We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our April cohort. 2 spots left.
Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Cesar Herrera, CEO and Co-Founder of Yuvo Health, a healthcare technology company that has raised $28 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- Personal Drive from Lived Experience: Cesar’s commitment to healthcare stems from his personal experiences growing up uninsured in the United States, driving him to ensure others don’t face similar barriers to access.
- Entrepreneurial Journey: Initially unsure about entrepreneurship, Cesar’s realization of the systemic issues within healthcare access propelled him to start Yuvo Health, aiming to operationalize solutions for underserved communities.
- Yuvo Health’s Mission: The company focuses on making health centers more financially sustainable through value-based care, a model that emphasizes pay for outcomes rather than services, incentivizing the maintenance of community health.
- Early Challenges and Pivot: Yuvo Health’s initial challenge was proving the business model’s viability to investors. A pivotal moment came when partnering with Ryan Chelsea Clinton Health Center, demonstrating demand and laying the foundation for their current success.
- Growth and Impact: From a small pilot managing 3,000 patients to being at risk for nearly 40,000 patients, Yuvo Health’s scale in value-based care is rapidly increasing, with aims to double patient impact by next year.
- Future Vision: Looking ahead, Yuvo Health aims to enable health centers across the U.S. to serve an additional 20 million people lacking access to care, expanding state by state to meet this ambitious goal.
Actionable
Takeaways
Leverage Personal Experience for Authentic Mission Alignment:
Cesar's journey underscores the power of using personal life experiences to shape a company's mission. For B2B tech founders, particularly in sectors like healthcare, aligning your startup's goals with personal convictions can drive authenticity, passion, and resilience. This alignment not only motivates internal teams but also resonates deeply with customers and partners, building trust and commitment.
Pivoting Business Models to Meet Customer Needs:
Yuvo Health's pivot from a service-based model to taking on risk for health centers highlights the importance of flexibility in startup strategy. Founders should be open to fundamentally rethinking their revenue and operational models based on early feedback and market realities, especially when dealing with underserved or complex markets.
Building Trust with Early Partners:
Gaining an early partner like Ryan Chelsea Clinton Health Center was pivotal for Yuvo Health. For founders, securing such partnerships requires more than just a compelling product; it necessitates building deep trust. This involves demonstrating a genuine commitment to your partners' missions and ensuring your business model aligns with their needs and constraints.
Focus on Solving Big, Hairy Problems:
Tackling significant issues, like improving healthcare access for 20 million people, can be daunting but also incredibly rewarding. Founders should not shy away from big problems. Instead, break down these challenges into manageable goals and leverage innovative business models, like value-based care in Yuvo Health's case, to address systemic issues systematically.
Continuous Adaptation and Growth:
Yuvo Health's journey from managing 3,000 to 40,000 patients in a value-based care model showcases the necessity of scaling solutions effectively. Founders should plan for scalability from the outset, ensuring that their solutions can grow to meet increasing demand without compromising on the quality or impact of the service provided.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Dr. Nan-Wei Gong
CEO and Founder of FIGUR8
Dr. Nan-Wei Gong, CEO & Founder of FIGUR8: $40 Million Raised to Build the Future of Musculoskeletal Health and Injury Data Solutions
Joe Gagnon
CEO of 1upHealth
Joe Gagnon, CEO at 1upHealth: Over $75 Million Raised to Build the Future of Healthcare Data
Richard Queen
CEO and Co-Founder of DignifiHealth
Richard Queen, CEO and Co-Founder of DignifiHealth: $7 Million Raised to Drive Better Patient Outcomes in Rural Healthcare and Beyond
Rishi Nayyar
CEO and Co-Founder of PocketHealth
Rishi Nayyar, CEO and Co-Founder of PocketHealth: $22.5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Medical Image Sharing
Andreas Cleve
CEO and Co-Founder of Corti
Andreas Cleve, CEO and Co-Founder of Corti: $32 Million Raised to Power the Future of Patient Consultations
David King Lassman
Founder of GigXR
David King Lassman, Founder of GigXR: $7 Million Raised to Bring Immersive Learning to Healthcare
Brett Kleger
CEO of Datacubed Health
Brett Kleger, CEO of Datacubed Health: $43 Million Raised to Revolutionize Clinical Trial Data Collection
David Berry
CEO and Founder of Valo
David Berry, CEO and Founder of Valo: Over $500 Million Raised to Build the Future of Drug Discovery
Kourosh Davarpanah
Co-Founder and CEO of Inato
Kourosh Davarpanah, Co-Founder and CEO of Inato: Over $35 Million Raised to Build the Future of Clinical Trials
Kevin Flyangolts
CEO and Founder of Aclid
Kevin Flyangolts, CEO & Founder of Aclid: $4 Million Raised to Build the Future of Biosecurity
Daniel Lambert
CEO of PathologyWatch
Daniel Lambert, CEO of PathologyWatch: Over $50 Million Raised to Build the Future of Digital Pathology
Viral Patel
Founder and CEO of Radish Health
Viral Patel, CEO of Radish Health: $5 Million Raised to Connect Employees with a Better Healthcare Experience
Joshua Miller
CEO and Co-Founder of Gradient Health
Joshua Miller, CEO & Co-Founder of Gradient Health: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Medical Imaging
Ty Allen
CEO of SocialClimb
Ty Allen, CEO of SocialClimb: $12 Million Raised to Power the Future of Healthcare Marketing
Samson Magid
Co-Founder and CEO of HealthSnap
Samson Magid, Co-Founder and CEO of HealthSnap: Over $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of Remote Patient Monitoring
Trenor Williams
CEO and Co-Founder of Socially Determined
Trenor Williams, CEO and Co-Founder of Socially Determined: $34 Million Raised to Build the Social Risk Intelligence Category
Itzik Cohen
Co-Founder and CEO of PayZen
Itzik Cohen, Co-Founder and CEO of PayZen: $240 Million Raised to Build the Future of Affordable Health Care
Austin McChord
CEO of Casana
Austin McChord, CEO of Casana: Over $46 Million Raised to Create the Future of In-Home Health Monitoring
Dipanwita Das
CEO and Co-Founder of Sorcero
Dipanwita Das, CEO and Co-Founder of Sorcero: Over $20 Million Raised to Power Medical Affairs Teams of the Future
Alex Zekoff
CEO and Co-Founder of Thoughtful AI
Alex Zekoff, CEO and Co-Founder of Thoughtful AI: $21 Million Raised to Power the Future of Healthcare Automation
Steven Greene
CEO of Nibble Health
Steven Greene, CEO of Nibble Health: $8 Million Raised to Bring the Fintech Revolution to the World Healthcare Payments
Derek Streat
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Dexcare
Derek Streat, CEO of Dexcare: $110 Million Raised to Help Health Systems to Find Time for the Best Care
Hala Borno
Founder and CEO of Trial Library
Hala Borno, Founder and CEO of Trial Library: $5M Raised to Improve Patient Recruitment and Diversity in Oncology Clinical Trials
Matthew Stoudt
CEO and Founder of AppliedVR
Matthew Stoudt, CEO and Founder of AppliedVR: Over $70 Million Raised to Build the Future of Chronic Pain Relief
Joseph Schneier
CEO of Trusty Care
Joseph Schneier, CEO of Trusty Care: $13+ Million Raised to Shape the Future of Medicare
James Bates
CEO and Founder of AdviNOW Medical
James Bates, CEO and Founder of AdviNOW Medical: $24 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Healthcare
Michael Gorton
Founder of Teladoc
Teladoc Founder Michael Gorton on the Early Days of Pioneering the Telemedicine Category (And What’s He’s Up to Next)
Matt Renfro
Co-Founder & CEO of Lynx
Matt Renfro, CEO of Lynx: $17.5 Million raised to Bring Modern Fintech to Healthcare
Alfred Griffin
CEO and Co-Founder of CEO and Co-Founder
Alfred Griffin, CEO and Co-Founder of LightForce: $150 Million Raised to Power the Future of Orthodontics
Kyle Kiser
CEO of Arrive Health
Kyle Kiser, CEO of Arrive Health: Over $40 Million Raised to Improve the Value of Healthcare Through Informed Decision-Making
Aasim Saeed
CEO and Founder of Amenities Health
Aasim Saeed, CEO and Founder of Amenities Health: $10 Million Raised to Build the Future of Patient Engagement
Dr Thomas Oakley
CEO of Feedback PLC
Dr Thomas Oakley, CEO of Feedback PLC: £20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Patient Data Sharing
Stacy Edgar
CEO and Co-Founder of Venteur
Stacy Edgar, CEO & Co-Founder of Venteur: $7.6 Million Raised to Build the Future of Health Insurance