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The companies in the second cohort of the Future of Healthcare Founder Residency program range from startups modernizing the temporary staffing process to AI-powered, cost-effective diabetes management.
Northeastern’s Roux Institute has announced the names of 10 health care technology startup companies selected for a year-long residency and accelerator program designed to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship in Maine’s health tech economy.
The companies in the second cohort of the Future of Healthcare Founder Residency program range from startups modernizing the temporary staffing process to AI-powered, cost-effective diabetes management tailored for minorities.
Each will receive mentorship from top experts and entrepreneurs in the field during the residency program funded in part by Northern Light Health and Maine Health, two of Maine’s leading health care providers, and the Maine Venture Fund.
The Roux Institute, which announced the companies in the second cohort on April 25, launched the residency program last year with nine companies.
“One thing that the first cohort really proved was that aligning the resources of the university with a set of business partners and the startups yielded a bigger impact than any of us could have done on our own,” said Chris Wolfel, associate vice president and head of entrepreneurship and venture creation at the Roux Institute.
“We’re excited to see it continue for the next cohort and the cohort after that and so on,” he said.
The names of the companies were announced during an event on Northeastern’s campus in Portland, Maine.
“We have a really curated curriculum around how to develop, operate and grow a health tech company,” says Elena Brondolo, Future of Healthcare Founder Residency director.
“We focus on product market fit, clinical validation and then executive leadership and investor relations,” she says.
Brondolo says it typically takes 12 months for a startup to get into the door of a health care system.
“We’re making those connections within the first few weeks of the program,” she says.
The startup companies named to the 2024 residency cohort use digital technology, machine learning and AI to design platforms to monitor heart failure patients at home and supply health care companies with temporary staff, among other endeavors.
“We are building an entire ecosystem, and a lot of that ecosystem has threads of Northeastern throughout,” says Allyson Goida, senior program manager of the residency program.
For example, the program involves co-op students as well as recent graduates of Northeastern’s School of Law, who provide legal navigation support for founders and our law firm partners.
Founders are also supported by expert mentors from the university’s McCarthy(s) Venture Mentoring Network.
“Our aim is to strengthen Maine’s health tech ecosystem. We envision this program as a model for innovative partnerships between startups, health systems, venture capital and universities that can accelerate innovation in healthcare in Maine and other parts of the country,” Brondolo said.
The 10 startup companies named to the 2024 cohort of the Future of Healthcare Founder Residency are: