All human progress operating in service of bettered humanity is a response to one essential question: how do we evolve current knowledge into revolutionary concepts? In my four decades as an inventor, I have often found my response to this question to be one of medically-directed invention.
Where We Are Investing Now: Microbiome
December 10, 2020 by
Scientific exploration of the microbiome represents the opening of one of the greatest new areas of science in decades, perhaps centuries. It has the potential to rival Einstein’s impact on physics or the double helix on understanding biology. While young, this area shows historic potential across a dizzying expanse of health and human experience.
Where We Are Investing Now: Neuroscience
October 26, 2020 by
Neuroscience has always been a focus area for Social Starts and Joyance Partners and should continue to be due to the large and clear unmet need. Stress, anxiety, mental illness, and their associated impacts are at all-time highs. People seem desperate for solutions. Science points toward many potential new approaches. We also recognize that there […]
Where We Are Investing Now: Longevity and Aging Economy
September 21, 2020 by
Longevity and Aging Economy will be one of the core investment areas for Social Starts for the remainder of 2020. Longevity ties strongly into Health and Happiness: “Healthspan”—the number of years a person can expect to live with full health and no activity limitations—is an emerging concept in this area and should stand at the […]
Where We Are Investing Now: Health Tech
September 8, 2020 by
Because of the inextricable tie between health and happiness, there exists an equally strong connection between happiness and health. Now, powerful new science is opening whole new categories of products capable of contributing to happiness. Therefore, we see Health Tech as a central investment focus area.
Where We Are Investing Now: Health and Happiness Digitally-Native Vertical Brands
August 31, 2020 by
We believe that successful digital brands have these characteristics…
What We Look For In Deep Science Pitch Decks
August 17, 2020 by
Pitch decks come in a lot of flavors. We’ve seen five pages, we’ve seen fifty. We’ve seen them sparsely punctured with bullet points, we’ve seen what might have happened if David Foster Wallace wrote a novel in PowerPoint. Where’s the golden mean? What can you throw away and what sparks joy?
Individual Health in the Time of the Pandemic
July 10, 2020 by
Mike Edelhart of Social Starts walks us through some observations on how COVID-19 has impacted trends from a VC’s perspective.
Smiling Robots Alleviate Human Anxieties with Expper Technologies
June 24, 2020 by
Loneliness and isolation are heightened in the midst of the pandemic. Can robots fill a void? Expper’s founder Karén Khachikyan says the company’s robot Robin changes a kid’s perception of medical treatments, where they will no longer feel isolated, lonely, and scared. The innovator explains how his whimsical four-foot robot employs digital facial expressions to form lasting bonds with its young users.
Contact Tracing, Machines, And Civil Liberties
May 26, 2020 by
Already five regions within New York State have reopened for business, ushering in a new reality of “test, isolate, and trace.” The United States estimates it will hire close to 300,000 people to become contact tracers, identifying potential spreaders of the virus. Governor Cuomo has appointed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to head […]