Benjamin Heywood (entrepreneur)
Benjamin Heywood | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Heywood November 7, 1971 Boston, MA USA |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Anderson School at UCLA |
| Known for | SkyRiver Ventures PatientsLikeMe |
Benjamin Heywood (born November 7, 1971 in Boston, MA) is an American entrepreneur, patient advocate, and technology venture capitalist. He is best known as a co‑founder of PatientsLikeMe, an online health community platform that enables patients to share their health data to improve medical outcomes and support research. As of 2025, he is a General Partner at the venture‑capital firm SkyRiver Ventures, investing in early‑stage deep tech and digital health.
Early life and education
Heywood grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, United States. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later received an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and attended the Producers Program and UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.[1]
PatientsLikeMe
In 2004, Heywood co‑founded PatientsLikeMe with his brother Jamie Heywood and friend Jeff Cole following their brother Stephen Heywood’s diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The platform was developed to democratize access to health data by enabling patients to track and share symptoms, treatments, and outcomes.[2]
PatientsLikeMe is a privately funded company that aggregates its users health information and works with the pharmaceutical and medical device industry to understand real-world experiences of patients. PatientsLikeMe was named one of "15 companies that will change the world" by CNN Money.[3] In 2019, the company was acquired by UnitedHealth Group.[4]
Heywood served as president of PatientsLikeMe and led its growth into a leading digital‑health community platform, attracting investment from Invus Capital, CommerceNet, Omidyar Network, and prominent angel investors. Under his leadership, the company raised over $100M in capital and contributed to numerous peer‑reviewed research publications in collaboration with academic and industry partners.
SkyRiver Ventures
After his tenure at PatientsLikeMe, Heywood transitioned into investing and advising roles. He co‑founded SkyRiver Ventures in 2021 and has backed ventures across robotics, advanced materials, AI, mining, biotech, and electrification.[5]
He continues to foster the entrepreneurial technology ecosystem through mentoring at the Creative Destruction Lab [6], and MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service and Sandbox program [7].
Public speaking and advocacy
Heywood has been a speaker at conferences such as TEDx[8] and Health 2.0, where he promotes patient‑centered data sharing and transparency in medical research.[9]
Personal life
Heywood’s brother, Jamie Heywood, is a noted ALS‑research advocate and founded the ALS Therapy Development Institute. Their brother Stephen Heywood—whose ALS diagnosis inspired PatientsLikeMe—passed away in 2006.[10]
His father, Prof. John B. Heywood (engineer) is a British mechanical engineer known for his work on automotive engine research, for authoring a number of field-defining textbooks on the internal combustion engine, and as the director of the Sloan Automotive Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
His mother was raised on a family dairy farm in Brooking South Dakota and was a social worker for the state of Massachusetts.
References
- ^ [source needed for education]
- ^ [NY Times Magazine, March 2008]
- ^ "15 companies that will change the world - PatientsLikeMe (7) - Business 2.0". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
- ^ Mathews, Anna Wilde (2019-06-25). "UnitedHealth Buys PatientsLikeMe After Startup Was Forced to Divest Chinese Investment". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ https://www.skyriverventures.com/
- ^ https://creativedestructionlab.com/mentors/benjamin-heywood/
- ^ https://sandbox.mit.edu/mentors
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3NVG-pVDIs
- ^ [source needed]
- ^ [NYT obituary, Nov 2006]
External links
- SkyRiver Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm investing in pre-seed, seed, and Series A deep tech and digital health startups.
- PatientsLikeMe is an online community for people affected by life-changing illnesses, including ALS
- PatientsLikeMe was featured in both an Harvard Business School case and an Insead Business School.
- TEDx Cambridge talk on Thriving
- ALS Therapy Development Institute is a non-profit biotechnology center founded by the Heywood family focused soley on ALS research. ALS TDI operates the world's largest research and development program and research center.
- Frontline's website about Heywood's brothers Jamie and Stephen Heywood