Healthy Returns

Ep. 23: Katya Hancock | Founding Executive Director of Young Futures | Navigating the Digital Age

Show Notes: Young Futures [https://www.youngfutures.org/] (YF) was started with one goal in mind: to provide a social compass for young people and their families navigating the digital age. Backed by Melinda Gates’s Pivotal Ventures [https://www.pivotalventures.org/], the Susan Crown Exchange [https://scefdn.org/], and The Goodness Web [https://www.thegoodnessweb.org/], Katya Hancock [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyahancock/] and her team at YF support non-profits and grassroots organizations working to help teens thrive in our tech-driven world. Each year, YF will host funding challenges with various themes, supporting winners with capital and admission into a 6-month non-profit accelerator called Young Futures Academy. The inaugural grant challenge—called the Lonely Hearts Club—focused on organizations fostering meaningful social connections. In our conversation, Katya highlights some of the winners—including #HalfTheStory [https://www.halfthestoryproject.com/], Be Loud Studios [https://www.beloudstudios.org/], Civics Unplugged [https://www.civicsunplugged.org/], and 3G [https://www.3gmentoring.org/]—and describes each recipient’s unique approach toward promoting social connection. In this episode, we discuss digital tension, potential future funding challenge themes, and the current landscape of tech, social media, and youth wellbeing. Check out the full list of the Lonely Hearts Club grantees here [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/announcing-new-faces-changeyoung-futures-innovators-zotrc/?trackingId=JueFXTYI0Mkgj%2BL4%2FeVg2g%3D%3D]. Timestamps: [1:33]: Startup Health, Health Moonshots, Storytelling [4:36]: Young Futures’ Mission [7:58]: Tech, Social Media, Youth Wellbeing [13:52]: Listening to young people, Digital Tension, Empathy [16:58]: Flagship Grant Recipients [26:26]: The Beginning of Young Futures [27:45]: Future Funding Challenges This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nolanshah.substack.com [https://nolanshah.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 22: Paul Julius | Co-Founder & CEO of Thread Health | Addressing Adolescent Healthcare

Show Notes: Healthcare is fragmented—for women, children, chronic condition patients, and for teens. In the U.S., there are approximately 70 million adolescents, yet only about 500 active professionals specialize in adolescent medicine. With so few specialists available, teens are often forced to piece together their own health, receiving fragmented care from school nurses, sports teams, pediatricians, and urgent care clinics. Paul Julius [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejulius/] and his team at Thread Health [https://www.threadhealth.com/] have developed a digital clinic and co-pilot solution designed to bridge this massive gap in teen healthcare. Teens and parents can access Thread’s adolescent health-trained care team through SMS and in-app texting, empowering teens to take charge of their own health. The platform is currently operational in five states, focusing on partnerships with schools, health systems, and payers—notably targeting the Medicaid market, where 47% of the population are children, a third of whom are adolescents. In today’s episode, we discuss Thread Health’s go-to-market strategy, the biggest challenges in adolescent health, and how text-based communication encourages teens to advocate for their health. Timestamps: [1:13]: Teen Health Market [2:15]: Adolescent Medicine as a Specialty [4:49]: Fragmentation within Teen Healthcare [7:26}: Patient + Parent Journey Through Thread Health [9:59]: Measuring Engagement and Tracking Outcomes [12:28]: Challenges and Benefits of a Digitally Native Demographic [15:07]: Thread Health’s Inception [19:21]: GTM Strategy [21:16]: Systemic Issues Affecting Children’s Health This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nolanshah.substack.com [https://nolanshah.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 21: Jeff Glueck | Founder & CEO of Salvo Health | Whole-Person Gut Care

Show Notes: The connection between the gut and brain has been well-established in science. After all, 90% of serotonin, the “feel good” chemical, is produced in the gut. Recent findings, however, have also proven a link between the human microbiome and bone health, immune health, eye health, and even muscular health—making gut and gastrointestinal health extremely important for overall wellbeing. As healthcare and social media alike fuel the gut health movement, I’m excited to sit down with Jeff Glueck [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffglueck], Founder & CEO of Salvo Health [https://www.salvohealth.com/]. Salvo Health is a chronic metabolic and gastroenterology company targeting the over 60 million Americans with chronic gut and GI conditions, providing them with digital wraparound care. Salvo partners with physician practices, supporting patients via an app, specialized virtual care team, and a “whole-person” approach to gut care. Interventions include personalized diets, microbiome restoration, reducing toxic exposures, GI-directed psychology, and lifestyle coaching. In today’s episode, we talk about the need for digitization in healthcare, the microbiome in health and disease, and Salvo’s whole-person approach to treating chronic metabolic, gut, and GI conditions. Timestamps: [1:37]: Digitization in Healthcare [9:44]: Microbiome Health for Mental and Physical Wellbeing [15:49] Salvo Health’s Continuous, Whole-Person Care [23:22]: Expanding Partnerships and Offerings [32:43]: Salvo’s Recent Capital Raise [34:08]: Low Cost Interventions This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nolanshah.substack.com [https://nolanshah.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 20: Athena Doshi | Founder of Celeste | Building an AI Pharmacist Co-pilot for Clinicians

Show Notes: Prescribing medications is hard. Clinical guidelines are constantly changing, new drugs come onto the market every day, and today’s patients require personalized treatments. That’s why today’s guest, Athena Doshi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/athenadoshi/], created Celeste [https://www.heyceleste.co/]. Celeste is an AI-enabled pharmacist co-pilot for clinicians, supporting personalized drug selection, dose optimization, and medication therapy management for patients. Athena graduated from UC San Diego only a few years ago during the pandemic, but this is already her second healthcare venture; she previously built and sold a public health SaaS company while still in school. Today’s episode is all about how Celeste came to be, marketing to healthcare enterprise customers, and how Athena is tackling the almost $2T prescription drug market. Timestamps: [1:46]: Celeste’s backstory [6:26]: Marketing to enterprise customers [11:10]: How Celeste works [16:13]: Personalized lifestyle prescriptions [18:04]: Market size and pitching investors [24:50]: Celeste’s roadmap [26:30]: Future challenges This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nolanshah.substack.com [https://nolanshah.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 19: Amanda Joseph of American Family Ventures on the Future of Health Insurance

Show Notes: What does health insurance have to do with the innovation? According to today’s guest,—Amanda Joseph [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-livia-joseph/]—everything! Amanda is a Principal at American Family Ventures [https://www.amfamventures.com/] where she invests at the intersection of healthcare, insurance, and startups. She brings years of healthcare experience to her current role, having worked at insurance behemoth HCSC and value-based care startup Lumeris. Today’s episode covers value-based care, navigating the digital point solution landscape, and how companies like TCARE [https://www.tcare.ai/] and Chamber Cardio [https://www.chambercardio.com/] are transforming the future of health insurance. Amanda also shares her thoughts on the blurry incentives of modern-day healthcare and why there is a huge push to move care outside of the four walls of a hospital. About American Family Ventures [https://www.amfamventures.com/]: AFV is an early-stage VC fund investing in high-potential startups innovating in the future of insurance. Timestamps: [1:11]: Life before American Family Ventures [7:54]: Health insurance explained [11:45]: Innovation in health insurance [18:02]: Consumer-centric healthcare [23:27]: Assessing health insurance startups [28:28]: Navigating the point solution market [31:43]: Portfolio companies leading the future of health insurance [34:05]: Challenges facing value-based care Subscribe to Healthy Returns Today! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nolanshah.substack.com [https://nolanshah.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]