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Courtesy of Fortuna Health
Nikita Singareddy sits in a recording studio across from Patrick Gilligan for the latest episode of his self-disclosure podcast. Both are below the 30 Healthcare Lister, serving Medicaid people through their respective startups, SaaS Company Fortuna Health and Mental Health Mentorship Platform Somethings. The two discuss what can sometimes feel like a balanced act of health care. It helps people become healthier while driving economic outcomes for non-patient customers.
“If you build it in healthcare, you won't get a new shiny toy,” Singalady tells Gilligan. “We need a real solution to our customer's problems.”
While there is no shortage of “shiny new toys” in the digital health industry, Singareddy and Gilligan will agree that Medicaid in particular has been behind in a long period of time due to software updates. The $870 billion government program offers free health insurance to 80 million Americans, but the current registration process is complicated, slow and sometimes completely paper-based.
Singareddy launched Fortuna and its user-friendly web app in 2023. She and her co-founders Cydney Kim and Ben Wesner have created a platform that makes Medicaid applications easier for clients. But it had a ripple effect across the industry.
Healthcare providers and insurance agents who have stepped into Fortuna Bill have the real incentive to be put into such a platform. For example, it would take a Medicaid managed care organization (or MCO) that receives monthly payments from the government based on the number of members registered in the plan. If member compensation expires due to missed renewal deadlines or lost documents in the mail, the organization may need to perform uncompensated services. However, by sending Fortuna-powered push notifications to members of MCOS, such as MVP Healthcare (Fortuna partners), users are asked to access an online portal with instructions to access the benefits. The service has increased its MVP retention to 98% since the start of the partnership.
Hospitals also benefit from a more efficient Medicaid experience. When uninsured patients go to the emergency room, their care is frequently unpaid. Experts estimate that tens of millions of uncompensated care costs are costing. However, Medicaid is unique in that patients can receive medical expenses coverage up to 90 days in the past. Therefore, if a person with medical debt can register with Medicaid by the end of that 90-day period (probably using Fortuna), the hospital will receive payment for the services it provides.
Many use cases for Fortuna are promised to investors. Last week, Fortuna Health raised a $18 million Series A, led by returning investor Andreessen Horowitz. Plus, President Donald Trump's one big, beautiful bill law provides even more scrutiny of Medicaid and provides the services of Fortuna that are much more needed today.
Learn more about Fortuna Health and how healing wounds is set up here following the Medicaid crackdown.
Next week, more
Alexandra, Zoya, Alex
Has been hampered by regulators proven by Wall Street: CEO of design startup Figma is currently a billionaire
Gabriella Hasbun from Forbes
In January 2024, an alum under 30 and Figma founder Dylan Field were attacked by the call of Awakening. His design startup was set to be acquired by Adobe for $20 billion. However, after 15 months of exchange, the deal fell apart. However, this week, Figma was published on the New York Stock Exchange at a $19 billion valuation. Find out more about the transaction that made the Field a billionaire here.
Lister Lowdown
-Saint Sass, a European retail startup founded by Vivien wysocki, a larissa Schmidt under the age of 30, announced a $5 million funding round this week. The total funding will be $6 million. This will expand the line of viral tights, including swimsuits, sleepwear and more. Furthermore, they have plans to expand to the US market.
-Musical Duo Alex Pall and Drew Taggart are best known as Chainsmokers, but this month they closed VC company Mantis' $100 million Fund III. 2019 Forbes under 30 Cover Stars first launched Mantis in 2020, supporting startups such as the $35 million debut fund, AI, technology, and Crypto. The third fund supported by LPS, like TriplePoint Capital and Summit Peak, is used to write checks for between $500,000 and $2 million in early-stage tech companies.
– The “Vibe Coding” startup is a beloved one co-founded by Anton Osica and 30 alums Fabian Hedin in 2025, and has become the officially fastest-growing software startup in history. This platform allows anyone to create a full-fledged app. No coding is required. Just chat with AI and explain what you want (for example, Docusign style tools) and Lovable takes care of the rest. The company loved by users has surged to $100 million in annual revenue in just eight months. Read the features of Lovable here to find out what businesses the platform has given life to.
1 minute with the Cherry Beagles
We deliver scoops to community members under the age of 30. UP this week: 2025 Europe Sports & Games Lister Cherry Beagles. She is the founder of 400 clubs and a strategy and consulting startup that works with brands such as Arsenal FC and Nike, connecting female fans with sports.
The following has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Your name is so much fun. Where did the name Cherry come from? Oh, there's actually a backstory. When my parents were growing up, my dad called my mom a “cherry pie.” That was her nickname. So when my twins and I were born, they knew that one of us would be called Cherry. When I came out I was bright, bright red, with a red mark in the middle of my forehead. Soon my mother was like “that cherry blossom.” My sister is called Daisy.
How do you start the morning? It used to be on my phone, but I'm not going to lie. But now I brought my phone to the lounge and I can't keep doing it. Now I usually wake up and have matcha. I hate running, but I usually go to the gym. I always listen to podcasts on my way to the gym or the gym. This can be either a sports business podcast or an episode of a founder who passes through a biography of famous founders and their lives.
What is your typical day life? They are all very, very different. I travel a lot for work so I can have panel talks and meetings about women's fan strategies and women in sports, or travel around town to see all the brands and 400 club members.
Sequently Coffee Days with Members include sitting with female founders, athletes and creatives to look into what I want to achieve within the sport over the next 12-18 months. And a more formal meeting day might mean sitting with the rights holders and coming up with new ideas for activation, campaigning, approvals and partnerships for a new season.
What does your team look like now? I have a team of social media managers, chief strategy officers, fund directors (because they're trying to launch a fund), and then I'm there. All of our projects also hire freelance female creatives who source from 400 clubs. We basically created and pulled from there a roster of videographers, photographers, stylists and editors from the big magazine.
Are there any daily things you feel you cannot live without? That's good. A gentle app. I listen to sleep every night.
Other than that, my days are so different, I think I have a really high tolerance for chaos. So I don't actually have too many everyday or important products. I trained myself from comfort, from the products I use to what I eat every day.
Of course, you cannot live without your family, boyfriend or twin sister. The founder's lives are sometimes so lonely, so I love having them there. But when it comes to products, I'm pretty minimal.
Are there any athletes you really admire? Chloe Kelly is one. Her attitude is something that I think is really necessary for women's sports. Such a brave, confident attitude. It's similar when Irona Maher said, “I'm not taking fraud syndrome, I worked to come here.” You need those women. And I think Chloe Kelly definitely has it.
I also love Cameron Brink. She does an incredible job building her own personal brand outside the WNBA.
Maya Shah, daughter of Misha Shah. She is 10 years old and the youngest person to sign Nike. She plays for Arsenal's youth team and she is amazing. She will be the biggest athlete ever.
What about the business side of the industry? Is there someone you admire? Domo Wells is incredible. She is the creative director of Washington Spirit and I think her ability to get through the noise with her products and creative is amazing. It's great to see Washington Spirit appointed a creative director in its first place.
Leans Engelke, Irona Ma's agent. She made some insane deals this year and the previous year. I think she set a new benchmark for partnerships within women's sports.
Are there any dream collaborations or projects you are aiming for now? yes. I really want to do a WNBA All-Star after the party. I really love doing ESPY too. You have a huge, big opportunity for sports, so all of these are very American-focused.
What do people think are wrong about the women's sports industry? Ah, a lot. One is that it's a monolithic fan or fits all fans. I think it's one because of its naiveness, but two because it's early stages. You don't see subcultures appear very clearly until they are given time.
I also think that fans need to be everywhere, and that regriotizization between the 365 fans. I think there is this misconception that fans who appear in key tournaments do not tend to stay. And I think that's because we use the wrong tactics, the wrong marketing, and the wrong collaboration to keep them there.
What is the best advice you've ever received? And the worst? The best advice I've ever received is to hire slowly and set fire quickly. And to keep your team as lean as possible. There is this misconception that the bigger your team, the more successful you will be. But I have 5 “players” rather than 30 “B Plays.”
The worst advice is very stereotyped, but “Don't leave the law, don't leave legal work, walk the traditional path.” If I had, I wouldn't be doing what I am now.
What is your favorite hobby outside of work? I'm such a nerd. I love movies. I'm watching the commentary of the movie a lot. I love to listen to film critic reviews, film comedy runthroughs, or behind the scenes of the production. Maybe because I'm doing a lot of productions now with campaigns and activations, but I love learning how films came to life.
I also watch a lot of tutorials on how to play a particular instrument even if I'm not playing at all. I'm just curious about how you will get to that place. Is that the strangest thing?
Want to hear more from the Beagles? She attended the Forbes 30 under 30 summit this September. Grab your ticket here.
