The only thing that’s been consistent for digital health accelerators in the past couple of years is that most of them have been tweaking their model. That’s no less true of the New York Digital Accelerator, which is run by the New York eHealth Collaborative and the Partnership Fund for New York City.
Now in its fourth year, the accelerator did away with an open call for applicants. Instead, the program relied the four investment firms and 16 healthcare organizations that serve as mentors to the accelerator to nominate companies they viewed as worthy. Another change in the criteria required aspiring candidates to be in advanced negotiations with at least one provider. The changes were based on findings from previous cohorts, said Anuj Desai, vice president of market development at New York eHealth Collaborative, in a phone interview.
“What we found in past years is that when companies are too early [stage], they are not as successful,” Desai observed.
The accelerator will be used to help entrepreneurs refine their idea over a four-month period, culminating in a demo day in January, Desai said. Although several investment firms are taking part in the program as mentors, companies that were accepted into the program won’t receive funding.
To date, 21 companies have taken part in the accelerator and have collectively raised $230 million. More importantly, these companies have created 160 jobs in New York, which is usually at least one of the goals of accelerator programs.
(Source: MedCity News)