GuideWell Innovation, in collaboration with Springboard Enterprises, is hosting an exciting new 10-week Scale Up Accelerator program for women-founded health tech companies (or those with at least one female key executive) located in the Southeastern US (FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, NC, SC, KY, TN). Because both women-led startups and the South East are lagging in access and closure of venture capital, this unique cohort is dedicated to accelerating the growth and financing of companies within these demographics.
The program will run from Jun 26th – Aug 30th and includes a kickoff boot camp (June 26th – 28th) at the GuideWell Innovation Center in Orlando, FL. Most of the program will be conducted virtually other than the 3-day kickoff boot camp and a innovator/investor matchmaking showcase at the end of August. During weeks 2-9, the cohort companies will be matched with various advisors and are expected to connect with advisors every week. In addition, each week will incorporate a virtual 2-hour workshop/collaboration session led by subject matter experts on key challenge topics faced by most early-stage health tech companies.
Required criteria for the cohort:
Company must be a health, wellness or medical device technology company that addresses critical gaps in providing affordable, accessible health care or holistic health/wellness solutions for diverse populations and communities in the United States
Life sciences companies are NOT eligible for this cohort
Women founders or key executives must own a minimum of 25% of the company’s equity
The company must be headquartered and have a minimum of 50% of its staff located in the Southeastern US (FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, NC, SC, TN, KY)
Can show proof of “Scale Up” traction through revenues, capital raised, customer acquisition, and product development (see below)
Addressing a huge market opportunity in the U.S. healthcare, holistic health or wellness industry
Scale Up traction:
Eligible companies must meet GuideWell’s minimum “Scale Up” requirements. A Scale Up company is a growing technology startup with verifiable traction in its chosen marketplace. Traction may be different based on the company’s chosen market, but is typically demonstrated by one or more of the following:
A minimum of $500,000 in revenues
A minimum of $500,000 in seed capital raised
Patents in place for unique digital innovation or medical devices
FDA approval process underway for products requiring FDA approval
Verifiable (reference required) customer pilots
Accelerating product adoption (especially for consumer-focused solutions)
GuideWell is partnering with Springboard Enterprises, a nationally recognized accelerator for women-led, high growth, scalable businesses. Since launching its first program in 2000, Springboard has worked with 735 women who have raised $8.5B in capital and drove companies to 17 IPOs and 185 M&A exits. They bring forward a deep, highly experienced mentor network to help support this cohort and provide incredible industry expertise.
Act quickly! The deadline to apply is Friday May 31st 2019. Program details and the online application portal are available at: https://guidewellinnovation.com/guidewell-scale-up-accelerator/.