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Healthcare Founder Toolkit

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The Objective
Help founders identify the right investor and save time during fundraise.
I’ve sat on both sides of a fundraising deal. As an investment banker, I advised on M&A and fundraising transactions. Later, as a healthcare founder raising money for my health-tech venture in India, I lived the founder’s side.

That combination taught me something uncomfortable: Most early-stage founders walk into investor meetings prepared to answer questions, not ask them. That's understandable.

As a founder, you’ve spent months refining your pitch, rehearsing answers to clinical, regulatory, and commercial questions. But when the investor asks, “Do you have any questions for us?”—you freeze. Or you ask something polite but useless.

Fundraising is a two-way evaluation.
The investor is deciding whether to back you; you should be deciding whether to work with them.

The questions below will help founders identify useful signals during investor outreach—about fit, process, capacity, and whether an investor actually understands the sector they claim to focus on.

Let’s get into it.
1
  • “Are you interested in investing, and what are the next steps?”
    Don’t leave the room guessing. Ask directly before the meeting ends.
    If their response is vague—“keep us informed,” “let’s reconnect later,” “we’re exploring a few opportunities”—treat that as a polite rejection.

    Investors who are genuinely interested will suggest concrete next steps: a follow-up meeting, a request for specific clinical/business data, or a conversation with your clinical advisors.
  • Key takeaway
    Demand clarity on interest level and next steps. Vague responses equal soft rejections; specific follow-up requests indicate genuine consideration.
2
  • “What does your full investment process look like, and how long does it typically take?”
    Healthcare due diligence is not like software (SaaS) due diligence.

    Investors will want to dig into your clinical impact, regulatory strategy, and go-to-market (GTM) strategy, as well as your business model, and often bring in outside experts or key opinion leaders.

    Angels with healthcare backgrounds might move after 2-3 meetings. Angel groups often require multiple presentations.

    VC firms typically need 4-6 meetings, plus presentations to clinical advisory boards.
    Some even commission external clinical expert reviews—that can add weeks.
  • Key takeway
    Healthcare due diligence takes longer than other sectors. Budget 4-6 meetings plus clinical expert reviews that can extend timelines by weeks.
3
  • “What's your typical check size for companies at our stage?”
    Stated ranges are often misleading. A fund that says "$500K to $5M" may primarily write larger checks for later-stage companies, with smaller investments reserved for exceptional circumstances or follow-on rounds.

    Ask what they’ve actually written for healthcare companies at your stage and deal size in the last 12 months.

    Also ask about milestone-based funding. Many healthcare investors prefer staged capital tied to a clinical, commercial or regulatory milestone. Understanding that structure early prevents surprises later.
  • Why this matters
    Misaligned check sizes lead to misaligned expectations. Clarify ownership targets early.
4
  • “How many healthcare investments do you plan to make this fiscal year?”
    Funds have deployment schedules and sector allocations.

    If an investor has already committed to several deals in your space this year, their remaining capacity may be limited regardless of your company’s quality.
    Understanding their remaining capacity is crucial, particularly for specialized therapeutic areas where investors may limit their exposure.

    Asking this question early prevents you from investing significant time in a relationship that cannot result in a deal this funding cycle.
  • Why this matters
    If the investor(s) have hit their sector allocation or deal quota, your chances drop significantly regardless of company quality.
5
  • “Who else needs to be involved in the investment decision?”
    Healthcare investment decisions typically involve more stakeholders than other sectors due to the technical complexity. Beyond traditional partners, decisions may involve clinical advisory board members, regulatory consultants, or specialized healthcare partners.

    Identify whether you need to present to clinical experts, regulatory specialists, or healthcare industry veterans within their network. Understanding the complete decision-making ecosystem helps you prepare appropriate materials and anticipate the types of expertise-based questions you'll encounter.
  • Why this matters
    Your job is to identify the real decision-makers—not just gatekeepers—and get in front of them.
6
  • “What's your most recent healthcare investment, and what drove that decision?”
    This question reveals both their investment activity level and decision-making criteria specific to healthcare ventures. Recent investments indicate active deployment of healthcare-focused capital.

    Listen carefully. Did they emphasize clinical data strength? Regulatory pathway clarity? Market size? The founding team’s healthcare experience? Their answer tells you what they value.

    Also note the subsector. Enthusiasm for "healthcare broadly" is not the same as expertise in medtech, biopharma, or digital health specifically.
  • Key takeaway
    Their investment thesis for previous deals provides insight into what they value in healthcare opportunities and can help you position your startup accordingly.
7
  • “Are you currently considering an investment in this segment?”
    Investors do not back direct competitors. If they’ve already invested in a similar company, you will not get funded.

    But some firms conduct “market scans”—they meet with multiple startups, gather information, then pick one. That’s a waste of your time.
  • Key takeaway
    Ask this early. If they're "exploring the space," clarify what that means before sharing proprietary clinical or commercial strategy.
8
  • “What specific concerns do you have about our healthcare startup?”
    This is one of the most useful questions you can ask.

    Healthcare investments carry layered risks—clinical, regulatory, reimbursement, commercial - and experienced investors often see risk that is not visible to founders.

    The feedback you receive here - on your clinical data, your Go-To-Market, your business model assumptions - is the same feedback your next investors will likely have. Hearing it early gives you time to address it.
  • Why this matters
    Even if an investor passes, their feedback is often invaluable for refining your strategy and addressing investor concerns before the next pitch.
9
  • “What is your approach to follow-on funding?”
    Most healthcare companies need multiple rounds before commercialization.

    If your seed investor declines to participate in the next round, it creates a negative signal for incoming investors regardless of the underlying progress.

    Some investors seed with the intention of leading the Series A. Others bring in new capital for growth rounds. Angels rarely have the capacity to follow on at all. These are all legitimate venture funding models, but you need to know which one you're working with.
10
  • “How do you support healthcare companies beyond capital?”
    In healthcare, money alone is not enough. You need partners who can help with:
    • Regulatory strategy
    • Clinical trial design and contract research organisation (CRO) connections
    • Payer and hospital relationships
    • Recruiting key opinion leaders
    • GTM and pricing strategy
    Ask for specific examples.

    The right healthcare investor should be able to point to specific instances where their involvement changed a company's trajectory.
11
  • “Can you connect me with two or three healthcare founders you've backed?”
    Strong investors will make introductions without hesitation.

    When you speak with those founders, focus on the difficult periods—a clinical miss, a regulatory delay, a missed commercial target. How the investor engaged during those moments tells you more than any initial meeting will.

    These conversations reveal how investors respond to the inevitable obstacles in healthcare innovation and their commitment to long-term partnership.
Bringing It All Together
Today, India has many family offices, sector-agnostic funds, and healthcare-focused VCs. That’s a good thing. But more options also mean more noise.

Investor selection in healthcare is a strategic decision, not just a capital decision. The right partner brings KOL relationships, business credibility, and the patience that long development cycles require. These 11 questions are a practical way to assess fit before you're committed - and to use the first meeting as productively as possible.

Ask them directly. The right partner will respect your rigor.
About the author
  • Aaditya Khemuka
    Partner at pharmapro
    20+ years of experience in investment banking and consulting.
    Lived and worked in New York, London, Paris, and Mumbai. Cofounded a VC-backed digital healthcare venture for the India and US markets