Search Fund – Laurel Tree Partners

After nearly two years, I’m ready to get back into entrepreneurship. Since we founded Requip, my sister, Jenna, and I have been talking a lot about working together in a business capacity. I’m excited to announce that we’ve formally launched our search fund, Laurel Tree Partners, with the goal of acquiring and running one great business. If you’re not familiar with the concept, here is a great primer put together by the team at Stanford, but we are essentially operating a small-cap private equity firm and the two of us are serving as the deal sourcing team, operating team and general partners. We started working on the concept this past January and in the last five months, we put together a private placement memorandum, spoke to dozens of former and current searchers, and successfully raised funding from an all-star group of investors. I’m so proud of what we’ve already accomplished, am honored to be working with my sister and know we can build something great together.

If you know of any $2 – $10M EBITDA businesses for sale, please send me an email – dennis.lally@laureltreepartners.com.

https://www.laureltreepartners.com/

Why Tech Firms Can’t Ignore Seniors

I recently published this post for Fortune Insiders. 

When it comes to technology, the mass market for the most part ignores senior citizens. This is a mistake. Despite the common misconception, today’s senior citizens have a greater familiarity with technology and own more devices than ever before.

With over 46 million people aged 65 or older in the U.S. as of 2014, seniors comprise nearly 15% of the total population. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, as of 2013, 59% of seniors reported using the Internet, while 47% had broadband access in their homes. And the senior technology market is expected to exceed $42 billion by 2020.

Despite this rapidly growing and untapped market opportunity, building technology products for older adults isn’t easy. Companies face design and monetization challenges. But if they can overcome these obstacles and start targeting tech products and services to seniors, it will be worth the effort.

One size doesn’t fit all

A significant challenge is the “design-for-all” school of thought, which suggests that technologies and environments should avoid any specialized modifications. This can make devices more difficult to use for older adults, who have fundamentally different needs than their younger counterparts. Some of the basic design features seniors often require include larger fonts, increased color contrast, and louder audio or subtitles.

However, younger designers often have their own expectations of how seniors should think or act, and don’t truly understand their needs. As a result, new tech products often fail to catch on with seniors. While it’s relatively easy to build a new dating or social messaging app and test it with younger users, the feedback process is a lot longer with older adults. As an AARP study points out, seniors are willing to try new technologies; however, there remains a threshold to get the hardware into their hands. Without a large user base, it’s extremely difficult to get necessary feedback on products and improve technology for the elderly.

In addition to the increased time needed to test the market, companies also face the challenge of monetizing their products. It’s understandable that since seniors have traditionally been late adopters to new technologies, companies have largely focused on products with a clear return on investment, such as fall detectors and medication adherence tools. Another hurdle is that family members or caregivers make many purchasing decisions for their elderly relatives. Despite seniors reporting a high willingness to try new technology, the AARP study found that more than 80% of caregivers believe they would have difficulty convincing their loved ones to adopt new products.

Going beyond functionality

Given the perceived risk of introducing new technologies to seniors, companies have historically designed only strictly functional products for the older generation. They should alter their approach. Seniors just have a higher bar for adoption and tend to reject products that are “built for seniors.” This is a new era for senior technology, and companies building products that perform more than just basic tasks will have the best chance to succeed.

Companies like Stitch, basically a Tinder for seniors; Breezie, a provider of tablets with a uniquely designed operating system; and our own company, Rendever, which designs virtual reality experiences for the elderly, are already tapping into the older adult market. Together, we’re bringing more companionship, connection, and stimulation into their lives.

The market for such products is larger than you’d think: The Pew Research Center says 10,000 Americans a day are turning 65. It’s only a matter of time before the market demands creative ways to monetize tech products for seniors. And as more seniors continue to adopt new technology, there will be opportunities to collect data that helps generate new revenue.

If startups can get past the hurdles of monetization and design challenges, seniors represent an enormous potential market.

3 Important Lessons for Founders

I recently had the opportunity to speak the founders of CoachUp, an online marketplace where athletes can connect with private coaches across a variety of sports. The site, which launched just three years ago, has started to see some significant growth in its user base and has attracted some big name professional coaches including Julian Edelman, a wide receiver on the New England Patriots and Steph Curry, the 2015 NBA MVP and NBA Champion. But before CoachUp got to where it is today, the founding team had to take an idea and prove it could be a viable company. Below are three lessons that any entrepreneur should know when pursuing his/her own endeavor.

1. Be scrappy. In speaking with the guys from CoachUp, it was apparent that part of their success was due in part to their scrappiness. When the company was looking to grow its user base, they didn’t spend a ton of money on advertising but instead used many free resources available to them to reach their customers. They were able to identify watering holes where they could find the right people to fill their database; they went on LinkedIn, Facebook and other social sites and joined the relevant groups to get the word out and this free and scrappy method turned out to be extremely successful.

2. Experiment to see what works and be nimble when you find out what does. For any innovation driven startup (meaning not a family-owned small business), the company is creating something that likely hasn’t existed before and as such, the only way to find out what really works is to experiment. For CoachUp, this lean method was utilized when trying to attract athletes to the site; initially they believed SEO and online methods would work as they had for attracting coaches, but after trying alternatives such as seeking partnerships with summer camps, the team quickly switched to a more effective method.  

3. Know your customer and build your product for them. In the early days, CoachUp was able to attract an initial user base of coaches who were willing to sign up to the site without any pressure from the company. This genuine interest demonstrated that there was indeed an opportunity for a business, at least on the coaches’ side of the marketplace. As for the athletes, CoachUp did not offer any freemium type discounts because they wanted to see if the business model was viable from day one, and they found out it was. Once they had customers on both sides of the marketplace, they worked closely with them to build out the product and as such, were able to create a product that customers would like and use. To this day, they continue to request and receive feedback from customers and enhance the site to fulfill their requests.

Four Industries that will Benefit from Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality: Year 0    

The origins of Virtual reality trace back to the 1950s, but VR technology has experienced significant advancements, drawing the attention the leaders in technology including Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung, HTC and even Apple has started to test the waters. Historically, when you said ‘Virtual Reality’ many people thought of science fiction, but so much has changed since Facebook’s $2 billion dollar acquisition of Oculus Rift – perhaps the most well-known VR headset, which at the time of the acquisition didn’t seem like much more than a successful Kickstarter campaign for a pair of glasses and a plastic box held together with masking tape. According to Neville Spiteri, CEO of WEVR, the number of head mounted displays (HMD) could triple by the end of the year as hardware companies release consumer versions such as Oculus Rift, Samsung GearVR and others.

Currently, much of the focus of VR is on entertainment and gaming; Facebook struck a deal with Lionsgate and 21^st Century Fox to offer movies in what will be there attempt at a VR iTunes, the Oculus Store. Neftlix, Hulu, Twitch and others are all planning to offer streaming video services. Similarly, and perhaps the most advanced developments have been in the gaming world. Driven in part by the Unity Game Engine, companies like Kongregrate have been able to develop lifelike video games. While most of the current applications are consumer-focused, there is a significant market opportunity to address the commercial markets. Below are four industries beyond entertainment that will benefit substantially from the use of virtual reality in the years to come.

1. Real Estate

Virtual reality has many practical applications in real estate and will help provide technological advancements to an industry that has not benefited too much from innovation in recent years. Floored allows real estate developers to create simulations of properties to show potential clients before the development is constructed. This allows firms to increase occupancy rates earlier, having tenants bare some of the upfront development costs. Matterport, which recently closed a $30M round led by Qualcomm, has developed a relatively affordable ($4,500) 360-view camera that allows brokers and developers to film real estate property that they can then show potential clients using a virtual simulation. IrisVR has created software that allows architects to easily transform their 3D models into a virtual simulation that they can then show to prospective clients. Companies using VR will have a competitive advantage as they look to differentiate themselves through the eyes of their clients (that was a VR pun).

2. Healthcare

With the size and attractiveness of the market coupled with the desire for companies to apply innovation wherever possible, the healthcare industry should experience significant advancements driven by increased utilization of VR. For the past few decades, there’s been a growing interest in utilizing VR in clinical settings such as therapeutic treatments for PTSD, phobias and even severe pain in burn victims. Imagine instead of having a patient lying on a couch as a therapist verbally walks them through a scenario, the patient can put on a VR headset and operate within a predetermined and relevant simulation. Companies like Virtually Better are creating content that allows therapists to provide a safe and controlled environment to more interactively treat their patients. Using VR for medical education and training is another application that could greatly reduce costs and increase outcomes. For example, according to an article in Fortune, 65,000 elderly care facilities in America spend on average $3,000 per employee to learn tracheal insertion procedures. Next Galaxy is developing a VR simulation that would eliminate the need to travel to specialized training facilities, reducing the cost to only $40 per employee.

3. Travel and Leisure

Companies such as Marriott are using VR to create virtual simulations for guests, allowing users to step into Marriott locations around the world from one of their VR phone booths. Marriott has been testing many new and innovative concepts to keep up with the ‘modern travelers’ needs.’ Similarly, companies like YouVisit are producing virtual travel experiences, working with large travel agencies to promote what they call “try it before you buy it,” allowing travelers to experience a service or destination before the purchase a vacation package. Landmark Entertainment is in the process of creating VR Theme Parks across China as well as a virtual world’s fair. While the applications related to travel are still early, the opportunity seems to exist and perhaps in the future, virtual travel will be a popular alternative to jetsetting.

4. Education       

Growing up, I didn’t have iPads or technologies beyond a VCR and the original Mac in the classroom, but future generations will benefit substantially from new technologies including VR. The use of technology in schools has become quite mainstream and we can expect this trend to continue as new offerings become available – enter VR educational simulations. Imagine you get to experience the signing of the declaration of independence instead of simply reading about it in your textbook. Or imagine you can travel to ancient Egypt and experience the culture and political ecosystems instead of watching a PBS special. SunriseVR has begun developing educational content for the classroom including a field trip to space and a simulation to help students understand the human body on a cellular level. SpaceVR is planning to launch a camera rig into space aboard a resupply mission in December, offering paying subscribers a chance to view space through a VR headset. I was at a hackathon where a team was working on taking video footage of a class and converting it to a VR simulation. With the recent interest in massive open online courses (MOOCs) such as edX and Coursera, which create accessibility to education that was never before possible, these sites will now be able to offer interactive content in VR. The applications in education are seemingly endless.

Many of these commercial applications exist but the necessary hardware and relevant content have not been made readily available. With the technology evolving so rapidly and becoming more immersive everyday, expect to see more and more companies establish internal VR strategies and many new companies begin to offer VR products with commercial applications.

If you’re interested in VR, shoot me an email (dennis.lally@sloan.mit.edu) and follow me on twitter (@denchenzo)!

Why I Chose MIT Over Wharton

Around the same time I wrote my first blog post about setting personal goals, I wrote down a goal of attending a top MBA program within the next two years. Having been accepted to both MIT and Wharton, I am proud to say my persistence paid off. Applying to business school was no easy task and required a significant amount of commitment and perseverance. From when I first started studying for the GMAT through writing my essays, completing applications and interviews, the process took me over 7 months. While the application process was difficult, choosing between these schools, while it’s an awesome problem to have, has been quite challenging for me. On the one hand, Wharton the first collegiate school of business and bears a highly prestigious brand name in the financial and business realm. On the other hand, MIT has one of, if not the most, recognizable names in technology and entrepreneurship. After spending a significant amount of time networking with alumni and current students from both schools, it’s apparent that the schools are quite different from each other. I want to start a company during or shortly after school and as the disparities became more evident, my choice to attend MIT became clear. Specifically, I will highlight three aspects of MIT that stand out to me.

1. Focus on Entrepreneurship and Technology

The first and perhaps most important aspect that draws me to Sloan is the focus on entrepreneurship. While Wharton seems to have a growing presence, using Warby Parker as its poster child, MIT is leader in the space.

“A recent study suggests that living MIT alumni have created more than 25,800 currently active companies that employ about 3.3 million people and generate annual revenues of $2 trillion — producing the equivalent of the eleventh-largest economy in the world.”

MIT’s motto “Mens et Manus,” or “Mind and Hand,” plays an integral part in forming an ecosystem that promotes innovative thinking. Sloan offers an Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) track, which has extensive course offerings that allow students to gain hands on learning (more to come on this) with projects and companies of all sizes and stages. The entrepreneurial culture extends far beyond startups, encouraging all students to think of innovative approaches of tackling real world problems. Entrepreneurship is really a mindset at MIT and one that the school instills in all of its students.

Both schools offer entrepreneurship centers and while I was not able to check out Wharton’s, I can say the MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship comes straight out of The Social Network. The building is filled with breakout rooms with white boards full of newly brainstormed ideas, teams working on exciting projects and professors mentoring students. Walking through the first floor, I could feel the pulse of the collaborative thinking and ideas being generated. MIT also hosts the renowned MIT 100K Competition, which contrary its name, touts over $350K in cash and prizes. Beyond the extensive entrepreneurship resources, as the unabbreviated name would imply, Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers the most highly regarded engineering and technology programs in the world. The bottom line is MIT is the place to be for anyone interested in entrepreneurship and technology.

2. Collaborative Culture

The second key component that MIT uniquely offers is its collaborative culture, which I was able to witness first hand. Wharton is Wharton – not UPenn Wharton, while Sloan is MIT Sloan and often times just MIT business school. While this may seem menial, its demonstrative of the culture each school possesses and I believe there is a lot to be said about MIT’s cross campus integration. MIT has made a significant effort to create an environment where students can learn from each other both within and across all of the programs MIT has to offer. I spoke with David Birnbach, a lecturer at MIT who was enthusiastic about the direction in which Sloan is heading as the schools are making a concerted effort to connect MBA students with students from other programs, creating an opportunity for cross-pollination of ideas and resources. The ideas coming out of the undergrad and engineering schools are vast, but many of the individuals behind these ideas lack business acumen, which is where David believes the integration of Sloan and the other schools has and will create opportunities to translate innovative technologies into successful companies. Additionally, with a class size of approximately 400 versus over 900 at Wharton, MIT offers a smaller community where its likely you’ll cross paths with the majority of your peers, which students and alumni argue is a major driver for the collaborative nature within Sloan.

3. Experiential Learning

The last major factor I put significant value on is the concept of Action Learning. MIT was a pioneer in the field of experiential learning, which promotes learning by doing, offering opportunities for students to apply classroom lessons directly in the field. E-Lab (Entrepreneurship Lab), for example, is a project-based action learning course, in which teams of students from MIT and Harvard are matched with founding teams of high-tech startups on projects of strategic importance to the venture. Wharton has slightly similar offerings through the Global Molecular Courses, however, MITs are more focused on the integration of learning through classroom theory and real-world practice. Many of the entrepreneurship classes such as New Enterprises, Product Design and Development, and Innovation Teams offer a unique learning environment where students work through each class designing and implementing various aspects of starting a company. Rather than solely focusing on case studies, Sloan offers opportunities for students to get direct hands on experience, which for me, is important as I look to attain a basket of resources to better prepare me to launch my own endeavor (if I don’t do so during one of these classes!).

Wharton is obviously one of the most prestigious and well-known MBA programs in the world, which is why my decision was not an easy one. However, after researching the programs, beyond just rankings, it’s clear that MIT Sloan is the best program for what I want to do – start an innovative company. In addition to the more substantial reasons above, Boston is by far a better city to live in than Philly. Sure Philly is accessible to NYC, but so is Boston and more importantly, Boston has the type of macro resources to support this sort of entrepreneurial ecosystem including a large and growing technology and venture capital presence.

The Common Core – Childhood Education

I serve on the Advisory Board of Our Lady Queen of Angels Elementary school (K-8), a member school of The Partnership of Inner-City Education. The school has spent a significant amount of time and money transitioning its curriculum as the Common Core State Standards Initiative comes into effect. If you’re unfamiliar, the Common Core is an educational initiative in the United States to establish educational standards across the country and to better prepare students for both college and the workforce. There is a significant amount of literature including this Business Insider article that supports the fact the United States’ education system is rapidly falling behind. The Common Core is one step that will hopefully curb this decline and help improve the quality of education and outcomes for children across the country.

The Common Core seeks to establish standards across math and English that will prepare students to become contributing citizens of the world. There are no specific reading requirements but students are expected to read a range of materials and subjects in order to acquire new insights and consider varying perspectives. General writing standards are given to support the development of logical claims and sound reasoning based on relevant evidence. In addition, students are required to write opinion pieces and focused research projects, aimed at developing research and written analytical skills. There is an emphasis on discussion-based learning, utilizing group projects and class presentations followed by collaborative discussions. Basically, what this says is that rather than being focused on reading and having teachers present facts, the education will be focused on understanding and reasoning; a shift that I am confident will promote the notion of knowledge but more importantly, intelligence and cognition. Another interesting change that I believe makes sense, is a shift away from teaching cursive handwriting and instead, focusing on modern forms of media including basic typing. In math, the focus has moved away from regurgitation of formulas and towards strategic thinking and reasonable problem solving. I recall much of my early mathematical education being focused on repetition and numerical problems. The Common Core is focused on application so, in a basic example, rather than teaching students that 2×2=4, teachers will utilize real life examples – if you have two apples and you double that amount, you will have four apples. This is not to say the multiplication tables will be eliminated but there is a stronger focus on application and comprehension. The Common Core provides high-level parameters that determine the specific level of knowledge students should attain in each grade. It allows schools and teachers to be creative in designing unique or shared curriculums that will lead to this now standard level of knowledge base.

I believe the adoption of the Common Core will help improve the quality of the education offered in this country and it will help produce valued individuals that will contribute to society. I recently listened to a podcast on Freakonomics Radio, “Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem,” which raises another important question about the quality of our teachers. While the Common Core attempts to create standards of the level of education students should attain throughout his or her schooling, it does not effectively address the way in which we teach our youth. These teachers go through a Master’s program, studying theorems and principles of teaching with minimal application. Perhaps there should be a more immersive environment for teachers to receive his or her necessary post-secondary education – an environment that promotes more direct involvement with students. As the Common Core attempts to better prepare students for the “real world,” maybe there should be a system to better prepare teachers. This obviously does not apply to everyone, but I can say from experience, that there are many unqualified teachers in our public education system. Childhood education is a global investment, and one that will have major implications for our future. We should be doing everything in our power to prepare students and teachers alike with the best resources available.

Business Speed Dating

I spent the last week in San Francisco for the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference during which 25,000 individuals from across the healthcare sector descend upon the bay area. Startups, publicly-traded companies, investors, advisors, doctors, bankers and more all come west to attend presentations and meetings by day and cocktail parties and dinners by night. My calendar was packed with back-to-back 30 minute and hour long meetings – It is a little like speed dating for business. You meet with an interesting medical device company who is looking to raise capital followed by a meeting with an investor looking for an innovative medical device company that will put his money to work. My job is to introduce the two parties in hopes that I can generate a fee on any transactions that come to fruition. So while I participate in the speed dating, I am more of the matchmaker. After a long day of meetings, the ‘festivities’ begin. Many service providing companies such as law firms, private equity firms and banks including Mesirow, will host cocktail parties, occupying all the local bars and hotels, creating what is referred to as “the circuit.” This sort of evening speed dating entails quicker discussions, often sharing more ideas to spur business and investment.

Throughout the week, we met with some pretty interesting companies and a slew of investors. One company, Medsphere, has created an open-source electronic health record platform, employing the core code built by the VA that they were able to duplicate for free by taking advantage of the Freedom of Information Act. Ironically enough, they are now pursuing a Department of Defense grant, essentially taking technology from one branch of the government and selling it to another. Another company has developed a software and service platform to offer a telepharmacy service that would save hospitals a significant amount of time and money. All the while, hospitals such as North Shore LIJ are implementing venture arms that will provide capital for new technologies that will utilized by in their network as well as others. This corporate VC model is fascinating as the investors are also major customers, adding value in twofold. Innovation is slowly but surely finding its way into the healthcare industry and it will be exciting to see the significant changes that are ahead. Conferences such as this, while hectic and fast-paced, create opportunities to share ideas and promote growth for all constituents.

Baking Apple Pie Apples

Its the holiday season and considering two of my favorite activities are eating and spending time with my family, my girlfriend and I decided to bake apple pie for everyone to enjoy. Christina found a cool recipe for personal apple pies, each served in the actual apple so we ventured off to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients (we actually ended up going to three different stores but thats mostly because we are cheap and didn’t want to spend $10 on pie crust at Whole Foods when we could get it for $1.50 at Trader Joes). Here is the list of ingredients, which you can probably get all in one store (note one recipe makes 4 apples):

1 – pie crust

6 – granny smith apples

1/4 cup – sugar

1 Tbsp – brown sugar

1/4 tsp – cinnamon (more or less make adjustment as desired)

Melon baller

Instructions to follow:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cut off the top of 4 apples and use a melon baller to remove the inside, leaving around 1/4-1/2 inch thick shell (we dug ours too thin, causing the apples to become too soft – so make the edge slightly thicker than whats pictured). Keep 1-2 cups of the removed apple to use for the filling.

3. Peel the skin of the remaining 2 apples and cut them into small cubes to be used as the bulk of the filling.

4. In a sauce pan, mix the cubed apples and 1-2 cups of the discarded filling from the apple shells with the sugar and cinnamon. Let sit over low heat for a 10 minutes, stirring every minute or two.

5. Scoop the mixed filling evenly into the apples and place on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet or pan.

6. Lay out the pie crust and cut into strips approximately 1/3 inch thick.

7. Lay the strips over the filled apples creating a latticework pattern and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon

8. Cover the apples with a layer of aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.

9. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

10. Place on a plate with a scoop of ice cream and enjoy 🙂

A few takeaways – as I mentioned above, we dug our apples to deep, which caused the walls to be to soft. Additionally, we didn’t have enough filling to fill each apple to the top, causing some of the crusts to sink into the apples slightly, so saving the removed apple and adding it to the cubed apples should help with that problem. Obviously ours did not look as great as the original recipe but they sure tasted great and Christina and I had a lot of fun making them.

Good luck and happy baking!

Technically, I Got a Nose Job

During my junior year of college I broke my nose in a friendly scuffle, which caused a nasal septum deviation, otherwise known as a deviated septum. I was able to partially realign the peripheral for aesthetic purposes; however, the internal configuration was out of sync, impairing my ability to breathe through my right nostril. Without knowing the extent of the internal damage, I let the wound heal itself and once the bruising subsided effectively forgot the injury ever occurred. While not evident at the time, the restricted breathing became more apparent as it led to unforeseen complications that would affect my daily life. The frequency with which I was catching colds was increasing and the severity of the symptoms was worsening; persistent sinus congestion would lead to post-nasal drip which, in turn, would cause a sore throat.

It was roughly three years after the injury when I noticed a particular cold-induced sinus blockage was lasting longer than had been typical. My girlfriend suggested that I make an appointment to meet with Madeleine Schaberg, an ear, nose and throat specialist, to address these issues. I had not realized at the time, but after speaking with Dr. Schaberg, I was informed that my deviation was likely affecting not only my immune health but also my sleep cycle; the deviated septum was likely triggering sleep apnea, a disorder caused by interruptions in normal breathing patterns, thus negatively affecting sleep habits. After I presented my pertinent medical history, she proceeded with a nasal endoscopy and examined my left nostril with relative ease, but before she could get the endoscope past the hairs of my right nostril she began to chuckle – “I think we’ve found the culprit…the deviation in your septum is causing a 95% blockage on your right side, making it nearly impossible to breathe through.”  Since the cost of that appointment covered half of my annual deductible and rates were expected to increase with the ACA legislation, my decision to elect for surgery became that much easier. Dr. Schaberg referred me to a different specialist who focuses on rhinoplasties, which are often associated with plastic surgery procedures, so technically I got a nose job. I had heard a lot of bad things about this procedure and began to do some research of my own. Despite the dissuading testimonials, I was ready to go under the knife.

The procedure itself was nothing to worry about; however, the recovery was far less than enjoyable. I was told 2-3 days would be adequate time to recover to the point at which I could return to work, yet this was far from reality. It was not the pain that created cause for concern but rather the vast amounts of blood-saturated gauze that was taped to my face that made it extremely difficult to breathe with my head upright. Both nostrils were ‘packed’ with gauze while my septum was kept stationary with plastic stents, each nearly the size of a credit card. Frankly, I was unaware these were even in there until I went for a follow-up a week or so later and the doctor told me to look away while he used pliers to yank them out. Throughout the recovery, I was concerned even the slightest of contact to my nose would again dislodge the septum. It was necessary to sleep elevated on my back and I recall attempting to roll over one night and tapping my nose to the pillow, thinking to myself that I would need to go back and redo the procedure, but according to my doctor, this turned out to have been extreme cautiousness. I took a generic form of sleep aid (without a decongestant per my doctor’s orders), which offered some nighttime relief, and I indulged in terrible daytime television throughout the day, intermittently napping, drinking lots of fluids and eating soft foods. After the third day, the recovery started to become easier as I could tackle more solid foods and sit upright for longer periods of time without too much blood rushing to my head, and after a week, once the stents were removed, other than the residual bruising, all that was left of the recovery process was occasional sensitivity and daily sinus rinsing.

It’s been almost a year now since I had the procedure and the benefits are definitely noticeable. Part of the reason I decided to move forward with the procedure was that much of the research I had found suggested that the results were life-changing and while that term is rather strong, the surgery resulted in remarkable improvements in my daily life: the quality of my sleep is noticeably better, I do not become tired as frequently during the day, and I’m now capable of breathing through both nostrils and am no longer classified as a ‘mouth-breather’. If you are contemplating getting a septoplasty to improve your nasal passages, I would highly recommend it.

Blueprint Health

I attended the Blueprint Health Demo Day yesterday where seven potentially disruptive healthcare companies each presented its progress over the past three months. A little background – Blueprint Health is a startup incubator/accelerator similar to the more well-known Y Combinator or Techstars, however, Blueprint is solely focused on the healthcare industry and as such, has dug out a strong presence in this “niche” market. The incubator selects a handful of companies from thousands of applicants to participate in one of its semi-annual three month long intensive programs, during which the companies have the opportunity to hone their business models, generate market traction and most importantly, seek valuable advice from Blueprints unique mentor network comprised of leaders across the healthcare industry.

I had the opportunity to first meet the most recent Blueprint class at their launch event on the fourth day of the program. The companies each gave a brief introduction speech followed by an open forum discussion where I spoke with a few of the founders to get a better sense of their businesses and respective outlooks. It was obvious that these were early-stage startups as some of the companies seemed to lack strategic focus or even market applications. While the Fast forward three months and it is apparent that the time spent at Blueprint was extremely beneficial in “accelerating” every one of these companies. Some of the teams were able to sign major contracts while others found the strategic focus they were seemingly lacking. Each of the seven companies ended its presentation with an open invitation for investment, with most having over 50% of the $1-$2 million dollar rounds committed. While the investment markets are extremely active, this is an impressive feat and quite noteworthy for the founders as well as Blueprint Health Team.