Cherry M.

I’m thrilled to announce defy.vc’s investment in Birches Health as part of their $20M combined Seed and Series A funding round, alongside incredible partners like AlleyCorp, General Catalyst, Will Ventures, and others. As someone deeply passionate about backing companies that tackle important problems for our society, I couldn’t be more excited about what Birches is building—a national virtual clinic dedicated to treating gambling addiction and related behavioral disorders like gaming, sex, porn, and internet addictions. What excites me most is Birches’ innovative health assurance model: proactive, accessible, and affordable care that’s evidence-based and delivered right at home. With the explosion of legal sports betting—think nearly $1.5 billion wagered on this year’s Super Bowl alone—we’re staring down a looming public health emergency. Traditional options like hotlines or generic therapy fall short for this high-acuity issue, but Birches changes that by offering specialized therapy from trained clinicians, multimodal treatment, and peer support, all covered by major insurers like United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. It’s available in all 50 states, breaking down geographical and financial barriers that have left so many without help. The impact is already profound: 96% of patients report an improved quality of life, and 94% give Birches a 5/5 rating. By partnering with state governments, payors, and policymakers, Birches is pushing gambling addiction into the spotlight of behavioral health conversations, where it’s been neglected for too long—often leading to shame, worsened outcomes, and higher suicidality risks. This funding will supercharge their growth: expanding the provider network, boosting clinical excellence, scaling infrastructure, and deepening insurance and state partnerships to meet surging demand. Very excited to partner with Elliott Rapaport and the entire Birches team! See more about our POV in the blog post linked in the comments. #GamblingAddiction #BehavioralHealth #HealthTech #VentureCapital #Innovation

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"A well-known venture firm recently held a partner meeting to decide whether their associates should be allowed to speak during internal meetings. They ultimately decided yes (how generous!)". Associate programs at VC firms have largely gone off the rails. 20 years ago they meant something, now they don’t. Anyone and everyone thinks they deserve to be a Partner now. The industry has gotten too big, and Partner talent has been diluted. There's a LOT of Partners now who would have better off gaining some experience in non Partner roles at bigger firms so they could have learned more about how the job actually works. It’s not for everyone, no matter how trendy a gig in VC might have become. https://lnkd.in/enBfGSW9

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How do you build a fund that makes 40 new investments a year—and still stays high-conviction? I sat down with Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, who has quietly built one of the most prolific early-stage portfolios in VC—nearly 500 investments and counting, including The Athletic, Juniper Square, and Carrot Fertility. We discuss what he’s learned from 600+ investments, how to evaluate “founder taste,” why central casting is surging again, and the surprisingly strong performance of his consumer bets. Charles also breaks down their unconventional reserve strategy, why they rarely take board seats, and how they’re preparing for a changing venture landscape. The link to Episode 488 is in the comment section below.

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