MATTER’s top stories of 2019

2019 brought many new and exciting experiences to the MATTER community. We shared our stage with leading healthcare innovators across the globe, explored new collaborations and celebrated major milestones — and we shared every moment here with you on our blog.

As we close out the year, we’re taking a look back at some of our most memorable moments. We’ll be sharing each of the stories below across social media — one per day to lead us into the new year. Join us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram to follow along with us, or read them all at once here. Either way, we’re grateful that you’ve been along for the ride and we look forward to sharing more of our journey with you in 2020.

10. A conversation with AbbVie women in science

Leaders from AbbVie joined us at MATTER to share their advice on opportunities in STEM for the next generation of women. The group discussed why diversity in healthcare innovation matters and how to shatter glass ceilings (or rather, glass beakers).

9. Mentors prepare Canadian companies to launch in the U.S.

We caught up with MATTER member Densitas, a Canadian startup who joined us through our PointB program (formerly C2MP). They shared how the mentoring program — which supports Canadian healthcare startups as they enter the U.S market — helped them change their way of thinking and firm up their go-to-market strategies.

8. “Renewed optimism”: Reflections on the 2018-19 Novo Nordisk InnovationChallenge

In late March, we wrapped up the inaugural Novo Nordisk Innovation Challenge with a capstone “partnering day” at Novo Nordisk headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. We took a look back at the journey of the five challenge finalists and the key learnings from Novo Nordisk leaders.

7. #storiesthatmatter: What do holidays look like for a food allergy family?

In early 2019 we introduced Stories That Matter, a series where we interview MATTER community members about the personal experiences that inspire them or illuminate a particular challenge in healthcare. In one of our community’s favorite stories, former Blue Cross and Blue Shield Innovation Fellow, Adam Seidler, shared the challenge of balancing his son’s food allergies while making sure his family enjoys their favorite holidays.

6. LifePod wins the 2019 Advocate Aurora Health Tech Venture Challenge

In August we kicked off the second annual Health Tech Venture Challenge with Advocate Aurora Health. This year’s search focused on solutions that transform care for the aging population. A total of 65 startups applied, but Advocate Aurora found their winner in LifePod: a Boston-based startup that uses voice technology to allow smart speakers and other devices to proactively interact with aging adults for more personalized care.

5. Meet Michael Williams, our new venture acceleration director

Earlier this year, we proudly welcomed a new member to our team: Michael Williams joined MATTER as venture acceleration director. We sat down with Michael to learn more about what drew him to healthcare and working with startups, his advice to anyone starting a business and his plans for the MATTER startup community.

4. Healthcare in the Year 2040

What will healthcare look like 20 years from now? Through his many conversations with leading healthcare organizations and the healthcare startup community, MATTER CEO Steven Collens has a few predictions. Read his thoughts to learn what he thinks your trips to the doctor will look like in the near future.

3. MATTER startups surpass $1B in financing

Every startup founder knows just how important capital is to scaling a business. That’s why one of our goals at MATTER is to help connect our startups to investors and grant funding opportunities so that they can raise the capital they need to grow. In June, our startup community reached one of MATTER’s most notable milestones to date: Total all-time funding surpassed one billion dollars.

2. The startup journey: How Clearstep found their focus through the Health Tech Venture Challenge

We hosted our first-ever Health Tech Venture Challenge with Advocate Aurora Health in the fall of 2018. Six months later, we caught up with Clearstep, the winners of the 2018 challenge, to see how winning the competition benefitted their business, what they’ve learned from Advocate Aurora and their plans for the future.

1. MATTER to open in New York City

Our favorite announcement this year — and our most popular by far: We’re partnering with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Deerfield Management to open a location in New York City. Sign up here to receive updates about all things MATTER in New York City.