Tech pioneer Don Peterson to guide new LaunchKC-Nueterra health accelerator
June 29, 2019 | Tommy Felts
Leading the new LaunchKC Health Accelerator is Don Peterson’s way of giving back to a community that opened its arms to his family nearly 30 years ago, he said.
“I’m proof that we can accomplish the entrepreneurial dream right here in KC and feel like it’s my duty to pay that forward,” said Peterson, a health care industry veteran and big data expert who retired as founder and CEO of Infusion Express in June 2018.
Announced Thursday, the LaunchKC Health Accelerator — powered by Leawood-based Nueterra Capital — is designed for early-stage businesses that are working to disrupt the current healthcare system. Peterson will lead the effort as Entrepreneur in Residence.
Click here to learn more about the accelerator.
Don Peterson and Kevin McGinnis at LaunchKC’s April announcement of the Black & Veatch-sponsored IgniteX clean-tech accelerator
LaunchKC and investment partner Nueterra Capital are looking for startups dedicated to making healthcare outcomes more predictable, delivery more accessible, costs more transparent, and technology that empowers more patients to be true healthcare consumers, according to LaunchKC.
“I’m excited and honored to be a part of this new program. I love the fact that we’re integrating an outstanding venture fund into it right from its beginning,” Peterson said. “Nueterra Capital has an exceptional pedigree and a tremendous track record of investing in companies determined on making a positive difference in the industry.”
Infusion Express was among Nueterra’s previous investments, he said, personally attesting to the firm’s wealth of experience, as well as its obvious capital benefits.
In addition to a minimum $50,000 equity investment from Nueterra, companies accepted into the LaunchKC Health Accelerator are expected to receive $10,000 in software development services from Full Scale, a LaunchKC partner; $5,000 in healthcare and business legal advice from Husch Blackwell, a sponsor of LaunchKC in each of its first five years; and with additional services like accounting, marketing and business mentoring from legacy partners, said Drew Solomon, chair of the LaunchKC program.
Each accelerator company will have the opportunity to be featured on Full Scale’s “Startup Hustle” podcast, one of the top 100 business podcasts on Apple. LaunchKC will continue to add other professional services throughout the application and judging phases, Solomon said.
The accelerator began taking applications Thursday and is expected to welcome its first cohort later this summer, he added.
Click here for more details about a happy hour event that will celebrate LaunchKC Health.
Thursday’s announcement marks the third accelerator vertical rolled out through LaunchKC’s expanded program, which is lead by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, and the Downtown Council.
LaunchKC partnered with the nbkc bank-backed Fountain City Fintech accelerator in December and added Black & Veatch-sponsored IgniteX clean-tech accelerator to its line-up of entrepreneurial support endeavors in April.
In May, EDCKC also announced a public-private partnership with Atlanta-based Opportunity Hub to bring a minority accelerator to Kansas City.
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Bo tell it on the mountain: Thou Mayest founder reveals spirit driving his brand of business
Your spirit makes you alive — don’t ignore its voice when it speaks to you, Bo Nelson advised a captive audience gathered to hear how his entrepreneurial experience at Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters has enabled Kansas Citians to reach their highest good. Nelson read Tuesday from a personal journal he kept during a significant time…
Former ECJC exec Melissa Roberts joins Kauffman Foundation grant making team
Everyone has potential if given the right resources, said Melissa Roberts. “Everybody has great ideas if given the right education. Everybody has the potential to be an economic contributor in our society if given the right motivation and support,” she continued. These aren’t her words and values alone, Roberts said. They’re the legacy of Ewing…
Health scare forced KC’s colorful wax guru to get serious: ‘This is Crumble growing up with me’
Brandon Love is keeping his iconic, brightly-colored hair, but melting away distractions that could be holding back his already wildly successful, but evolving lifestyle brand, Crumble Co., he said. The first to go: Some of the eye-catching candle and wax product names that first caught customers’ attention because of their tongue-in-cheek innuendos and four-letter words,…
Insecure phones, devices creating largest-ever sensor grid (for China) in US homes, says Pepper cyber security report
As an industry, the state of cyber security is a “hot mess,” Scott Ford said candidly. “Frankly, its at a point where it ought to be concerning to everybody,” Ford, CEO of Pepper IoT, said in response to a new report that examines the state of the IoT space and released as part of a…