In his final year of medical school at Columbia, Bijan Salehizadeh weighed whether to become a cardiothoracic surgeon or pursue what was a very unusual path at the time: a career in entrepreneurship.
Inspired by mentors including Dr. Mehmet Oz (in his pre-raspberry ketone period), Salehizadeh graduated, then flew to Silicon Valley and joined a health-IT startup, which rapidly raised several rounds of capital and then successfully went public. After several years working at a large medical device company, Salehizadeh went to business school, an experience that he says enabled him to “find his voice” and develop the confidence he would later need as a healthcare investor.
After spending seven years at a venture fund, Salehizadeh and two colleagues decided to start their own fund, Navidmed, and recently completed raising their first, $110M fund. With expertise in biopharmaceuticals, devices, HIT, and digital health, Salehizadeh is a true healthcare generalist – and one of healthcare’s most insightful voices. We’re delighted to welcome him to our podcast.