What is Lemhi looking for?
Like all venture capital firms, we are constantly looking for people with the drive, intellect and passion to create a company. Our interests are somewhat more specific than many firms, so before you approach us, please take the time to review the material on this site to assess whether or not your business idea aligns with our focus.
If you believe there is a fit, the best approach is to present us with a brief summary of your idea, the transformative impact you see it having, and your thinking about the potential scale of the business. You can do that through the Contact Us page on this website. Please be focused.
If a meeting seems appropriate, we’ll expect you to come prepared to discuss your business idea in concrete terms, including a summary of the investment required, the expected results and your thoughts about exit strategies.
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How does Lemhi find the companies in which it invests?
For the most part, we seek them out. We have a strong point of view about how the healthcare industry must change, and we are actively seeking entrepreneurs with new ideas and new business models who will get us there. The best referrals have come from the leaders of our current portfolio companies and from our cumulative network of professional contacts.
We are very disciplined about the areas in which we will invest, but flexible about when and how we become involved. We have made seed investments or incubated start-ups where we could not find a suitable existing business. We have also found companies operating in areas we believe are interesting and essential. In those cases, we have made investments to support development, prove a concept or accelerate growth.
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What is the process of setting up a meeting with Lemhi?
First, read the material on this site carefully enough to be certain your idea is an appropriate one to present to us. For example, we do not invest in medical devices or the development of specific therapies. No exceptions. There are many great investment opportunities in those areas – yours may be one of them – but they are not areas in which we have sufficiently deep experience. So, please be ruthlessly honest with yourself about whether or not what you want to accomplish is a good fit with our interests.
If you think there is strong alignment, send an e-mail via the Contact Us page. It will help if you are resourceful enough to have found a personal referral we recognize, but sometimes a well-prepared pitch is introduction enough. If that first, brief conversation suggests a business idea or model we think might fit our overall investment strategy, we’ll arrange a preliminary meeting to explore the idea more fully.
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Do I need a formal business plan?
Formal? No. Thoughtful and thorough? Yes. Rather than think of the business plan as an annoying requirement, think of it as a map of what you want to accomplish. You should do this to clarify your own thinking and guide your business, not because we require it. Put another way, we are not investing on the basis of the quality of your business plan, but on the quality and potential of your idea as a business.
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What should my business plan include?
We don’t require any particular business plan format. You can find many business plan templates and tools online. For example, visit www.score.org/template_gallery.html.
An effective plan should articulate your vision for how this company will disrupt and transform a specific area of healthcare. As you’ve noticed if you’ve read this far, we are committed to growing great companies with the potential to have a substantial impact on the consumer experience of healthcare. You need to tell us how you will contribute to this.
Of course, a business plan will also draw a map of how the company will operate, the resources it will require, the market environment in which it will perform, and the leadership experience that demonstrates you and your team have the skills to deliver results.
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