John Kuelper, investment director at healthcare venture firm Ascension Ventures, is among those who decided that the best way to help science go forward is by investing in it, rather than by doing research.
Having led four new investments for Ascension over the past two years, the director is currently sitting on the board of three companies: Syapse, for which the firm led a $25m series C round in January 2016; Repuatation.com, which received a $20m round also led by Ascension around the same time; and Cofactor Genomics, which raised $18m in funding through an oversubscribed A round led by Menlo Ventures.
Kuelper also led Ascension’s investment of an undisclosed amount in Warburg Pincus-backed entity, Intelligent Medical Objects, in February last year.
Having graduated from Washington University in St Louis with a BA in Cognitive Neuroscience, the director originally started out as a medical researcher specialised in medical robotics and computational neuroscience at the intersection of software and biology.
He said: “I was originally geared towards becoming a research physician, but I decided I was much more interested in scaling innovation outside the clinic and lab.”
The director first went down the entrepreneurial path, launching several small but profitable software and life sciences ventures before identifying venture capital as the best fit with his interests and skillset.
To begin his transition from operator to investor, he decided to pursue a graduate education in healthcare business and policy, earning MBA and JD degrees from Northwestern University. This led to a series of roles spanning various segments of the private equity and venture capital industry, including at Adam Street Partners, Sterling Partners and Abundant Venture Partners.
Kuelper said: “From this experience I had reached two conclusions: first, I knew I was more drawn to new markets and disruptive technologies, and so wanted to invest primarily in early-stage venture capital; and, second, I knew I wanted to stay in healthcare, where policy, market, and technology trends were converging to create an enormous opportunity for value creation at the time.
“From then on, I sort of set out to find which funds would be the best fit for these goals, and Ascension stood out since their strategic model of partnering 13 corporate sponsors – representing nearly 500 US hospitals – gave them a unique view of the market that would help me become a better investor.”
At Ascension, Kuelper was first acquainted to managing director Ryan Schuler during a conference on healthcare innovation in Chicago around 2013. The following year, he joined the firm as a member of the Kauffman Fellows, a two-year global educational program in venture capital and innovation.
Kuelper explained that although he was first hired as a generalist, his promotion to the rank of director last summer has enabled him to specialise in healthcare technology, which was always his passion.
He said: “While my background in software lent itself well to the firm’s healthcare technology practice, it has been incredibly valuable to learn from colleagues whose expertise spans software, medical devices, and healthcare services.”
Described by Ascension’s senior managing director Matt Hermann as “thoughtful, strategic, insightful, and humble,” Kuelper has particularly stood out for his deal-making skills within the firm.
Reflecting on past experience, he spoke of the difficulty of building one’s credibility as a new joiner within the CVC industry, especially as part of a long-established institution. “Gaining credibility early on in an investor’s career is always difficult,” he said. “I spend quite a bit of time building trust with entrepreneurs by leveraging insights from our hospital to help them develop product strategy so that, when they are ready to raise capital, it is not such a leap to choose me over someone with 20 years-plus experience.
“Now that I have four companies that can vouch for my ability to add value as an investor or board member, things have got a little easier, although the bar continues to be raised as entrepreneurs have so many great options for capital partners.”
In the years to come, the director plans to continue his own ascension within Ascension, and to continue building his expertise in the healthcare technology space.
Kuelper lives in the country outside of St Louis, Missouri and – when he is not in California looking for the next big healthcare technology company – enjoys the outdoors, house renovation, and reviewing poetry for the Boulevard literary journal where he serves on the board.