13 First-Time Healthcare Founders Navigating 2022’s Shaky Market

• The odds are stacked against founders starting their first company in 2022.
• These 13 healthcare founders have raised venture capital for the first time as a recession looms.
• Their startups have landed anywhere from $5 million to $70 million in early-stage funding this year.

Most startups fail. Some estimates suggest that about two-thirds of venture-backed businesses ultimately fail to raise additional capital.

One way to increase the probability of success? Get a founder who’s done it before.

As the US tumbles toward a recession, investors may be leaning toward safer bets — and pouring money into founders with past successes in healthcare entrepreneurship certainly looks like the safer option.

That could make the market tougher for people who want to start a business for the first time.

But venture capitalists are still looking for that one-in-a-million founder who can knock it out of the park on their first swing. Hussein Kanji, a partner at Hoxton Ventures, said that in his experience first-time founders might be more willing than serial entrepreneurs to take the risks that could deliver big returns to investors.

“Serial entrepreneurs build consistent companies, but they usually don’t build them to the same scale as first-time founders,” he said.

These 13 founders are taking on healthcare’s rocky waters for the first time in 2022. Their startups have announced at least $5 million in seed or Series A funding this year.

Each of the founders is the CEO of their company. Some of them have decades of healthcare experience. Some have no healthcare background at all.

Check out the full list, ordered from least to most money raised this year.