Why We Need More Women in Healthcare Venture Capital: An Inspiring Interview with Coyote Ventures Founder Jessica Karr
“I don’t as much look at “trends” but instead what are some of the largest problems that need to be solved. There is no shortage when it comes to women’s health and wellness.” Today’s woman dreamer, is the Founder & General Partner of Coyote Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund investing in women’s health and wellness. Starting her career as one of the first employees at Impossible Food, Jessica is on a mission to solve complex problems and bring women to the forefront of innovation. In her Women Who Win interview, she reflects on her career journey, the future of women in VC, and her next big dream. Enjoy!
1. You are a venture capitalist investing in women's health and wellness. You started your career at Impossible Foods and then worked with many venture funds. Tell us your story, and the key lesson you learned in your career?
I was born and raised in raised in Amarillo, TX - and growing up I thought the only successful careers were doctors and lawyers. I started working in my Dad’s dentist office when I was 14 and wanted to be a doctor, so when I started college I was pre-med. At the end, instead of medical school I decided to pursue graduate studies in Biochemistry, and attended UCSD. I was fortunate after that to get a job at Impossible Foods when it was less than a year old. I worked there for 6 years, helping to develop and launch the Impossible Burger. I learned a lot about disruptive technology, stages of funding - but most of all, the experience of really being on an early team, developing technology, launching products. Working across teams I feel is an invaluable experience to the early stage investing I do today. But the whole time I was there, I didn’t see a good career ladder for me. I didn’t want to be a chief science officer - I wanted to guide business decisions. So after the burger launched, I left to do an MBA. I thought I’d get a fancy job after that, but ended up working with a ton of startups as an innovation consultant. My natural network was in food tech and I helped companies build, for example I spent a month in Singapore working on a healthy plant-based meat aimed at the Asian market. After working with many companies and products, I started to recognize VC as the gateway to launching and scaling novel products. I also saw a disparity in female and POC founders getting funded. It was astounding because many of them have better products and operational skill sets. I actually had known for a while that I wanted to support women through financial empowerment but this gave me more experience, grounding to know the systems I could work within to make it happen. So I started working at a family office focused on positive impact right when covid hit. While we were fairly generalist, I started to see a lot of women’s health deals come across my desk, and I knew that this is what I wanted to dedicate my career on - I knew it was the most important thing I personally could be working on. And as soon as I started meeting founders, connecting, providing insights, I started to feel my impact so quickly, much more than I felt in the male-dominated food tech world. I really dove into developing a thesis on women’s health and ended up spinning out from there to start Coyote Ventures.
2. You are particularly invested in women's health and wellness. What are some trends in the women's health space you aim to address? What would you like to see in the future for women's health and wellness?
I don’t as much look at “trends” but instead what are some of the largest problems that need to be solved. There is no shortage when it comes to women’s health and wellness. Nearly half of pregnancies in the US are unplanned, so innovation in contraception and reproductive health can help solve this problem. Maternal mortality is also higher in the US than any other developing nation and over 3x more for black people, so there are also a lot of racial disparities in health that need to be addressed. Conditions specific to women such as endometriosis, which affects 1 in 10 women, are understudied in basic research - we still know very little about what actually causes it. Lastly, a huge problem is that it is taboo to even talk about women’s bodies including menopause, periods, and sex. The companies we are funding are not only making an impact with their products and services, they are normalizing these essential conversations.
3. More and more women are entering the VC space, which has traditionally been a male dominated space. What is your advice to women interested in joining VC?
Please join VC, we need more women. Women can sometimes be more sensitive to company culture, so I’d look for not only a thesis you’re interested in but ask more about how they work together to source, diligence, and make decisions. Sometimes having more women and BIPOC people in leadership can make a more inclusive culture, though I’ve seen some examples where this isn’t always the case.
4. Outside of work, you have lots of interests such as being a swimmer, drinks mixologist, and yoga instructor. If you could pick up any new hobby, what would it be?
I would love to learn how to fly airplanes! Also I wish I could magically be an advanced skier.
Thank you Jessica for sharing your story! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Bio: Jessica Karr is the Founder & General Partner of Coyote Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund investing in women’s health and wellness. Jessica’s experience launching novel impact-focused products began when she joined Impossible Foods as the 12th employee, where she helped develop and launch the Impossible burger. She has since worked with startups internationally as an innovation consultant and as a Principal with a family office. She is an LP in women-led funds and her angel investments have all become unicorns. Jessica lives in the Bay Area with her rescue Pom and enjoys swimming in the bay.
WHO WE ARE