SXSW 2011: Rock Health Launches Mobile And Web Apps Venture

AUSTIN, Texas-Rock Health, a San Francisco-based mobile health and Health 2.0 seed incubator launched officially at SXSW last week. The mission of the company is to provide healthcare expertise, development resources and funding to the best ideas available to healthcare, with a specialization in web and mobile apps.

Investors include Accel Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Aberdare Ventures, California HealthCare Foundation, Microsoft HealthVault and Nike. The team is also collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and working with initiatives based on the White House push for entrepreneurial business through the Startup America series, announced by Todd Parks, CTO of Health & Human Services, and the first national CTO of the U.S., Aneesh Chopra.

Rock Health will begin accepting applications from hopeful entrepreneurs April 1, and encourage anyone with abilities in gaming, informatics, design, and mobile development to apply, even if the group has no previous experience in the health space. The program is selecting a small group of startups that will partake in an intensive program spanning several months starting in July 2011 and will help these companies make ideas into products and businesses that benefit e-health.

The company's website states that the world of patient care and healthy living is foreign to the technological creativity found in social media, games and other verticals. Rock Health directly targets the gap between these ecosystems in an effort to facilitate high-impact innovation in apps.

The organization offers seed funding, access to capital, support from the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, mentorship, office space in Silicon Valley, free legal council and services, community problem-solving, and workshops covering design, health policy, lean startup methodology, financing and more.
Advisors include members from companies such as Twitter, 23andMe, HealthTap, Highland Capital, Doximity and more.

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