Ted Meisel is a lawyer, executive, investor and cofounder.
During a January 17 live-streamed Tales from the Trenches event at Chicago-based Matter, he shared stories from his background and a bit of advice based on all the hats he wears.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
After graduating from Stanford Law School, Meisel did consulting work at McKinsey. But ultimately, he realized it wasn’t the right gig for him. The realization came to him when he was told that he was about to be made a junior partner.
“It was like that line out of A Chorus Line: I felt nothing,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Internet was getting started. And Meisel was interested. Thus, he joined Citysearch, which he described as an early version of Yelp. After a time, Citysearch was sold to IAC and Meisel made the leap to a new organization: Overture, an Internet search company.
When asked by moderator Eric Langshur (who, like Meisel, is a cofounder of AVIA) what he would tell the younger, Overture CEO version of himself, Meisel did a bit of reflecting.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
“What I would have done differently is rely on my team in, frankly, a better way,” he said. “I had less experience in delegating in a really quality way. That’s a learned skill.”
Yahoo eventually acquired Overture, meaning another job change for Meisel. He became president of Yahoo’s search marketing division, where he learned the challenges of integrating two companies’ cultures.
Fast forward a few years and Meisel found himself migrating from a tech focus to the world of healthcare.
“The thought I remember having when I redirected into healthcare was, ‘I know I’m not the first tech guy who went into healthcare. I’ve talked to some venture folks about it. They said they tried it, they lost a bunch of money, they went away from it. I’ll probably get my hat handed to me. So whatever I do, this needs to be 10 to 20 years,'” he said.
He’s still in the sector today. Together with Langshur, he cofounded AVIA. He also cofounded WiserCare, which uses technology to help patients and physicians make better treatment decisions. Meisel serves on multiple boards, including that of HealthLoop, and previously served as a senior advisor at CMS.
With his experience in the industry, he’s able to proffer some advice to individuals getting started in healthcare entrepreneurship.
“I just started reading and talking to all the smart people I could about how healthcare actually worked,” he said, referencing books by Zeke Emanuel and Atul Gawande.
Additionally, Meisel urged entrepreneurs to be patient.
“What’s interesting about [healthcare] is good products are important, but they don’t win,” he said. “The whole trick in healthcare is to find a business model that aligns with the product.”
Photo: Yuri_Arcurs, Getty Images
