He’s spent one and a half decades investing in Digital Health, Diagnostic and Biotech companies in Europe and the US. Now, Simon Meier wants to help founders move away from caution and focus on the potential their ambition and grit can deliver.

 “I love supporting founders and their companies in bringing new solutions to healthcare. The pandemic showed many areas in healthcare where the adoption of digital and new technology would lead to better outcomes. This would be better for patients, better for care teams and better for society”, he said. “I serve as an investor, a board member or advisor. For example, I was an investor and board member with mySugr a startup focused on diabetes patients”.

Before starting with VI Partners, Simon spent 15 years with Roche Venture Fund and for 5 years carried responsibility for the partnering team of the digital business of Roche Diagnostics. Initially leading the team out of Switzerland Simon moved to the US where they explored a broad range of partnering opportunities, with large partners like GE Healthcare and Accenture, many startups and Startup Creasphere the international startup accelerator program with PlugandPlay. 

“Moving back to Switzerland I decided to pursue my career in a different direction. I strongly believe digital healthtech is an emerging opportunity where startups have an excellent opportunity to establish sizable businesses. I am engaging with startups in this field as an advisor and business angel.”

After being reintroduced to VI Partners, Simon quickly realised how well their views aligned and how much passion and ambition they share for the digital healthtech segment. “We want to leverage this shared passion in VI’s next healthtech fund and bring the shared expertise of the VI partnership to bear our portfolio of companies.”

Why digital and why healthtech?

“Where to start? The change in my life brought about by new digital solutions fascinated me from early on. It started with playing video games as a kid, to developing a deep fascination for technology and building things. I observed how digital became key to how we live our lives and do business. This fascination brought me to Venture Capital in the late 90ies”.

After Roche, Simon had a first-row seat observing how technology and digital solutions help foster this future. 

“I never really could decide between Biology, Chemistry or Physics. But since all of these combine in healthtech, I felt happy to move further into this field. Given the impact healthtech has improving people’s lives, I never looked back.”

How can founders and investors be successful? 

Simon believes that great partnerships are built on trust and an agreement on where they want to go together. “My advice would be to get to know each other and talk about both, the opportunity and inspiration as well as the challenges and solutions.”

On his return from the US, Simon found that European founders and investors often focused more on challenges and caution. He said, “I look to open their eyes for the upside and what could be achieved with the ambition and grit they have”.

Having supported many successful start-ups, Simon thinks that success comes by first understanding the market and the customer, “even before the technology expertise, which obviously is important. But the real difference is how the team works and how they respond to input and are honing the strategy to win. Since we will spend a lot of time together our relationship should be fun and productive.”

Simon looks to learn more every day. He said, “Over time I have learned to appreciate how much VC work is like gardening and cooking and less like architecture and construction. I look to select the right ingredients and foster the evolution. I stay humble that I am not in control. This frees me to contribute more of me to the shared success”.

How do you balance the risk of investing vs the potential?

Simon believes risk has both upsides and downsides. “The key to success in VC is investing into an opportunity which has outsized upside with a good likelihood. It is all about the expected value. The beautiful element lies in how much you can contribute to that.”

Understanding the importance of relationships, Simon said, “Shaping a great team, getting to a winning strategy, striking the right partnerships leverage relationships and shorten the path to success. When they are succeeding you need to let companies run as far as they can”.

Simon knows not all will work out. But then “limiting downsides and salvaging some of the investment is key to limiting the impact.” He is happy looking back and says “ This has worked well. I did not have to completely write off any of my investments. Thanks to some great outcomes, the game has been very interesting”.