name: Primary Venturesstage: introtemperature: warmcheck_size: $2-10Mlast_contact: 2026-01-30next_step: Deck sent, awaiting Sam scheduling
Primary Ventures
Overview
- Stage focus: Seed (20-30% pre-seed)
- Check size: $2-10M
- Fund: $420M Fund V (not announced), $1.6B total AUM
- Healthcare thesis: Services + software models, not just SaaS. Understand healthcare requires hands-on implementation.
- Key people:
- Hannah McQuaid — Leads healthcare investing. Background: Guardian Life CVC → Prudential solo LP fund → Onset Capital → Primary. Knows UM space well.
- Sam Tool — Partner on healthcare side. Sits next to Hannah. Works from home Mon/Fri (lives in Jersey).
Relationship History
| Date | Type | Who | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-30 | Intro call | Hannah | Strong call. She knows UM, likes FDE model. Wants deck before Sam call. |
Status
- Current stage: Intro → pending Sam call
- Next step: Send deck over weekend. She gets back Monday EOD.
- Temperature: Warm — genuine interest, knows the space, but has payer market concerns
What They Care About
- Services wrapped in software (referenced Valerie Health as model)
- Pull not push dynamics (client already wanted this)
- Founders who understand the market deeply
- They do real diligence (network calls, Tegus/AlphaSights, health plan advisors)
Concerns to Address
- Payer go-to-market — Her main hesitation. "Slowest moving organizations out there." Referenced J2 Health as brutal GTM example. Need to keep reinforcing financial pressure angle and pull dynamics.
- Contract details — Will want more specifics by Sam call (pricing model, timeline, pilot vs production)
Materials Sent
- Two-pager
- Deck (need to send by weekend)
- Product brief
Portfolio Companies Mentioned
- Valerie Health — AI-enabled managed service for front office workflows, PE-backed specialty practices. Her comp for services + software model.
- J2 Health — Network adequacy for regional health plans. "Fucking brutal go to market." Cautionary tale on payer sales.
- Angle Health — Tech-enabled TPA/health plan (Hannah invested pre-Primary)
- Particle Health — Data interoperability (Hannah invested pre-Primary)
Process Notes
- 6 pods total, healthcare is one
- 3-4 deals per pod per year — intentionally low volume
- Big portfolio support team (60 people, only 12 investment)
- IC pitch can happen "whenever" — typical process 1-2 weeks
- Monday is pipeline review day
Notes
- Redesign history came up — she met their UM spinout founder, weird conversation (he didn't want to be CEO). We disclosed legal issues with Redesign (IP claim that went nowhere). Good to have out in the open.
- She was running on fumes (late flight from SF) but still engaged and took detailed notes
- NY based, considering SF office for Fund V