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Alyson Friedensohn

Founder & Executive Chair, Modern Health · 1 appearance on the record.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

founderexecutiveoperatormodernhealth.com ↗

She founded Modern Health in 2017, scaling the workplace mental health and wellness platform to unicorn status backed by Kleiner Perkins and Founders Fund. Before launching Modern Health, she worked in healthcare strategy consulting at PwC and in operations at Collective Health.

11statements → 5claims → 1claims resolved → 3.64/5average certainty → 1.82/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated →

0 supported 1 partly supported 0 contradicted 4 not checkable as stated how the 5 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

2 predictions · 3 assertions · 1 opinion · 3 insights · 2 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 5 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 1 is resolved, and 4 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Alyson argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Expressed certainty vs assessment result

none yet certainty 1
none yet certainty 2
50% certainty 3
none yet certainty 4
100% certainty 5

weighted support: a fully supported claim counts one, a partly supported claim counts half. Each filled bar is clickable and opens exactly those claims; "none yet" means nothing said at that certainty level has resolved yet

How they sound: speaking style how? →

290 words/min while actually speaking · 1.2 um and uh per 1k words

No argument clarity score for Alyson Friedensohn: no usable question→answer exchanges on raw tape (a fair score needs 8+). We do not score a sample that small. Roundtable and news formats yield far fewer direct exchanges than interviews. Their coarse estimate from 25 exchanges on the produced feed is ≈4.5/5, shown at half point precision because the sample is small and produced tape scores higher.

Measured by listening to 6,072 words across 1 episode, but every recording we have of Alyson Friedensohn is the aired feed, and an editor cleaned that audio before release. Some of the hesitation was cut before we ever heard it, so read these as floors: the true rates are at least this high. These are measurements of speaking style, not scores. How it's measured →

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 1 rated episode:

host pushback ▾ 1/10
pushed back at the host 1/10
setup questions received 55%

Everything Alyson Friedensohn said on 20VC that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Friedensohn: Mental health struggles like ADHD often drive startup founder success
“But the reality is most people struggle in one way or another. And most Founders actually do struggle with, whether it's depression, anxiety, ADD, and actually the flip side of that, which is pretty interesting, is sometimes it's part of what allows them to be…”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 8:53 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Friedensohn: Traditional computer science backgrounds are no longer necessary for tech founders
“And so I actually think that as we go forward, the typical like technical founder who has a CS undergrad and maybe dropped out is not actually necessary. And someone who might be really strong in another area who has unique insight into the future and so has t…”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 11:35 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Insight
Friedensohn: Early-stage startups should hire general athletes over specific skill sets
“I think where people can go wrong is when they get too focused on a certain skill set or a certain background, when really it's about figuring out, okay, what's the problem that we need to solve? And who are the best people that we need to get on that bus to h…”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 18:27 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Opinion
Friedensohn: Kleiner Perkins' John Doerr is the best salesperson she has met
“So I think John Doerr is one of the best, if not the best salesperson I've ever met.”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 20:51 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Disclosure
Kleiner Perkins' John Doerr joins Modern Health's enterprise sales pitches
“He has actually come to some of our sales pitches with me, and it's just incredible to see him in action.”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 20:56 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Insight
Friedensohn: Founders err by optimizing for valuation over hands-on investor support
“I think where founders go wrong is where they might optimize for valuation over who's actually going to roll up their sleeves and work with them and support them.”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 22:00 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Insight
Friedensohn: Only accept investors who make you excited for board meetings
“I think that for me, that's been the litmus test for every investor I've evaluated is, will I still be excited to go to the board meeting if this person's in the room? And if the answer's not a resounding yes, then we're not ready to work with them.”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 22:53 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Friedensohn: Mental health will be the fourth standard employee benefit by 2025
“And so we believe that in five years from now, mental health will be the fourth pillar that every employee should have access to. So you've got medical, dental, vision. We believe mental health is that fourth pillar. And so we believe modern health will become…”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 32:53 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Disclosure
Friedensohn relies on therapy and coaching to sustain her CEO role
“I'm very vocal at work that I see a therapist. I have a coach of couples therapists, and I can safely say I wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for that entire support system and team that I have to coach and help me grow every single day.”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 9:31 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Assertion Partly supported
Friedensohn and her husband are Founders Fund's first married portfolio founders
“Some of the benefits are, well, first and foremost, I think we're the first married couple in founders fund portfolios.”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 26:12 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Friedensohn called 50 therapists before finding an affordable sliding-scale rate
“I must have called 50 different therapists, And eventually got connected to someone who agreed to a sliding scale rate that I could afford until I got a job and my feet under me, and I still see that person to this day.”
Alyson Friedensohn Sep 4, 2020 ▶ 4:47 20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of Vulnerability with Their Board and Investors & Marrying Another Founder; The Pros, Cons and Ways To Make it Succeed with Alyson Friedensohn, Co-Founder & CEO @ Modern

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
20VC: Biggest Lessons from Working with John Doerr, How Founders Can Have Discussions of V Sep 4, 2020 22m
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