The Mechanics of Substanz: Felix Huettenbach Sameday Health on Strategies and Echte Deals
Felix Huettenbach, founder of Sameday Health, doesn’t talk about startups the way investors usually do. He talks about them the way an operator would after running a national healthcare platform under the extreme pressure of the Covid‑19 pandemic. In this conversation, he explains how that experience forced him to distinguish between “Long‑term Substanz” and venture‑driven theater—and how he now applies those same criteria when he looks at companies that want to survive more than just the next funding round. Interviewer: When you evaluate a company for “Long‑term Substanz,” what are the specific “green flags” that suggest a business isn’t just a flash in the pan, the way so many Covid‑fueled startups turned out to be? Felix Huettenbach: It starts with a shift in focus from the top line to the foundation. I look for “default alive” characteristics very…


