Vidafuel is meaningfully improving its customers’ lives by making nutritional support a better, more convenient and effective experience. The power of nutrition has become increasingly accepted within the healthcare community. Nutritional therapy is critical for the management of disease and to ensure recovery from adverse events. Compliance is imperative and continues to be a real challenge for providers.

The Vidafuel team converts complex clinical guidelines into delicious and accessible products that are dietitian developed and patient approved. Our products are compliant with the clinically recommended diets for the most critical diseases including kidney disease, diabetes and heart disease. This makes compliance easier than ever before. Vidafuel has also optimized the nutritional function, improved the taste profiles and cleaned up the ingredients to increase acceptability. The Vidafuel mission is to not only improve patient outcomes, but also quality of life. Vidafuel products are provided in the clinical setting to support patients during treatment and purchased for at-home use.

“It was evident right away that True Wealth is not just capital. Kerry and Sara like to roll their sleeves up and really dig into the businesses in which they invest. It was also clear that they want to solve problems and build companies that have a positive impact on society.” – Bette Parolini

Co-founder and CEO: Bette Parolini
Headquarters: Nashville, TN

CEO & Co-founder of Vidafuel, Bette Parolini

Meet Bette Parolini:

Background: Professionally and personally, Bette has spent the majority of her life navigating the healthcare system. This grew into a passion (and obsession) for how to improve the care model as it pertains to patient outcomes and quality of life. Bette holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Belmont University with an original plan to pursue a career in medicine. While studying for the MCAT, Bette took a job at Sarah Cannon Research Institute to develop the clinical trial program for Hematological Malignancies. This is where she learned how to align the business side of healthcare with the care side of improving patient outcomes. This experience was also impactful in understanding the importance of nutritional intervention. Bette wanted to be a doctor to make an impact on patient lives. She realized that reshaping the medical food industry would enable her to do this on a large scale.

Why start Vidafuel? “Chronic disease is a healthcare epidemic. To achieve better outcomes, we need better nutritional support. The medical food market, led by the same players for the past 100 years, has seen very little innovation and is not meeting patient needs. I experienced this both on a personal level with my mom, and on a professional level with my patients. It’s time for an innovative approach and updated products.”

Why seek venture capital? “As we started to gain traction, we realized the value in having strategic investors to help shape the next stage of the business, as well as capital to support growth.”

The Vidafuel team: Melanie Imperial (l), Ellen Patterson (m), and Bette Parolini (r)

Why True Wealth Ventures? “It was evident right away that True Wealth is not just capital. Kerry and Sara like to roll their sleeves up and really dig into the businesses in which they invest. It was also clear that they want to solve problems and build companies that have a positive impact on society.”

Have you seen women general partners (GPs) bring a different perspective to the table? “Yes, women have an amazing ability to look at problem from an empathetic standpoint. I think this is how you find the best solutions. I also find that women tend to be mission driven, which has a way of tempering ego.”

Do you think a woman’s perspective is valuable to this market? “Absolutely. I think women have an innate ability to understand people. This is critical to solving problems and in collaborating with a team.”

Words of Wisdom: “Don’t win the battle and lose the war”. I remind myself of this on a daily basis. In any company, especially a startup, you’re solving a million problems and fighting battles all day. It’s easy to get sidetracked and take your eye off of the ball. Focus on the mission and broader goal. And keep your ego in check!”