Offering $25,000 in prizes, Medstartr, a healthcare crowdunding platform, and the American Heart Association have partnered on the 2015 Open Innovation Challenge with the goal of discovering new innovative digital tools to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. On April 22nd the AHA’s Health Innovation Forum will host a live pitch event to determine the winners.
Participants at the Health Innovation Forum will be able to connect with representatives from important healthcare systems, investors, and payers in New York City. Selected entrants will also be featured on Medstartr‘s crowdfunding platform that will provide an opportunity to fundraise and gain valuable global exposure.
According to Medstartr’s event announcement the “Medstartr’s Crowd Challenge format, which integrates a crowdsourced and crowdfunding round into the judging and obtains the feedback and support from patients, front line clinicians, and providers alike, will help AHA reach its 2020 Impact Goal of improving the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20%. With AHA’s focus on innovation in population health, engaging the crowd and healthcare ecosystem directly is critical in finding the most innovative ideas that have the best chance of wide adoption.”
By including a crowdfunding round into the Open Challenge participants gain additional advantages.
- Start-ups are able to raise additional funds and gain exposure and customers, while also vying for prizes. Prior year’s winner IHT Spirit gained a major customer, a 23 location rehab center chain for its group fitness wearable.
- Sponsoring organizations, such as the AHA, are able to observe how the healthcare system responds to the campaigns as a way to validate solutions in the market. Which campaigns do patients, clinicians, and providers engage with and support the most?
- Start-ups and the AHA alike achieve synergy by integrating their networks and combining their marketing efforts.
Applications are due by February 20th, 2015 and are limited to start ups with a presence in the tri-state area. Apply online at http://hi2forum.medstartr.com/submissions/new .
For further information contact adam@medstartr.com or call directly at 917-331-5249.
