Zus Health CEO Jonathan Bush on Getting Targeted by Wall Street’s Most Feared Activist Investor

Jonathan Bush was busy building healthcare startup Athenahealth when Wall Street’s most feared activist investor began circling. In 2017, Elliott took a 9% stake, slammed the company’s performance, and pushed for a sale—eventually forcing Bush out as CEO. In this conversation, he opens up about being publicly targeted, hitting rock bottom, and finding the grit to rise again. TIME STAMPS: 00:00 - How he got into healthcare 03:29 -- Founding Athenahealth 07:16 - Athenahealth's business model 07:52 - Meeting with his cousin George W. Bush in the Oval Office 09:04 - Transitioning to public market CEO 12:00 - Elliott Management begins circling 14:49 - Damaging allegations against Bush resurface 22:02 - Did he think he would start another company? 23:27 - How the public firing affected him 24:36 - Running a company under duress 29:40 - Any Elliott criticisms that Bush thinks were valid 31:13 - Advice for CEOs who find themselves the target of an activist investor attack 32:26 - Has the experience changed him? 33:30 - Founding Zus Health 37:48 - The significance of Zus's name 38:54 - How much venture funding Zus has raised 39:20 - Would Bush take Zus public? 42:51 - His opinion on the state of the healthcare system 44:46 - Jonathan Bush's legacy 46:26 - How Jonathan Bush defines the word 'success'