Inspired in 15 Inspired Capital

On this episode of Inspired in 15, we are joined by our four partners—Alexa von Tobel, Penny Pritzker, Mark Batsyian, and Lucy Deland—for an exciting announcement: introducing Inspired III, a $330M fund committed to backing fearless founders solving the hardest challenges facing humanity. We cover why we founded Inspired Capital five years ago, our view of where venture is headed, and how venture capital—when properly deployed—is the most powerful economic engine on the planet. Inspired III marks a new chapter in our long-term journey to support the most ambitious founders of our generation, and we encourage you to come say hello.

What lies ahead for the landscape of aesthetic dermatology in the coming decade? Praveen Ramineni, the Founder and CEO of Portrait, is revolutionizing the field by streamlining back-office operations for individual practitioners, allowing them to dedicate their energy to providing top-notch clinical care. In our discussion, we delve into the pivotal role mid-level providers are poised to play in healthcare, the strategic choice behind Portrait's launch within the aesthetic dermatology vertical, and the evolving partnership dynamics with pharmaceutical companies in the industry.

For many, Scholastic is synonymous with education as the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books with a reach of 54 million students. As Chief Academic Officer, Amanda Alexander leads Scholastic’s research and validation efforts to ensure that their products are impacting learning outcomes positively. We cover the human capital shortages in school districts, how technology will have an outsized impact on assessments, and why teachers are no longer the only educators in the classroom.

Sandra Clarke, the COO of Blue Shield of California, has taken on the ambitious task of overhauling the healthcare system to cater to the needs of everyone involved. Health Reimagined by Blue Shield is revolutionizing every facet of the flawed health system, from rethinking pharmacy care to streamlining real-time claims and integrating electronic health records. In this episode, we dive into the distorted incentives within the healthcare system, why paying for pharmaceutical drugs on a net-price basis is the goal, and how startups and payers can collaborate.

The idea of the fifth generation of mobile technology (or 5G) is familiar to most consumers who own a smartphone. However, how do enterprises benefit from the lightning-fast speed of 5G networks? Rajeev Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Celona, is on a journey to make 5G technology as accessible to enterprises and industrial organizations as Wi-Fi. In this episode, we cover why the unlock for broader 5G adoption arrived in the past year, how 5G is powering enterprise use cases, and why computer vision got lost in the artificial intelligence hype cycle.

Physical security often goes unnoticed in the tech landscape. Dave Selinger is driven to revolutionize this industry by bringing in cutting-edge technology and innovation. As the CEO and Co-Founder of Deep Sentinel, he combines human capabilities with AI technology to combat crime effectively. In this conversation, we cover the importance of addressing consumers' primary concerns, the crucial role of honesty in decision-making, and strategies for mitigating bias in datasets.