Marcus Whitney on the types of connections that healthcare finance leaders should be making

What kind of connections should healthcare finance leaders make, whether it is within their own organizations or externally, such as with venture capital (VC) and private-equity firms or tech startups?

There are some standout leaders who have sought to future-proof  their organizations and have developed capabilities around venture capital, whether it is in-house or through partners that enable them to play. But most have not, and for them, the learning curve is steep.

It is important to remember that VC is a point solution.  It is not a platform for change on its own. And the incentives are not always 100% aligned between VC and healthcare organizations. A VC firm’s goal is to invest in companies and get a return. The healthcare organization’s goal may be having a fund in place to learn about innovation — not necessarily to build a company they can sell.

Ultimately, healthcare finance leaders have to accept that the winds of change are here, learn about industry transformation and then figure out what this means for their organization from a strategic perspective. Once they do that, they can partner with VC firms with their own strategy intact. If they try to lead with a partnership before they are ready, it won’t work.