LISA SUENNEN
VENTURE CAPITALIST
MANATT
Lisa Suennen is the leader of Manatt Digital and Technology and the firm’s venture capital / emerging companies practice. With more than 30 years’ experience as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, board member and strategic advisor, she has focused broadly on new technologies and how they are transforming businesses. She has spent much of her career helping companies adopt and leverage digital technologies, develop strategies for growth through innovation and investment, and build strong collaborations between established players and entrepreneurs.
Lisa has been fortunate to receive numerous honors for her work. Most recently she was named 2018 Top Digital Health Evangelist by Goldman Sachs, Rock Health, Fenwick and West & Square 1 Bank, and the fund she lead for GE Ventures was named the most prolific corporate venture fund in 2018. In 2018, she was also named #2 in the Global Corporate Venturing list of 100 Rising Stars, which designates the top 1% of the corporate venture capital industry chosen from 100 corporate venturing units. In 2017, Lisa was named to Becker’s Hospital Review as one of 110 women to know in medtech.
HTA - Tell us about your personal and professional background?
I was born in Princeton, NJ but moved too Northern California when I was a kid. My dad was an entrepreneur and inventor – he invented the first medical ultrasound machine and developed the first commercial medical MRI machine – so we moved to CA for him to raise venture capital. I went to UC Berkeley and got degrees in political science and communications and a Masters in political science focused on voting behavior. Needless to say, my original plan of becoming a political journalist didn’t happen.
Soon after school, I joined a healthcare startup in behavioral health and led marketing, sales and product. We grew it from early stage to over $800MM in revenue, went public and then sold it. After, I helped start a healthcare venture fund and stayed there 15 years, followed by consulting and then I joined GE to run their healthcare venture fund.
Two years ago I left to join Manatt, which is an integrated professional services firm. Here I run the digital and tech consulting/legal practice (including digital health among other things) and also run the firm’s venture fund. I am married 31 years, have a 24 year old daughter, an old cat and an over-zealous chihuahua. I still live in Northern CA.
HTA - Who were your early mentors, and how did they impact your career?
My most significant mentor let me learn by throwing me into the mix and making me figure things out – he trusted me and gave me great guidance. He also had a great sense of humor, which I appreciate in a human.
HTA - What did COVID-19 reveal about the Health Care Industry?
That a lot of assumptions are just wrong (e.g., doctors and patients will hate telehealth, clinical trials can’t be done well virtually/remotely, consumers will never pay for anything in health). It also revealed how brutally inequitable the system is.
HTA - How do you envision Health Care changing in the next 5-10 years?
More remote care, more digital generally, greater appreciation for the importance of behavioral health, more value-based payments, massive consolidation among all players.
HTA - What have you been told is the best advice you’ve ever given to a start-up or entrepreneur?
Get to profitability faster and don’t spend so much getting there; wait to raise venture capital as long as you possibly can (including never).
HTA - Everyone wants to improve health care and reduce costs. To achieve that, what works and what doesn’t?
If you don’t align economic incentives among patients, providers and payers, nothing works.
HTA - You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
To have people be much kinder to each other. My movement would remind people that everyone has a story, you never know what difficulties people carry with them, and its just as easy to cut people a break as to be a jerk.
HTA - Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My mantra long ago became, “If you don’t ask you don’t get.” I wish I knew that sooner. Now I say it so often my daughter had a poster made for our kitchen. But it often works! Ask for the opportunity, ask for the business, ask for the raise, ask for the money. I have done all of those things and have found that people say yes more than you realize and even when they say now, they appreciate your bravery in asking.
HTA - You have long supported bringing more women into tech and start-ups, are you encouraged or discouraged by the numbers you’re seeing today?
Generally encouraged because at least people are now paying attention and some strides are being made. I’m discouraged by the pace of change.
HTA - How do you continue to learn?
By listening to a myriad of people with new ideas, by teaching and hearing the questions back. By trying crazy things out and seeing what breaks. For me, learning is an active verb.