July 11, 2012 source: MedCity News
Ted was recently interview by MedCity News for two articles:
- Biggest threat to investment in mobile health startups? Not enough unique intellectual property
- VCs say a coachable entrepreneur, strong IP make convergence worth investing in
Here are some excerpts from the interviews:
Biggest threat to investment in mobile health startups? Not enough unique intellectual property
The number of mobile health apps that have been produced to date is prodigious, with about 40,000 available , some media reports reckon. And investment has surged.
Last year, about $439 million was invested into 70 deals for healthcare startups that develop mobile health apps along with tools for online social networking, according to a Dow Jones Venture Source report published earlier this year.
But as Ted Driscoll, a technology partner with venture capital firm Claremont Creek Ventures sees it, investors interested in the mobile health space could be turned off by companies with products that can't be protected from would-be copiers. Theoretically, patents are only supposed to be issued if products are unique and different, but it doesn't always turn out that way.
He also talked about a recent investment in a company with an ear exam tool as part of an iPhone app. He spoke to MedCity News a its CONVERGE conference in Philadelphia Tuesday.
Read the full interview at MedCity News
VCs say a coachable entrepreneur, strong ip make convergence worth investing in
Ted Driscoll of Claremont Creek Ventures said the composition of team is just as important. “It always worries me when I get three biology PHDs pitch me,” he said. “You've got to have a complimentary team.”
Driscoll said his team also looks hard at intellectual property and market advantages.
“There needs to be a wall built around what you're doing so people can't just rip you off,” he said.
There was a bit of a clash of philosophies at the investor panel at CONVERGE. Driscoll reports to long-term investors who want a regular return on their investments and has to take a dispassionate view of all the entrepreneurs he meets.
“I wish I worked for a charity so that I could invest based on clinical impact alone, but I don't,” he said. “I see so many great ideas but no business model.”
Driscoll said Claremont Creek does about 5 health deals and five other deals per year.
Read the full interview at MedCity News