Imagine sitting in a room with VC investors, pitching them on a company you know could save millions of lives by detecting cancer early.
Now imagine sitting on the other side of the table, listening to the pitch, reviewing the research and digging into the science. You see the value and possibilities—as well as the hurdles the company could encounter and how they could overcome them.
This is how we met. I (Jessica) was a co-founder and executive at GRAIL and I (Iana) was a healthcare VC at GE Ventures. Little did we know that this first conversation about capital, milestones, risks, returns, and the incentives of healthcare’s stakeholders would be the first of thousands. But it was perhaps the one that mattered most because it ultimately led us here.
Today, we proudly announce INITIATE Ventures, a new kind of venture firm built for talented entrepreneurs looking to change the world in healthcare, tech, and life sciences.
We created INITIATE to share unrivaled expertise shaping the companies that affect millions of lives everyday—as well as to roll up our entrepreneurial sleeves to help founders achieve maximum impact. So, who are we?
We’ve been scientists, founders, operators, investors, and advisors who have developed innovations that improve access to appropriate care, save patient's lives, and advance biomedical research. Some of our highlights:
Through our decades of experience, we’ve created and backed companies that generate huge returns and create generational wealth. We also lived through dilution, shutdowns, and the harm that ripples through organizations with toxic leaders. In short, we understand what it’s like—the good, the bad, the truly insane—to take a company from an idea you passionately believe in and turn it into something sustainable that benefits the world. And we want to join you to do it again.
We created INITIATE Ventures to apply our expertise, focusing on early-stage health tech and life sciences companies raising Pre-Seed to Series A rounds. We seek companies that will push boundaries and define new categories. We back talented entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to be bold and own it.
In addition to traditional venture investing, we encourage and support big thinking with the resources needed to move ideas out of the concept stage. Our Studio is designed to partner with entrepreneurs to co-create and launch new companies. The Studio acts as an experienced co-founder, supplying both operational and strategic support in areas ranging from milestone development and execution, talent acquisition, and fundraising.
We believe founders achieve greater results for their companies, employees, investors, and the world at large when more than capital is involved. INITIATE supplies unparalleled mentorship and connections from people who understand the nuances and minutiae of your business. We’re an extension of your team and can strategically lighten the load.
To our future founders, we are committed to your success over the long term. We don’t run from the realities of business. Rather, we partner with you to make an outsized impact so that your company can get farther faster, raising capital strategically with less dilution while you maintain more control.
We are on this journey with you, and it’s the greatest job on Earth! Together, let’s make the impossible possible.
INITIATE is the synthesis of our experience as founders and investors. Constructing the firm, raising capital, identifying our first Studio companies, and building our portfolio has been no small undertaking. We are deeply grateful for those who have supported us on this journey.
First, is the incomparable Randy Scott, who raised his hand to write our first check. Randy is not only a successful serial founder who led three companies through IPOs, he also embodies the commitment, integrity, and vision that inspires us to back other great leaders.
We are honored by the many talented women who not only invested in INITIATE, but also encouraged us to build our own castles rather than collide with glass ceilings. Thank you to Rowan Chapman, who was instrumental in our early NewCo builds. Her vision for “what could be” enabled the founding of INITIATE. Heartfelt thanks to Anne-Renee Hartman, Jenn Buechel, Tara Madalla, Julie Ballard, Murielle Thinard, Jess Meng, Becky Smith, Stiliana Dimkova, [Wei Brian?]– as well as female founders we’ve backed who are now backing us at INITIATE: Lisa Alderson, Deb Kilpatrick, and Christine Lemke.
Thank you to our amazing former venture partners and colleagues from KPCB and GRAIL who provided unwavering support, introductions, mentorship, and reference calls: Brook Byers, Rick Klausner and Jeff Huber. And to Bob Nelsen, and Mike Pellini, for your guidance, introductions and investment in INITIATE.
Our vast ecosystem is one of our strongest assets. We will never underestimate the doors they open or the ideas they bring to our table—and dear future INITIATE founders—to you.
Here we go!
INITIATE co-creates and funds companies boldly revitalizing healthcare.