The top 10 digital health accelerators
How much they invest, how long the program lasts and what they offer
Read more...For startups, there are numerous paths for getting their name out there. One way, which Vator has been covering recently, are startup competitions, but another popular method to get a foot in the door, as well as some funding and traction, are accelerators. These are programs that provide companies advice, guidance and various forms of support for startups in their early stages. They also often invest in the companies, for a certain equity stake.
Need a list of startup competitions, challenges, accelerators, etc. from around the world? Check out VatorX. You can find them, or list yours!
There are some very well-known accelerators out there, including Y Combinator and 500 Startups, which have made their names through various successful alumni. Those programs fairly general, accepting companies from a variety of different spaces.
For some companies, it may help to join an accelerator that only focuses on their specific area. That's especially true for those in more specialized spaces, which will have their own unique challenges and regulations.
One of those areas that requires some additional expertise is healthcare. Here are some of the accelerators that are focused specifically on mentoring companies in that space:
"Blueprint Health is a community of healthcare entrepreneurs helping build the next generation of healthcare IT companies"
Investment amount: $20,000 in 20 healthcare IT companies each year. Blueprint Health receives a 6 percent common equity stake in the company.
Program benefits: A 12 week program that includes weekly founder discussions, four events and a demo day.
Mentor makeup: Companies have the opportunity to meet with 50 to 75 mentors in 15 minute one-on-one meetings. They include Milena Adamian, Richard Banfield, Steve Brotman, Adam Fine and Mamoon Hamid.
Portfolio companies: AdhereTech, Blue Mesa Health, ChartRequest, CleanSlate, Healthify, NexHealth, SimplifiMed, WellTrackONE
"StartX Med is a medical vertical of StartX focused on accelerating the development of Stanford's top medical entrepreneurs through experiential education and collective intelligence."
Investment amount: The Stanford-StartX Fund (SSF), co-founded in September 2013 by StartX, Stanford University, and Stanford Health Care, has invested over $120 million in over 235 StartX companies. StartX Med takes zero equity in its companies.
Program benefits:
Mentor makeup: Mentorship from over 300 serial entrepreneurs, experts, angels and VCs, including Vinod Khosla, Konstantin Guericke, Howard Hartenbaum, Naval Ravikant, David Lee, Ariel Poler, Manu Kumar, Rebecca Lynn, Owen Tripp, Katherine Barr, Ali Partovi and David Hornik.
Portfolio companies: Augmedix, Bright.md, Luma Health, Vida Health,
"The healthcare industry is at a critical crossroad. To remain viable as the landscape shifts, organizations must embrace new ideas, both inside and outside their four walls. Ideas from inside organizations need to be uncovered, nurtured, and scaled efficiently. Ideas from the outside need to be vetted, tested, and embraced."
Investment amount: Companies don;t exchange an equity stake for cash. Healthbox exposes companies to investors at the end of the program
Program benefits: Eight week program that provides trends and market intelligence, sourcing high potential innovations.
Portfolio companies: Thereare 162 Healthbox program alumni, and 91 investments have been made. Alumni include DateCubii, Hindsait, NurseGrid, Bloom Technologies, Health Hero and PlateJoy.
"Health Wildcatters provides investment and key resources to support healthcare entrepreneurs."
Investment amount: Seed investment is $30,000 to $380,000 in exchange for at least 8 percent of the company
Program benefits: The downtown Dallas office is a collaborative workspace for healthcare startups and small companies. This includes offices and desks for lease.
Startups in the 12 week program access over 100 venture firms, plus the Health Investor Alliance (HIA) is a professional health investment network with two goals: investor access and unique deal flow.
A 90 percent discount off Hubspot for Startups.
Mentor makeup: Over 130 mentors, including David Amor, Steven Boyd, Elyse Dickerson, Robert Faber, Paul Herchman, Vinny Jindal and Ken Lowe.
Portfolio companies: Cariloop, CareStarter, EasyEye, Oqulus, Friendly
"A program run by the New York eHealth Collaborative and the Partnership Fund of New York City for early- and growth-stage digital health companies that are developing cutting edge technology products in care coordination, patient engagement and workflow improvement."
Investment amount: There is no fee to apply. For those companies accepted into the program, NYDHA will take warrants for 1 percent of the fully diluted equity of your company, with a fmv exercise price. If the company has raised significant capital already, we may adjust our offer as appropriate.
Program benefits: A five-month program,
Mentor makeup: The providers participate in the selection process and identify those companies that are closely aligned to strategic focus areas or specific use cases that interest them. Each company is paired with a provider organization – or multiple provider organizations.
Portfolio companies: Diameter Health, eCaring, Somatix, Dorsata, Parable, Wellth, Avado
"The healthcare landscape is changing rapidly and startups are playing a pivotal role in reshaping how consumers interact with the $3 trillion health industry. It is more important than ever to scale health tech startups efficiently and build sustainable relationships with the payers, providers, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions that power the existing system. Dreamit provides a framework for startups to grow rapidly, vet ideas quickly, and interface with top healthcare decision-makers."
Investment amount: Dreamit has reengineered the accelerator model to better serve startups. Our founder-friendly offer allows startups to participate without initial material dilution. Upon accepting our invitation to participate, the startup will issue a $50,000 convertible security that will convert in their next round of funding.
Program benefits:
2-week, multi-city Customer Immersion Roadshow designed to help jumpstart your partnership, trial, and sales pipelines through in-depth customer meetings with key strategic partners and customers you can reference in fundraising documents and marketing materials.
Access to some of the world's most active VCs during two week East and West Coast Investor Roadshow as well as one-on-one introductions from our vast network of early-stage investors.
Coaching, insight, and hardcore pressure testing and de-risking via weekly office hours with managing directors
Weekly webinars and panel discussions with industry leaders around the topics that matter most for early-stage companies
Portfolio companies: DNAsimple, Kermit, MedStack, Prevnos, Suggestic
"A top 5 rated Health Accelerator in the country – from wellness apps to enterprise software, we’re helping startups build the future of health."
Investment amount: $20,000 in seed capital
Program benefits:
Mentor makeup: Kristian Andersen, Brian Corbin, Bo Fishback, Lissy Hu and Paul Singh.
Portfolio companies: ahoyDoc, Bioscanr, Blaze health, ChartSpan, Health Plotter, My Doc Time, VhedaHealth
(Image source: gs1.org)
How much they invest, how long the program lasts and what they offer
Read more...They include MedTech Innovator, The TMCx Accelerator, Insight Accelerator Labs and KOA Accel
Read more...They include Zurich Innovation Championship, VentureClash and FFiT InsurTech Competition
Read more...Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Bloom is designing the future of prenatal care with technology designed to improve the health of moms and babies. We combine wearable devices with data analytics to reassure moms and provide doctors with better information to improve birth outcomes.
Our first product, Belli, measures the most important health parameters of mom and baby from conception to birth. This includes pregnancy specific information no other wearable can measure today (contractions, fetal movement, fetal heart rate). Moms receive personalized feedback on her baby and her body to take the guesswork out of pregnancy and provide much needed peace of mind.
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
We invest in early stage entrepreneurs at all levels to create breakthrough technology companies. We provide them with resources, advisors, investors, strategic partners and customers looking for innovative solutions.
Forbes ranked us one of the top 10 business accelerators in the world and we have the track record to back it up. We seek out the best teams that are adaptable and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.
We are currently accepting applications for Dreamit Health and Dreamit Education.
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Suggestic delivers actionable suggestions that help people make the right nutrition decisions at key moments in their day. The underlying technology, which leverages state of the art artificial intelligence, dramatically increases user engagement for health, wellness, and fitness organizations.
Going on a diet can be a stressful and confusing process. As soon as we set restrictions, eating at restaurants, grocery shopping, and even just deciding what to grab for lunch can be daunting, causing many people to give up within days.
With Suggestic eating healthy and sticking to your diet is easy!
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
Y Combinator provides seed funding for startups. Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding. It pays your expenses while you’re getting started.Some companies may need no more than seed funding. Others will go through several rounds. There is no right answer; how much funding you need depends on the kind of company you start.
At Y Combinator, our goal is to get you through the first phase. This usually means: get you to the point where you’ve built something impressive enough to raise money on a larger scale. Then we can introduce you to later stage investors—or occasionally even acquirers.
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
500 Startups is an early-stage seed fund and incubator program located in Mountain View, CA. They invest primarily in consumer & SMB internet startups, and related web infrastructure services. Their initial investment size is typically $25K-$250K.
Selected areas of interest include financial services & e-commerce, search/social/mobile platforms, personal & business productivity, education & language, family & healthcare and web infrastructure.
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
CleanSlate UV is dedicated to enabling the use of mobile technology in healthcare, food processing, and other infection sensitive sectors of the economy. The CleanSlate is an easy-to-use device that provides a 360 degree clean of hand-held electronics in just 10-30 seconds. With a 4 log reduction in the hardest to kill superbugs and compliance tracking software, our product brings a solution to the question of portable electronic sanitization.
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Vida is a mobile, virtual care platform for primary and chronic care that connects consumers to health providers 24/7 for text, audio and video support. Vida's national network of providers cover 20 different conditions. Vida has partnered with Duke and MD Anderson where we are working on clinical studies managing the virtual care of cardiac rehab and cancer patients.