What Would Lisa Suennen Say?
On April 2nd, which is not April Fools’ Day, Patagonia informed a finance company client that it will no longer sell co-branded fleece or puffer vests to their crowd, citing a refinement of its corporate values. An article in Buzzfeed ran their statement: I was understandably taken aback by this notice, as I have […]
Well, I’ve been afraid of changing ‘Cause I built my life around you -Landslide, Stevie Nicks Some of you may remember that old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Calvin builds a “Transmogrifier.” Basically it’s a magical cardboard box that, when you step into it, allows you to turn yourself into anything you want to be. […]
I was thinking a lot this week about what it takes for healthcare companies to adopt new innovations, particularly those that fundamentally change what has come before. The topic was top of mind because I was at the HealthXL Global Gathering where very large companies and many startups come together to collaborate in numerous permutations […]
Last week I had the opportunity to address 100 or so members of the Health Management Academy, a group of very senior healthcare system executives from the nation’s largest health systems (representing >1700 hospitals) who meet to “exchange best practices and benchmark information on increasing the quality and efficiency of healthcare.” The meeting was held […]
It’s my blog so I guess I can write about whatever I want. I usually write about healthcare and investing and entrepreneurship, but today I’m writing about life: my life and that of my family. It has a healthcare bent in a way, and is an abject lesson about doing what is right and being […]
If you actually know me, you know I have a bit of a shoe obsession. If you are old enough to remember Imelda Marcos’ closet, just know she has nothing on me. My obsession started pretty early, as I worked in a shoe store throughout high school and college. This is the old time equivalent […]
Note that this post originally ran in Forbes and is co-authored by me and Dr. David Shaywitz, my co-conspirator on the Tech Tonics podcast. By now, we have it on good authority that healthcare is complicated. Apparently, many healthcurious tech investors have come to similar conclusions. It seems that after several years of breathless hype, […]
It’s the first of the new year and of course that can mean only one thing: the avalanche of stories about how much was or wasn’t invested in digital health and whether the current environment favors/disfavors growth in this sector and all that jazz. It used to be, once upon a time, that the advent […]
Below is a reprise of a post I wrote in May 2013. I was planning to write something new for this week but, frankly, got totally distracted by two things: the SF Giants run for a 2016 Major League Baseball Championship and the trials and tribulations of the current Presidential election. I know, it’s like […]
“There’s no such thing as a natural-born pilot.” – Chuck Yeager Today I typed the phrase “famous pilots” into Google and the top response was “Amelia Earhart.” I thought that particularly appropriate since I had planned to write this particular blog post on the plague of healthcare IT pilots that has become a black cloud […]
Lisa Suennen is a venture capital investor and the managing partner of Venture Valkyrie, LLC, which publishes the Venture Valkyrie blog and co-produces the Tech Tonics podcast. She is also co-founder of CSweetener, a women's healthcare mentoring organization.