Launchpad Digital Health

All investment decisions are made by co-founders and managing partners Ted Ridgway and Brett Kunkel. The firm operates with a flat partnership structure and no external investment committee. Both partners sit on portfolio company boards and personally lead due diligence.

The firm sources through a network that includes academic medical centers, FDA regulatory consultants, and previous exits whose founders reinvest as LPs or deal scouts. The Emeryville location also positions Launchpad near UCSF and Stanford clinical innovation hubs without competing directly on Sand Hill Road.

The firm invests exclusively through direct equity rounds. It does not operate a fund-of-funds sleeve and does not allocate capital to external venture fund managers. All capital deployment flows through company-level investments.

The firm targets seed-stage and Series A rounds, occasionally participating in pre-seed convertible note rounds for founding teams with deep clinical or regulatory backgrounds. It does not lead growth-stage rounds but will follow on materially in portfolio winners.

The firm does not invest in pure biotech, drug discovery, or pharmaceutical development. It avoids health IT companies that do not involve a regulatory pathway, viewing FDA engagement as a competitive moat. Non-healthcare technology companies are out of scope entirely.

Launchpad regularly co-invests alongside life-science crossover funds and corporate venture arms of medical-device strategics. The firm does not require lead-investor status on rounds, though it typically seeks board observation rights or a board seat in exchange for specialized regulatory guidance.

Regulatory risk is treated as a core investment competency rather than a disqualifier. Co-founders evaluate FDA pre-submission pathways, 510(k) clearance timelines, and CMS reimbursement alignment during diligence. The firm will invest pre-clearance when it believes the regulatory pathway is well-defined and the founding team has relevant agency experience.