The Canadians may have beat them to it, but DreamIt Ventures is launching a digital health accelerator in Philadelphia and is seeking applications not just from the region, but from all over the country.
DreamIt Health is a collaboration of DreamIt, Venturef0rth, a workspace for early stage companies, Independence Blue Cross and University of Pennsylvania. It’s a four-month program for 10 companies — one month longer than DreamIt’s other accelerators.
Up to $50,000 will be allocated to each company depending on the number of individuals from the company participating in the accelerator. In exchange, DreamIt Health takes an 8 percent equity stake. Other programs provide up to $25,000 in exchange for a 6 percent equity stake. The deadline for application submissions is Feb. 8 and the program is expected to start in April.
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Elliot Menschik is the founder of Venturef0rth and will work with DreamIt managing partner Karen Griffith Gryga, who joined the company earlier this year, to run the program. Menschik who has a background as a health IT entrepreneur, has served as a mentor for DreamIt’s technology accelerator. He said the program has been in the development stage for a while because it has so many parts to it.
“I think a healthcare accelerator in Philly is long overdue,” Menschik said in a phone interview with MedCity News. “We have many of the right parties involved now and others that can add to the success of the program as it grows.”
Philadelphia is uniquely positioned for a health IT accelerator to thrive with its sizable community of providers, pharmaceutical companies and government institutions.
Menschik said that when Independence Blue Cross was approached, it was actually in the early stages of setting up its own accelerator. Earlier this year, Independence Blue Cross participated in a StartUp Weekend for health IT companies run by Venturef0rth and went on to launch an innovation challenge seeking ideas for how to improve healthcare delivery.
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Menschik says one aim of the program is to encourage startups to develop solutions that will work across silos in healthcare. He added that it will be bringing payers and providers together in ways the other health IT accelerators around the country haven’t. It will also help entrepreneurs access operation systems data that would otherwise be out of reach for a scrappy startup. “We think an enterprise focus is where the opportunities are.”
He added: “My involvement in DreamIt is really a function of my desire to see companies succeed in health IT. I find this particularly rewarding because Philly is a rich place for healthcare and really demands more going on in health IT.”
