Meeting selected in New Orleans and Birmingham
The Southeast Health Innovation Tour
In partnership with Sopris Capital and The Idea Village
Birmingham | New Orleans
Connecting founders in the South directly with access to capital, contacts in Medicaid, and opportunities to scale
Sopris Capital together with Adaptation Health and The Idea Village have partnered to launch the Southeast Health Innovation Tour. This opportunity seeks to connect emerging healthcare entrepreneurs who are focused on addressing needs among vulnerable populations directly with access to capital, contracts, and opportunities to scale.
Sopris Capital, Adaptation Health, and The Idea Village recognize that innovation is not only happening in coastal cities - this project hopes to connect with innovators outside major markets to better understand new emerging companies. Innovation in healthcare is accelerating at a rapid pace and new companies, solutions, and technologies are continuously evolving in their approach and service. Last year, 727 companies received fundraising deals for a total of $13.7B and that amount is only expected to grow in 2020.
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Companies that are accepted to participate in the Innovation Tour will meet with representatives of Adaptation Health, The Idea Village, and Sopris Capital in small, semi-private investor meetings. Dates for the small in-person meetings are currently TBA, and the Tour will closely monitor and follow all public health recommendations and best practices throughout the planning.
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Goals and Potential Impact
Ideal Company Profile
The Southeast Health Innovation Tour looks to connect with scalable healthcare and health technology companies that are addressing needs among vulnerable populations and are interested in venture-backed financing.
Applicants should have a combination of:
A strong leadership team
Early signs of traction and signals of product-market-fit
A product or service in the market
Raised or raising an early-stage round of financing
Proposed Locations
We accepted applications to the following locations for meetings.
The final decision will be based on the number of qualifying applicants per location and dates are currently TBA.
Birmingham
Chattanooga
Little Rock
Memphis
New Orleans
Tallahassee
Step 1: Map the Route
Connect with incubators, Angels, and entrepreneur support organizations to help select the best locations
Step 2: Companies Apply
Open an online application for companies to apply for a chance to meet and pitch
Step 3: Select Innovators
Select the companies who will participate
Timeline 2020
Step 4: Pitch & Connect
Meet the entrepreneurs and set up small, semi-private, investor meetings
Step 5: Partner
Sopris Capital has an opportunity to make an investment. Adaptation Health helps provide connections to insurers or States for a contract. The Idea Village offers an opportunity to help scale the venture through an accelerator.
Project Partners
Sopris Capital is a New York based venture capital investment firm that provides equity capital to high-growth tech-enabled business services, healthcare IT, and healthcare services sectors. Sopris is typically a company’s first institutional round of capital with an initial equity check size of $2M-$5M and also supports company’s with follow-on rounds of financing if needed. Sopris works closely with its portfolio companies to shape strategy, build management organizations, attract customers, and develop critical industry relationships.
Founded in 2000, The Idea Village is a New Orleans based 501(c)3 nonprofit founded on the principle of supporting regional startups and the big thinkers that power them. VILLAGEx is our flagship, industry-leading GAN accelerator focused on catalyzing rapid growth for ventures with highly scalable, technology-enabled business models. Over 261 entrepreneurs have gone through this accelerator program and 73% of those alumni companies are still in business today, having created a $178 million/year annual economic impact for the regional economy.
