Etienne BOURDON

Why I Don't Sign NDAs for Early-Stage Founders — And Why Founders Shouldn't Ask Your idea is your baby. I get it. But for VC, asking for an NDA before sharing that idea isn't protecting your future - it's limiting it. In my latest article, I break down why NDAs create more problems than they solve for founders seeking early-stage funding. I explain why VCs structurally cannot sign them (reviewing 1,500+ decks annually makes this impossible), why they signal inexperience rather than caution, and most importantly - why your execution matters infinitely more than your idea. If you're a founder worried about idea theft, this perspective might change how you approach investor conversations forever. I explain why trust is the real compounding currency in venture capital - not legal protection.

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I just came back from HLTH Europe, the best #HealthTech event in Europe. This second edition was fantastic: the whole ecosystem (including providers, payors, policy makers....) was there to discuss the key innovation topics that will shape the future of healthcare in Europe. Besides my 4 highlights, I also had the chance to moderate a panel on the topic: "Data Opt-in-imism: Why trust is key to the success of EHDS" .... with 3 fantastic panelists: Jaanika Merilo, Head of Digital Health and Care, Ministry of Social Affairs (Estonia), Estonia Malene Fischer, Deputy Chief Executive, Research Director, Rigshospitalet, Denmark Maria Bäcklund-Hassel, Senior Advisor, the Swedish e-health agency, Sweden Here are the key insights of the panel: Earlier this year, the European Health Data Space (EHDS) was approved, paving the way for cross-border health data exchange. The #EHDS may not be as flashy as AI, but it’s the backbone of healthcare innovation in Europe. ✅ 𝐎𝐩𝐭-𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭. After heated negotiations, Europe chose an "opt-in by default" model. Citizens are automatically included unless they actively opt out. 🤝 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡. And it’s earned through radical transparency, as seen in Sweden. If trust is lost (due to data leaks, data commercialisation, misuse... ) opt-outs could spike. However, experts expect fewer than 10% to opt out, and as low as 1–2% in high-trust countries like Sweden or Denmark. ⚔️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐱: 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 The EHDS is designed to build trust. But critics are already saying that it is too "heavy". Without adoption, EHDS risks becoming an empty shell. EHDS is Europe’s opportunity to lead in digital health : 🏆 𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡: The proportion of clinical trials being carried out in the European Economic Area dropped to 12% of world studies in 2023 from 22% in 2013. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬: Projects like Rigshospitalet’s improve care through simulation. EHDS data are needed to train the model 🎯 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞: Scalable data is key for personalized treatments 📖 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: can the EHDS be the building block to an Open Source ecosystem in Europe? And the hidden weapon to win the AI in #healthcare race against the US and China? ------ I also really enjoyed hosting an event with Healthy.Capital and my dear friend Douwe. Let's do it again next year! Special thanks to Katy, Lina and Henry for this fantastic conference! Follow HGM Advisory for daily reposts of the most important HealthTech news. PS: We might need to update my caricature ;)

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I had the opportunity to chat with Antoine Tardif of Unite.AI on my journey as an entrepreneur and why I joined AI Squared. In the interview, we discussed one of the biggest challenges in AI today, moving from proof-of-concept stage to production where the business can extract value from AI insights. While most enterprises are still experimenting in the lab, AI Squared is focused on operationalizing AI by embedding insights directly into the systems teams already use like Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, Slack, ServiceNow, Qlik, and 50+ more. Building on our foundations from the United States Department of Defense we focus on delivering real outcomes at scale, with security, compliance, and trust built in. Backed by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Ansa Capital, Ridgeline, Latimer Ventures and others and trusted by the DoD, intelligence community, and Fortune 500 enterprises, we’re accelerating adoption by making AI seamless, contextual, and actionable. Read the entire interview here: https://lnkd.in/ghywWUAk #EnterpriseAI #AIDeployment #AIEnablement #AIandGov #TechLeadership #AISquared #NationalSecurity #LastMileAI

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Over the last few months, I’ve been speaking to a lot of founders, product leaders, and investors. Everyone’s excited about AI — but I’ve noticed something strange: Most teams are still thinking of AI as a bolt-on — a feature to add, a chatbot to plug in, or an assistant to ship.   But I genuinely believe: The biggest SaaS winners of this decade won’t be AI-powered. They’ll be AI-native — and that’s a completely different game.   I believe this is where we’re going wrong- When we build around traditional SaaS logic, we assume: Users click buttons. Fill out forms. Trigger workflows. Then we sprinkle in AI to make things smoother.   But AI-native products don’t wait for instructions. They infer, suggest, and adapt. They collapse steps because they understand context. It’s like going from an Excel spreadsheet… to a CFO. And that changes everything — not just UX, but how we design, roadmap, and scale software.   Here’s how I’m now thinking about it strategically: 1️⃣ The UI isn’t where users “do work” anymore — it’s where decisions happen. 2️⃣ Roadmaps will get rewritten by usage patterns, not quarterly goals. 3️⃣ Customer onboarding? The product should handle that. No tours. Just outcomes.   When we built traditional SaaS, we asked: “How do we make this feature easier to use?” With AI-native SaaS, I’m learning to ask: “Does this feature even need to exist?”   That’s the shift. And it’s challenging, even for me. Because it means unlearning years of product instinct. But it’s necessary. Because 5 years from now, the products that feel obvious will be the ones that were impossible to imagine without rethinking from first principles.   And those who start with that lens today? They won’t just ship faster. They’ll define what software even means in this next cycle.   I’m betting on that future. Curious to know how others are approaching this. Tell me in the comments what you are rethinking in your product stack? 👇   #Founders #CEO #AINative #SaaS #ProductLeadership #TechVision #SoftwareShift #NextDecadeTech #TechTrends #Software #Innovation cc Gaurav C. Techdome Sparrow API Tool

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