E149 Behind the Scenes with a Healthcare VC: Power, Pressure, and Patient Impact with Rachel Kern

In this episode of the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, host Michael Stamatinos sits down with Rachel Kern, Senior Vice President at First Trust Capital Partners, for a candid and compelling conversation that explores the real dynamics of venture capital, healthcare innovation, and what it takes to build companies that endure.

Rachel brings a rare blend of academic curiosity, operational insight, and straight-shooting practicality to the world of healthcare investing. With a background in history, international relations, and economics, Rachel approaches venture capital as a long game rooted in pattern recognition, strategic empathy, and the ability to distinguish signal from noise in a sector full of hype.

This episode goes beyond the pitch decks and capital raises. Together, Michael and Rachel explore the hard truths no one talks about; the founders who aren't the right fit to scale their own companies, the innovations that die not because they're wrong but because the system refuses to adapt, and the deeply human side of being a venture investor in a field where decisions have real-world consequences for patients and providers alike.

Topics covered include:

* How studying history gave Rachel an edge in identifying market patterns and avoiding strategic pitfalls

* The red flags investors spot in the first five minutes of a pitch—and the constructive friction that makes founders worth backing

* The emotional and professional complexity of navigating founder transitions

* Why great companies sometimes fail simply because they’re too early for the system they’re trying to change

* The difference between performative lists and real structural progress for women in venture capital

* The evolving role of investors in supporting lonely, overwhelmed founders through the "Death Valley" stage of early growth

* The importance of community and interconnectivity across portfolio companies

* Rachel’s long-term investment theses on Medicaid innovation, consumer-centric models of care, and value-based infrastructure

* Her take on AI in healthcare...what’s real, what’s noise, and where the industry should proceed with caution

What she would tell her 20-year-old self about curiosity, failure, and building a career that aligns with purpose

Rachel also opens up about her own mentors, her dream side hustle curating music for television, and what she wants her legacy in venture capital to be; less about deals, and more about the founders she’s empowered to create real impact in healthcare.

This episode is required listening for healthcare founders, early-stage investors, operators navigating transformation, and anyone who wants an unfiltered look at how decisions are really made behind closed doors.

To learn more about Rachel and First Trust Capital Partners, visit:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-kern-3530a526

First Trust Capital Partners: https://www.ftcp.com

The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light.

Find out more about how we are building bridges within healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/