Successful seed round a tonic for HealthNow

Many founders will tell you there’s no straight path when raising capital. HealthNow founder Steven Zinsli is no different. 

“You do your best to predict the future, but the external market dynamics and investors’ sentiment towards different parts of products, and finding product market fit are sometimes challenging.” 

Fortunately for Zinsli, whose startup officially launched in January 2024, the necessary dynamics lined up. Today, HealthNow announced a $3.4 million seed round led by Icehouse Ventures, Brand Fund 1 and NZ Fintech Fund (NZFF). 

HealthNow is a platform that allows employers to provide financial support for employees' healthcare expenses through a dedicated Mastercard.

Zinsli credits the rising focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, the cost of living crisis, and a post-COVID world in which employers have to think carefully about what attracts and retains top talent for the increasing interest in HealthNow – as well as his own tenacity.

“We’re getting a lot of positive sentiment from both the investor market with this raise and from the employer market, or organisations around Australia and New Zealand, because they have been trying to deliver health and wellbeing in a complicated and antiquated way for a long time,” he says. 

The sentiment is echoed by New Zealand Fintech Fund cofounder and partner Marty Kerr, who says, as an investor, the fund was drawn to HealthNow’s potential and the intersection of fintech and healthtech.

This seed round marks the first major institutional investment for HealthNow and will support continued product development, international expansion and scaling of its team, Zinsli says. 

“It’s definitely for growth into Australia but also to strengthen our position in New Zealand and to go to as many events as possible connecting with as many people leaders as possible just to get the brand out there.” 

Zinsli adds that as a B2B SaaS venture, brand, reputation and trust are important for getting deals across the line. 

Having spent three-and-a-half years on the journey, Zinsli says that raising capital is a continuous learning journey and that founders should not give up, even if it feels like a long slog. Instead, he suggests using the time to really get to know your product. 

“I’m appreciative of the time that I’ve had in market to be able to go and get to know my customer in a deeper way, so when I go and have those investment conversations, I can speak from a position of authority and know what the market needs.” 

‍