matchmaking — Catalyst Blog Page

GuideWell Innovation, in collaboration with Catalyst @ Health 2.0, is thrilled to announce the opening of applications for the GuideWell Matchmaking Summit - a new corporate/investor matchmaking event hosted at the GuideWell Innovation Center in Orlando, FL on August 29-30, 2019.

This exciting opportunity connects established healthcare organizations and investors with growing health technology companies. Through professionally curated meetings, the event is designed to encourage synergistic relationships while promoting the testing, commercialization, financing and adoption of innovative digital health tools. Meetings are arranged based on participating organizations’ needs and areas of expertise, allowing for the cultivation of diverse partnership opportunities between digital health innovators, healthcare corporations, and investors that support the growing digital health ecosystem.

The GuideWell Matchmaking Summit is a 2-day event that will be held at the GuideWell Innovation Center in Orlando, FL. The first day of the Summit will be a corporate matchmaking opportunity for invited scale up health technology companies to meet with healthcare organizations that are qualified customer prospects. participants will have a series of meetings that are arranged based on “matched” areas of focus. Innovators will have the opportunity to demo their technology, detail their value proposition, and discuss business avenues with potential partners. Concurrently, healthcare leaders can identify up-and-coming digital health products to utilize at their organizations.

The second day of the Summit will be an investor showcase/matchmaking event for invited health technology scale ups to connect with a national network of venture capitalists. Scale up health technology companies will be competitively selected to attend the Summit based on customer/investor fit with attending corporations and investors.

Key Benefits for Participants

Corporations

● Concise meetings with vetted innovators to maximize time efficiency

● Source pilot ready solutions that fit your needs

● Identify investment opportunities

● Opportunity to discuss goals and potentially form partnerships

Innovators

● Impactful meetings with key healthcare stakeholders

● Chance to pitch your product and receive valuable feedback

● Opportunity to build commercial partnerships with established leaders

● Network with a variety of health tech innovators and prominent professionals

Investors

● Pre-vetted portfolio of scale up health tech companies with proven traction

● Ability to conduct short introductory meetings in an optimized format

● Opportunity to network with peer health tech investors from across the U.S.

● Chance to connect with network of healthcare corporate executives

How it Works

Please join us on August 29-30, 2019 to be part of this exciting opportunity! The deadline for applications is Monday, July 22, 2019 at 11:59pm ET. Event details and online applications are available at https://guidewellinnovation.com/matchmaking-summit/.

Walgreens and Humana in Preliminary Talks to Merge

With the CVS-Aetna merger closed and big tech companies marching into healthcare, many healthcare organizations are increasingly willing to pursue merger and acquisition activities in order to weather the coming storm. CVS’s competitor, Walgreens, is reportedly in preliminary discussions with Humana to pursue strategic ventures together. The two are considering buying equity stakes in one another as well as expanding on their existing partnership that focuses on senior care.

In addition to their partnership with Humana, Walgreens has made several deals with LabCorp, Kroger, and Birchbox within the last year as an attempt to combat the CVS-Aetna behemoth by building upon its core competency of being a pharmacy. However, this strategic decision is a problem in today’s healthcare landscape as companies, such as CVS-Aetna, are moving into other verticals to supplement their existing businesses. Nevertheless, as shown by its talks with Humana, it seems that Walgreens has finally caught on and will be making pivotal changes to their business strategy next year.

Dental Care Startup Quip Raises Another $40 million

Quip has had a phenomenal growth year. Earlier this year, the dental startup raised $10 million from Silicon Valley Bank and also acquired Afora, a startup that creates an alternative to traditional dental plans. Quip also recently announced a partnership with Target and will be selling their toothbrushes and toothpaste through the national retailer.

Now, Quip has been equipped with $40mm in funding through the form of equity and debt financing. This influx of money will enable the dental startup to grow its subscriber base by expanding its product line and forming new partnerships with dental care providers. New service launches are also a possibility as Quip sets out to provide its members with a “full-service oral hygiene routine”. A potential dental care platform could emerge from its acquisition of Afora, connecting Quip members with dental providers at a more affordable rate. As one of the most successful personal care subscription services to date, Quip and its electric toothbrushes are here to stay.

DHMP Matchmaking is Happening Next Week on 12/5

Mark your calendars! The Winter 2018 Digital Health Marketplace Matchmaking sponsored by NYCEDC will be held next week on Wednesday, 12/5. We’d like to say thanks to everyone who applied to be a part of the program. We have received over 150 applications from innovators, making this one of our most successful DHMP events. Those selected will have one-on-one meetings with the buyer based on self-identified mutual interest. This half-day of curated matchmaking is a free service of the Digital Health Marketplace, an NYCEDC program focused on strengthening the NYC digital health ecosystem.

This is a closed event but be sure to follow us on Twitter @catalyst_h20 for live tweets and updates.

Announcing the GuideWell Matchmaking Summit

Walgreens and Humana Talk of Merging. Quip Raises $40mm in Funding