​The most important investment we can make is in our children

Every child deserves a healthy, happy childhood
​Healthy children enjoy a better quality of life - for the rest of their life
Families of healthy kids are spared emotional and financial burdens 
​Better child health outcomes can transform communities
Large-scale improvements to child healthcare are revolutionary for society
Setting children up to be healthy, smart, productive adults is vital to the future of humanity

Child health is not just important,
​it is a massive market

* Children ages 0-18             † Healthcare spending ages 0-18           Sources: United Nations, WHO, HHS, CDC

Innovative solutions to help sick kids are developed every day
Yet millions of children continue to suffer

​All of the pieces for successful innovation are in place​
​Innovations that were unthinkable or prohibitively expensive a decade ago are now possible and commercially viable
Billions go into pediatric research and development every year
​Lawmakers and the FDA understand the importance of children’s health and have prioritized pediatrics
Children's health is a high priority for government, nonprofits, and philanthropists
Large market with spending fueled by high parent engagement and government support
The investment market is strong - investors are pouring money into healthcare startups

So, why aren't good health solutions reaching these kids?

Most investors have little interest in early stage, child health-focused startups
The Herd
All pediatric markets are small and unprofitable
Springhood
 Pediatric markets are big and small, profitable and unprofitable - like with anything else
The regulatory path is too hard and too slow
The pediatric path has unique opportunities and incentives that reduce cost, time, and risk
Pediatric clinical trials are too risky due to logistical, clinical, and ethical challenges
There are opportunities in pediatrics to run  smaller, faster trials and validate science/technology for less money in less time
Many important pediatric innovations target low income patients, often associated with lower returns
Government mandates making Medicaid and other public health programs are an area of explosive growth
Child health problems should be solved with philanthropy
Philanthropy is the wrong tool for child health solutions with strong commercial prospects

Because of these biases, great investment opportunities are overlooked. There is a large opportunity for knowledgeable, supportive capital focused on children’s health 

Springhood provides vital early capital to child heath-focused startups
Springhood is the first venture capital investor focused broadly on children's health. We back young companies working to significantly improve health outcomes of children. We support passionate entrepreneurs developing strong science with a clear commercial pathway. Young companies developing solutions for kids have unique opportunities and challenges. We meet both head on by providing the capital and resources that will help the best of these companies navigate the startup journey - knowing that we are uniquely positioned to do this. 

We are unabashedly focused on our mission
Because our primary goal is to get meaningful solutions to children sustainably and at scale, we look at investment opportunities through a unique lens. Our true success comes every time we save or improve a child’s life. 

This does not mean we don't seek financial success. To the contrary, we believe this approach to child health investment increases our ability to deliver superior financial returns. We believe that focusing on getting solutions to kids sustainably and at scale, will lead to exceptional results for all stakeholders. 

Mission success requires commercial success

We back young companies with solid foundations, great potential, outstanding leadership, and clear need for our support 

John Parker founded Springhood to address the funding gap in child health innovation. He has brought 25 years in the alternative investment industry together with over a decade of philanthropic experience to create a new model using investment dollars to make a difference in the lives of kids. This model has emerged from his work as the Founder and Managing Director of CH Innovations, LLC, a child health venture fund backed by the Charles H. Hood Foundation, where he also serves as a Trustee. 
Learn more on LinkedIn

Companies
Investments made by CH Innovations, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Charles H. Hood Foundation
Measuring brain oxygenation in preterm and low birth weight infants
Helping reduce the number of children born with HIV
Reducing infant mortality and morbidity in low-resource settings
Saving children's lives by providing clinical knowledge to everyone, everywhere
Treating Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and other infant sleep disorders
Improving treatment and quality of survival for children battling medulloblastoma
Improving brain health of premature babies by measuring cerebral blood flow
​Developing the first broad spectrum blood test for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Developing a targeted therapy for bone wastage in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Developing safe, effective therapies for retinopathy of prematurity and drug-induced hearing loss in children
Medical decision support tool for more granular diagnosis and improved therapy selection in multiple pediatric conditions
Bedside empowerment technology for parents with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
* Springhood has no direct interest in or financial relationship with the above companies. Mr. Parker manages this portfolio for the benefit of the Charles H. Hood Foundation. It is shared here for illustrative purposes only. 
Springhood supports companies in their seed-stage (typically less than $2 million of outside capital raised). To be considered, prospects must have a significant focus on clinical solutions for children. If you think your company may be a good fit, please submit a deck to the left.

If you are otherwise interested in learning more about our unique mission-first approach to investing, we'd love to hear from you through the form on the right.

​Together, we can change kids' lives for the better
RIP HH, EC, DA, OC                                                                                                                     DISCLAIMER                 © COPYRIGHT 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.