Optimizing Growth: Executive Search for Early-Stage Digital Health
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Silicon Valley Bank’s Healthcare Investments and Exits report noted that funding for early-stage Digital Health companies was slightly higher in 2022 than it had been in 2021 – a year that was atypical in terms of just how much money was raised. Strong showings from venture capital are part of the explanation for the early-stage uptick; the report notes that nearly $22 billion in new VC funds was generated last year for this sector, not far off the $28 billion raised in 2021.
It’s encouraging, therefore, to see early-stage companies continue to attract funding. Although they now are having to focus more of their attention on new hires particularly with investor pressure for revenue generation.
Within Venari Partners’ Healthtech practice, we’ve noticed a shift over the past few years – particularly in working with seed and Series A companies. Early-stage has garnered significant investment. ‘In fact, if you put it as a full-year number, it’s actually the highest it’s ever been’, says Jonathan Norris, business development MD at Silicon Valley Bank. Norris points to the reasonable valuations and ability to plan ahead in this field that have made it attractive to investors.
Last year, we saw an increase in demand from early-stage companies, as well as their investors, in exploring our services and working with us on new hires – not just for C-suite talent, but also at VP and Director level. Particularly commercial roles (including sales, marketing, customer success, and others), are all linked to the drive for increased revenue generation and profitability across the sector.
It is worth noting that seed and Series A companies have, historically, been slow to consider using Executive Search companies. Whether this is due to concerns around cost, structure, or trust, for one reason or another we’ve seen less engagement from early-stage companies – until recently. I’m pleased to report that we have built some very strong relationships with many early-stage founders and have established mutually beneficial arrangements.
For instance, Ed Likovich, CEO of Nymbl Science, admits that they hadn’t considered using Executive Search before Venari Partners was recommended to him. ‘Given the time-consuming nature of recruitment, particularly when you’re involved in fundraising, we found it hugely beneficial to outline our needs to Cristian and the team, letting them manage the whole process,’ he notes. ‘As a result, we hired an excellent Executive – and all within a matter of weeks.’
It is valuable for healthtech companies at this phase of development to have an outside influence on their side to help with communicating their brand and selling their story. It can be especially difficult for new and/or growing early-stage companies to attract the best talent unless they are particularly proactive.
At Venari Partners, we assist early-stage healthtech companies in the following areas:
Executive Search
Commercial Team Talent Mapping
Diversity & Inclusion
Compensation Benchmarking
Interim/Fractional Talent Solutions
I would urge any early-stage Digital Health companies looking to scale effectively to consider using an Executive Search firm.
- Insight
- Executive Search
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Cristian joined Venari Partners in 2019 and specialises in executive search across digital health and healthtech. He works closely with emerging and high-growth businesses across the US and Europe, helping them build leadership teams to support their growth and commercial ambitions. His sector expertise spans SaaS, digital therapeutics, AI, virtual care, real-world evidence (RWE) and healthcare IT, with a focus on senior appointments across strategy, business development, operations and commercial functions. With extensive experience supporting healthtech companies through key stages of growth, Cristian advises on C-suite, VP and Director-level appointments, board recruitment and succession planning. He also provides specialist support with US go-to-market expansion for European businesses, alongside interim solutions, market mapping, compensation benchmarking and leadership and organisational assessments. Combining deep sector knowledge with an understanding of the challenges facing growing healthtech businesses, Cristian brings a considered approach to identifying leadership talent and supporting organisations through critical stages of development.
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