Why Mark Cuban And Others Are Betting $40 Million On This Under 30 Start Up
Cofounders of Genetesis, left to right: Vineet Erasala, Peeyush Shrivastava and Manny Setegn.
courtesy of genetesis
Vineet Erasala, Manny Setegn and Peeyush Shrivastava are childhood best friends from Cincinnati, Ohio. They’re also the cofounders of Genetesis—a company that measures signals from the heart—like its magnetic field—to diagnose cardiac issues within minutes.
To date, the company (which made the 30 Under 30 Healthcare list in 2023) has raised $40 million in venture funding from investors including billionaire investor Mark Cuban and firms like CincyTech. But it didn’t happen overnight. They first decided to create a business that would make it simpler to determine and receive a diagnosis, for both doctors and patients, at a bonfire in 2013. Since then, they’ve spent the last decade testing, iterating and hustling.
They first met with local cardiologists to learn opportunities to bring technology to healthcare. Through those conversations they found that many physicians used proxies to assess patients but weren’t able to give them personalized results without a number of appointments with specialists. So Genetesis created a software that could read data about the heart’s activity and result in a diagnosis quickly and accurately. But after building the software, they realized that the data they wanted to read was unable to be collected by the technology that existed at the time. So they set out to build a device that could record activity of the heart themselves.
“That was the impetus to build the technology that we’re building right now called magnetocardiography [a non-contact way to measure the magnetic field of the heart], and begin the journey of commercializing that,” says Erasala.
With an MVP in hand, the cofounders leaned hard on their local communities. They networked with founders from their universities (Ohio State and Case Western) and took part in local startup competitions like 43 North and The Ohio State Business Plan Competition to win cash and clout.
Their home town also provided their first test subjects. The trio scanned the hearts of friends and family to acquire early data needed to submit the device for its first clinical trial.
And when it was time to raise those larger rounds, they stayed close to their local roots: “I think a lot of investors have wisened up to the idea that this is a low-cost area to build a robust, durable business,” Shrivastava says. He points out that the cost of living, talent and customer acquisition is much more affordable in Ohio than other states. Plus, they have multiple major universities and hospital systems at their fingertips.
Do you know of another Cincinnati business that thrived in their local community? Nominate them for our 2024 30 Under 30 Local Cincinnati list today. Email u30lister@forbes.com with your nominees.
Talk soon,
Alex & Zoya
P.S. Are you ready for the flagship Under 30 U.S. Summit? This year, Forbes is taking Cincinnati, Ohio, where we’ll bring you a roster of A-list founders, investors and performers—and of course, priceless opportunities to network with accomplished Under 30 listers and mentors. Last year’s line-up included Kendall Jenner, Bad Bunny, Halsey, Rainn Wilson and more. Snag tickets before June 1 to get an early access rate of 85% off here.
Billionaire Jim Simons’ Last Interview: The Hedge Fund Legend On The Universe, Making Money And Giving It Away
Hedge fund manager Jim Simons was the first and most successful to turn investing into a science using quantitative computer models.
BILL CRAMER/COMMON HISTORY
Hedge fund founder, philanthropist and billionaire Jim Simons died last week at the age of 86. Last September, he made his final public appearance at the 11th Annual Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy in New York, where he and his wife were presented with the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for philanthropy. He built the $50 billion asset firm 70 miles east of Wall Street and heavily relied on mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists— not just financial experts—to grow. At the time of his death, Simons was the 51st richest person in the world, by Forbes’ estimates, worth $31.4 billion. Read more about his final interview with Forbes here.
Lister Lowdown
-Wayve, a 2020 Under 30 Europe company that creates AI-backed software for self-driving vehicles, announced a $1.05 billion Series C last week. The round was led by Softbank Group with participation from Nvidia and Microsoft and marked one of Europe’s largest investments into AI yet. Wayve says the hefty funds will allow the startup to officially launch its product and bring more autonomous vehicles onto the roads.
-Stix, the reproductive care company cofounded by 2023 Social Impact lister Jamie Norwood, launched products with its first ever physical retail partner, Giant, this week. Their UTI Test & Treat kit will be seen in more than 200 locations across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. Plus, the test includes digital results that users can scan to be connected with a doctor.
-2023 Under 30 Marketing & Advertising agency Five to Sixty acquired a local production company in New Orleans called FatHappy, which has produced video-based content for clients like Tulane University and Louis Armstrong International Airport. Five to Sixty says the acquisition was motivated by tax incentives for more film and TV in Louisiana, like the Motion Picture Production Program that gives up to a 40 percent tax credit on production expenses.
Mental Health Minute
Stephanie Liu built Nourish with cofounders and fellow Under 30 alums Aidan Dewar and Sam Perkins.
Courtesy of Liu
Building a startup can be incredibly stressful. Somewhere between creating pitch decks, managing a team and trying to win over customers, founders might forget that they’re more than just a company. So how do you protect your peace and run a business?
Take a minute to hear from our Under 30 listers about their personal journeys with mental health and how they stay balanced. Up this week: Stephanie Liu, cofounder of 2024 Under 30 Healthcare company Nourish which connects patients to registered dietitians via a website and mobile app. The startup has raised over $9 million from investors.
The following has been slightly edited for length and clarity.
How has being a founder affected your mental wellbeing?
The highs can be really high, but the lows can be very stressful. The nature of startups is that things change quickly, so I’ve also experienced different kinds of stressors much faster and in quicker succession than what I would have experienced had I continued on my path as an individual contributor. Having people around me who understand what I’m going through and can offer perspective when times are tough has made all the difference.
How do you find balance between your personal life and running a startup?
Starting a company has made it even more important for me to be intentional with my time. As a founder, you can feel like you are on a never-ending treadmill of tasks that you need to complete. I’m currently reading a book called Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals which I’m really liking. One of my biggest takeaways has been to embrace the fact that we won’t ever have enough time for everything on our to-do list.
While I want to contribute as much as I possibly can to my startup every day, I think of it as a marathon rather than a sprint. Carving out time to make sure that I’m taking care of myself enough to stay in the game of being a founder in the long-run is the most important.
What’s your best advice to other founders who are struggling with prioritizing their mental health?
There will be some days that you will just have to power through, but there can also be time set aside for when you need to switch off so that you’re able to show up as your best self the next day. It’s easy to feel like the short-term trade-off on your health is worth it, but it’s important to establish healthy habits to ensure that you can sustain the stress in the long run.
I think this looks different for every person. Some people have a daily routine, whereas I like to set my schedule on a week-to-week basis.
Do you have a part of your day you look forward to most?
During the work week, I really look forward to the ad hoc meetings that come up every day where I’m working closely with my team to push projects forward. That joy of creatively solving a problem with people that I love working with brings me a lot of energy.
On the personal side, I have certain rituals that I really look forward to outside of work. I enjoy my Sunday morning ballet classes, cooking with friends on certain weeknights, and exploring the performing arts.
Do you have a go-to activity or routine for when you’re feeling particularly low?
On a day where I’m feeling low, I treat myself by cooking a healthy meal for myself (or with friends), going to a workout class, or going on a run. Spending time catching up with my family and friends after work also helps level out my mood.
I also really love hosting for friends, whether it’s dinner or a casual happy hour. I first started hosting dinner parties with my roommates when I lived in the Bay Area, and though it seems to be less common in New York, I’ve tried to preserve that ritual as best I can.
Do you think the entrepreneurial community does a satisfactory job at talking about mental health? What cultural norms still need to change?
There’s been a lot of progress made in recent years in terms of destigmatizing the topic of mental health, especially amongst founders. Where I’ve found the discussion lacking is what maintaining a healthy mindset looks like in practice. The goal isn’t to avoid tough situations or sacrifices, but rather to understand how to work through them so that you can show up in the way you want to show up. I think there could be more discussions about the ways founders can tactically deal with tough moments that most of them will face, such as letting someone go or an existential risk to the business becoming a bigger issue.
Lastly, at Nourish, we have this fun Slack channel where the team shares updates and photos recapping our weekends. I think it’s important, especially as founders, to lead by example and show that while we’re work-oriented, we also have personal lives and interests outside of work.
