Sam is a managing partner and co founder of Ambit Ventures (an early stage digital health venture firm), he is on the board of multiple startups. We are co-investors in SOAP health (early disease detection and diagnosis at the point of care). At the age of 53 he decided to pursue an MBA and transitioned to the private equity world before launching his fund with his cofounder. We talk about his childhood, launching a venture fund, decision making, life, what he looks for in founders and startups. I hope you guys enjoy this conversation as much as I did.
00:48 How has your childhood shaped you?
03:25 Path to medical school
05:20 Why MBA after being successful in medicine?
09:24 Structure vs intuition in decision making
11:05 Would you ever go against your intuition?
13:30 Starting Ambit Venture
15:22 What do you look for in founders?
17:26 How important is organizational structure for a startup?
20:30 Advice for yourself when you were 30
21: 50 Economies of scale?
24:10 What is the biggest problem in healthcare?
26:20 Advice on fatherhood
27:47 What is your biggest failure and how did you move past it?
28:55 Would you rather have a life full of mini successes or massive failures?
30:37 Are you goal oriented? Is happiness about conquering goals or being in the moment?
31:20 How to raise capital from LPs and manage LP relationships?
34:24 How has the recession changed your investment strategy?
35:48 How much importance do you put into market tailwinds and headwinds?
37:47 Can a startup create its own market in healthcare?
40:22 How to incentivize hires?
43:10 The initial team might be the right team to grow the company beyond a certain point. What is the best way to manage this transition?
46:00 Visionary vs operator?
46:51 Investing strategy
49:02 How do you quantify a 10x potential?
50:32 What is the end goal for you?
