Reflections on founding Quilt Health

When we announced our partnership with NASCC and the formation of Quilt Health last June, we each shared a reflection on LinkedIn about why we started this company. The words still feel true, so we're bringing them together here.

Below you'll find those original posts, published June 17, 2025, from each of us in turn.

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From Andy

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I always had the same debate with my mentor, Dr. Paul Farmer. An infectious diseases specialist, Paul was laser focused on treating complicated communicable diseases in the poorest parts of the world. This meant building hospitals, lab facilities and other infrastructure for delivering complex healthcare interventions. As the ‘primary healthcare guy’ on Paul’s team at Harvard Medical School, my nerdy obsession was how to build a ‘health system’ that would efficiently deliver health and wellness at scale. So I was much more interested in investing in ways to support behaviors that help people avoid illness in the first place.

Paul died suddenly in 2022, far too young at age 62, but not before he and his partners helped catalyze a global movement to treat people with human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis (TB) and malaria that has saved tens of millions of lives. Like so many of the thousands of people whose lives he directly touched, I still can’t speak about Paul without breaking up. He is always in my thoughts. So, when I was deciding whether to get back in the arena after an incredibly rewarding run helping to build and launch the team at Firefly Health, it was Paul’s voice I heard.

Over the decade that I had had my head down learning how to scale high quality primary care, the biomedical world had developed a mind-blowing pipeline of transformative therapies for complex diseases like #SickleCellDisease (SCD), Muscular Dystrophy and Hungtington’s Disease. Outside islands of excellence, however, care for people living with these conditions remains staggeringly fragmented, inefficient and inequitable. And this friction makes the path for new therapies through clinical trials and to market unacceptably slow and expensive.

Inspired by the many amazing leaders working to improve the lives of people with SCD, we founded Quilt Health with the vision that every person deserves the right treatment at the right time.

Paul’s ‘sword’ was his ability to authentically speak and write on behalf of millions of voiceless people. I’ve grown convinced that the best way for me to move the ball forward is to apply software and artificial intelligence, purpose built for clinical workflows, to support the highest standard of care at scale. What this means at Quilt Health is building a system that connects patients with the best care teams and efficiently curates high-quality, longitudinal, condition-specific data. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with incredible organizations like the National Alliance of Sickle Cell Centers (NASCC) and build a rockstar team to do just that.

Paul used to say that we (his students) were his retirement plan, that he was counting on us to carry forward his lessons and his work. With his example in mind, and so many exceptional, dedicated leaders alongside, I am grateful to be taking this next step down the path to great healthcare for all.

We are delighted to share news today of a $6 million financing, co-led by MaC Venture Capital and Underscore VC, building on a round led by Meridian Street Capital with a syndicate including BoxGroup, Coalition, Opal Ventures and @Watershed VC. I am grateful for the opportunity to link arms on this journey with Jazmine Coleman, Julie Kanter-Washko, Natasha Archer, Sophie Lanzkron, Deepa Manwani and so many others in the community dedicated to improving the lives of people living with SCD and other complex chronic conditions.

Shoutout and thanks to so many wonderful colleagues and leaders in the SCD community, including: Ade Adeyokunnu, Teonna Woolford, @Wally Smith, @Shirley Johnson, @Daniel Sop and others too many to list.

From Jazmine

I don’t believe in accidents. To the contrary, I believe in divine purpose and intervention. For this reason, whenever I find myself in a room wondering why or how I came to be there, chance is far from my mind. Instead of focusing on what I don’t understand in a given moment, I’ve learned to get excited about the wonderful ways answers will unfold.

How did I come to be sitting across from Andy Ellner MD in a restaurant discussing the idea of Quilt Health? More importantly, why? Was it because my father embodies entrepreneurship, running a successful small business for more than thirty years? Was it because I spent three years prior to our meeting working closely with founders of color in healthcare who also believe in bringing out healthcare’s best for all? Was it because I spent my career in clinical settings with medical professionals who believe it is as much their job to stand up for patients as it is to treat them? Was it because, amongst the providers in our healthcare system who have threatened my dignity, I found exceptional providers who renewed my hope? Was it because I first learned about sickle cell in my very own community while spending Saturday mornings at health fairs organized by my mother? In short, yes.

Jobs are more than places to do amazing things. Jobs are places to do amazing things with incredible people. If I named everyone who came to mind as I walked through the whys above, this post would never end.

Inspired by everyone playing any role in healthcare because they cannot or choose not to turn away from complex problems and our responsibility to solve them, we founded Quilt Health with the vision that every person deserves the right treatment at the right time. Toward this end, we are thrilled to announce our partnership with the National Alliance of Sickle Cell Centers (NASCC)

We are also excited to share news today of a $6 million financing, co-led by MaC Venture Capital and Underscore VC, building on a round led by Meridian Street Capital with a syndicate including BoxGroup, Coalition, Opal Ventures and @watershedvc.

Natasha Archer, Ade Adeyokunnu, Julie Kanter-Washko , Deepa Manwani, Sophie Lanzkron, Teonna Woolford, Wally Smith, Shirley Johnson, @Daniel Sop and so many others, thank you for your guidance thus far. It has been an honor to work with you toward improving the lives of people living with SCD and other complex chronic conditions.