The Picks and Shovels Newsletter
Picks and Shovels is Opal Venture's bi-weekly dispatch of market insights, founder resources, tech headlines, talent support, and more.
Dear Founders,
With import tariffs under the microscope and uncertainty around global supply chains, the healthcare manufacturing landscape is undergoing its own fascinating transformation, highlighted by the ongoing GLP-1 saga.
These weight loss drugs (Ozempic and Wegovy) took the market by storm, becoming one of healthcare's biggest success stories. However, since 2022, both blockbuster medications have faced persistent supply chain challenges due to manufacturing capacity limitations and overwhelming demand.
In response, the FDA allowed compounding pharmacies to produce semaglutide alternatives. Companies like Hims & Hers seized this opportunity by offering lower-cost versions of the drug, despite concerns about the safety of unapproved alternatives.
While Novo Nordisk expects more modest Wegovy sales in 2025, what's caught our attention is how the supply shortage sparked innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing. With the FDA now declaring the shortage over, compounding pharmacies are making bold moves to acquire their own manufacturing facilities.
This signals a broader shift in healthcare manufacturing - as medicine grows more prevalent, we expect to see more companies vertically integrating to control their manufacturing destiny and deliver personalized treatments at scale.
Owen and Matt — the Opal Ventures Team
Market Trends
We’ve dug deep to provide some of the latest news in healthcare, tech, startup ecosystem, and more. Enjoy! (If you don’t have subscriptions to view, use this)
UnitedHealth's Medicare billing practices under DOJ investigation - The US Justice Department has been investigating UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s Medicare billing practices
Hims & Hers Acquires US-based Peptide Facility - Hims & Hers Health, Inc. announced an acquisition that will further verticalize the company’s long-term ability to deliver personalized medications
FDA Declares Shortage of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Ozempic Over - Announcement confirms that the U.S. supply of both prescription-only drugs now meets or exceeds the current and projected demand
Helpful Resources
Dig into some of our favorite founder resources - from enlightening reads to videos, podcasts, and more - expertly mined to support you as you build from folks who have been there before.
0-$5M: How to Nail Founder-Led Sales - Authored by Meka Asonye
The Lean Startup - Authored by Eric Ries
Managing Through Crisis and Uncertainty - By Brian Chesky
Need Help Hiring?
Bolstering your team is key to hitting major milestones and we want to help you on that journey. Feel free to fill out the Airtable link below and we will send out the job description to our curated network!
Airtable Link - here
Opal Website Job Board - here (reach out if you want us to add anything specific 🙂)
Upcoming Accelerator & Funding Opportunities
Unearth a bounty of possibilities with our curated list of accelerator programs, grant opportunities, and pitch competitions.
America’s Seed Fund SBIR & STTR Grants [Rolling Basis] - America’s Seed Fund awards non-dilutive funding to develop your technology and chart a path toward commercialization
Galaxy Grants [Mar 31] - Hidden Star, an established 501(c)(3) nonprofit, offers a streamlined 30-second application process for their $2,450 non-dilutive Galaxy Grant, with winners announced in early April 2025
Founder Discounts
Strike gold with our curated collection of exclusive discounts and offers, carefully unearthed to provide you with valuable resources and tools to fuel your startup's journey to success.
Check out Startup Stack for tons of discounts including Airtable, AWS, Asana, and more!
For more niche software discounts, check out AppSumo.
Recent Funding
Dive into the latest capital infusions fueling innovation across the startup ecosystem. From seed rounds to mega-deals, stay informed on who's attracting investor attention.
Level Zero secures $6.9M to develop wearable DNA-based biosensors for real-time hormone monitoring and health insights
Cerula Care secures $3.7M to provide virtual behavioral healthcare combining care management, coaching, and psychiatry for chronic condition patients
Keebler Health secures $6M to build an AI medical coding co-pilot that reduces billing errors and denial rates through automated review
Vitalchat secures $6M to create device-agnostic telehealth software for multilingual patient monitoring and communication
Frontera secures $32M to leverage AI and video analytics for early detection and treatment of developmental disorders
Opal Picks
Insights from the articles, books, and thought-provoking pieces that caught our eye this week (not just related to healthcare).
"NEW SPACE" Frontier Film - Directed by Jason Carman
Doctors and Hospitals Look to Drones to Deliver Drugs, Supplies—and Even Organs - Healthcare providers are testing the technology, hoping it will allow them to transport medications and other supplies more quickly and cheaply
Microsoft Claims Quantum Computing Breakthrough by Creating New State of Matter - Tech giant’s researchers say advance could lead to vastly more powerful computers