What is Pepper?

Pepper is a community of NYC-based humans who are passionate about healthtech. Pepper is equal parts professional and social. Our goal is to help create meaningful connections between members. We do this by providing a platform for members to interact and organizing in-person events.

Who is in Pepper?

There are 700+ members today, with 450+ active in the WhatsApp group. Our members are roughly 30% founders, 15% investors, and 55% operators – all folks who live in NYC and have years of healthcare services experience.

Pepper is open to people who:

• Live in NYC full-time
• Work/invest in healthcare services and/or digital health (no pharma, med device, biotech)
• Have 3+ years of industry experience
• Are not in “services” (e.g., bankers, lawyers, consultants)

Pepper members can view and connect with other members using the Pepper Directory.

How do I join Pepper?

If you meet the criteria listed above, you can apply to join Pepper here. There’s currently a waitlist, but we periodically admit groups of new members, so if you don’t hear back on your application right away, please be patient!

How is Pepper run?

Pepper was founded by Rohan Siddhanti and is now fully volunteer-run by Pepper members. The Pepper Volunteer Board admits members, organizes events, manages the community, builds new features, and maintains infrastructure.

The current Pepper Volunteer Board is:

• Co-Chairs: Rachel Silverman & Ben Belford
• Community Committee: Sunny Patil & Alex Aksanov
• Events Committee: Jamie Port & Isabela Fernandes
• Communications: Swetha Ravichandran

Volunteer moderators also run our sub-groups, which are the community-led smaller groups who meet up on their own.

What does Pepper membership entail?

Pepper membership is what you make of it! We provide the tools for members to connect with one another and seek to foster a high level of engagement. Engagement means something different for everyone, so we hope you engage in the way that provides the most value for you. The more you engage, the better your chances of finding your people.

Pepper membership is currently free, but as we add more programming and features over time, we may charge for membership in the future to ensure the sustainability of our community.

Pepper’s current offerings include:

Newsletter

We send out an email newsletter ~2x per month to spread the word about upcoming events, share highlights from recent events, spotlight Pepper members, and share other relevant updates. The newsletter is intended to share quick high-level updates, but the WhatsApp group is where the real action happens!

WhatsApp

Pepper is all about finding your tribe, and the WhatsApp group is where it starts. Dive into group discussions, join or create events, and connect with folks offline.

Here are some general guidelines for the WhatsApp:

Do:

• Participate Actively: Join discussions in various groups. Share your thoughts, ask questions, and respond to others.
• Find/Create Events: Look for events organized within the groups or take the initiative to create your own events to connect with other members in person.
• Be Kind, but Stay Spicy: Engage with others respectfully while keeping conversations lively and interesting. Bring your unique perspective to the discussions because we want your voice to be heard!

Don’t:

• Be rude or disrespectful to other members.

Prohibited Behaviors: There is a zero-tolerance policy for:

• Hate speech or harassment
• Spam
• Privacy violations
• Violent or illegal activities
• Impersonation of others

The WhatsApp group is organized into channels, which include:

• General / community-wide channels
  • Announcements: Where we share information on upcoming events and other important updates
  • Spicy Takes & Chit Chat: An open forum to introduce yourself, share your take on events in the news, and debate spicy perspectives on all things healthcare
  • Coffee & Asks: Share questions or interest areas and find other Pepper members who are willing to meet or help out
• Subgroups: These are interest-based channels that any member can choose to join. Within subgroups, members can discuss ideas, plan events, and connect with like-minded folks. Example subgroups include:
  • AI x Healthcare
  • Investors
  • Medicaid
  • Sports & Activities
  • … and many more!

Have an idea for a subgroup that doesn’t exist? DM one of the Pepper Board members in WhatsApp or email us at peppernyc1@gmail.com. Note that subgroups are monitored regularly for inactivity. In order to maintain a high standard of engagement, we may deprecate subgroups that become inactive over time.

Events

In-person events are the lifeblood of Pepper! We organize a variety of types of events to help everyone find the best way to engage.

Subgroup Meetups

Subgroups are encouraged to meet up frequently, informally, and organically. Subgroup moderators work with Volunteer Board members and other subgroup members to organize meetups. These subgroup meetups are the best way to build in-depth friendships!

Examples of past subgroup meetups include playing tennis in McCarren Park (Sports & Activities subgroup), going for a walk on the West Side Highway (Women in Pepper), meeting up at Brian Johnson’s NYC Don’t Die Summit (Longevity subgroup), dinner at an Italian restaurant in Flatiron (Investors subgroup), and mingling over snacks and drinks at a member’s apartment in Carroll Gardens (Medicaid subgroup).

If you have an idea for a subgroup meetup but aren’t sure how to get the ball rolling, feel free to reach out to the respective subgroup moderator or any Volunteer Board member!

Community-Wide Events

Every quarter, we host 1-2 large-scale events that are open to the entire Pepper community. These events are perfect opportunities to network, learn from industry colleagues, and share your ideas in digital health. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting, you’ll find these gatherings invaluable. Events may focus on certain topics (e.g., mental health, building tech stacks in healthcare, etc.) and take different formats (e.g., panel discussions, happy hours), but our goal is for these community-wide events to be welcoming and open to everyone.

Pepper Toolkit

Pepper People - Member Directory

Find and connect with fellow Pepper members based on expertise, industry focus, or job type.

Search profiles and filter to find exactly who you might need in the Pepper healthtech ecosystem.

Don't forget to update your own profile so others can find you!

password: spicy

Pepper Picks - Job Board

Connects talented professionals with exciting healthtech opportunities across NYC.
To post a job click here

Pepper Pairings - Member Introductions

Sign up for our new quarterly introduction program! Every three months, we'll connect you with another Pepper member based on shared interests or complementary backgrounds. It's a curated way to expand your network, discover potential collaborations, and build meaningful relationships within our NYC healthtech community.

If you have an idea, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to peppernyc1@gmail.com and let’s chat!