Perry Wallack joined NEA in 2025 as an Associate on the Healthcare Investing Team focused on digital health. Prior to NEA, Perry was at AEA Growth, where he concentrated on growth-stage investments in healthcare and business services. He began his career at Bain & Company, specializing in private equity due diligence across the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Perry graduated cum laude with distinction from Duke University with a BA in Political Science and a certificate in Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE).
What excites you about the sectors you’re focused on?
The global healthcare ecosystem is simultaneously foundational to the wellbeing of the population and rife with opportunity for innovation and progress. Working as a VC in healthcare provides the incredible privilege to learn constantly, meet with some of the most creative and passionate founders in the world, and empower companies to enact real impact on the community.
What matters most in the relationship between VCs and founders?
Trust and transparency. I believe the most successful board meetings are the ones where management doesn't try to prove that everything is going well but instead feels comfortable sharing the challenges they are facing and seeks for help. This takes work! It is the responsibility of investors to cultivate a relationship with founders and management teams founded on empathy, trust, and support. Every meeting should start and end with "how can I help." If this trust is maintained, we can truly embark on the journey of building great companies together.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your career?
The importance of learning to learn. The world, and especially the world of healthcare, is incredibly complex and will only get more complicated. Throughout life we will cultivate a plethora of facts and figures - but most important to succeed above all else is to have the humility to recognize what we do not know and the courage and curiosity to go learn it!
What resonates with you most about NEA’s approach to venture capital?
The focus on partnership and truly helping our founders and companies. VC is an industry founded on helping people. When NEA makes an investment, it’s the beginning of a long partnership. What makes the job so rewarding and where we can truly create the most value is when we do everything in our power to provide founders the hands-on support and resources to realize their vision.
What was your first job and how did it shape you?
Consulting taught me to always lead with a hypothesis. More often than not the simplest or most intuitive answer is the right one. In most situations there are an infinite number of questions to be asked and answers to be found. Research, analysis, or problem solving can be channeled much more effectively when I start with an answer first and then do the work to prove or disprove it.
I strongly believe that_______ .
At its core, humanity is good. Sometimes motivations and personal histories differ which leads us to approach the world in different ways. But foundationally, people are generally working to do what is right, at least how it fits with their personal world view. Rather than point fingers and feel frustration when our goals and ideas misalign, we should seek this as an opportunity to better understand our peers.
