Yuvo Health’s founding team is composed of 100% people who identify as BIPOC. I mention that because each of us has experienced, first-hand, the lack of equity in our healthcare system. And it’s driven all of us to push for better. 

My family moved from the Philippines when I was three. We moved around quite a bit—wherever my parents could find work—and I saw how so many doors were closed to them. Most formative for me was that we lacked health insurance for most of my childhood and Community Health Centers (CHCs) were my primary care providers. That is why I care so deeply about them. Without CHCs, I don’t know what options I would have had for care, except to go to the emergency room. This experience led me to work in healthcare, and more specifically, to support the amazing, yet historically disenfranchised communities that I’ve been a part of. 

After working for several companies, honing my experience in value-based care (VBC), I realized two things: value-based care can and will revolutionize how care is delivered in America, and it should support everyone, not just large health systems and health plans. That’s when I started talking with my co-founders about Yuvo Health. 

We recognized community health centers as the drivers of better health in under-resourced communities—communities many of us came from. CHCs deserve credit under value-based care, but they were not getting it. So instead of continuing to be frustrated by the lack of support for CHCs, we decided to do something about it. Thus, Yuvo Health was born. And now, we have supported almost a dozen Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), across two states who serve around 200,000 lives. Through this work, we’re able to give these CHCs access to VBC revenue and resources that they will use to increase capacity and provide care to more people in their communities.

2. For those not familiar with Community Health Centers (CHCs), describe how those fit in the health care landscape and their importance.

Community health centers are such a critical piece of the healthcare landscape. They are non-profit organizations that provide healthcare services to underserved communities and they have a huge footprint. There are 1,400 CHCs in the United States that together serve more than 31 million people, who are mostly on Medicaid or are underinsured or uninsured. They serve 11% of children in the U.S. and 33% of all people living in poverty. 

Many people aren’t aware of the breadth of services CHCs provide. In addition to primary care, CHCs are often the only point of access to dental care, vision services, chronic disease care and behavioral health services. 

Plus, it’s estimated that by providing more cost-effective care, CHCs save $24 billion in healthcare spending. So as the focus of healthcare transformation is on reducing spending while improving access to care and overall quality, CHCs present a huge opportunity to accomplish that.

3. Value-based care is a new frontier in healthcare. What are the challenges you see standing in the way of broader adoption?

The biggest challenge is that it isn’t easy. Data analytics, risk adjustment, coding, care coordination and patient planning are all crucial to success in value-based contracting and they all require dedicated resources and likely new technology. 

Another challenge is that making the switch to value-based care involves financial risk. Smaller practices, in particular, are hesitant to take it on because they often don’t have the human or capital resources required. But even if CHCs had the resources to do this, they are the only provider group that is regulatorily prohibited from taking on financial risk. 

And we can’t overlook the fact that change of any kind is hard. Primary care practices are stretched thin. They’re overworked. So, even with the potential for a more balanced workload and sustainable revenue in the future, shifting operations now can feel like a heavy lift and one they don’t have the bandwidth for.

4. How does Yuvo Health best help its partners in unlocking the potential of value-based care?

Some systemic and regulatory barriers prevent community health centers from entering into the most beneficial contracts—specifically, contracts that involve risk. Yuvo Health unlocks those contracting opportunities by assuming that risk for CHCs. This allows CHCs to participate in contracts where the potential for return is so much greater than it is in contracts that they could pursue on their own. 

We also increase the bargaining power of any individual health center, resulting in more favorable terms for them. Because we focus exclusively on CHCs, we understand the unique challenges they face and can advocate for fair and equitable contracts. 

Then, we work with our partners to help them be successful in these contracts. Our team of population health and quality improvement experts become advisors and go-to resources on everything from helping to increase the number of people who come in for their annual wellness visit to providing training on accurate coding and gap closure documentation.

5. In what ways do you see AI potentially impacting care delivery the most?

There are a few ways that stand out: 

The first way is reducing the administrative burden. AI copilots integrated into Electronic Health Records (EHRs) can streamline data management, improve efficiency, and reduce errors. This allows the practice to keep its focus on providing excellent care and reduces time spent on things like referrals, claims management, and even risk stratification and patient outreach. 

AI also has the potential to lead to more personalized care with more accurate diagnostic capabilities by analyzing large data sets instantaneously. This puts so much more information into the hands of the provider when considering treatments and prevention for each patient.

6. If you could change one thing about the US healthcare system, what would it be?

Ensure equitable access to healthcare regardless of where you live, your race, your insurance status, etc. 

To get there, we have to start by ensuring equitable funding for all healthcare providers. That’s why we’re so passionate about empowering community health centers. And, we have to acknowledge the institutional racism and classism that exists in our society, not just in healthcare. We can’t ignore how something like food insecurity or a lack of reliable transportation impacts a person’s healthcare. 

There also has to be a realignment of incentives, to prioritize keeping people healthy rather than treating them when they are sick.

7. Professionally, what are you the most proud of?

We achieved shared savings for multiple community health centers in the first year of our value-based contracting program. It’s a huge success, not only in delivering revenue to the health centers, but also in showing other contractors that partnering with CHCs is a smart investment. 

What makes me particularly proud of this achievement is that it reflects the amazing work of so many: the talented team of diverse and caring individuals we have built at Yuvo Health and the health centers who placed their trust in us from the start. I’m proud of my role in cultivating and leading this group to create real, lasting change.

8. As a first-time founder, what’s something you know now that you wished you had known when you got started?

This may be a function of the unique dynamics of the venture capital market right now, but I wish I had known that I would never stop raising capital—that it is not a transactional process. I’m building long-term relationships with potential and current investors, instilling and maintaining their belief in our organization, and keeping them engaged throughout our growth journey. It is time-consuming, but it is so important and so worth it.

9. How have your investors like AV8 been most helpful to you?

Our investor partners at AV8 have been fantastic thought partners to us. Ruchita serves as a board observer but continues to punch well above her weight. She’s always available for honest counsel and has made numerous connections for us with subject matter experts, talent, funders, and customers/partners.

10. What have you recently read or watched (books, TV, movies, etc) that others should know about?

The Founder’s Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth by Chris Zook and James Allen is an oldie, but a goodie that I’ve now re-read as a founder. I highly recommend it. 

The main message is what they call the paradox of growth—when companies get bigger, they add complexity and bureaucracy. Yet this complexity and bureaucracy kills further growth. Though I’ve always appreciated this perspective, it didn’t hit me as hard until now, since I have founded Yuvo Health and led its growth.

DataGalaxy is a project that has been developing for quite some time.

The idea sprouted after I first met Lazhar in 2009 on an analytics project concerning the deployment of smart meters. We quickly noticed the difficulty of collaborating on data between business teams and IT teams, and thought that it was a problem that absolutely needed more attention.

We continued to closely monitor the market’s progression, witnessing the ascension of data agility and Big Data. With each development, our understanding of the data infrastructure landscape deepened, revealing both its challenges and potential. Despite the existence of data governance solutions, none seemed truly adequate to address the complexities we encountered daily.

So, we decided to take matters into our own hands. In 2015, DataGalaxy was designed to tackle these challenges in a completely new way.

2. Given the explosion of data in businesses both large and small, what are some of the biggest data challenges or roadblocks you see within organizations today?

Without a doubt, the lack of data literacy.

We’re at a stage where all companies have become aware of the importance of data in continuing to innovate and progress in terms of competitiveness. Unfortunately, very few of them know how to support their teams towards a global understanding and relevant use of data.

While technical teams can get by with extra work, business teams have no solution and are overwhelmed by the amount of information to assimilate and skills to acquire. It’s extremely important to adopt a distinct approach when engaging with business teams, who can no longer afford to opt out of their organization’s data culture.

That’s why the Chief Data Officer’s primary focus is to instill a data-centric culture across the company. The CDO plays a crucial role, especially in supporting the business teams through this substantial transformation. It’s no easy task.

3. You founded the business in France, and now you are expanding in North America. What are some of the things you’ve had to overcome to make this happen? 

Right before we decided to expand, we had begun our linguistic shift to an English-first company, both externally and internally. Although our teams were predominantly French-speaking, we gradually began hiring more international profiles to ease the transition.

This change was crucial in overcoming our initial hurdle: the lack of brand awareness. We’ve started increasing our digital presence in the US market, complemented by our physical participation in events and conferences several times a year.

Recruitment has also been a significant focus. Culture plays a vital role here, especially in our sales process. Thankfully, we have a unique product and value proposition that caters to both markets’ needs and expectations.

4. How do you see AI impacting the future of data analytics and intelligence, especially given all the recent focus on language and images? 

In the realm of data, AI, particularly generative AI, stands to significantly enhance productivity and quality across the board. Specifically within our domain, AI is already expediting data documentation and suggesting corrections to data definitions. It’s also fostering the development of new applications and interfaces that bridge users with the knowledge repository we’re constructing.

However, AI isn’t a panacea. That’s why we remain very focused on prioritizing the user experience at the core of our platform, and also why we focus so heavily on the human aspect of change management and data culture.

5. As a founder, what’s something you’ve learned over the years that you wish you had known when starting your entrepreneurial journey?

One key lesson I’ve learned as a founder is the sheer importance of fostering a positive and inclusive company culture from the get go. While I initially focused heavily on product development and market strategy, I underestimated the impact of cultivating a supportive and collaborative environment for our team.

I’ve come to realize that a strong company culture not only contributes to employee morale and productivity, but also attracts top talent and sets us up for success in the long run. Moving forward, I prioritize traits such as empathy, communication, and adaptability when hiring new team members, as these qualities contribute significantly to our cohesive culture and drive our collective mission forward.

6. What are some technology trends in the enterprise data and compute landscape, other than AI, that you are following which you are excited about?

On the computing side, I’m trying to keep up with the technological advances in quantum processors, while at the same time trying to understand how they work (in layman’s terms). This technology will shatter all previous records for computing speed. As a result, it will pose a number of challenges, not least for cryptography, but also to further expand the capabilities of AI.

From a business perspective, I’m deeply interested in knowledge graphs and exploring how to leverage their potential.

7. DataGalaxy is now over 8 years old. How has your role as CEO changed over that time, and how would you describe it today?

Regardless of our age, it’s above all the size of DataGalaxy and our international presence that have had the greatest impact on my role as a CEO. From being a Swiss Army knife with numerous contacts in all fields (employees, customers, business partners, suppliers, banks, accountants, etc.), my role has evolved to become more of a management and representation role.

Without being original, I would say that my main challenge today is to succeed in surrounding myself with and empowering people who are much better and more knowledgeable than I am in their field, and providing them with a work environment where they can perform at their best.

8. How have your investors like AV8 been most helpful to you?

The support of our investors, particularly AV8, is indispensable when we need to reassess or view things from a different perspective. For instance, in terms of positioning the company, Baris provides valuable insights into market dynamics, drawn from his extensive interactions with various startups. In our GoToMarket strategy, he assists us in taking a step back to benchmark ourselves against other companies in the market and evaluate our progress against industry standards.  

9. What’s your go-to interview question for new hires, and what attributes and experiences do you gravitate toward?

One of our key interview questions for new hires and existing team members is about their vision for the future of DataGalaxy. We understand that we are all pieces of one puzzle, and we really invest in gathering as many perspectives as possible from our teams. Diversity of thought is important to us.

In terms of qualities, our core values revolve around being intentional, bold, clear, and humble. At this stage of DataGalaxy’s evolution, I would say that boldness is key. We’re committed to taking risks and forging new paths, and we value employees who share that hunger for innovation.

10. What have you recently read or watched (books, TV, movies, etc) that others should know about?

I recently finished reading ‘Decisive’, a book that focuses on the intricacies of decision-making and offers insights on avoiding the pitfalls of binary choices. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in refining their decision-making skills!

We formed Axuall in 2019 to address modern history’s biggest supply chain problem: the clinical workforce supply chain. Coming off the heels of my last big data company in healthcare, Explorys (sold to IBM in 2015), it became clear that there was a serious information gap in healthcare related to clinician data. Timely, accurate, and comprehensive data about providers is critical to making informed decisions about planning, recruiting, and quickly onboarding resources, particularly in an era of increased demand and workforce shortages. Clinicians represent the highest cost and primary source of revenue to healthcare organizations, all struggling with rising costs, high attrition, and burnout.  

Axuall is a workforce intelligence company developed with leading healthcare organizations built on a national real-time Clinician Data Network. We connect health systems, staffing firms, and digital health groups to a vast array of data, providing insights for network planning, analytics, and reporting while dramatically reducing onboarding and enrollment time via provider-enabled digital credentials.  

2.  While you’ve spent time in larger companies, you have co-founded and grown several start-ups.  Was there something in your past, or growing up, that planted the entrepreneurship seed in you?

I grew up in an immigrant family with entrepreneurial parents, grandparents, and siblings, so I guess it’s in my blood. There is a thrill in creating something new that solves problems for others without the constraints of legacy inhibitors. I started my first computer company at 15, and I’ve been blessed to work with customers and partners who share our visions over the years. That said, my time in big companies was also instrumental in my professional development. Seeing how large “organisms” make decisions, manage execution risk, and navigate cultural challenges taught me much about the perspective and thinking of the enterprise customers we sell into and serve today.   

3. You’ve worked in both banking and healthcare, two of the most regulated (and important) industries there are. How would you compare the challenges of each? 

When I entered healthcare with Explorys in 2009, we had no choice but to make comparisons to the financial space. As crazy as it might sound, my co-founder, Steve McHale, and I had no experience in healthcare. We were fortunate to meet some innovative people at the Cleveland Clinic who knew they had to apply out-of-the-box thinking to address the actuarial challenges of value-based financial models, and given my experience in leveraging big data to manage consumer and organizational risk in banking, it was a way bridge that gap between us and industry.   

The financial industry constantly measures and manages risk, often driven by seismic economic shifts and consumer behaviors. Healthcare must also deal with economic, pandemic, and consumer/patient behavior risks, not to mention a workforce that sees the world much differently than five years ago. Objective data should be at the heart of how healthcare addresses these challenges, lest they be doomed to repeat past mistakes.      

4. If there’s one thing you could change about the US healthcare system, what would it be? 

The billions of dollars associated with administrative waste and resource mismanagement are significant problems today. It robs everyone of the care and careers they deserve. We want to help change this.  

5. What are some of the more exciting trends you have seen in healthcare workforce development recently?

We’re very bullish on workforce intelligence. I was lucky to be part of a wave of patient intelligence and big data a decade back that gave rise to new ways to optimize outcomes and reduce costs. The parallels today with the workforce are just as exciting. The industry cannot address the workforce supply and demand gap only by hiring more doctors and nurses. There must be a data-driven approach to understanding care delivery and utilization trends to develop more efficient care team models and orchestration. Big data, analytics, and AI will play a prominent role in this, and we’re excited to be part of it.   

6. As a serial entrepreneur and founder of multiple companies, what advice do you have for new founders; what do you know now, that you wish someone had told you when you first started?

I suggest drawing a line in your mind from where you are today to where you want to take your team, customers, and investors in the future. This should go beyond the standard formulaic multi-year proformas that entrepreneurs start with. It should encapsulate your goals for how your team develops their career, how your customers will find you indispensable, and how you’ll return the capital your investors deserve for making their commitments to your company’s growth. With that timeline in place, catalog the deliverables and milestones to get there and the risks you’ll have to manage carefully along the way. Regarding risks, be honest and maniacal about how you rate and track them, along with the degree of probability, control, and impact they can have on your business. Great businesses are not built on models where everything must go right to make it work. Master this, and you’ll have happy employees, customers, and investors!   

7. What’s your go-to interview question for new hires?

What was the biggest mistake you made in your career, what led up to it, what impact did it have, and what did you learn from it? The answers to these questions tell a lot about someone’s thought process, self-awareness, and ability to adapt — all critical traits for being in a startup/scale-up.  

8. What are some of the unique challenges and opportunities launching and scaling your business in Cleveland?

Five years ago, I would have had a different answer, but to be honest, nowadays, there aren’t any – at least no more than any other city. Since COVID, much of the tech workforce has gone remote, so drawing from a limited metropolitan area is less of a factor. We’ve found ways to foster culture via creative video conferencing and regular in-person events. Having done several startups in Cleveland, I had a strong network of seed investors eager to fund and support us, some of whom were pilot customers. All to say, your local community can be a significant asset as you grow your business – even in the Midwest.  

9. How have your investors like AV8 been most helpful to you?

Our investors have been helpful in three key areas: metrics, contacts, and strategy. Key performance metrics such as ARR, burn multiples, EBITDA roadmaps, and expense ratios are critical to short and long-term tactics and strategy. Regularly asking yourself where the company is today and where it will be a year from now, given market conditions and run rates, allows leaders to adjust and adapt early and maximize capital.  

Introductions to industry contacts are another benefit that AV8 and others have provided. Whether these referrals are to customers, partners, or other portfolio companies, these relationships and insights offer essential guidance and sometimes translate to large revenue deals.  

Lastly, having industry-savvy investors to test new ideas with, particularly as it relates to revenue opportunity and competitive positioning, is something they are best suited to help with.    

10. What have you recently read or watched (books, TV, movies, etc) that others should know about?

While on vacation, I just read The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. It’s a book for entrepreneurs about managing risk and opportunities by applying facts over emotion and unfounded optimism. These lessons are particularly important for startups during the good and bad times they experience.  

My passion for innovating in areas that directly support small businesses’ success has been a driving force. Small businesses are not just the backbone of the economy; they embody the essence of the American dream.

Glow came to life because I saw firsthand how tough it was for my family members running small businesses to get the right insurance coverage. They were stuck with outdated tech and solutions that just didn’t match their needs. Having personally observed these struggles, made it clear: this needed to be fixed.

2.   You didn’t spend your career in the insurance industry, what drove you to start a company focusing on the insurance needs of small businesses?

I’ve had a lifelong passion for technology and design, particularly in making technology both accessible and simple. However, building another vertical SaaS application or an AI feature didn’t feel fulfilling enough and definitely not as far-reaching in terms of human impact.

I recognized a critical gap in the insurance sector, especially concerning small business needs where they have been left underserved and overcharged. Using technology to solve this is a massive opportunity to make a real difference in an industry that affects so many small businesses and their employees.

3.   What are some of the challenges unique to serving small businesses and how is Glow handling them?

The biggest challenge is that it is often unprofitable to acquire and service small businesses. Addressing this problem requires automating and driving down cost for every part of the business. This creates a large product surface area for both customer-facing and internal tools. Rather than piecemealing disparate systems, we are building the Glow platform from the ground up, orienting around the ability to react, respond, and adapt to continuous data and process changes in real-time.

4.   How do you see AI impacting the future of insurance?

Throughout history, insurance has led the way in understanding risks through data. Back in the day, companies like the East India Company and Lloyd’s of London relied on shared knowledge and historical data to manage risks, laying the foundation for modern risk assessment.

Looking ahead, AI will transform how insurers use data, offering more personalized policies, underwriting will become incredibly precise, claim processing will become highly efficient and fraud will be more easily mitigated helping further drive down insurance cost.

5.   As a serial entrepreneur and founder of multiple companies, what advice do you have for new founders; what do you know now, that you wish someone had told you when you first started?

Be unreasonable. I am always reminded of my favorite Bernard Shaw quote: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

Go all in. It won’t be easy is an understatement, nothing worth achieving ever is. The burnout is real, disappointment is real, the pressure is real and the only thing that will get you through it is if you are passionate enough to “burn your boats behind you.” Success is not guaranteed but you can only do one of two things, go all in for success or brace for failure, no matter the odds.

Trust your intuition. Another advice I would give new founders is to trust your intuition, and I’ve gotten better at this over the years as I’ve discovered that every time I don’t listen to my gut I make the wrong choice.

6.   What’s your go-to interview question for new hires?

I start by asking, can you share an example of a complex challenge or project you faced and how did you go about solving it? This question gives me insight into how they approach problems, especially whether they apply systems thinking. I like to go deep and see if they can clearly articulate details and demonstrate their capacity for handling complex tasks, which is crucial in a startup environment.

I spend most of my time determining cultural fit and communicating clear expectations. I ask questions like: “What excites you about working in a startup environment, and how do you handle demanding situations or tight deadlines?” These questions help gauge their enthusiasm for the startup culture, and their willingness to commit to the demands of a startup.

7.   How have your investors like AV8 been most helpful to you?

Raising capital isn’t easy, but finding the right investors is an even greater challenge. Our Series A investors, particularly Ben Malka from Cota Capital and Amir Kabir from AV8, have been incredibly valuable. What sets these investors apart is their partnership mentality and the qualities they bring to the table.

Having partners who genuinely understand and support our mission has been a game-changer. Their industry and adjacent experiences have provided us with invaluable insights, allowing us to leverage their expertise in navigating challenges.

But beyond their expertise, what truly sets them apart is the relationship we’ve built based on mutual respect and trust. It’s not just about the investment; it’s about forming a partnership where their guidance and support go beyond financial backing. Their commitment to our success and the genuine partnership they’ve cultivated has been instrumental in our growth.

8.   What have you recently read or watched (books, TV, movies, etc) that others should know about?

I am currently immersed in “Amp it up: Leading for Hyper growth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity” by Frank Slootman. I highly recommend it. This book delves into topics that resonate with me and I find Slootman’s approach both refreshing and insightful.

AV8 has been working with Jack and the Measured team since 2021.  Given the ever present and growing risk from cyber threat actors, we asked Jack to provide his insights and views on the state of cybersecurity and cyber insurance. 

Global Cybersecurity Threat Landscape
AV8: Attacks, especially ransomware, seem to be perpetually on the rise (some surveys suggest 3/4 of orgs have experienced some type of attack).  What can you tell us about the nature of the threats today – but also threat vectors that are on the horizon that we should be watching?  

Jack Vines:  Ransomware is certainly top of mind for everyone. At Measured AI we have one of the industry’s best repositories of ransomware attack data.  Severity and frequency of attacks have been on the rise for at least 4 years. There are growing numbers of events, with more ransom demands but also higher consequences if ransoms aren’t paid.  For the cyber insurance industry, this was a significant driver of losses into 2022.    

However, something curious happened coincidental to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine – ransom attacks seemed to slow down – no doubt due to threat actors for hire being occupied.  Also the insurance industry tightened their requirements given the loss history.  Another important driver has been law enforcement’s emerging ability to track crypto-wallet ownership and seize assets in some situations.  As such, this year we have seen a dramatic increase in financial fraud i.e., convincing a target to wire funds fraudulent bank accounts which are then liquidated quickly.  

But in late 2022 and in the first half of 2023 year both the frequency and severity of breaches began to accelerate again.  The frequency, magnitude (incl. types of systems and industries being targeted, plus ransom demands) and severity of these events – e.g., data being destroyed, new attacks on the same target 1 day later – are all going up.  Unfortunately, it’s an arms race between threat actors, their targets and insurers – the latter two who are running to catch up with the former.  That said, we haven’t really seen big systemic attacks from state actors recently, thankfully, even though the threat of all out cyber-war risk is certainly top of mind for carriers.  

As the threat actors hone their processes they are becoming more and more sophisticated operationally and acting more “business-like”.  For example, there was a situation recently where a target paid a 7 figure ransom but was not provided encryption keys to unlock their data.  After some time, the company finally heard from a “supervisor” at the threat actor saying “we are so sorry…so and so was on vacation and no one was checking his email…if you ever have any questions or issues please contact me directly” and provided them their keys.  So in other words, the threat actors are getting more and more professional and operationalized. 

Enterprise Security Posture
AV8: What are some common mistakes companies (and public sector entities) are still making that are putting them at risk?

JV:  Unfortunately, people are generally still the weakest link in the chain. For example, companies are operating on such short timelines today it’s common to hand out credentials to people who shouldn’t have them or more challenging – granting users way too many rights than they should have.  We still see a lot of challenges with email security where security protocols aren’t configured properly, allowing lots of phishing emails through.    

Further, the “shadow IT” problem where a group within a company quickly spins up servers in a public cloud environment, putting it on a credit card, but bypassing corporate security controls yet still accessing other corporate data repositories or systems can be a substantial threat vector. While processes and security are certainly getting better over the years, despite security teams and risk carriers banging the drum for better employee training, MFA, endpoint security, email phishing there are still large measurable gaps in these basic areas.   

Another challenging area is the growing supply chain of vendors and services that companies rely on.  It’s now not uncommon for even small to mid-size enterprises to have hundreds of vendors, and of course large global entities will have thousands all with so much more digital connectivity and access to data than before.  It is very challenging to stay on top of all these 3rd parties from a security perspective and we expect a growing number of attacks coming through these 3rd parties.  (Editor’s note:  There have been some well publicized breaches that have come via a vendor like Toyota who had an automotive supplier compromised and Home Depot who had a vendor’s credentials harvested)   

Regardless of these challenges and emerging threats, at Measured we believe that speed is of the essence and have made that part of our DNA.  You must have real-time data coming from the insured to understand where they are vulnerable when a new threat is discovered elsewhere.  It’s a game of “whack-a-mole” where you have to move as fast as the threats move to close potential gaps.  Additionally, speed of remediation is vitally important when key corporate systems are at risk, another area where Measured shines.  Adapting to these changes so quickly can be a challenge with legacy risk providers.   

Current Challenges for the Cyber Insurance Industry
AV8:  Let’s start with the customer base.  Where do you see the customers for cyber-insurance today, where are their mindsets and what are their initiatives?

JV:  Historically, a lot of new policies were small and medium size businesses with 1st time cyber policies (as well as very large enterprises who tended to self-insure).  However, risk awareness is growing in all types of customers.  At Measured we are seeing more sophisticated buyers than in the past, who started with basic coverage that perhaps was too expensive, didn’t meet their needs, or wasn’t providing them with real time insights regarding threats and risk, who are now looking for a more sophisticated and holistic risk partner.   

Another interesting dynamic is that historically, cybersecurity tools were purchased by CISOs and CIOs while cyber-insurance coverage was purchased separately by CFOs (often through insurance brokers who were non-technical and couldn’t really assess risks).  We are starting to see more integrated and holistic risk management programs that combine both, where there’s a comprehensive assessment of risk that can be mitigated by investment in security tools along with insurance required to cover risk that can’t be mitigated by these security initiatives.  

It’s also important for the C-suite to understand the full cost of a cyber breach.  For example, they understand that all parts of the business are impacted during a ransomware event and just paying the ransom is the tip of the iceberg.  We need to help them understand all the other costs – like the costs of business interruption, reputational damage, fines and penalties if they can’t access servers for a certain period of time, or true costs of remediation if there is an incursion.  And then take all this into account when thinking about appropriate coverages.  

AV8: As part of this more holistic approach, how do you see companies partnering providers like Measured today?

JV:  The industry has generally developed more skills and discipline in writing policies.  We are starting to see the industry now pushing more requirements on customers i.e., for us to provide coverage you need to demonstrate not just MFA is in place but on which key systems; or not just endpoint protection, but how many endpoints are under protection vs. not.   This is much different from a few years ago when all you had to do was answer 5 questions on a simple form to get coverage.  Now, companies are more willing to share this information and collaborate more with companies like Measured who can give them real time threat information.    

AV8: What are some unique approaches Measured is taking to respond to these changes in the landscape and industry?

JV:  Speed and monitoring, which go hand in hand, are some of our core principals. We partner with industry leading security tools providers like Tenable and Sophos to ingest their data, analyze it in real time, quickly notify clients if they are at risk, and help them mediate threats.  This takes a significant amount of technical expertise, systems interconnectivity, but also trust from our customers to partner with us in this way.  For example, earlier this year we saw the MOVEit attack vector which exposed hundreds of companies using this common file transfer service.  We saw it first on a Wednesday, assessed the impact on all our insured by Friday, and by the following Monday/Tuesday we helped our clients remediate the threat.  You need to have systems, tools, capabilities and trust to make this happen.    

AV8:  And what about cyber-insurance pricing?  Premiums were rising for some time. Where are things now?

JV:   Industry pricing is a lagging indicator and well behind where actual risks are based on just looking at historical data.  At Measured, because we see risk in real time, we feel that we have an advantage with regard to accurate and timely pricing of risk.  That said, with the rise of ransomware the last several years, demand for coverage dramatically outpaced capital available from risk carriers which drove up prices markedly.  However, in the last 6-9 months prices have stabilized as carriers have generally gotten better at pricing risk.  But ability to price risk can change quickly and we still see true risk not being priced into the market.  Currently the frequency and magnitude of cyber events are rising dramatically, and that risk is not being priced into the cost of insurance. As such, we expect to see a rise in claims in the future which will have upward pressure on pricing.  Otherwise the market is not sustainable. Given this, we also expect to see more companies moving to self-insured given where pricing can be especially for companies with substantial risk. 

Future of the Industry
AV8:  To close out, give us your thoughts on what the cyber-insurance industry looks like in the coming years?

JV:  As we mentioned already, speed and the growing interconnectedness of enterprise data and risk/insurance efforts is a trend from which there’s no going back.  It will be difficult for companies who haven’t invested in these skills or can’t move at the pace required by the ever-changing threat landscape to thrive.    

I also feel the industry will become much more global.  Geographically, today the bulk of cyber policies are in the US and Europe.  However, companies are operating globally.  More importantly cyber events span across geographic boundaries, and the threat actors are global as well.  We anticipate accelerating industry growth in Asia and Latin America including policies that span multiple countries, and regulatory frameworks that support this given how interconnected businesses are today.   

2. What got you interested in the manufactured housing industry and in particular insuring those types of homes?
   24M Americans live in manufactured homes (7% of the US population). It’s core to the American Dream of American homeownership. The pandemic taught us it’s the future of how we’ll live. It’s difficult to build homes onsite (1) getting materials there: supply chain (2) hiring talented labor on-demand. On top of this, housing costs and rent spiked. We saw people moving out of major cities and into more rural/remote areas.

   It makes sense to build homes in an air conditioned factory on an assembly line–efficiency with material waste and production is more sustainable. In 2022, 10% of all new home builds were manufactured. Traditional manufactured home production will continue to boom, but there’s an emergence of a new segment of modular homes, tiny homes, ADUs, etc. While manufactured homes are the future of the way we’ll live, consumers can’t get a traditional mortgage or insurance policy for these homes. To move the industry forward, we’re supporting financial services by building a fantastic and easy insurance product.

3. You founded the company in Detroit. Tell us about that decision and both the unique opportunities and challenges it presents.
   There are 250,000 manufactured homes in Michigan–we are big consumers of manufactured homes. It’s important to be close to our consumers. The industry is based here: within a 30 min drive sits 20% of the top community owners. 1 in 3 major manufactured home communities in the country is owned by a Michigander. We have great insurance talent in Michigan.

4. You’ve spent time visiting manufactured home owners across the country. What have you learned from these visits to “middle America”?
   In starting CoverTree, I’ve stayed in numerous manufactured homes across the country. Additionally, we’re in communities on a weekly basis. The biggest thing we’ve learned is the sense of community and pride in living in a manufactured home. Additionally, in these homes, people can truly live more “off-the-grid. ” manufactured homes are contained and can be more energy efficient with energy usage.

5. How do you think about and approach building your team, given your location?
   We enjoy having shared experiences with our teams. As a result, we’re from similar cities and states. We grew primarily through our personal and professional networks.

6. What’s an under-appreciated talent you look for in new hires?
   The ability to get obsessed with anything!

7. What’s an important trend or technology in your space (i.e., Insurtech) that you are following?
   Continuing to get more and more current data for underwriting and rating. Additionally, more complex weather data and modeling—i.e. how can we predict the weather?

8. What advice would you give aspiring – yet first time – entrepreneurs who are thinking about starting a company?
   Look where others aren’t and be obsessed.

9. How have early investors like AV8 been most helpful to you?
   Amir has been a great friend through building CoverTree. He’s often the first person I go to for opinions and bounce ideas off of. As we continue to evolve, AV8 continues to be a huge supporter of our team and vision for the company.

10. What have you recently read or watched (books, TV, movies, etc) that others should know about?
    I enjoy watching documentaries on the history of the United States. We’re a young country, but history seems to repeat itself.

Embrace is built out of what my co-founder and I, and a bunch of investors in first generation mobile games and tools like MoPub and Testflight had seen firsthand. A mobile device, whether a phone, point of sale system, or appliance, represents a user and their experiences, behaviors, and pains. The existing vendors treated mobile like a website or server side application, even though it is compiled code run on disparate devices, in different countries, and through different carrier connections. While a ton of tools existed pitching mobile, no single tool had the end user as its index with every one of their session’s at its fingertips.  Instead my team hopscotched through product analytics, APMs, customer experience, logging, and crash reporting tools with no guarantee an issue would be found or the data would be collected and accessible to resolve. In other words, I had an extreme lack of tooling focused on the uniqueness and extreme potential of mobile.

Embrace was born to help all mobile teams, especially engineers, build the best experiences.

When starting Embrace, I believed that mobile would become more integrated into our daily lives, way beyond just games. Now, mobile experiences travel with us on our phones, wrists, cars, and devices. They shape the rhythms of how we work, live, and play as we weave them into our environments and processes. More than any other technology, mobile is transforming us by instantly and meaningfully integrating technology and people. Embrace allows developers to bring their boldest visions to life using the only platform created for building a better future.

2. You have a unique educational background:  Undergrad EE/CS degree plus a JD/MBA.  Which of those skills do you think helped you the most in your career as an entrepreneur?

All of them?  When starting a company, skills are required across product, engineering, fund raising, and legal. While many founding teams derive that value from different people, I am the ultimate jack of all trades.  With hands-on experience, I can accelerate different aspects of the company to quickly push through what would be blockers or slowdowns for other founders.

Although Fredric, my co-founder at Embrace, would argue that one degree I’m not allowed to use is coding.  That one I have to admit has atrophied although I may have submitted some website changes a long time ago and plan to do a PR to provide the team an unexpected laugh.

3. In what ways did the pandemic and all that followed impact Embrace?

For our business, the pandemic was a tailwind in the making and one we took advantage of. Mobile devices and apps were an increasingly integral part of everyone’s lives and Covid hastened this integration as the work from home movement happened overnight. Our customer base grew QoQ during the pandemic because mobile was a necessity for businesses with grocery store pick-ups to telehealth.

For our team, we adapted quickly to safe-guard our amazing culture we built over the years. We shifted  meetings, added virtual happy hours and donut buddies to the mix. The common-truths is that we as humans enjoy working with people with common values with opportunities for in-person contact. When it was safe to meet in person, we were excited to come back together because as humans, we cannot solely operate over Zoom (or Google Meet).

4. What Advice Do You Have For Entrepreneurs Who Are Just Starting Out?

Go fast and break things. Making mistakes is the key to learning and achieving success. These mistakes mean you discovered something and, when the discovery is shared, everyone learns. Learnings compound week over week into growth. Making, openly discussing, and stopping mistakes is required to grow quickly. Only by growing and failing together do you achieve success.

Create a great culture. No opportunity cost is higher – it is always better to wait for the correct hire as opposed to stopping your search and then restarting it when that poor hire inevitably fails or, even worse, underperforms and lingers in your company. We are a kind team that encourages blunt feedback – this is the best environment for your entire team to grow and experiment.

5. Outside of functional skills, what do you look for in new hires for Embrace?

When we hire at Embrace, we evaluate culture fit and technical acumen separately. Whenever companies mix the two together, they inevitably bias to technical over culture. Culture fit is so much more important! We will hire a partial thumbs up on technical with a full thumbs up on Culture every day of the week. But we must never hire a candidate with a partial thumbs up on Culture. We interview culture based on our culture tenets of: Perspective – we seek to understand your perspective, Investing – meaningful insights are found by investing time, Honesty – brutal honesty delivered kindly, Simplest – Simplest solutions are identified by focusing on outcomes, Ownership – Growth is achievable only by empowering with ownership, and Dark Humor – finding joy and humor in any situation.

6. How have your early investors like AV8 been the most helpful to you?

When I look to lead a round of funding, I look for a partner. By “partner”, I mean a person who understands their role in starting and growing a company, and is also empathetic to the founder.  The alignment does not exist when startup founders often lose focus on activities that do not drive true business value.

I have been fortunate to be in a position at each round of funding to be selective of my VC partners. Hadley Harris at Eniac, Baris Aksoy at AV8, and Aaron Jacobson at NEA are three partners that I’m glad to have on the Embrace journey.  Specific to Baris, as a recent operator he really understands my day-to-day and how not to step in directly but instead to lend a healthy ear or provide external driven insights on the market and category dynamics.  I am lucky to now consider Baris a friend even beyond Embrace.

7. What are your daily routines and how do you allocate your time? Walk me through a typical workday for you.

I try my best to workout every morning but life takes over a lot of the time, this is something I am actively working to get better towards. Eating healthy with morning smoothies and a salad + protein at lunch keeps my energy levels up during the day. I’ll reserve a night in the office once a week to get into my flow state and be able to think creatively on vision and larger projects.

8. What have you read recently or watched (TV, movies, etc) that you can’t stop recommending to others?

A few weeks ago as traffic picked up in LA, I started to listen to podcasts – sometimes with my kids.  The primary two are

• Stuff You Should Know is my 10 year old and my favorite. Covering topics that we have all wondered about but never taken enough brainspace to truly research. With a whimsical and nerdy approach, the hosts tackle these topics with enough depth to hold your attention and teach you something. Think Loch Ness Monster, the effect of picking your nose, and the history behind the Delorean
• All In is a cliche one to choose as its hosted by 4 prominently known VCs. Even so, I listen to it for perspective both in terms of VCs vs founders, for which I dont always align, and outside of the venture world.  Their takes on the Ukraine-Russia war are particularly enlightening and have changed my perspective on the world.

Shennon Bio is building a microfluidic platform to study the functional interactions between immune cells at a single-cell level in a high throughput manner. Platforms like Shennon power the development of new therapies by removing existing bottlenecks in immunotherapy, and enabling novel approaches to study cell interactions at unprecedented selectivity and throughput. At scale, Shennon’s platform will enable the development of better T cell therapies not only for their internal programs, but also for the broader ecosystem.

We’ve had a front row seat as Li has gotten this company off the ground and built an impressive team of scientists, engineers, and advisors. The platform has surpassed our expectations in terms of selectivity, throughput, and time to build.

We couldn’t be happier to continue this journey with Li, the rest of the Shennon team, and our amazing coinvestors DCVC and Foundation Capital. Come join this mission driven team that is making an impact in developing new therapies against cancer.

I had a women’s health issue and was bounced around in the system – from PCP to OB/GYN to specialists – and it was beyond frustrating! And it was clear then that there were no comprehensive solutions focused just on the needs of women.  Rather than complaining about the problem, I decided to try to be part of the solution.

What motivated you to take on women’s health and how did you get started?

My background is in machine learning and data science, and aside from my own patient journey my understanding of healthcare was non-existent. I left Google with a goal to learn more about the alignment/misalignment and generally how things work in healthcare. I was fortunate to have an amazing network (shoutout to Linkedin) that I could call upon, and I learned through lots of shadowing/conversations at Stanford and beyond.

As a first-time CEO and as a female CEO, what’s been the biggest challenge for you in building Alpha? How has being a woman helped?

We have an exceptionally mission-driven culture, and given what we do – virtual primary care for women – understanding our unique challenges in healthcare firsthand and being able to speak to the challenges is vital on multiple levels.

What do you know now, that you wished you knew when you started?

For fellow engineers who are analytical and sometimes overthink, I’d say: just do it. It’s hard, you won’t get it right the first or second time around, but getting something into the hands of customers beats any sort of analysis you can run, and it’s immensely rewarding.

What do you look for in new hires?

We are a very mission driven company and the first and foremost thing we look for in new hires is mission alignment.

What’s one of your favorite interview questions to ask, if you are willing to share it?

My old time favorite is word break – a basic coding question on recursion and backtracking. But I guess that’s not what you are asking for! I often end interviews with a basic question: is there anything else I should have asked you. The answer is often surprisingly illuminating on how prepared the candidate is and how well they can think on the spot.

How have your early investors like AV8 been the most helpful to you?

Support beyond pure capital! I appreciate operational support, from recruiting to digging into P&L and metrics and the whole gamut. Knowing that early stage startups almost never go according to plan and being able to provide insights round the corner is super helpful.

Given your focus on women’s health, how are you dealing with what’s been going on with women’s reproductive rights in the US and access to associated health services?

Reproductive care is healthcare, it is a part of primary care and what we do for our patients. That includes abortion when and where it is legal. The Dobbs decision and the way it impacts reproductive rights with Roe v. Wade is shifting the sands in the regulatory environment in all 50 states. We’re working closely with both our general counsel and external counsel on what we can do for our patients. At Alpha, we’ll push forward as leaders in women’s health, which includes our fundamental rights.

What’s something people don’t realize about telemedicine and engaging patients remotely? 

We live in a bubble here in the valley and it’s hard to imagine that synchronous / video visits present a barrier to the more rural parts of the country, because you can’t assume reliable broadband access. As a society we need to work on equalizing infrastructure but also tech innovations (e.g., async visits) to remove these barriers.

What’s a technology trend that you are following closely?

Lately I am curious about CRISPR and gene editing – something that is quite foreign to me but fascinating!

What have you read recently or watched (TV, movies, etc) that others should know about?

I enjoy re-reading old books occasionally and I read Amusing Ourselves to Death again during this election cycle. The book is dated but some of the predictions are still mind boggling to me!

Why AV8?

Our name is rooted in the concept of ‘launching and elevating ideas to new heights’. This takes a tremendous amount of precision, team effort and expertise.

We are a team with deep domain experience equipped to appreciate the vision and foresee key needs for the success of our founders. We have sat on the ‘other side’ of the table raising capital, taking technologies and scientific discoveries to market, and scaling businesses.

Each one of the 20+ start-ups in our fund comes with an inspiring story: a machine learning expert who found a massive gap in women’s healthcare and launched Alpha leveraging her technical know-how and is now serving thousands of women while rapidly scaling revenues; two brothers who built some of the most sophisticated autonomous systems at the leading robotics institute in the US now leading an autonomous trucking start-up with hundreds of millions in contracts; a serial entrepreneur who got frustrated with the performance of mobile applications and has built the leading company in optimizing these apps for many F500 companies.

We are thrilled that these mission driven founders and their teams have chosen to partner with us as we continually strive to earn their trust and respect.

What is next?

With this new fund, we are growing our portfolio and team while continuing to back start-ups in our key investmentment areas across enterprise, healthcare, financial services and insurtech. There are tremendous opportunities to modernize these industries via data, machine learning, and new science and technology – we want to be the partner of choice for aspiring founders in these areas.

Our gratitude goes out to Allianz for supporting our mission, to our founders for choosing to partner with us, to our fellow investors for entrusting us, and to all who continue to contribute to our portfolio.

Thank you.