E154 The Capital Game: Raising Billions, Scaling Startups, and Serving Veterans with Greg Downey

What does it take to move a healthcare idea from paper to product, and from product to public market success? Greg Downey has lived it and built the playbook along the way.

In this episode of The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show, host Michael Stamatinos sits down with Greg Downey, Managing Director of Purim Ventures, for a rare behind-the-scenes conversation that explores what it really takes to scale innovation inside one of the most complex industries in the world.

Over the past 25 years, Greg has helped startups, growth-stage companies, and even publicly traded firms unlock over $550M in private financings, generate hundreds of millions in revenue, and build companies that actually work for patients, for physicians, and for investors. His journey has included executive roles at J&J, exits to GHX, category-defining work at OrthoPediatrics, and the creation of Capital Mastermind, a system that has helped entrepreneurs secure more than $1B in term sheets.

What makes Greg’s story different isn’t just the track record; it’s the way he navigates with conviction, pattern recognition, and deep operational rigor across commercialization, capital strategy, and market access.

What you’ll get in this episode:

* The story of how Greg hacked his way into Johnson & Johnson’s top ranks by creating his own marketing materials and accidentally triggering a national rollout

* A powerful lens on how to scale without blowing up infrastructure — and why “going national” too early can kill your company

* The NoInk story: how a small mobile software startup from Indiana ended up supplying the world’s leading med device companies

* Real talk on the emotional aftermath of exits...what founders aren’t prepared for, and why IPOs don’t always deliver what they promise

* How family offices differ from venture capital and why most founders overlook them completely

* What it means to truly de-risk early-stage deals from an operator’s lens (hint: it’s not just about the pitch deck)

* Why Greg has dedicated a significant part of his career to helping veterans get access to cutting-edge medical innovations, and what’s still broken in the VA system

* Greg also shares the values driving his work today, from mentoring his own daughters into financially independent entrepreneurs, to rethinking the next generation of education through apprenticeship and hands-on learning.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome and intro

04:30 - Greg’s first “hacked” success at Johnson & Johnson

08:00 - Lessons from scaling too fast

10:30 - Selling software before it existed (the NoInk story)

15:00 - Exit regret and emotional realities

20:00 - Why capital is a team sport

25:00 - Debunking the myths of family offices

29:00 - Innovation in the VA and serving veterans

33:00 - Greg’s due diligence engine

39:00 - Legacy, mentorship, and what comes next

🎧 Listen, take notes, and let it challenge how you think about innovation in healthcare.

🛎 Subscribe for weekly conversations with leaders shaping the future of healthcare through action, not just ideas.

🔗 Visit: https://www.purimventures.com

🔗 Connect with Greg Downey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-downey-2605212/

📌 Drop a comment below: What part of Greg's story resonated with you most?

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About the Show

The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show is hosted by Michael Stamatinos, a nationally recognized connector, strategist, and advocate for innovation with purpose. Each week, Michael interviews healthcare leaders who are driving meaningful change—highlighting stories of access, resilience, equity, and transformation.

The AHI 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.

🔗 Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.lin