The Pulse by Wharton Digital Health
00:27:46 · Lindy, Caroline Xie
[00:27:46] S1: Got it. That's incredibly impressive that he was able to build out of business at the age of 15. And I think these are always super inspiring stories for aspiring founders that listen to our podcast. And this is a great transition into a next topic of conversation that I'd love to touch on with you, your approach to working with the businesses in general. So could you speak a little bit to what your approach as a board member and partner to your portfolio companies generally looks like? [00:28:15] S2: Yeah. The the entrepreneurial journey, as we know, is is never always up into the rights. I have great respect for the entrepreneurs we partner with and and a lot of appreciation for the challenges that they're solving. I really approach these relationships with uncommon care, excellence, humility, and and gratitude. And I think it's very important to to really invest in the relationships, build trust, have transparency, and follow through on on both sides, and be very open minded because every situation is is very different. Have a debate. You know? Be direct with each other. And, you know, I always try to be very supportive and come with solutions that can help with with any of the challenges at hand. And and I think more broadly, it is a really big team effort here at Iconiq to support our companies from revenue acceleration, hiring, operational excellence, go to market, and and technical advisory.
00:28:15 · Caroline Xie, Lindy
[00:28:15] S2: Yeah. The the entrepreneurial journey, as we know, is is never always up into the rights. I have great respect for the entrepreneurs we partner with and and a lot of appreciation for the challenges that they're solving. I really approach these relationships with uncommon care, excellence, humility, and and gratitude. And I think it's very important to to really invest in the relationships, build trust, have transparency, and follow through on on both sides, and be very open minded because every situation is is very different. Have a debate. You know? Be direct with each other. And, you know, I always try to be very supportive and come with solutions that can help with with any of the challenges at hand. And and I think more broadly, it is a really big team effort here at Iconiq to support our companies from revenue acceleration, hiring, operational excellence, go to market, and and technical advisory. [00:29:22] S1: That's awesome to hear. So we do have a lot of founders and operators that listen to this show. Can you... And I know you talked about this a little bit, but can you talk about what you look for when you're evaluating companies and investments? And, you know, I know you kind of spoke a little bit about it all starting with the team, but maybe taking a deeper dive there and what you look for specifically.
00:29:46 · Caroline Xie, Lindy
[00:29:46] S2: Yeah. So our goal is to partner early and earn the opportunity to invest more over time as the company scales through IPO and beyond. As you mentioned, team is critical, and we're we're looking for really exceptional teams that have strong technical and or direct industry experience. And you may find that in the same individual or a cofounding team or or across the the founding team. And when you listen to their vision and how compelling it is and their ability to bring others along in that compelling vision and at the same time also lay out a thoughtful path towards achieving that, I think that makes it very much more tangible. And I think their appreciation or direct experience with the pain points of the industry, particularly in a complex industry, gives them a lot more, credibility and also ability to navigate the complexities of the space. And as we are software and technology investors, we prioritize also the importance of really bringing and infusing more technology into industries that have historically not been as as deep or have adopted as much technology relative to others or more of a laggard in in adoption. Adoption. And so that's what we're looking for on the team side. And then on the product side, really the best product in the market and interested in the ones that are really emerging as category leaders or already category leaders and that they are truly delighting customers in [00:31:37] S1: in
00:31:37 · Lindy, Caroline Xie
[00:31:37] S1: in [00:31:37] S2: a sustainable way and and really delivering real value to the importance of ROI and continued innovation to have that growth with customers and retention with customers over time. And then on the markets, which is obviously very critical, is the market an exciting one? And is it growing, and is it a strategic market? Is it one that will actually have a lot of impact and and people really care about the criticality of what the solution is doing in this particular market? [00:32:12] S1: Got it. That makes a lot of sense. And following up on that, if you were speaking to founders themselves, what is one piece of advice you would give entrepreneurs building in the health care space? [00:32:23] S2: Yeah. Maybe just following up on on the last point there. Health care is very complex. I think understanding the market and competition very, very deeply and what is your right to win in this market relative to others that already exist or the other solutions that may exist. Look around corners, and really also anticipate the potential tailwinds and headwinds, particularly from a regulatory or reimbursement perspective, is, I think, critical to longer term success.
00:32:23 · Caroline Xie, Lindy
[00:32:23] S2: Yeah. Maybe just following up on on the last point there. Health care is very complex. I think understanding the market and competition very, very deeply and what is your right to win in this market relative to others that already exist or the other solutions that may exist. Look around corners, and really also anticipate the potential tailwinds and headwinds, particularly from a regulatory or reimbursement perspective, is, I think, critical to longer term success. [00:32:59] S1: That was really insightful and thoughtful, so thank you for that. And I really liked your wording around looking around the corners. So as we're closing out the podcast, we have a couple of closing questions that we'd like to ask you. And since we are a MBA run podcast, do you have any advice to MBA students interested at working at innovative health care technology and or digital health companies? [00:33:24] S2: I I think it's an incredibly exciting time to be at the intersection of health care and technology just given everything we have discussed. And the... It's really meaningful and and rewarding work to just... The innovation here has potential to change and and save lives, and we're all patients at the end of the day. I would suggest bringing a a very curious mindset and coming into the space, challenge how things have been done, but understand why and bring the relevant analogies from other industries if relevant to to health care. And don't settle. We should, I think, all demand the same focus on user experience, quality, value.
00:33:24 · Caroline Xie, Lindy
[00:33:24] S2: I I think it's an incredibly exciting time to be at the intersection of health care and technology just given everything we have discussed. And the... It's really meaningful and and rewarding work to just... The innovation here has potential to change and and save lives, and we're all patients at the end of the day. I would suggest bringing a a very curious mindset and coming into the space, challenge how things have been done, but understand why and bring the relevant analogies from other industries if relevant to to health care. And don't settle. We should, I think, all demand the same focus on user experience, quality, value. [00:34:13] S1: Great. Well, thank you for that. I'm sure everyone really appreciates your advice as for navigating the job market here. And finally, our wrap up question. We'd love to hear about what content shapes our guests' views and thinking. So what book do you currently have on your nightstand?