#SummerSeries: 5 questions for Peter Ohnemus—serial entrepreneur and investor

28.07.2020 14:54, Isabelle Mitchell

During the summer months, we ask people who inspire the Swiss startup ecosystem to provide the Venturelab community with food for thought, inspiration, and recommendations for summer 2020—and beyond. Peter Ohnemus, founder and CEO of dacadoo, kicks off the series of summer musings on entrepreneurship.

Peter Ohnemus is the founder and chief executive officer of Swiss-based dacadoo, a technology company that develops and operates a mobile-first digital health engagement platform to help people live healthier, more active lives through a combination of motivational techniques that range from behavioral science to online gaming to artificial intelligence. The serial entrepreneur has been involved in high-tech and biotech investments over the last 25 years, which have led to four IPOs and multiple trade sells.



Peter, how will you spend your summer this year? 
In our nice and fresh, new offices—of course keeping the right distance. Hopefully, I will also find some quality time to enjoy with family and friends.

Reflecting on the year so far, what do you see as the most critical challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs? 
I believe for most startups, this year, more than ever before, will be about getting deals done, as most VCs will not invest at the same speed as in the previous years. In the healthcare industry, we are “lucky” that the speed of transformation has finally picked up with the coronavirus, people have realized that digital is good, and prevention is cheaper than just having people stay chronically ill. Around 85% of all mortalities related to COVID-19 had one or more diseases (source: WHO), so both our life and health insurance operators and the local health governments are starting to understand the importance of health scoring and IA-based lifestyle navigation for a healthier life. For the system, they cost less, and the insurance operators, they get closer to each other – both win: longer lives, fewer premium costs, longer premiums for the insurance as you live longer and fewer payouts, so to say.

What is the essential principle for mastering challenges as an entrepreneur? 
To listen to the market and get it right upfront. Many entrepreneurs are so excited about their own ideas that they sometimes forget to listen. I always try to listen, learn, and deliver.

What book would you recommend founders and entrepreneurs to read this summer—and why? 
Not really a book per se, but I have read the 2019 McKinsey digital health ecosystems paper A Payer Perspective multiple times during this summer. It is rare that I read a white paper more than once, but in my view, this is a must read for all entrepreneurs in insurance. It outlines exactly why dacadoo and our product offering is so relevant nowadays.  

What can startup founders learn from you when they follow you on social media? 
I believe it is crucial to be active social media, and I particularly enjoy Twitter. It is a great platform for networking; not only to share information about dacadoo, upcoming webinars and other useful industry content, but also to monitor new tech trends and how the market reacts to them. I enjoy starting conversations about insurtech, new technological developments and interesting articles, just as much as I enjoy taking part in ongoing conversations. You can stay up to date with dacadoo on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, and on my personal Twitter profile here.

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#SummerSeries

Meet serial entrepreneur and investor @PeterOhnemus of healthtech startup @Dacadoo.

Food for thought, inspiration, and recommendations for summer 2020.

Read: https://t.co/PqcsRAhxXb#SummerSeries #Entrepreneurship #Health #Healthtech #SwissStartups pic.twitter.com/0W4ecm38Hr

— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) July 29, 2020