Though the market is indeed frothy: Venture funding in the Web grew by over $1 billion from the first quarter last year, of all the digital areas in which startups are raising the most money, health and medical-related investment is on the low end — receiving only 3 percent of venture funding over the last year. (Compared to social commerce which led at 22 percent and advertising, sales, and marketing, which came in at 14 percent.)
A new seed accelerator that launched earlier this year called Rock Health, is hoping to break that trend in favor of health-related mobile and web startups. Though health care only continues to advance thanks to technology, human health remains on the decline and related health costs are increasing. In fact, Americans spent $2.4 trillion on health care in 2008, despite having lower patient outcomes than comparable nations.
Thus, Rock Health has designed a program, not unlike Y Combinator, Tech Stars, and those before it, that accepts applications from startups during a month-long period, before undergoing evaluation by a panel of health experts and investors. The panel than selects 10 startups to enter into a five-month program that includes a $20K grant, office space in San Francisco, medical, branding, communications, and legal support — as well as mentoring and workshops given by experts in the industry.
Rock Health’s mentors include:
- Dave Morin - Path CEO and early member of the Facebook team.co-founder.
- Charles Huang - EVP at RedOctane.
- Scott Gottlieb - Former FDA Deputy Commissioner.
And the program’s advisors include, among others:
- Michael Abbott - Twitter VP of Engineering.
- Linda Avey - Co-founder of 23andMe.
- Ron Gutman - Founder and CEO of HealthTap and former founder and CEO of Wellsphere.
Besides an impressive list of advisors and mentors, Rock Health has also partnered with leading hospitals, like the Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in an attempt to give its startups a leg up in building their businesses — and a better shot at funding down the road.
On June 20, the program’s inaugural batch of ten will begin the program. Below is a brief introduction to the eight of these cool health startups ready for preview. Check ‘em out, and please chime in to let us know what you think.
BrainBot helps individuals monitor and learn from their brain activity. Powered by state-of-the-art technology designed by Harvard and MIT trained researchers, BrainBot makes it easy to improve mental performance — from stress management skills, better focused attention, or increased meditation benefits.
CellScope builds systems for at-home disease diagnosis using smartphone cameras connected to a web platform. The company is piloting a smartphone attachment for at-home diagnosis of pediatric ear infections, which cause 30 million doctor visits annually in the US.
Genomera seeks to heal the world through personal health collaboration, connecting communities of people solving similar problems. The first product is a platform for crowd-sourced health science, enabling consumers to operate open health studies.
By creating the first transparent marketplace for healthcare, HealthInReach is making quality care more affordable and accessible. Patients who pay out-ofpocket medical costs can learn about doctors and dentists based on experience, reputation and procedure prices, and schedule in confidence at pre-negotiated group discount rates.
Omada Health will be among the first to apply the principles of social networking to the legitimate clinical treatment of a disease. Recently spun out of IDEO, we are creating a type 2 diabetes prevention solution that emphasizes community, education, and metrics. Progress will be tracked using novel connected-health technologies that will serve both as motivation for patients and as validation of outcomes.
Pipette allows doctors to monitor and educate patients throughout the course of their care using smartphones and tablets, helping to improve recovery and outcomes, and identify opportunities for proactive and preventative care. Pipette’s easy-to-read reports automatically identify patterns and outliers that can be critical to improving a patient’s health.
Skimble powers the mobile health & fitness movement through a platform of fun and interactive applications. Two top free Healthcare & Fitness titles that help motivate people to get and stay active are Workout Trainer (for iPhone/iPad), providing follow along multimedia workouts lead by real & virtual trainers, and GPS Sports Tracker (for iPhone and Android), enabling people to track & share over 45 different activities.
WeSprout is exploring the connection between health data and community. Soon, parents will be able to find relevant resources faster than ever and make better choices for their children’s health, supported by a community of parents who have been there before.
COMMENTARY: I am glad to see that Rock Health is serving the health startup space. It's surprising to see how many of these health startups are introducing technologies that incorporate mobile devices, apps and social media communities. Below is a quick overview of Rock Health.
Rock Health Program
Do you have an idea or startup that’s working to solve a health-related issue? Apply to join Rock Health, a group of dedicated individuals working to catalyze innovation in the interactive health space, and gain to access our unrivaled community of experts and seed-accelerator program.
Startups partake in an intensive multi-month program, turning ideas into products and businesses. We recently selected 11 startups for this first term. Applications will open again this fall.
Our mission is to enable and empower an entrepreneurial cure for the relative lack of innovation in the health sector. The world of patient care and healthy living is foreign to the technological creativity found in social media, games and other verticals. Rock Health directly targets the gap between these ecosystems, enabling high-impact innovation.
Rock Health Benefits
- $20,000 startup grant to each team
- Support from the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, Harvard Medical School, and Cincinnati Childrens Hospital
- Mentorship and workshops from experts in design, health policy, lean startup methodology, financing, and more
- Office space in San Francisco
- Office hours with startup counsel lawyer Michael Esquivel and legal workshops with the Fenwick team
- PR strategy and resources from Ballou PR
- Support from our in-house staff
- A passionate community of like-minded individuals solving meaningful problems
From Rock Health initial startup selections, my favorites include CellScope, HealthInReach, Pipette, Skimble and WeSprout. If you didn't make the list, I also thought the Apple iPad would flop, so don't feel bad.
Courtesy of an article dated June 18, 2011 appearing in TechCrunch
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