For most, this summer’s Health Datapalooza in Washington, D.C., is an opportunity to hear leading health professionals discuss the important trends and issues in the industry. But for a select handful of entrepreneurs, the conference will be a chance to leverage those same topics and show off how they’ve been hard at work developing products around them.
Today, Dr. Audie Atienza of the National Cancer Institute announced on the HealthData.gov blog the Health Datapalooza’s first-ever Shark Tank. Much like the ABC show, the Datapalooza Shark Tank will put a few entrepreneurs on the hot seat in front of deep-pocketed venture capitalists and angel investors looking for the most innovative products or ideas to put their money behind.
Specifically, Atienza wrote the pitch session is seeking entrepreneurs working on products focused “patient self-monitoring, consumer self-tracking, and/or employee wellness health technology.”
Though the post doesn’t specify if the investors are looking to invest on the spot, it does mention it’s a “chance to swim with the sharks and see if one of them will take you under their fin.”
The application process began Monday and will run through close of business May 9. The 2014 Health Datapalooza consumer session organizers will select three to five entrepreneurs based on a one-page document explaining their company, product and business model. Finalists will be notified by May 19, a few weeks before the June 3 event.
