On July 9th, 2019, we held a birthday party in the River North (RiNo) District in Denver, CO. This party was for a “child” that an entire healthcare innovation “village” has been raising (and will continue to do so). This child: Catalyst HTI! A home to so many amazing companies and leaders deeply dedicated to moving the health of our nation FORWARD!

Oh, and it wasn’t just any ol’ birthday party. It was a morning celebration, that started with community yoga in our event hall. We followed the yoga session by enjoying acai bowls, powered by Sunshine Bowls, and freshly brewed coffee from our resident cafe and baristas, Logan House Coffee.

The morning and entire day was incredibly surreal and inspiring for me. As many of you know, years ago I dreamt of the day when a neighborhood would be physically built to convene thought leaders and companies (“From Fortune 100 to a woman with an idea on a napkin”) who are dedicated to reimagining healthcare and commit to working together to achieve those goals (here’s a flashback to 2015 and my TEDx talk when I first began publicly socializing my dreams: CLICK HERE). That dream is now reality and already over a year old! And, by the way- we’re just getting going, with so many incredible partnerships and collaborations already formed!

As I continue to reflect on our first birthday, I asked several members of our community to share what Catalyst HTI has meant to them…

Andrew Altorfer, CEO, CirrusMD: “We bought into Mike’s vision for Catalyst very early on, and we are thrilled to be a part of the community. The cross-pollination that occurs with our healthcare friends and other entrepreneurs creates a lot of opportunities. The building is so nice that we have had major customers (Fortune 100 companies) ask to use our offices to host high-level internal gatherings.”

Rachel Dixon, Executive Director, Prime Health: “I just got done meeting with a major national health system brainstorming partnership ideas in the community cafe. Now, I’m headed to a meeting with an investor I met through Catalyst that wants to partner. Later, I have a call with a friend I made here who helped me recruit companies for my innovation challenge from around the world. This afternoon I’m helping a neighbor who needs some advice on their startup. Tonight I’m hosting a community event downstairs talking about smart cities and the future of health innovation. It’s a typical Wednesday at Catalyst.” 

Marty Katz, Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of Project X-ITE, University of Denver: “From holding workshops and classes to hosting our Pioneering Summer accelerator at Catalyst, our students at the University of Denver have been challenged to be curious, collaborate, and THINK BIG. We’re proud to be a part of the Catalyst community of out-of-the-box thinkers and do-ers. Happy birthday, Catalyst! Cheers to the future of health innovation and community!” 

Vanessa McLaughlin, CEO of Welcome Home Health and Founding Member of “Women of Catalyst”: “It was clear early on that the Women of Catalyst wanted to come together to join forces to help one another grow and fund thier businesses.  At Catalyst, you can always find someone who can relate, offer advice, lend a shoulder, help you find that next connection, or toast to your success. Together we’re creating a new normal of what it means to be a woman in health innovation.”

Patrick Leonard, CEO, Sopris Health: “Building a health-tech startup is like climbing a mountain. It can be steep and rocky, storms can pop up, sometimes the trail seems to disappear. But the summit is worth the effort and we reach it together as a community. To be successful we need our community to support each other, share our victories and our defeats. Catalyst is the heart and the home of this community.”

Edward Likovich, CEO, Nymbl Science: “Our process was stuck with SCL Health until we met personally at Catalyst and identified the hurdles over cups of coffee in the community cafe. By working together through daily contact, we overcame those barriers and started a commercial relationship. Now older adults in Colorado are empowered to complete balance training in the privacy of their own homes, and Nymbl is one step closer to preventing 1 million falls.”

A BIG thank you to our community members, and supporters from around the world, who have helped Catalyst HTI achieve its first birthday. Here’s to many more and I hope to see you on campus soon and often!

Keep Climbing-

Mike Biselli

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2019 Entrepreneur of the Year: CLICK HERE