Lily Vittayarukskul, Waterlily's CEO and Co-Founder, was on the path to become an aerospace engineer at an exceptionally young age, a patented inventor, starting college at 14 and interning at NASA by 16. But her life took an unexpected turn when her Aunt, a cornerstone of her first-generation immigrant family, was diagnosed with terminal stage colon cancer.

Post chemotherapy her family was shocked to learn that health insurance doesn't cover long-term care costs, driving their family to provide care from the home, stepping away from work and school to take on the physically demanding tasks of daily caregiving.

This devastating event revealed the profound gaps in the healthcare preparedness of most families, leaving lasting impacts on her own. Determined to ensure a future where no one else would face the same hardships, Lily shifted her focus from aerospace engineering to healthcare innovation.

Graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Genetics and Data Science, Lily led product and engineering teams at multiple startups before founding Waterlily, a company dedicated to making healthcare and its costs accessible, understandable, and empowering for all.

During this episode, we discuss:

• What she does at Waterlily
• How she got the idea for her startup
• The expense that goes into long-term care
• The solutions that Waterlily offers
• Why parents shouldn’t be paying for this
• How Lily never wanted to become a founder but what led her away from being an aerospace engineer
• Why she did a lot of things YC teaches you not to do
• What led her to bringing on a co-founder
• Her advice for anyone looking to fundraise

And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things long-term care!

Sarah Mattina is a strategic communications consultant with nearly a decade of experience across startups, venture capital, and financial communications. She has held in-house roles leading communications at JetBlue Ventures, the National Venture Capital Association, and Southwest Airlines, and has advised founders and funds alike at Edelman Smithfield.

As founder of Mattina Media, Sarah partners with her clients on funding announcements, product launches, and executive visibility, with a specialty in translating complex offerings into compelling, media-ready narratives.

During this episode, we discuss:

• How Sarah started her career in aviation but how she wanted to pivot from an internal comms role to external comms role
• What led her to starting her own PR firm with two previous clients that saw her LinkedIn post and wanted her to do fractional work
• If you don’t ask, the answer is always no
• We’re all our own worst critics at the end of the day
• How VCs and startups benefit from working with a professional for PR & comms
• Why it’s important to have owned and earned media
• What the communications flywheel is and how you can repurpose media multiple times
• When to get started with bringing in an external PR & comms expert
• How VC firms become media engines

And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things PR and media!

Phylicia Koh is a General Partner at Play Ventures a leading early-stage VC fund that invests globally in gaming, consumer apps and gaming-adjacent tech. Phylicia has led investments into Alter (avatar tech company acquired by Google, Arya (AI-driven couple intimacy platform), BibleChat (fastest growing AI-powered faith app, #4 US App Store). She most recently led Alinea's $10.4m Series A (personal financial investing app for Gen Z).

Before joining Play as Employee #1, Phylicia spent 9 years in marketing and growth, working with the likes of Mighty Bear Games, Voice Labs, Homage, Ethnicraft Online, as well as for the Singapore Economic Development Board.

• During this episode, we discuss:
• What Phyl does at Play and what they invest in
• How she started her career in growth and what led her to transition into VC instead
• Her career break with her “year of yes” and how that led her to try various opportunities
• How game companies are at the forefront of user acquisition
• The big adjustment getting into the gaming industry
• Her advice on how to beat the learning curve
• Why curiosity, initiative, and problem solving are good qualities to have
• How the stranger something sounds, the more excited she is about it
• The reality of the mindset of “there’s an app for that”
• What she looks for in startups before investing
• The attractiveness of how quickly you can get an MVP live due to AI
• Why founders need to be excited about what they’re building
• The normality of pivoting and change

And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things gaming and VC!