The USC MESH (Medicine, Engineering, Science, Humanities) Academy at the USC Keck School of Medicine announced today a collaborative agreement with Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health, L.P., a Pasadena-based venture capital firm investing in healthcare startups. The goal of this collaboration is to accelerate the pace of innovation in health and life sciences, expand the portfolio of external investment at USC, and widen the funnel of opportunities for Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health.
The USC MESH Academy aims to provide support for innovation and entrepreneurship and provide connections to corporate relations to address challenges in human health and disease. Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health is a fund that focuses on healthcare startups seeking Seed and Series A investment. The collaboration will provide unique opportunities for USC-affiliated life and health science entrepreneurs. First, this alliance will allow for faster and easier identification of promising healthcare-related startups from the USC ecosystem. The USC MESH Academy will provide referrals to USC-affiliated healthcare and life sciences startups for possible investment by Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health. Some USC-affiliated entrepreneurs will also receive advice and feedback on their company business model, technology platform, and go-to-market strategy.
This collaboration also provides an opportunity for select USC students to learn about a career in venture capital and interact with active venture capitalists. A joint USC MESH Academy / Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health student intern, who will be selected annually from the USC student body, will help in identifying promising USC-affiliated healthcare startups for potential investment by Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health.
“This new alliance between Wavemaker Three-Sixty and the USC MESH Academy will enable the success of more USC-affiliated entrepreneurs.” said Amanda Mason, Assistant Director for Strategy and Planning at the MESH Academy and one of the primary architects of the new collaboration. “One of the most important determinants of success for any new venture is adequate funding, and we hope to see many USC-affiliated startups funded through this new partnership.”
Jay Goss, General Partner at Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health, added that “Our fund is seeking to support early innovators in the healthcare space. We find that prestigious research universities like USC house an incredible depth of entrepreneurial talent and spirit. We are excited to uncover more of that talent at USC, and bring more cutting-edge healthcare innovations successfully to market.”
About MESH
The USC MESH (Medicine, Engineering, Science and Humanities) Academy at the Keck School of Medicine of USC (“USC MESH”) is a joint initiative supported by the Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the USC Office of the Provost. USC MESH collaborates across the broader USC community to strengthen the culture of innovation at USC by facilitating the convergence of disciplines that can meet an unmet need that impacts human health and disease. The mission of the MESH Academy at USC is to empower the convergence of medicine, engineering, sciences, and humanities through educational programs, support for innovation and entrepreneurship, and corporate relations to address challenges in human health and disease. Follow us on Twitter @USCMESH or https://keck.usc.edu/mesh-academy/.
About Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health
Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health, L.P. is an LA-based venture fund led by seasoned healthcare executive John Nackel (former head of E&Y’s global healthcare practice and CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s Ingenix Consulting, now Optum) and professional early stage CXO Jay Goss, who has worked with dozens of early stage companies in his career and understands the entrepreneurial journey extremely well. The fund focuses on healthcare start-ups seeking Seed and Series A investment, and is a joint venture between one of Los Angeles’ most established and active venture funds – Wavemaker – and Three-Sixty Advisory Group, an eleven-year-old healthcare consultancy. The fund’s investment thesis is that after 40 years, healthcare is transitioning away from fee-for-service to value-based payments, and with that comes a massive amount of disruption. There will be no shortage of clinical operations and business challenges to solve in the coming decade, and entrepreneurs are already coming out of the woodwork to solve these problems. Moreover, countless business models are now for the first time commercially viable because the healthcare industry is embracing value-based payments. The fund counts among its investors dozens of healthcare senior executives, eager and extremely able to add value to the early stage companies in which the fund invests.
Contact information:
Emily Chu
Program Administrator
USC MESH (Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, and Humanities) Academy at the Keck School of Medicine
1975 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Office: 323-442-2762
Emily.chu@med.usc.edu
https://keck.usc.edu/mesh-academy/
Jay Goss
General Partner
Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health, L.P.
301 North Lake Avenue
Suite 900A
Pasadena, CA 91101
818-298-7259
jgoss@wavemaker360.com