly for people like you and me.
As a Venture Developer at People Ventures, and a lead of our efforts into Digital Health and Health Tech, I not only get to meet great entrepreneurs every day, people who’re solving some of the biggest challenges within healthcare. I also work closely with them in the companies we believe and invest in.
I spend lots of my time staying on top with the latest trends and keeping updated on various national and international sources within technology and the healthcare system. And, of course, meeting with a lot of insightful people. I use my findings to support our investment team and to help our portfolio companies fast forward.
Working in this space has been my passion since years ago. Previously in my career, I have worked with getting online digital health services out to a broader audience and in front of the people who needed them. I helped build one of the world’s first FDA-validated enterprise ERP systems by working on getting the features and the quality assurance that made the product compliant. I have been a member of the board at one of the early Danish digital health pioneers, Netdoktor. And I have helped turn great university inventions into spinouts giving them the opportunity to have a great start. Just to name a few. Latest, I’ve helped the team at our portfolio company Cortrium as an Interim COO get successfully through the transition between two CEOs.
What I love the most is when everything we have worked on comes to fruition. When we recently in Cortrium celebrated having done 100.000 long-term ECG reports on our in-house developed ECG analysis system in under 24 months, our co-founder Erik sent us a picture. “This is what 100.000 people look like” he wrote as caption to an image of a large assembly of people on a square somewhere out there. It was simple but efficient. And daunting: This is what 100.000 people look like. This is real, meaningful impact. This is what a dedicated, talented team of great people can achieve when they put their minds and energy towards it.
Experiences like these are why I truly love what I do at People Ventures. That, to me, is extremely meaningful and impactful when the founders we back succeed in moving the needle. I work to help them the best I can get to moments like the one experienced recently by the Cortrium team. More than anything else, I want to help them succeed in helping others. I believe that is the best way to bring my 25 years of experience in product development, business development, business management and leadership to bear: Helping founders and their teams help others be better off.
Getting there is by no means easy. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and grit. It comes with a full palette of dreams, anticipation, success, disappointment and downright agony until – finally and hopefully – the vision comes alive. Unfortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to give up before you get to a happy end. And even when you feel like you have arrived, there is still much more to do. To maximize your impact. To help as many people as possible.
Make no mistake about it: The healthcare system needs every single entrepreneur who dares to venture out to try to help solve some of the many complex challenges it faces. And it needs every single hand on deck who are able and willing to help these entrepreneurs make it. At People Ventures, we are proud to be able to play a part and help move the needle in the right direction.
…and no, the picture has nothing to do with the above. It just shows me and something else I am as passionate about as I am of being fortunate enough to work with startups within Digital Health.
(Photo: Private)