Kustaa Piha
CEO & Angel investor
As the Founder and CEO of Athensmed, I have been involved in healthcare for over 15 years, helping health service companies and product innovations grow into international success stories. My success stems from my passion in angel investing and my desire to have a positive influence.
As the Founder and CEO of Athensmed, I have been involved in healthcare for over 15 years, helping health service companies and product innovations grow into international success stories. My success stems from my passion in angel investing and my desire to have a positive influence.
My background
I’m an M.D., M.Sc. (Soc.Sc.) and M.Sc. (Econ.) from Helsinki. I’ve been an entrepreneur since a young age. The public health perspective has guided me ever since I applied to study medicine at the University of Helsinki. In practice, it means that fairness and recognizing inequality are part of everything I do.
In addition my active involvement in investing, I’m part of the scientific community. I completed my Ph.D. in Public Health in 2014 and I contribute to research in health differences and the effectiveness of healthcare. Having conducted research on socio-economic differences in health, I want to promote service products that also help those who have the greatest need for help.
My other priorities in life include my family and friends, meaningful relationships and helping others. I spend my free time on learning new things, literature, various sports and aviation. I believe a good life comes from achieving the right balance, with work being only one part of the bigger picture. For me, entrepreneurship is a lifestyle choice.
My work as an angel investor and expert
As an expert in healthcare and investing, I help health technology companies move forward by taking the role of an advisor or angel investor. I’ve also been involved in founding healthcare service companies and accelerating their growth. Med Group, which started with emergency medical services in 2007 and subsequently expanded into physician and dental health services and the care business, has particularly left a mark in the story of private healthcare in Finland. Right now I help social and healthcare company Sofita in it’s growth.
As an investor, I naturally seek returns on my investments. The best thing about my work is that it allows me to make a positive contribution to society at the same time by helping promising healthcare companies move forward and thereby improve people’s health and well-being. To date, I have evaluated the growth prospects of more than 1500 promising companies and invested in more than 50 of them either directly or through a portfolio company. I work in cooperation with FiBAN and the European Investment Fund’s EAF program. I work in cooperation with FiBAN and the European Investment Fund’s EAF program.
My plans for the future
Going forward, I want to continue to have a positive impact on people’s health and well-being while reducing inequality. One of the most impactful ways of doing this is to continue to invest in companies that pursue these goals. I will also focus increasingly on sustainability and impact in making investment decisions.
Together with my portfolio companies, we will also explore practical opportunities for sustainability; for example, we have increased the coverage of COVID-19 vaccinations in the Nordic countries and the UK and developed a smartphone-based blood pressure monitoring application that improves the health of pregnant women especially in the developing world. Do you want to join me in these efforts?