In a world where healthcare innovation can take years—and millions—to reach patients, SEED Healthcare is making bold bets at the very beginning. In this episode of 0100 Impact Talks, we sit down with Todd Perman, Managing Partner at SEED Healthcare, to unpack how early-stage capital, long-term alignment, and science-driven founders are reshaping the healthcare investment landscape.
Todd’s message is clear: to create transformative impact, you must start early—and partner deeply.
Why Seed-Stage in Healthcare?
While many healthcare VCs enter the game post-clinical or post-commercial milestones, SEED Healthcare goes earlier, sometimes as the first institutional investor.
“We believe the most value—and the most alignment—happens at seed,” says Todd.
SEED typically invests between $500K and $1.5M, focusing on companies that are deeply technical and often still transitioning from lab to market. By stepping in before traction is obvious, SEED builds close relationships with founders and helps shape the trajectory from day one.
The Science & Engineering Edge
SEED isn’t your typical digital health fund. They focus on hard science and engineering, where the barrier to entry is high but the potential for impact is even higher. Todd and his team look for startups tackling:
Next-gen diagnostics
MedTech and medical devices
Digital health platforms grounded in clinical need
AI-driven applications with real-world medical utility
“We want to back companies that are science- or engineering-led, not just software wrapping around workflows,” Todd explains.
It’s this interdisciplinary conviction—rooted in technical rigor—that shapes the firm's investment thesis and team composition. With backgrounds spanning Stanford radiology to healthcare IPO operations, SEED brings both credibility and empathy to the table.
Founders First, Always
A key theme throughout the conversation is alignment. Todd emphasizes the importance of investing in founders with deep domain insight and supporting them through the capital-intensive, regulatory-heavy world of healthcare.
“If we’re going to ask founders to take big risks, we need to be the kind of partners who take risks with them,” Todd says.
This founder-first ethos also extends to how SEED defines impact: not just through metrics, but through relationships, reputation, and results.
Impact Beyond Metrics
For SEED, impact isn’t a marketing angle—it’s the foundation. Whether it’s enabling earlier diagnoses, improving patient outcomes, or scaling precision therapies, the firm’s mission is rooted in real-world health improvement.
But Todd cautions against buzzwords. In his view, impact should be engineered, not assumed, and built through partnerships that prioritize both outcomes and accountability.
🎧 Listen Now
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why seed-stage healthcare investing requires a different mindset—and team
How SEED evaluates early-stage health tech for both impact and scalability
What it takes to build true founder alignment in complex markets
Where Todd sees the most exciting innovations across diagnostics, MedTech, and AI
Why early intervention isn’t just for patients—it’s also a strategy for venture capital
🔎 About SEED Healthcare
SEED Healthcare is a seed-stage venture capital firm backing science- and engineering-led startups at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and impact. With a hands-on approach and a commitment to deep alignment, SEED partners with entrepreneurs building the future of health.
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