The Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) event is the popular and now annual Bridge to Cures event (launched on 2015), in partnership with Medical College of Wisconsin’s CTSI (Clinical and Translational Sciences) AMPDNR (Accelerating Medical Product Development through Networked Resources) program. Information on last year’s program is here. Besides competing for $50,000 in non-dilutive seed funds and additional services (e.g. legal; regulatory), teams get exposure to some of the top venture capital and angel groups in Wisconsin, and across the country, to help with downstream funding goals.
The Oct. 5 event is designed as a “toned down” and more structured version of the ABC show “Shark Tank”, where healthcare entrepreneurs get the rare opportunity to pitch to a panel of venture capitalists, angel investors and serial entrepreneurs.
Prior to the pitch event, teams get access to a series of bootcamps designed for Startup Entrepreneurs, covering business, legal, regulatory information helpful for startups. We are now seeking applications for the Oct. 5th Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) Event, in one of the following tracks:
HealthTech (e.g. connected medicine; healthcare IT; telemedicine) and Healthcare Services, or
Therapeutics, Diagnostics and Devices.
Key Dates
Application Deadline: September 11, 2022 Click here to begin your application!
Note: The application (described below) is a brief 1-2 page description only; applicants will add to and refine their startup idea in sessions leading up to the HIP Event.
Applications (non-confidential) are welcome in any area of healthcare innovation, including HealthTech, Healthcare delivery innovation, clinical services, drug, diagnostic or device development, as well as software and apps with healthcare uses. Applications must follow the specifications provided below; but, it is expected that some applicant ideas may be at an early stage, and may not have intellectual property in place, or may not have obtained significant market research data for their product or service idea. Such applicants are still encouraged to enter, because part of the process is to provide mentoring and assistance in developing a strong intellectual property position and business strategy. This mentoring will be provided in the Bootcamp as well as free business plan classes.
* Note: priority is given to startups that have not pitched before, and raised < $500K in investor funds
THE APPLICATION*
The application should include the items below; or, may be an existing executive summary, with:
Process. Applicants that advance will receive mentoring and assistance in preparing a business model, a business plan, and a brief pitch to be given to an expert panel of health care investors from across the country, at the HIP Event. The teams will be eligible for prizes valued at over $50,000. Winners will also be eligible for additional services (legal; regulatory; business). Winners will be selected by the judging panel of investors on Oct. 5th, at the HIP Event. Teams that do not pitch but are raising venture funds may request 1-on-1 meetings with VCs, as appropriate, if valid applications have been submitted (e.g. startups that have raised significant funds (> $500K) or that previously pitched at prior HIP events).
Intellectual Property. Applicants are warned to not include any confidential information in their application which may compromise their future ability to obtain patent protection. Once key information that relates to your patentable invention is publicly disclosed, you may lose the ability to obtain a patent. For our application process, you need only provide general and publicly available information, to satisfy initial application requirements. Applicant will indemnify and hold harmless HIP Event organizers, including Bridge to Cures Inc., CTSI, and their principals, with regard to any claims arising in connection with disclosure of information relating to their invention, and with regard to commercialization of the results of their submitted project by or under the authority of Applicant.
NIH Funding Acknowledgment:Important Reminder – Please acknowledge the NIH when publishing papers, patents, projects, and presentations resulting from the use of CTSI resources by including the NIH Funding Acknowledgement.
