#78 - What does (a) good (merger) look like? 🙏
Pigeon █████ in ███████ without ██████████ on a table, despite not █████. With or without trousers, says Sue Gray-Pigeon.
Hey friends,
This week: Mad money moves in mental health, Peloton release a smart watch that isn’t, and (finally) proof that drinking beer leads to good decision making.
News Bites 🥪
📱 Kry/LIVI Founder Johannes Schildt gets brunch - Johannes talks startups, eyebrows, and raising €500m.
🚲 Peloton releases new wearable heart rate monitor - Popular not-a-bicycle interior design experts Peloton have released a smart watch that doesn’t do most of the things a smart watch does.
🧠 Mental Health Startups Raise Mega Money - Lyra Health have got $235m under their belt from Salesforce Ventures & Coatue, Iterative Scopes pocketed $150m from Insight Partners & Clearlake Capital Group, and Wheel have trousered a delightful $150m from Lightspeed Venture Partners and pals.
👨👩👦 NHS Digital and NHSX merger revealed - Pigeon hopes those planning the merger have asked themselves what good looks like. Pigeon has now used “what does good look like” twice in this newsletter, which is three more times than any self respecting pigeon or human should ever, ever use this banal phrase.
🖨 Bioprinting breakthrough will let scientists print their own proteins - All the best problems are solved over a beer, as has been proved by 4 ex-Cambridge PhDs who worked out how to print proteins, raised €38m and helped solve a huge healthcare challenge, after coming up with the idea in the pub. The most Pigeon has ever managed after a pint is taking the twenty quid jackpot out of the fruity.
What to Listen to 🔊
💪 Are businesses and investors really serious about improving our health? - This is genuinely thought provoking. Are we now at a turning point? Or is interest in health temporary? If businesses and investors really want to improve health, how do they best move forward? And can government do more to support them?
🔋 How to Build Legitimacy - Pigeon favourite Tara Humphrey talks building legitimacy in the world of healthcare - no mean feat.
Opportunities 💰
🩺 Performance Marketing Analyst - As opposed to non-performance marketing, which is writing all your ideas down on a scrap of paper and then depositing it into the nearest bin. Job title aside, HeliosX are hotter than the sun* right now in terms of growth, and this would be the perfect time to join.
🎨 Patchwork Graphic Designer - YOU THERE! Can you draw? On a computer? With your hands? Do you like staffing? Do you want to fix staffing? Are you ambitious? Would you like to combine all of these into a role at one of the UK’s top healthcare startups, Patchwork? If yes, get your applying gloves on. Then take them off again, they make it difficult to type. And draw.
🩺 Industry experts (pharmaceutical and life sciences) - SomX are looking for individuals working in pharma and life sciences companies with experience and interest in digital health to join us for a number of thought leadership and advisory opportunities. For more information and to register your interest, email jessica@somx.co.uk - must be working in pharma / life sciences!
*Where my Greek mythology pun nerds at? Holla at ya boy, pigeon.