Distributed Ventures

On Wednesday night, we had the privilege of hosting an unforgettable gathering of people-first leaders in Chicago alongside Pillar and Distributed Ventures. The night was a celebration of shared ideas, purposeful connections, and the vibrant community that fuels innovation and progress. Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the evening so impactful. #PeopleFirst #CommunityBuilding Samara Jaffe

Episode 160 of the Let's Grab Coffee Podcast with Shawn Ellis, Managing Partner of Distributed Ventures, is in the books ☕ Distributed Ventures is a Chicago & New York based $100M fund focused on investing in early-stage healthcare, insurtech, and fintech opportunities. We discuss Shawn's journey from investment banking, strategy, and consulting to his transition into venture capital. He shares valuable lessons on breaking into #venturecapital, tips for fostering meaningful relationships, and insights on building a corporate venture capital fund. We explore his experience deploying $100M in the future of risk, what makes founders stand-out, and strategies for dealing with pressure and handling burnout. We also talk about why Shawn is bullish on #Chicago and his personal/professional outlook for 2025. Lots of gems in this episode and it really was a lot of fun. Thanks to Shawn for his continued leadership in the VC space and being a great human all-around. Links in the comment section to listen to the full episode. Enjoy!

✨We have some big news to share! Sage raised $35 million in Series B funding led by IVP, with participation from Friends & Family Capital and PLUS Capital. Existing investors Maveron, Goldcrest Capital,  Distributed Ventures, and ANIMO Ventures also participated! 🗣️From Raj Mehra, Co-Founder and CEO at Sage: “At Sage, our goal is to be the operational backbone for all long-term care communities. Our platform helps caregivers respond faster—decreasing response times from an average of 20 minutes to under 8 minutes.” ⌛“Those minutes save lives: we helped operators triage 1.3 million care events this year alone. We also provide real-time insights into caregiver activity, which previously wasn’t possible. This operational visibility allows communities to improve staffing and reward exceptional caregivers.” 📈“Ultimately, Sage helps senior living operators do good and do well, creating thriving environments where both residents and caregivers feel valued.” Read more about the spark for Sage and where we’re going from here 👉 https://lnkd.in/er884SeR

What if your employees could ALWAYS get the lowest price on their prescriptions? "We don't buy everything from our everyday lives in one place. If it’s cheaper somewhere else, we’ll buy it somewhere else.” Our question is - why should employee pharmaceutical spending be any different? 🤔 In this interview on the Digital Health Heavyweights Podcast with Norman Volsky🎙️, Chris Crawford from RxSaveCard highlights a key issue in the pharmaceutical industry. He explains how RxSaveCard acts as the perfect companion to an employer’s PBM by offering lower cost options and flexibility when it comes to prescription drug costs. The result? Lower prices for employers AND employees. It's a win-win for everyone. 🤝 Reach out today to obtain your own personalized savings analysis, and to start allowing your employees access to the market’s cheapest medication prices. #healthcare #pharmaceuticals #PBMs #RxSavings #employeebenefits #partnerships

Posterity Health and Legacy have partnered to provide a comprehensive male reproductive health care solution that prioritizes a digital-first, at-home patient experience. This innovative partnership ensures males can access holistic reproductive care, ranging from at-home diagnostics to in-person treatment by Posterity Physicians. Excited about this transformative collaboration Sarah Steinle and Khaled Kteily Read more: https://lnkd.in/gSYJ_kAp

Curious on how you can get rid of waste in PBM spend? Enter Chris Crawford the founder and CEO of RxSaveCard. "You don't buy EVERYTHING in your life in one place. You shop around. We want to apply that same sort of flexibility for employers." Boom. We cover everything from Chris's journey into healthcare, his experiences at Health Strategy, and the complexities of the pharmacy benefits management (PBM) landscape. Which we all know are exhaustingly complex. Hear Chris break it down! Chris shares insights on the importance of having experts in the field, the role of consultants, and the impact of recent lawsuits on PBM practices. Are you interested in learning on how employers can save on prescription costs, what the member experience looks like, and the future of the PBM market? Than this episode is FOR YOU. "Truly everybody wins." 🔑Key Moments you can't miss 🔑 🩺 Chris Crawford transitioned from accounting to healthcare to help people. 📊 Health Strategy provided Chris with a deep understanding of pharmacy benefits. ⚖️ Employers need to be cautious about their relationships with PBMs. 💊💰 RX Save Card aims to help employers save on prescription costs. 🔍⚖️ The pharmacy benefits landscape is under scrutiny due to recent lawsuits. 🧑🏫 Consultants play a crucial role in navigating PBM relationships. 💡 Innovative solutions are needed to address high prescription costs. 🌐✨ The member experience with RX Save Card is designed to be seamless. 🤝📈 Fundraising for RX Save Card was relationship-driven and focused on product development. 🔮🛒 The future of the PBM market will involve more transparency and choice. 👂https://lnkd.in/dEkMdFpp ▶https://lnkd.in/deNSPZNT

This is another investment by Distributed Ventures that’s consistent with their focus on entrepreneurs who are transforming the future of risk across fintech, insurtech, and digital health and benefits: https://lnkd.in/eGpSp2Rb Every year, employers spend more on prescription #benefits for their employees. This is a $600 billion market (and counting), yet employee choice is limited — both in the drugs employees can access and how they pay. The Rx Save Card is working to address these issues for employers and employees. They provide employees with a solution to find the best cost for their prescriptions, and help employers alleviate the out-of-pocket payments for their employees. Shawn Ellis, managing partner of Distributed Ventures, shared this insight on the investment. “The Rx Save Card team is addressing the significant void between employer sponsored strategies and out-of-pocket solutions. This is timely with recent increased scrutiny from legislative, regulatory and legal entities related to the lack of consumer choice in the prescription drug market.” Congratulations to Shawn and the entire DV team, as well as Chris Crawford, cofounder and CEO of the Rx Save Card. #Innovation #EmployeeBenefits #PrescriptionDrugs