A spotlight on Anterior
How to scale an intentional culture
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There should be a category of company called “Obviously great…if it actually works.” An example of this type of company would be someone making the whole airport experience suck a lot less. Everyone wants that. Another of this category would be someone transforming the tax filing process. Again, everyone wants that.
Where the rubber meets the road with “Obviously great…if it actually works” type companies, though, is right there in the latter half of the statement: “if it actually works.” Because while it’s one thing to dream up a pretty obviously amazing vision, it’s another thing entirely to actually deliver results.
To actually make a difference when chasing after a very ambitious, widely impactful vision, there’s a lot you need to get right. One thing you (and inevitably your team) need to be able to do is balance the long-term and the short-term. If you do not have long-term clarity, there’s a high chance you’ll end up only building something incrementally interesting (as opposed to really transformative). And if you neglect the short-term, well then there is probably not going to be a long-term company.
This pursuit requires a sort of thoughtfulness and intensity that’s very rare. That’s why our curiosity peaked when we met Abdel Mahmoud, MD, the founder and CEO of Anterior.
Anterior’s pitch falls under the aforementioned category of ”Obviously great…” They want to make healthcare a delightful experience for everyone involved. Your reaction may be close to ours: “Great - how are you going to do that?”
Their answer came in two parts:
“We’ve started by automating something called prior authorizations, because we see them as a major bottleneck for the industry and a strategically very useful place to make an impact.” They already have tens of thousands of users using this first product. You can read more about their product and roadmap here, as well as in their $20 million Series A announcement (as they’ve raised money from NEA and Sequoia).
“We are going to assemble an exceptional team as we build an enduring culture of excellence.” Anterior believes in person collaboration is critical for clinicians, engineers, and designers to build the future of healthcare. They work 5 days a week in person in their office, and are currently hiring across all teams into the New York City office. You can check out their open roles here.
Part two—the assembling of the exceptional team and development of an effective culture—is what this Spotlight is all about.
We spent some time talking to the Anterior team to understand: What is it like to work at the company? What are important aspects of the culture? And plenty more behind-the-scenes details that, whether you are a founder, job-seeker, operator, or investor - think you will find interesting.
[Major thanks to the Anterior team for sharing information with us and supporting the next play community]
One word we could use to describe Abdel and the rest of the Anterior team, based on our few conversations with them, is that they seem to be uniquely intentional in their pursuit of their vision - meaning they do not just care about what they are building but also about their approach to building (i.e. they care a lot about _how_ things are done, not just what gets incrementally shipped).
That’s because they see their team and culture as the number one most valuable aspect of the company. And so, as you dig into Anterior, you will start to see a number of unique ways in which they work.
It’s perhaps worth starting with a very influential piece of the puzzle—how does Anterior think about recruiting?
The best way to build a world-class company is to attract, nurture, and retain world-class people. And the best way to do so is to do it resolvedly from day one; world-class people attract, nurture, and retain world-class people. Everything else (all the buzzwords: culture, values, performance) are second-order consequences that fall neatly out of this condition.
Well they want great people, but perhaps even more than that: they want the right people for the team.
“Think of our hiring like casting a play, not running a factory farm. Sure, we might have one job description that covers multiple engineering roles, but we know there's no cookie-cutter template for who makes our team great. We're obsessed with how people's strengths play off each other and how each new hire shapes our culture.”
Well then who are the right people? There’s a lot to this answer, but a few of the attributes that stood out to us as we talked to many of the people on the team:
“Someone who enjoys ambiguity, autonomy, and responsibility. Someone who doesn't believe in a dichotomy between pace and quality. And someone who can hold their own in a room of intensely sharp and opinionated people.”
“Low ego. Unless you're a clinician (which many people at Anterior are!), you're a guest in the house of healthcare - meaning you're at the service of the doctors and nurses we build for and who work at the company.”
“Most importantly, people who care about being kind (not just nice, but genuinely kind)—where there's a deeper level of genuine care and consideration, not just being pleasant or polite—and who see joining a team as an investment in others' growth, not just their own.”
“We look for people who don't see their job as just a paycheck (being rewarded for your effort is of course important) but as a craft. People who actually want to solve hard problems and get energy from in-person collaboration.”
“Success at Anterior goes beyond just skills and experience—it’s about mindset. The people who thrive here are naturally curious, adaptable, and proactive problem-solvers. They embrace change, move quickly, and aren’t afraid to ask questions or challenge the status quo. Ownership is key—you need to take initiative, make decisions with confidence, and iterate as you go. Those who enjoy the journey at Anterior are energized by collaboration, excited by the impact of AI in healthcare, and willing to navigate ambiguity with a solutions-oriented approach. But more than that, they care about making a real difference. The work we do isn’t just about improving processes—it’s about helping real people access the care they need faster and more efficiently. If you love tackling complex challenges and want to create something that truly matters, you’ll fit right in.”
“People who thrive at Anterior are delightfully intense, they’re kind yet demanding; humble yet ambitious. They are insatiably curious, eager to learn outside their domain, and are not afraid to ask “stupid” questions. They’re also comfortable with discomfort—whether that’s candid feedback or the feeling of being out of their depth.
They also mentioned a few attributes that would probably make someone not the best fit for the company right now:
“Don't join unless you are willing to work incredibly hard.”
“Experts unwilling to be proven wrong. Low egos and collaboration are pre-requisites to reaching a higher bar. “
“We're not a great fit for people who just want to be assigned tasks and execute them without thinking—I call them "task monkeys." If you don't get energized by in-person collaboration or don't see your work as a craft you're constantly refining, you might struggle here. The same goes for those who aren't naturally curious about how different parts of the business interconnect.”
The team is very honest throughout the recruitment process—they are really looking for people who are the right fits, where it’s a win-win for both sides (as opposed to just taking the approach of filling seats as quickly as possible).
“He wasn't trying to sell me on some idealized version of the role—if anything, he deliberately highlighted the challenges to see if I'd be deterred. He laid out the role and expectations with crystal clarity, which I deeply respected. There's nothing more frustrating than accepting a position only to discover that reality bears little resemblance to what was described.”
Once you convince a bunch of talented people to join your company, the next thing you need to do is figure out how to work with all of them. This is another area to which Anterior has taken an intentional approach.
“We use a DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) model for decision-making. Every decision has an owner who gathers input, weighs it, and makes the call. We don’t do decisions by committee—nothing is what happens when everyone has to agree. Input is welcome; ownership is mandatory. This approach keeps us fast and accountable.”
Much of the culture then stems from empowering the DRIs and people at the company to do the best possible work. They believe in something called “Servant Leadership” where the role of leaders is to amplify the rest of the team.
“People are everything at Anterior and we believe that if leaders look after their people, they look after Anterior's success.”
“Our leadership team has mastered the art of truly listening—not just hearing words, but understanding the substance behind them. They've built a culture where people feel genuinely cared for as individuals, which shows up in everything from our thoughtful benefits package to how they handle situations when things get tough.”
“Most importantly, the leadership is firmly mission-driven—every decision aligns with the goal of reducing administrative burdens and enhancing healthcare for real people.”
“Leaders at Anterior are Levers: our job is to make teams greater than the sum of their individuals. We do this by being servants first, always asking questions like “what can I do for my team?”, “where can I unlock things?”, and “where can I get out of the way?”.”
“Leaders at Anterior are expected to be in the trenches with their team, and no task should be beneath us: we do whatever it takes to make our teams, and Anterior, win.”
A word many people at the company use often—when describing others they work with—is “remarkably clear thinkers.”
In talking about Abdel, “He and I met at an AI hackathon we were both judging, and I remember thinking, "Wow, this guy's clarity of thought and storytelling abilities are stellar." Having worked as an investor,I was naturally highly skeptical of every startup, so I did a very thorough due diligence, and during that it became clear there was a uniquely compelling opportunity with alignment up and down the entire value chain.”
In talking about their head of product, “He doesn’t just set a product strategy; he ensures that every team understands how their work contributes to the bigger picture. His leadership creates clarity, focus, and momentum, enabling the entire company to move forward in the right direction with confidence and support.”
They pair this clarity of thought with what they call “delightful intensity”—the output of which is speed (i.e. getting things done quickly!). They care about speed across the board…
Speed to shipping high quality products:
“One of the most surprising things about working at Anterior has been the sheer speed at which we move and the level of collaboration across disciplines. Coming from the healthcare industry, I’m used to complex problems that can take years to solve, and sometimes solutions get halted by silos or old rigid thinking—but here, we tackle them head-on with an urgency and focus that is completely different.”
“You own the end-to-end problem and don't just propose ideas; you go do it. There's a palpable sense of urgency and speed because we see this time at Anterior as working on something career-defining.”
“I’ve spent my entire career pursuing a solution to the administrative burdens that weigh down healthcare. The first time I saw a demo of Anterior’s AI tool, Florence, I realized I was witnessing something that simply wasn’t possible a few years ago. It was a game-changer.”
Speed of learning new things:
“You won't learn faster anywhere else. You won't find a group of people who combine intensity and delightfulness the way we do anywhere else.”
“I try to be intentional with meetings—they should always have an agenda—but I've found it's often in the casual conversations during 1:1s where you learn the most. It's about striking that balance between structure and spontaneity.”
“When you join Anterior, you leave brands, titles, and other such masks at the door. What matters now is the value you bring to Anterior and its people, and how eager you are to contribute and learn. When our leaders focus on merit alone, all the masks drop and focus turns away from the people and towards substance, resulting in an extraordinary pace of learning for the entire company and its people.”
And perhaps most importantly for many people at the company: speed of impact:
At the end of the day, the real question is: Are we making a meaningful difference? Every decision we make, every workflow we optimize, and every tool we build directly impacts patients, providers, and health plans. Whether it's reducing the time needed for someone to get a necessary procedure approved or eliminating administrative headaches for clinicians, our work is about more than just efficiency—it’s about improving healthcare at its core. Keeping this question at the center of what we do ensures that we remain focused on building something that truly matters. In my heart, I will always be a nurse, and here I am a nurse with the opportunity to help at scale.
As mentioned, Anterior is currently hiring in NYC across product, design, engineering, operations, marketing, and more. You can read more (and watch a video) about their culture here. You can check out their open roles here.
Thanks for reading! And if you’re looking to see more from next play, you can head over here where you’ll find lots of under-the-radar content and opportunities.