Healthbox is a Healthcare Accelerator founded in January 2012 by Nina Nashif. It is focused on early stage ventures with locations in Boston, Chicago, Tampa, London, Nashville and Salt Lake City. In exchange for 7% equity, Healthbox provides healthcare startup entrepreneurs with $50,000 of seed capital, office space, a 16 week training program, access to healthcare experts and the ability to beta test their products. Healthbox has invested in 56 companies with 83% of those companies generating substantial revenue or have successfully closed funding six months after graduation the program.
- Do something you have experience with-Nina Nashif gained similar work experience at Sandbox, who provided the seed capital for healthbox. Nina had always been in an entrepreneurial role, such as starting a new part of the business, this helped her be successful as a first time ceo.
- Take a successful model and tweak it-the first accelerator was Y Combinator, started in 2005 in Cambridge, MA. Healthbox took the best practices from the tech accelerator industry and brought them to healthcare.
- Be the first-Healthbox was one of the first healthcare accelerators.
- Never be satisfied-Even though Healthbox was one of the first health accelerators, others have now entered the market. To compete with the new accelerators Healthbox has innovated a program for hospitals to create a healthbox accelerator in-house and a marketplace for healthIT products to help hospitals find the right products for their organization.
- Have good connections-Healthbox has 24 partners including some of the biggest names in healthcare such as: Bayer, Merge, Walgreens, Hospital Corporation of America and Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA.