DENVER, CO – The Colorado Health Foundation has partnered with Denver-based nonprofit 10.10.10 to power a program that challenges 10 prospective startup CEOs to design profitable solutions that address complex or “wicked” health problems. The first 10.10.10 program, 10.10.10 Health, will be held Feb.16-26, in Denver. Successful entrepreneurs from across the U.S. will take part in the 10-day program to generate market-based solutions focused on improving the health of Colorado and beyond.
Powered through a $200,000 investment by the Foundation, 10.10.10 Health’s first-of-its-kind program provides entrepreneurs visibility into complex problems in health that hold significant potential for social impact. The 10 prospective CEOs will work to find viable, market solutions for up to 10 wicked problems in health and potentially develop fundable companies focused on these solutions. “Problem advocates” will highlight 10 wicked problems, while “validators” (corporations, government organizations, nonprofits and individuals that understand the market for a solution) will help prospective CEOs gain insights into the market opportunities and need for solutions in the areas of health, health care, digital health and wellness.
“Our partner, the Colorado Health Foundation, had the vision to help us make the first 10.10.10 Health a reality,” 10.10.10 founder Tom Higley said. “The Foundation understood that solutions to some wicked problems in health could actually be developed by entrepreneurs, funded by investors and supported by the market."
The partnership with 10.10.10 was formed as part of the Foundation’s Private Sector Initiatives investing arm, which aims to foster large-scale social change while enabling partnerships and by driving market intelligence that can improve the health of Coloradans. By bringing together entrepreneurs and market experts to focus on marketable solutions to difficult health problems, 10.10.10 Health pairs well with the Foundation’s strategic efforts to improve the health of Colorado.
“We are excited to be a problem advocate and a validator organization, because it gives us the opportunity to help entrepreneurs explore and develop viable solutions to some of Colorado’s wicked health problems,” said Kelly Dunkin, vice president of Philanthropy at the Colorado Health Foundation. “By powering this event, we look forward to the connections made between the private, public and nonprofit sectors and the potential these entrepreneurs have to enhance current efforts to better address the health needs of all Coloradans.”
For the Foundation, 10.10.10’s innovative start-up model presents an opportunity to drive market-based innovations that align with the Foundation’s strategies and vision of making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. Read more about 10.10.10 Health.