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Sep 11, 2024 · 27m · the-pitch

Will VCs Invest in Vital Audio's Voice-Based Health Monitoring Tech?

Nehomitza Calvin · 8m spoken Jesse Middleton · 4m spoken Josh Muccio · 3m spoken Cyan Banister · 2m spoken Lee Jacobs · 1m spoken Mac Conwell · 1m spoken Charles Hudson · 21s spoken Automated Phone System · 5s spoken
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Startup founder Nehomitza Calvin pitches Vital Audio on The Pitch, securing $175,000 in venture funding commitments for his innovative technology that measures cardiopulmonary vitals through a simple eight-second phone call.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Josh holds 18.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Josh as informed peer 1.4 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 0.0 Josh pushing back 0.6
05100:0010:0020:001:12–5:37 · Josh as informed peer 1/10 The Pitch and Live Heart Demo Nehomitza delivers his pitch and conducts a live heart rate demonstration using Josh as the subject. The investors ask clarifying questions regarding accuracy and biomarkers, which Nehomitza details using clinical study results from NYU Langone.5:38–8:18 · Josh as informed peer 0/10 Regulatory Strategy and Founder Background Nehomitza outlines how he filed the FDA pre-submission himself to secure non-significant risk designation and an exemption for data acquisition. He also explains his clinical and biomedical engineering credentials to an impressed panel.8:19–13:03 · Josh as informed peer 0/10 Unit Economics and Market Opportunity The investors probe unit economics, revenue paths, and provider ROI. Nehomitza explains the per-call pricing structure of five dollars per call across hospital call centers and existing pipeline commitments.13:12–18:56 · Josh as informed peer 2/10 Investor Offers and Deal Commitments Mac exits early, prompting Josh to step into the investor circle. Cyan, Jesse, Charles, and Josh collectively commit syndicate and personal checks amounting to 175k toward the open round.19:05–24:40 · Josh as informed peer 4/10 Investor Debrief and Market Analysis Josh debriefs the investors on why they made rapid commitments without deep technical diligence. He posits potential exit paths with Apple Health, while Cyan and Jesse analyze wider enterprise integration and defensibility.1:12–5:37 · Guest teaching 4/10 The Pitch and Live Heart Demo Nehomitza delivers his pitch and conducts a live heart rate demonstration using Josh as the subject. The investors ask clarifying questions regarding accuracy and biomarkers, which Nehomitza details using clinical study results from NYU Langone.5:38–8:18 · Guest teaching 4/10 Regulatory Strategy and Founder Background Nehomitza outlines how he filed the FDA pre-submission himself to secure non-significant risk designation and an exemption for data acquisition. He also explains his clinical and biomedical engineering credentials to an impressed panel.8:19–13:03 · Guest teaching 4/10 Unit Economics and Market Opportunity The investors probe unit economics, revenue paths, and provider ROI. Nehomitza explains the per-call pricing structure of five dollars per call across hospital call centers and existing pipeline commitments.13:12–18:56 · Guest teaching 2/10 Investor Offers and Deal Commitments Mac exits early, prompting Josh to step into the investor circle. Cyan, Jesse, Charles, and Josh collectively commit syndicate and personal checks amounting to 175k toward the open round.19:05–24:40 · Guest teaching 3/10 Investor Debrief and Market Analysis Josh debriefs the investors on why they made rapid commitments without deep technical diligence. He posits potential exit paths with Apple Health, while Cyan and Jesse analyze wider enterprise integration and defensibility.1:12–5:37 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Pitch and Live Heart Demo Nehomitza delivers his pitch and conducts a live heart rate demonstration using Josh as the subject. The investors ask clarifying questions regarding accuracy and biomarkers, which Nehomitza details using clinical study results from NYU Langone.5:38–8:18 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Regulatory Strategy and Founder Background Nehomitza outlines how he filed the FDA pre-submission himself to secure non-significant risk designation and an exemption for data acquisition. He also explains his clinical and biomedical engineering credentials to an impressed panel.8:19–13:03 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Unit Economics and Market Opportunity The investors probe unit economics, revenue paths, and provider ROI. Nehomitza explains the per-call pricing structure of five dollars per call across hospital call centers and existing pipeline commitments.13:12–18:56 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Investor Offers and Deal Commitments Mac exits early, prompting Josh to step into the investor circle. Cyan, Jesse, Charles, and Josh collectively commit syndicate and personal checks amounting to 175k toward the open round.19:05–24:40 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Investor Debrief and Market Analysis Josh debriefs the investors on why they made rapid commitments without deep technical diligence. He posits potential exit paths with Apple Health, while Cyan and Jesse analyze wider enterprise integration and defensibility.1:12–5:37 · Josh pushing back 0/10 The Pitch and Live Heart Demo Nehomitza delivers his pitch and conducts a live heart rate demonstration using Josh as the subject. The investors ask clarifying questions regarding accuracy and biomarkers, which Nehomitza details using clinical study results from NYU Langone.5:38–8:18 · Josh pushing back 0/10 Regulatory Strategy and Founder Background Nehomitza outlines how he filed the FDA pre-submission himself to secure non-significant risk designation and an exemption for data acquisition. He also explains his clinical and biomedical engineering credentials to an impressed panel.8:19–13:03 · Josh pushing back 0/10 Unit Economics and Market Opportunity The investors probe unit economics, revenue paths, and provider ROI. Nehomitza explains the per-call pricing structure of five dollars per call across hospital call centers and existing pipeline commitments.13:12–18:56 · Josh pushing back 1/10 Investor Offers and Deal Commitments Mac exits early, prompting Josh to step into the investor circle. Cyan, Jesse, Charles, and Josh collectively commit syndicate and personal checks amounting to 175k toward the open round.19:05–24:40 · Josh pushing back 2/10 Investor Debrief and Market Analysis Josh debriefs the investors on why they made rapid commitments without deep technical diligence. He posits potential exit paths with Apple Health, while Cyan and Jesse analyze wider enterprise integration and defensibility.

speaking balance: gold is Josh, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Josh 38.1% · guest 61.9%0:00 · Josh 38.1% · guest 61.9%3:00 · Josh 7.8% · guest 92.2%3:00 · Josh 7.8% · guest 92.2%6:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Josh 7.4% · guest 92.6%12:00 · Josh 7.4% · guest 92.6%15:00 · Josh 0.7% · guest 99.3%15:00 · Josh 0.7% · guest 99.3%18:00 · Josh 32% · guest 68%18:00 · Josh 32% · guest 68%21:00 · Josh 16.1% · guest 83.9%21:00 · Josh 16.1% · guest 83.9%24:00 · Josh 48.4% · guest 51.6%24:00 · Josh 48.4% · guest 51.6%27:00 · Josh 100% · guest 0%27:00 · Josh 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:31 Competitive non-dilutive fundraising drive

In a very collaborative room, Nehomitza shows his fiercest competitive edge when detailing how aggressively he pursues non-dilutive competition capital.

 Hardest push from Josh ▶ 19:21 Josh challenges rapid investment consensus

Josh directly presses the VC panel on how they reached immediate check commitments on deep tech without customary extended technical diligence.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:35 Clinical accuracy and frequency separation explanation

Nehomitza details the 96 percent accuracy benchmark against gold standard ECGs and the patent-backed methodology of extracting lung capacity from vocal audio.

 Josh holds their own ▶ 22:57 Josh outlines Apple Health integration thesis

Josh formulates an informed market thesis regarding how consumer health data platforms like Apple Health could acquire or license the technology to reach non-wearer demographics.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicJosh as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementJosh pushing backWhy
The Pitch and Live Heart Demo 1400 Nehomitza delivers his pitch and conducts a live heart rate demonstration using Josh as the subject. The investors ask clarifying questions regarding accuracy and biomarkers, which Nehomitza details using clinical study results from NYU Langone.
Regulatory Strategy and Founder Background 0400 Nehomitza outlines how he filed the FDA pre-submission himself to secure non-significant risk designation and an exemption for data acquisition. He also explains his clinical and biomedical engineering credentials to an impressed panel.
Unit Economics and Market Opportunity 0400 The investors probe unit economics, revenue paths, and provider ROI. Nehomitza explains the per-call pricing structure of five dollars per call across hospital call centers and existing pipeline commitments.
Investor Offers and Deal Commitments 2201 Mac exits early, prompting Josh to step into the investor circle. Cyan, Jesse, Charles, and Josh collectively commit syndicate and personal checks amounting to 175k toward the open round.
Investor Debrief and Market Analysis 4302 Josh debriefs the investors on why they made rapid commitments without deep technical diligence. He posits potential exit paths with Apple Health, while Cyan and Jesse analyze wider enterprise integration and defensibility.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Calvin: Vital Audio prepares rollout to five partners and 4M US lives
“And our technology is ready to go live with our five first partners covering six states and over four million lives across the U.S. Alone.”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 2:27
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Calvin: Vital Audio achieves 96% accuracy compared to gold standard ECG
“So we conducted two studies in partnerships with NYU Langone Cardiology Department and Zip Care Clinic. Reached more than 500 participants across the New York metropolitan area. The technology actually performs at 96% accuracy compared to gold Standard ECG.”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 5:11
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Calvin: Vital Audio receives FDA non-significant risk designation for data acquisition
“We received a non-significant risk designation from the FDA, and we wanted to actually put the technology forward To the general population, because the technology, the more data is actually processing, the better it actually becomes. So, we submitted the data…”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 5:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Calvin: FDA stated Vital Audio is first vocal-frequency tech encountered
“The FDA has actually shared that it's the first technology that they have encountered that takes in vocal frequencies or signals.”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 6:49
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Calvin: Vital Audio may complete FDA 510(k) in 6-8 months
“So that we're anticipating maybe a period of six to eight months to actually complete that.”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 6:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Calvin: Vital Audio has $800K in closed contract revenue and $1.5M pipeline
“So with the five partners that we're going live all together we've built a pipeline of 1.5 today with about 800 in contract revenue closed.”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 8:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Calvin: Providers spend $400 tracking patients with under 10% data yield
“So, on average, a provider spends 400 dollars to track a patient. With less than 10% yield of good data to actually use.”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 10:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Calvin: Vital Audio raised $150K+ non-dilutive pre-seed, has $1.75M committed
“So for our pre-seed, we did a lot of non-dilutive, totaling north of a 150 K. For this round, we have about 1.75 that is already committed.”
Nehomitza Calvin Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 14:40
Disclosure
Bannister commits $50,000 to Vital Audio and offers UCSF cardiology intro
“Well, I'm definitely in for 50 K, and then one of the people I want to introduce you to is the head of cardiology at UCSF.”
Cyan Banister Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 14:59
Disclosure
Hudson offers to invest $25,000 into Vital Audio
“Yeah, I'd like to do 25 K.”
Charles Hudson Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 16:51
Disclosure
Muccio offers $50,000 investment from The Pitch Fund to Vital Audio
“Well, if you could carve out 50 K for the pitch fund, that'd be great.”
Josh Muccio Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 18:29
Insight
Middleton: Healthcare investments typically demand systemic behavior shifts
“A lot of healthcare investments require you to believe like a systemic change. Like they require a massive shift in behavior and how, what they pay for and infrastructure.”
Jesse Middleton Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 21:04
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Middleton: Vital Audio's patents will hold up legally
“I believe the patent will hold up. And so that's part of my, I mean, you have to believe that.”
Jesse Middleton Sep 11, 2024 ▶ 22:28
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