HealthTech Program
Healthcare Challenge Program
Applications to the 2024 Healthcare Challenge Program are closed!
The MassChallenge 2024 Healthcare Challenge Program is committed to supporting healthcare startups on their journey toward early commercialization and scaling. This program is sponsored by industry-leading corporates, known as Challenge Partners, who seek innovative startups in specific areas and collaborate with MassChallenge to deliver the program.
Our 2024 Healthcare Challenge Program Challenge Partners include MassMutual, Novo Nordisk, Point32Health, Takeda, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Selected startups will work directly with these partners throughout the program to address their challenge statements to drive solutions in areas like digital and mobile health, AI in healthcare, health equity and access, medical devices and wearables, chronic disease management, and more.
See what our 2024 Healthcare Challenge Partners are specifically interested in solving for this year here.
Program participants gain access to the extensive MassChallenge community, which includes experienced mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts. The program’s curriculum is specifically designed to enable startup founders to build continuous traction through engagement with corporate partners. We also provide targeted guidance through Experts in Residence (EIRs) with industry expertise.
Program Benefits
- Personalized one-on-one sessions with our industry experts to enhance your enterprise readiness as you scale.
- Outcomes-driven partnerships between enterprises and startups.
- Solutions to the challenges faced by startups and enterprises, backed by corporate C-Suite support, budget, and resources.
- Warm introductions to our global network of investors
Questions?
Learn more about the Healthcare Challenge Program by sending an email to challenge@masschallenge.org.
“We were really hoping, when we applied, that we'd have the opportunity to work with Brigham and Women's Hospital [-] to learn about the patient population they work with and to learn how the hospital adopts and rolls out innovations. Those were the key aims and the fact that we are working towards a pilot now is just icing on the cake for us."
"This was really an opportunity to get up close and personal with the divisions and different parts of government that are impacting population and public health across the US, [gain an] understanding on how companies can work with them, and insight on the innovation that's happening in government that we don't hear about often."
"It's important for mentors to listen a lot. When I was first jumping in as a mentor and pretending, I was a good advisor I tried to jump to solutions to help solve the founder's problem, but that's not so much mentorship. Mentorship coaching is the listening and then figuring out ways to possibly thread a needle."
Key Dates
Eligibility Guidelines
While MassChallenge supports a wide array of startups, the Healthcare Challenge Program is specifically designed for companies with a validated product or solution that is ready for scaling. To understand the specific needs of our Challenge Partners, please review their challenge statements here.
The MassChallenge Healthcare Challenge Program requires that a founding team member attend all mandatory in-person events listed above. Our matchmaking interview process with corporate partners for selected startups will be held in person on October 29-30, 2024, at the MassChallenge office in Boston, MA.
While funding and revenue are important factors in enterprise readiness, we also look at team strength, product/market fit, customer traction, and other elements.
Challenge Partners
Community Collaborators
FAQs
While funding and revenue are important factors in enterprise readiness, we also look at team strength, product/market fit, customer traction etc. For these reasons we use the following eligibility guidelines to ensure we work with solutions that are best positioned to work alongside our partners.
- solutions that have a clear challenge fit based on our partners strategic priorities
- solutions that have a validated product/solution for scaling – has previously enabled proofs of concepts (pilots) with corporations
If you’re a startup solving issues in health services (broadly defined), we encourage you to apply. At times, founders are working to develop solutions that many of our partners haven’t anticipated. And startups may have the opportunity to work with multiple partners. This collaboration is the key to the future of health services, and we want you involved.
Applications are processed on our Accelerate Platform linked above.
No, we accept applications from startups around the world. However, there are four required in-person sessions where at least one member from your team must attend: Matchmaking (interview process with corporate partners, for selected startups prior to program starting), orientation week, the mid-programming session, and the program showcase & finale. Any additional travel should be determined by you and your MCHC partner.
There are four required in-person sessions where at least one member from your team must attend: Matchmaking (interview process with corporate partners, for selected startups prior to program starting), orientation week, the mid-programming session, and the program showcase & finale.
Most of your MCHC time will be spent working with your partner(s) while you continue to run your business. We firmly believe in continual growth––so you’ll be introduced to experts from industries such as marketing, law, investment, compliance and regulation, and technology.
Participation in the program requires at least one team representative to be present for virtual bi-weekly check-ins and present at the four required in-person Boston events throughout the 4-month program. On average, startups dedicate at least 1-2 hours per week to the program; however, this varies depending on your challenge partner ask. This includes meetings with partners, curriculum, and networking events.