Next Big Thing In Health Care May Come From Philly Business Incubator
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - What's the next big thing in health care? Whatever it is, odds are it was on the stage at World Cafe Wednesday. where 10 start-ups pitched their businesses to potential customers and investors.
If the health entrepreneurs at World Cafe are any indication, there will soon be an app for any problem in the health care system: rare diseases, readmission, poor diet and inexperienced interns to name just a few.
The presentations were the culmination of a business incubator called "DreamIt Health," co-sponsored by Penn and Independence Blue Cross.
IBC's director of innovation, Tom Olenzak, says problems vary from field to field and change over time, but the solutions still often come from small teams asking big questions:
"These little companies, these entrepreneurs, these MBA students, these people in a garage, they're not just asking 'why is it like this' but they're saying 'what if? What can we do, how can we make a difference'?"
Olenzak predicts most of the companies will find funding and customers.
