DURHAM – Excelerate Health Ventures, which invested in three North Carolina startups from its first fund, has made its first close of $23.2 million on a fund aimed at $35 million, according to a regulatory filing.
Founded in 2013, it raised its first fund in 2014. Excelerate invests in early-stage companies doing something to change healthcare, said Exccelerate managing partner Andrew Schwab in an interview with WRAL TechWire. “We focus on a broad range of unmet needs. Staff burnout. new models for clinical trials, emerging payment methods, monitoring, which the pandemic has made so important.
Andy Schwab, managing partner, Excelerate Health Ventures. Excelerate photo.
Schwab and Managing Partner Bobby Bahram, both serial entrepreneurs themselves, said deal flow is good, although they have had to adjust to the virtual world. ‘We use zoom a lot,” said Schwab, “but I think everyone is anxious to get back to face-to-face.”
He said they expect the sector to continue to do well. A look at their portfolio companies gives a good idea of the sort of startup they seek:
Bivarus, acquired by Press Ganey, uses real-time employee feedback to improve patient care and health services. OrbitalRX helps pharmacies manage medication shortages. NurseGrid, acquired by HealthStream, transforms facility scheduling.
Bobby Bahram, managing partner at Excelerate Health Ventures. Excelerate photo.
Excelerate has had three successful exits from its portfolio and Schwab said the rest are doing well.
The three-person firm expects to hire an analyst in sometime in the next year. It has ten advisors who include some well-known names. Schwab said they expect deal flow to increase even more as entrepreneurs realize they’ve started to invest from the second fund.
