We’ve been down this road before…
For over a decade, Route 66 Ventures has spent our time and energy growing businesses and backing early-stage, financial technology companies. We have a knack and a passion for guiding new entrepreneurs and take great pride in seeing them flourish.
With our FinTech strategy firmly established, we decided to add a new area of focus. We spent two years examining trends and looking at our core beliefs. We care deeply about backing purpose-driven technology companies that have the power to change the world in positive ways. Ultimately, we realized digital health and wellness was the perfect place to focus.
For us, it’s a natural addition. We’ve built and scaled businesses before, and we have a deep understanding of complex, highly regulated industries. Most importantly, we’re still using our grit and determination to invest in technologies that improve wellbeing in meaningful ways. At Route 66 Ventures, it is, and it always has been, about more than investing. We believe that what we work on and who we work with matters. We’re excited to continue partnering with visionary thinkers helping to build companies that find better solutions to real problems for society.
If you’re building a business in the digital health and wellness space, our virtual door is always open. Check back here periodically for our latest thinking on specific themes and additional musings on the digital health world. We look forward to seeing you on the road ahead…
We know that digital health and wellness can mean a lot of different things. Here are a few of our ideas that we’re particularly excited by:
Next generation mental and behavioral health
We are living through a mental health crisis. Roughly 1 in 4 Americans has a diagnosable mental health disorder. The ongoing pandemic has only exacerbated the problem, with Kaiser recently reporting that 40% of Americans have symptoms of anxiety or depression. Providers, payers, and consumers are continuing to understand the correlation between mental health and overall health, which is driving adoption in new forms of treatment, platforms for access, and next-gen diagnostics.
Agetech
By 2030 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 years or older, and for the first time ever there will be more seniors than children in the U.S. As adults currently between the ages of 55–65 age into retirement, they will become the most tech savvy generation of seniors ever, creating an opportunity for innovative solutions that make it easier for seniors to thrive and live their best lives in a happier and healthier way. Along with this innovation, healthcare costs for seniors will come down, creating a win-win scenario for all stakeholders.
Food as medicine
Everyone knows that what you eat matters. But the extent to which it matters is becoming increasingly clear. We believe food and agriculture will increasingly play a role in not only overall wellness, but also clinical therapies for specific populations.
Precision and individualized medicine
In a world where cars can legitimately fly, it seems crazy that we often rely on archaic methods to measure our health and wellbeing. From the classic, “how bad is your pain on a scale of 1–10” to the dreaded eye exam (which was developed in the 19th century!), there are myriad opportunities to improve how we assess health and wellbeing. Important decisions about our health and wellness should be made and monitored using digitally-enabled objective metrics. With the ability to measure new biomarkers, we will be able to obtain a better understanding of each individual, making precision medicine a reality for the masses.
Beyond western medicine
Prescription drugs have done amazing things to improve the healthspan of humankind. However, prescribing drugs and treating symptoms isn’t always the best course of action. As we move closer to next-gen healthcare, holistic approaches to medicine will begin to take root in mainstream care and will include a broad toolkit of supplements, psychedelics, and alternative products and services.
