TVP Newsletter -February 2020

It’s hard to believe it’s already March. So far 2020 has been a busy, but great year for us. We were especially excited to be recognized this month as one of the top performing U.S. based venture funds (2010–2017 vintages) in Prequin’s 2019 VC Capital Update (page 16). It’s still early innings, but we’re in the company of some exceptional managers and it’s another reminder that our unique investment thesis is working.

We’ve also been busy with our latest investment, Boulder. Boulder is the first digital treatment program that supports long-term recovery for opioid use. There are 2.4 million people in America struggling with opioid use disorder (OUD) but they struggle to get the evidence-based help they need because of stigma, cost, and a lack of options. Telemedicine and online drug prescription represent an opportunity to reach people suffering from opioid addiction on their own schedule.

Given the importance of their mission, and the staggering number of people struggling with opioid addictions, we were proud to lead Boulder’s Series $10.5 million Series A with Greycroft Partners.

Using telemedicine, Boulder connects patients to teams of addiction specialists, care coordinators and peer coaches, supporting both clinical and psychosocial aspects of substance use treatment. Instead of requiring dozens of in-person office visits or inpatient stays, individualized care plans are delivered privately to patients anywhere they are through secure video and texting.

Boulder also announced a new partnership with Premera Blue Cross to bring its OUD treatment to millions of its members. Boulder’s partnership with Premera establishes a value-based contract focused on outcomes. This is designed to shift away from the healthcare industry’s traditional payment model of fee-for-service: realigning incentives and driving accountability for meaningful outcomes.

With this new infusion of capital, Boulder’s CEO Stephanie Papes can continue to grow the team and expand deeper into Oregon, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. Our very own Jordan Nof is joining Boulder’s Board of Directors and we couldn’t be more excited to continue working closely with Stephanie and the whole Boulder team.

You can read more about Boulder in Fast Company’s exclusive story and in the Portland Business Journal . You can also hear Jordan give his take on Boulder when he sat down with Cheddar TV in this interview .

In other news, a few of us will be down at SXSW the week of March 16. Shoot us a note if you’re around or stop by Bradley’s talk on Monday March 16.

Jordan Nof and Michaela Balderston guest hosted Bradley’s podcast this week to talk about Tusk Venture Partners and break down what the investor-startup-relationship known as “Platform” really means. They chat about why Platform is a mutually beneficial relationship for both investors and founders, and why it’s quickly become table stakes in the industry. Take a listen and let us know what you think!

TVP portfolio company Tend is hiring for a Clinical Communications Director to support their rapidly growing Clinical Team. This is a really exciting opportunity for an entrepreneurial marketer to pioneer a completely new approach to clinical communications and disrupt the world of dental. Check out the job posting here .

TVP predicts four things to look out for in the world of technology, politics, and regulation

• Following up on Erin Griffin’s piece this week in the New York Times about the startup boom deflating, tech companies, both large and small, will have to get used to the fact that while their valuations may go down, their interactions with government will not. Regulation is a constant issue that virtually every business has to deal with. The tech world has learned that lesson and while there hopefully are silver linings to a more restrained time for startups, reduction in government, politics and regulation will not be one of them.
• As the Dow Jones inches towards closing the day down more than 10% below its recent high — which would by definition, be considered a “correction” — there’s been no shortage of media coverage about a pullback in both public and private markets. Information on private company financing rounds flows much slower than the public markets, but we’re already seeing changes to the landscape based on the sharp decline of early stage deals completed during the 4th quarter of 2019. The NVCA and PitchBook reported the fewest financings since late 2016. This may seem like cause for alarm, but slowing deal volume in venture capital isn’t entirely negative. Given their long-term time horizons and the favorable fundraising environment over the past few years, many venture capital firms have significant pools of capital to invest in new startups, or to further support existing portfolio companies. What it does mean though is that the bar for quality will continue to move higher across all stages of the startup lifecycle. We’ll continue to see more unsustainable business models come under heavy scrutiny, while companies focused on solving real problems in attractive markets will seize the limelight and continue to have access to capital as they grow.
• On the telehealth front, we’re closely monitoring copy-cat legislation on the teledentistry front. Last year California (backed by the state’s dental association) passed legislation that required “teledentistry” companies that provide remote orthodontic care (like SmileDirect and Candid) to review patients’ x-rays prior to providing treatment. Following California’s lead, additional states are now taking a closer look at teledentistry and considering imposing additional restrictions that pose more hurdles for a seamless DTC model.
• With coronavirus on everyone’s radars these days, threats of a pandemic continue to underscore the unique capabilities of telehealth in efficiently directing resources: how we can use tech-enabled care can to triage patients, allowing providers to remotely address less-acute needs and focus on in-person care for those that need it. We expect these points to come to light as the world closely examines our existing healthcare systems and how prepared they are (or aren’t) to respond to this growing crisis

Let’s sync up on corporate speak. A vaping deep dive. Paul Allen is posthumously reshaping the Washington State budget. Movies are videogames now. Chromebooks won’t fix American education. Peer review in the age of Slack . So what is an API actually? The secrets behind crispy snacks . Landlords are using software to scale evictions . Ugh.