Shows
Learning with RishadThe physician venture capitalist archetype - Saumitra Thakur (MedMountain Ventures)In this episode, I sit down with Sumitra, who offers a compelling dual perspective as a practicing physician and a venture capitalist at MedMountain Ventures. We explore his distinctive background, from his early fascination with neuroscience to his experiences in medical school and a notable period involved in political initiatives during his MBA studies. Sumitra provides candid insights into his criteria for evaluating founders, his views on the utility of psychological assessments in venture capital, and how his background in political dynamics informs his investment strategy within the complex healthcare sector. We also discuss the potential ramifications of artificial...2025-05-191h 04
Learning with RishadOur path to an AI doctor - Neil Naik, MDIn this episode, I, Rishad, have a fascinating and in-depth conversation with my friend and fellow innovator, Dr. Neil. We dive into the complex world of AI in healthcare, exploring everything from our personal quests for contentment in this digital age to the very real possibilities and ethical questions surrounding AI-powered diagnosis and prescription. Neil shares his firsthand experiences integrating AI tools into his busy family practice, his candid thoughts on the evolving role of physicians, and crucial advice for those daring to build the future of medicine within the regulatory landscape of AI.2025-05-111h 00
Learning with RishadBuilding in Healthcare : A founders story - Joshua Liu (SeamlessMD)In this episode, we sit down with Josh Lee, Co-founder and CEO of SeamlessMD, a leading platform helping hospitals guide patients through episodes of care. Josh shares his unique journey from medical school to founding a successful healthtech company selling into the complex hospital market. He pulls back the curtain on the realities of healthcare entrepreneurship, from securing those challenging first customers to building a high-performing team and navigating product strategy for scale. If you're interested in healthtech, B2B sales in healthcare, or the founder's path, this episode is packed with valuable insights. Joshua Liu: / joshuapliu SeamlessMD: https...2025-05-0252 minLearning with RishadPhysician led innovation - Ed Lee, MD, MPHIn this episode, I interview Ed about his diverse career path. Ed shares insights from his childhood as the son of immigrants in San Francisco, his journey through medicine from primary care to developing health technology, and his recent focus on lifestyle medicine. We discuss how early career experiences, like the introduction of EHRs, shaped his interests, the reasons physicians seek non-clinical roles, and his approach to balancing career ambitions with family and personal well-being. Ed also offers his perspective on the evidence behind lifestyle medicine, the potential of GLP-1 drugs, and the evolving role of physicians in the...2025-04-2546 minLearning with RishadThoughts on the Canadian venture ecosystem - Meryeme Lahmami (Pender Ventures)In this episode I discuss the Canadian venture ecosytem with Meryeme Lahmami, principle at Pender Ventures 00:00 introduction 02:10 First startup, radio frequency for vitals 09:00 Path to venture capital 14:30 Diligence process 18:30 Founder vs market 21:33 Impact of US tariffs 27:12 Is entrepreneurship innate? 30:40 Founder red flags 36:20 Intuition vs structure in investing 43:50 How should we increase early stage healthcare funding in Canada? Meryeme Lahmami: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meryeme-lahmami/ Pender Ventures: https://www.penderventures.com/ Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusmani/ HealthTech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/2025-02-2855 minLearning with RishadMy Vipassana (10 day silent meditation) experience and thoughts on realityIn this episode I share my vipassana experience and my thoughts on reality. 2025-01-2316 minLearning with RishadLessons from burning out - Rishad UsmaniTranscript2025-01-1713 minLearning with RishadAI adoption in hospitals - Michael Page (Unity health)0:00 Introduction and childhood 2:34 Pursuing a bachelors in arts 5:46 From arts to business and AI 12:30 Thoughts on “Hire slow, fire fast” 14:25 How to avoid bad hires 20:30 Thoughts on remote work 24:55 If you could change one thing about Canadian healthcare, what would you change? 27:10 With infinite funds, what would you build in healthcare? 30:28 How do we deal with AI errors and drift? 34:45 Should AI be explainable? 37:45 Why aren’t hospitals innovative?2025-01-1145 minLearning with RishadPhysician burnout and quitting medicine - Chris BorthChris is a urologist, senior partner and Linivan advisory group. He completed his bachelors and M.D. at Queens University and his MBA at Wilfred Laurier. He previously ran clinical trials, has been a practicing urologist for 17 years and routinely advises medical startups. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-borth-md-mba-219a8383/ Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusmani/2024-12-0946 minLearning with RishadWill AI save Healthcare? - Neil Naik: Physician, Leader and EntrepreneurIt was a pleasure speaking with Neil, we talk about: 1. Introduction 2. AI chatbots for Healthcare 3. The liability problem with AI and medicine 4. The reimbursement problem with AI and medicine 5. Should we require explainability for AI clinical adoption 6. Can AI be conscious and should it have rights? 7. Should human creations be valued more than AI creations? 8. Future of physicians and AI in healthcare Neil Naik: / neil-naik Rishad Usmani: / rishadusmani 2024-09-2637 minLearning with RishadPhysician, Investor and Entrepreneur - Sohaib Siddiqui (Medly Therapeutics and Kettlebeck Ventures)It was a pleasure speaking with Dr. Sohaib Siddiqui, he was very forthcoming with sharing several great insights from his experiences as an entrepreneur and investor. We talk about - His journey to running a family office fund - What he looks for in GPs - What he looks for in founders - Upcoming tailwinds in healthcare investing - Charm vs aptitude in predicting founder success - Can outsiders innovate in healthcare - His contrarian opinion in healthcare Sohaib Siddiqui: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sohaib-siddiqui-49284180/ Kettlebeck Ventures: https://www.kettlebeckventures.com/ Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in...2024-08-0852 minLearning with RishadOpportunities for AI in Healthcare - Spencer Dorn (UNC) Spencer is the Vice Chair of Medicine and the Lead Informatics Physician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I and very thankful to him for sharing his insights and thoughts on healthcare with me. We talk about: - The future of electronic health records - Opportunities for AI in healthcare - How to fix physician burnout - His thoughts on purpose - Explainability in AI - Value based care Spencer Dorn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerdorn/ Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusm... HealthTech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/2024-06-2749 minLearning with RishadRaising $44 million and taking Mednow public - Karim NassarKarim is a deep thinker and I have been lucky to have several insightful conversations with him about all things healthcare. I am excited to share some of these with you. He previously was the CEO and co-founder of Mednow, raising $44 million and taking it public at a $150 million market cap. Correction: Karim meant to say Mckesson acquired Rexall and not RemedyRx Mednow: https://mednow.ca/ Karim: https://x.com/KarimsRealm Rishad: / rishadusmani HealthTech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/2024-06-2054 min
Learning with RishadRaising a $30 million venture fund in 30 days - Sahir Ali Sahir Ali is a the founding general partner of Modi Ventures, an early stage venture fund investing in tech-bio startups. He is also an LP in multiple funds including Draper Associates and Khosla Ventures. He is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor. We discuss his path to launching a venture fund, founder selection, decision making and more!Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusmani/Healthtech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/ Sahir Alir: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahirzeeshan-ali/Modi Ventures: https://www.modivc.com/2:10 Why launch a...2024-02-121h 30
Impact Investing with Jeffery Potvin - Exploring Investing with PurposeEp. 151 – Rishad Usmani Founder @ HealthTech Investors | Physician | ArtistWith over 8 years of experience as a physician and a h [...]2023-12-281h 10
How It’s MedMed Tech Talks Ep.81: Rishad Usmani Pt. 2Two health-tech bros, talking nerd stuff. That is basically what this episode is.
Welcome back to our conversation with Rishad Usmani MD, founder of HealthTech Investors. On this week’s Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey and Rishad get technical. Really, really, technical. From ROIs to hybrid healthcare models to epigenetics, it’s a wild ride throughout the episode.
Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com
Find us on Twitter!
Timestamps
01:34-04:51 - How Rishad got into healthcare angel investing.
04:52-10:08 - Building an “angel syndicate” with co-physicians.
10:10...2023-08-1129 minLearning with RishadFinding purpose as a physician, artist, investor and entrepreneur. Key takeaways: Selling a product or interviewing for a job isn’t about you, its about the customer, the user and the company respectively. Identify the world as it is, recognize the incentives and levers in place. After doing this, the path you should follow will be easier to pick. The easiest way to build a product is to build something for your past self. Books mentioned: Good to great by Jim Collins: https://a.co/d/8JGAoUx Naval Ravikants Almanac: https://a.co/d/ijoCcEv Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusmani/ HealthTech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/2023-08-0721 minHow It’s MedMed Tech Talks Ep.81: Rishad Usmani Pt. 1It’s difficult enough focusing on one thing to do, let alone four. But somehow Rishad manages to do it really really well and with quite some ease.
Welcome to part one of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks. This time, we chat with Rishad Usmani, who is a doctor, a start-up founder, an investor, a podcaster, and so much more. Rishad has had quite an eventful journey so far, about which he talks at length with our host, Geoffrey Ching.
Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com
Find us on Twit...2023-08-0329 minLearning with RishadProfitability in Healthcare: Akhilesh Pathipati - MVM PartnersI am grateful for Akhilesh Pathipati, MD, MBA to share his journey, experience and knowledge! We talk about: 1. His journey in venture capital 2. AI in Healthcare 3. Profitability in Healthcare 4. Health system design 5. Future of medical education 6. His investment criteria 7. And more! Akhilesh Pathipati: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akhileshpathipati/ MVM: https://mvm.com/ Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusmani/ HealthTech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/2023-07-311h 10Learning with RishadA pharmacists journey into startups - Zain Syed: Digital Thoughts Zain is someone I have known and become friends with over the past year. I am a big fan of his progress so far and can't wait to continue following his journey. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with him about his journey into healthcare startups. We talk about:HumilityHealthcare EMR'sClinician EntrepreneurshipClinical Trials in OncologyWill AI replace clinicians?The future of clinical notes2023-07-0656 minLearning with RishadHow to scale a startup - Owen Willis of Opal VenturesOwen Willis is the Founder and General Partner at Opal Ventures. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer at Osmosis and Program Partner at On Deck. We talk about: Introduction and childhood Gender and Race Teaching as a profession Can humility be taught How to hire and onboard How to build a team and scale a startup Solo vs team work Is early stage investing a game of picking or making winners? How to identify the laggers in your investment portfolio Success, failures and market tailwinds Investing in healthcare startups Profitability in healthcare Future of training in healthcare Introspection, philosophy...2023-06-291h 18Learning with RishadFrom Physician To Venture Capitalist: Saumitra Thakur (MedMountain Ventures) and Amit Mehta (Builders VC)It was amazing to have both Saumitra Thakur and Amit Mehta, MD join me for this webinar. Both have been an inspiration for myself in finding my path. I am incredibly thankful for:Saumitra for sharing his frameworks and schema's on venture capital and life.Amit for sharing his journey, learnings, mistakes and advice for breaking intro venture.We talk about:Different paths to running a venture capital firmHow physicians can get involved in venture capitalShould physicians pursue and MBAValue of your network and track recordGenerative AI in healthcareDiagnostic testing in psychiatry2023-06-141h 28
Tech Uncensored - An Altitude Accelerator PodcastEpisode 16 Is our Healthcare System Broken? Can Tech Startups Disrupt?“Collapse does not happen suddenly it is a result of an erosion over time until a breaking point arrives.” Andre Picard on the state of our healthcare system – Globe & Mail We were pleased to host Rishad Usmani, MD to discuss the state of healthcare system in Canada. From the ack of available nurses, long wait times, our doctor shortage and increasing calls to privatization of our long-coveted free-health-care for everyone is at risk. How did we get here? Do we turn to technology to help fix some of the gaps that exist today?2023-06-0936 minLearning with RishadA physician's journey to reducing medical errors: Steve Charlap - SOAP HealthSteve is a physician and founder of SOAP health. Steve Charlap: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-charlap-md-mba-8911906/ SOAP Health: https://soap.health/ Rishad Usmani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishadusmani/ HealthTech Investors: https://www.healthtechinvestors.com/ Timestamps: 00:00 Childhood 03:18 Thoughts on Man’s Search for Meaning 06:15 Structure vs intuition in picking colleagues 13:01 Visionary vs operator, weaknesses vs strengths 17:58 Why do teams fall apart? 20:20 Idea meritocracy vs idea democracy 27:22 Will future doctors be actors? 30:30 Will patients use AI if its better than most doctors? 36:15 Patient responsibility for their health 42:15 EMR design, patient intake 48:30 Why do an MBA? 51:15 Should healthcare be profitable? 53:40 Future of...2023-06-091h 13Learning with RishadHow To Pick Healthcare Startups In this webinar we start with a short presentation about due diligence followed by a fireside chat with two experienced healthcare venture capitalists. Key Takeaways: 1. Have a structured due diligence process. 2. Market risk: timing and a big market opportunity are both important.3. Technology risk: better, faster, cheaper. 4. Team risk: clear founder vision, unique insight, strong leadership and resilient. 5. Execution risk: go to market strategy and business model. 6. Exit risk: what is the potential exit size or channel. 7. You will never get to 100% conviction in early stage investing, you are making decision based on incomplete information. 8. Do both personal founder and...2023-05-2415 minLearning with RishadA quantum view into investing and life - Leon Eisen: Entrepreneur, PhD and InvestorLeon is an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful human. After completing his PhD in Quantum Physics he went on found Oxitone Medical. He is also a Venture partner at Network VC.We talk about:Intuition vs structure in decision makingThe quantum worldBackwards thinking for startups and in investingHow to pick the best colleagues and employees2023-05-1050 minLearning with RishadPicking the best startups and VCs: Shubhra Jain - Tarsadia InvestmentsShubhra Jain is the Head of Healthcare investments at Tarsadia Investments. She moved to US after completing her MBBS in India, to pursue a Masters in mechanical engineering at Stanford after which she completed her MBA from Wharton.Shubhra is an incredibly sharp, reflective and humble person. I had a lot of fun talking to her about:Due diligence process for startupsHow she picks VC funds and GPs to invest inHer transition from physician to investorMarket tailwinds in healthtech2023-03-3048 min
Digital Thoughts PodcastRishad Usmani (HealthTech Investors)- What makes a healthtech startup investable?Rishad is an artist, entrepreneur, investor, and physician. He has started healthtech investors to help people learn more about investing. He has a podcast and newsletter that helps founders and investors understand the healthtech landscape.In this episode, Rishad talks about:* The difference between a venture capitalist and an angel investor* What he looks for in founders when he is investing* Should AI replace clinicians and should they?* What he learned from his own startup journeyHow to reach Rishad:* linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/i...2023-03-1353 minLearning with RishadInsights from a physician, entrepreneur and investor: Shrawan Patel - Strategy Health and PharmStarsShrawan is a physician, entrepreneur and angel investor. He is the managing director at Strategy Health and founding team member at PharmStars. I have known Shrawan for a few months now and find him to be deeply reflective, intelligent, curious and open minded.We talk aboutHis childhoodDecision makingThe existence of a soulWhat he looks for in foundersClinical trialsAnd more!I am thankful for his friendship and grateful for his transparency and honesty in sharing his experiences and...2023-03-091h 26Learning with RishadLeaving clinical medicine - Harvey CastroHarvey is curious, kind and humble. He is a physician, healthcare consultant, and serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in the healthcare industry. He is the author of ChatGPT Healthcare and Success Reinvention. We talk about His journey out of clinical medicineEntrepreneurshipPerseveranceProfitability in healthcare2023-03-0245 min
Learning with RishadInvesting with intuition - David Zhou: On Deck Angels David Zhou runs ops and deal flow at On Deck Angels. He is a mentor and advisor to several accelerators and incubators including Techstars, WEVE, City University of New York and Alchemist Accelerator. You can follow his thoughts on his newsletter, Cup of Zhou. He has an inquisitive, curious and intelligent mind. We talk about his childhood, deal flow, decision making, market risk and more! I hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as I did.David Zhou: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjzhou/OnDeck: http://beondeck.comCupofZhou: https://cupofzhou.com/2023-02-1753 minLearning with RishadHow to go from scientist to venture capitalist: Bharat Srinivasa - AmplitudevcBharat is a co-founder and and principal at Amplitude Venture Capital. He has a PhD in Experimental Medicine and Masters of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University.2023-02-111h 23Learning with RishadHow to raise money as a first time founder: Joshua Liu - SeamlessMDJosh is the CEO and cofounder of SeamlessMD, a patient engagement platform which improves patient satisfaction while reducing hospital length of stay, readmissions, and costs.. They have raised over $7.5 million and are used by various health systems including Stanford Health. He is intelligent, humble and posses incredible grit. We talk about his childhood, his journey from an interest in coding to medical school and then being a founder. We discuss ChatGPT, AI in healthcare, the future of private healthcare in Canada, raising money for his startup, 90% of the VC he met said no initially and his end goal in...2023-02-011h 04Learning with RishadFrom eye surgeon to venture capitalist at 53: Sam Goldeberger - Ambit Health VenturesSam is a managing partner and co founder of Ambit Ventures (an early stage digital health venture firm), he is on the board of multiple startups. We are co-investors in SOAP health (early disease detection and diagnosis at the point of care). At the age of 53 he decided to pursue an MBA and transitioned to the private equity world before launching his fund with his cofounder. We talk about his childhood, launching a venture fund, decision making, life, what he looks for in founders and startups. I hope you guys enjoy this conversation as much as I did.2023-01-2653 minLearning with RishadWhat is the future of AI in surgery? Jawad Ali - Vality PartnersI always have a fun time speaking with Jawad Ali and it’s always a pleasure. Jawad is a practicing general surgeon, founder of Vality (a physician led consulting firm specializing in digital surgery, patient engagement and surgical devices) and founder of Austin MedTech Connect (a private community connecting founders, clinicians, investors and healthcare stakeholders). We talk about success, surgical innovation, physician burnout, medtech in Austin and goal setting. I hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as I did.2023-01-1352 minLearning with RishadGoing from idea to execution: Joshua Landy - Figure 1Josh is the chief medical officer and cofounder of Figure 1, a social network and medical education platform for physicians. Figure 1 has raised $23.5 million and serves over 3 million users worldwide. Josh is also a practicing intensive care physician and the medical lead for medical assistance in dying at Scarborough General Hospital.We had a frank and honest discussion on the path from idea to execution, the future of Canadian healthcare and medical assistance in dying.2023-01-0529 minLearning with RishadStory of my startup (ClinicUp)ClinicUp was my previous startup which closed down in early 2022. It was a telemedicine company which served 1100 patients, we hired 10 physicians, we got a 6 million acquisition offer then got sued and lost it all.2023-01-0217 minLearning with RishadAdvice for founders on how to sell into healthcare: Amit Mehta - BuildersVCAmit Mehta is a General Partner at BuildersVC and an interventional radiologist. BuilderVC is a $450 million venture capital firm which invests in seed to series B across multiple industries.2022-12-211h 03Learning with RishadWhat is a good death? Raihan FaroquiRaihan is a seasoned physician-entrepreneur. He is currently the Head of Medical Affairs at Gauranteed, a hospice startup. We talked about his journey from physician to entrepreneur, how to sell into health systems, the biggest problem in healthcare, death and identity.2022-12-1058 minLearning with RishadHow far are we from general AI in healthcare? Amit Garg - Tau VenturesAmit is a founding partner at Tau Venture, an $85 million fund which invests in early stage healthcare and enterprise software startups with an AI focus.00:00 Introduction02:50 Future of the fund04:15 How are you thinking about allocation?08:15 Time to exit09:10 Secondary market12:15 Healthcare and profits15:25 Value based care18:25 One piece of advice for your past self23:00 What tailwinds are you investing on?28:45 AI and biotech31:15 Will AI replace us?40:00 What would you do if money was...2022-12-0147 minLearning with RishadShould a physician do an MBA? Saumitra Thakur - Med Mountain Ventures00:09 Introduction01:15 Childhood/ is entrepreneurship innate?04:15 Can you rely on intuition when investing in startups?07:50 Different types of communication styles12:30 Is talking fast okay? Or do you have to talk slowly and enunciate every word?15:15 How to test/validate your intuition and be aware of your biases?19:00 High school/ decision to become a physician21:25 Medical school23:00 Meeting his wife, balancing family and work27:30 Should you do an MBA?30:30 Did the MBA help in raising a VC fund?33:30 FOMO...2022-11-241h 19Learning with RishadInvestment Thesisin this episode we talk about our investment thesis2022-11-2005 min