Following the tremendous success of the first roundtable, PeerCapital, 2070 Health, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) got together for a second edition of ‘HealthCraze’. This initiative brought together entrepreneurs, operators, academics, policymakers, and investors from the healthcare sector in an exclusive, invite-only discussion for another glimpse into the future of health innovation complete with opportunities and challenges.
Set against the backdrop of an accelerating Indian economy, HealthCraze acknowledged the role of startups as the frontrunners of transformation and the latent potential that healthcare innovation harbors for value creation. With this backdrop, the participants started off by discussing AI in healthcare: the many value propositions it holds across patient care, clinical workflows, and clinician augmentation, areas where they are witnessing steady adoption, and finally, methods for balancing its challenges and benefits.
The many use cases of AI in healthcare can be split into low implementation solutions that mainly address administrative functions like insurance verification, coding, note-taking, etc., and high implementation solutions largely used for clinical decision-making. There are early signs of adoption in the former with clinicians and hospital systems addressing staff shortages and optimizing costs with such solutions. For the latter, participants concurred that it was the right time to build such tools but they emphasized the need for vigilance to ensure strong data integrity, guardrails, and accuracy. For instance, AI hallucinations, where large language models generate false information or facts, was a prevalent concern.
Participants felt that while building the product, AI developers should keep in mind the target audience and the value proposition for them. Pankaj Jethwani, CEO at 2070 Health, said, “It is imperative for AI solutions to demonstrate a return on investment for potential customers. This can be in the form of cost savings due to replacement of outdated systems or enhancement of operational efficiency, or reduction in liabilities by decreasing human errors.”
Shifting gears, HealthCraze-II also delved into understanding how the concept of ‘inflection point’ is defined in healthcare and how startups reach it. One way to define inflection point is – it is the pivotal moment in a startup’s growth trajectory when there’s no longer a need to explain the category they belong to. A good measure is the “mummy test” – if you can explain the category to your mother/parents without having to provide an explanation, it means that the category is well understood across age groups!
“Inflection points can manifest at the product, geographic or enterprise level, varying with categories. For B2C solutions, organic customer acquisition signifies establishment, while reliance on programs/doctors indicates developmental stages. For B2B players, a key measure is sales cycle contraction – conversion from skeptic to immediate payer i.e. – the day they don’t need a trial and are willing to pay from the first day.” explains Rohit, Managing Partner – Peer Capital.
Transitioning from AI and inflection points, the conversation shifted to a topic often left in the shadows: founder burnout and stress. The group recognized that uncertainty-induced stress was an intrinsic part of the job, and the discussion was focused on how founders can de-stress and how the ecosystem can offer institutional support.
These candid conversations revealed the importance of seeking a third-party perspective – a mentor or a coach from the industry – to navigate the complexities and prioritize effectively. All participants agreed that having platforms to converse informally played an essential role in providing a safe space for such conversations and fostering genuine connections. Gatherings such as the Healthcraze not only spark insightful dialogues but also create an environment where mentors, contributors, and founders can engage at a personal level. The essence of the HealthCraze platform is not only to share information but also to nurture conversations, bridge gaps, and pave the way for a brighter future for healthcare in India.
About 2070 Health
2070 Health is India’s first Venture Studio building patient-centric healthcare companies from scratch by bringing together futuristic ideas, exceptional founders, and a powerful innovation platform.
Website: https://2070health.com/
About PeerCapital
PeerCap Advisors LLP, operating under the brand name “PeerCapital”, is an early-stage, tech VC fund led by 3 peers – Ankur Pahwa, Karthik Prabhakar and Rohit M A who come with immense complementary experience across entrepreneurship, operations, growth and risk advisory management, fund ops, investment, deployment and returns management. The fund looks to invest specifically in Seed to Series A stages across tech sectors – consumer-tech, fin-tech, health-tech and SaaS.
