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Health 2.0 News launches
Today I'm very excited to tell you that Health 2.0 News is launching. We’ve had the Health 2.0 Blog for several years now and of course have extensively covered the world of Health 2.0 and the Health 2.0 Conferences on THCB. But we’ve been a little behind in tracking the news and activity that’s going on daily in the world of Health 2.0 companies.
Meanwhile the Health 2.0 organization has grown significantly to do much more than conferences. We’re now actively tracking several hundred Health 2.0 companies in a private database, we’re working on consulting projects, we have a major developer challenge program and we have more in the wings.
So from today the all new Health 2.0 News will be actively tracking industry news, showing video of Health 2.0 events, and having editorials from important Health 2.0 leaders. Please head over to Health2News.com and join us!
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How VCs Use Advice From Experts
By
Recent media articles have scrutinized the use of doctors, scientists and experts by pharmaceutical companies and hedge funds, often casting them in an unflattering light. Experts can play a valuable role, but it is a case of caveat emptor – and sometimes for the expert, as well as the organization hiring him. Biotech or medical device companies that are trying to promote new products, for example, could undermine a medical expert’s perceived objectivity if financial ties are not clearly disclosed upfront. Experts providing information to hedge funds must be particularly careful not to disclose non-public information about publicly traded companies and run afoul of insider trading restrictions.
Venture capitalists also commonly rely on personal and business expert networks to help gather investment information to make smart investments in private companies. Because early-stage venture firms do not invest in public stocks or promote independent projects, experts can work with VCs and VCs can work with experts without risk of reputation or objectivity.
Here is how I and other venture capitalists use outside experts:
Personal networks, by far, tend to be most valuable. For example, sometimes I contact a childhood friend who is now an orthopedic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. If CCV is thinking about investing in a product related to surgery, I ask his opinion. His input is good — and it’s free counsel from a valuable source.
Like other VCs, I also look for expert guidance inside existing portfolio companies. I’m currently working on a project related to a software system for gene sequencing, for example, and I have consulted a chief technical officer at a CCV portfolio company who is highly knowledgeable in this space.
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500 Meetings a Day
By JOHN HALAMKA, MD
In the early 1980’s when I was running a small software company while attending Stanford as an undergraduate, my business activities were limited to the number of phone calls I could receive in a day. At most I could have 5-10 phone teleconferences.
In 2010, with email and social networking, all of the limits on synchronous group interaction have disappeared and I now have limitless meetings per day. When you count the emails I send, the blog comments I respond to, and the Twitter/Forums/Texts/Linked In/Plaxo/Facebook interactions, I can have 500 meetings a day.
What does that really mean?
One of my staff summarized it perfectly when I asked him what keeps him up at night
“The flow of email and expectation upon us all to respond quickly has become more challenging for me than probably most because of the great diversity of areas that I cover. I’ve been making changes and removing myself from unnecessary support queues(previously used to monitor day-to-day), delegating as much as possible, and making the needed staffing changes.”
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