Do you have an idea for an innovation to improve the health & wellness of underserved communities in LA County?
The Heal.LA Bioscience & Healthcare Accelerator program is a 9-month hands-on experience — we invest in diverse entrepreneurs to nurture and scale innovations that positively impact the health and wellness of communities in Los Angeles.
Since 1993, Larta Institute has helped over 4,500 startups, and our alumni have raised over $7 billion in funds.
Tell us about your idea & vision — and our team will be in touch with next steps & more info.
Innovators participating in the Heal.LA program are developing solutions that directly confront the critical health and wellness disparities affecting Los Angeles County, particularly its underserved populations. They are tackling a complex set of interconnected issues, including lack of healthcare access, inadequate diagnostic care, and wellness-related concerns, such as access to nutritious foods and mental health.
Stay up to date on all things Heal.LA with our monthly Heal.LA Newsletter. This newsletter includes program activities, such as upcoming events and ways to support our Fellows along with Fellow features and highlights and keeping up with our Alumni.
Funding & Support for Good Ideas.
Underserved, low-income, and minority populations within urban communities are severely at-risk from a growing health crisis. With Los Angeles County being the most diverse region in the country, public service agencies are working to better understand the needs of these diverse communities and introduce new practical solutions to improve the health & wellness of all. We believe the urgent action needed to combat this health challenge can be spearheaded by innovators from within the places most impacted here in LA – to spark a vision and demonstrate an idea’s potential, so that new impact can be scaled to many more communities across the country.
Local urban communities face restricted access to healthcare providers, including a shortage of available doctors. Additionally, residents require a diverse range of providers who understand their cultural and linguistic backgrounds. These challenges are exacerbated for individuals lacking documentation to access various social benefits or experiencing educational barriers. Consequently, the Emergency Room often serves as the primary care option for many. While numerous hardworking residents juggle multiple jobs to meet their basic needs, the cost of preventive healthcare and treatments remains prohibitively high. It is imperative for communities to have equitable access to affordable healthcare services.
We are looking for community-led approaches that collaborate with municipalities, such as community health research, policy analysis & funding, healthcare workforce training, in- community clinics, and affordable healthcare solutions.
Rates of routine screening and early detection for common diseases are lower in disadvantaged neighborhoods than in affluent areas, which often have better coverage through private healthcare plans. Mortality rates are disproportionately higher in low-income areas, particularly for chronic respiratory, cancer, and cardiovascular disorders. Disease prevention be strengthened by public education and programs to reduce risk from environmental factors, such as air pollution. Disease treatment options should be democratized for all.
We seek community-led approaches that collaborate with municipalities, such as public healthcare education, at-home disease screening, community-based screening, pollution mitigation/reduction, and the democratization of treatments.
Healthcare must evolve beyond conventional thinking that is focused solely on "physical disease" to now consider system-wide aspects of "well-being" in order to improve the health of all, from infants to senior patients. The lack of access to nutritious meals, food choices, and poor diet is a major contributor to high-cost reactive care and management in underserved neighborhoods. Furthermore, mental healthcare is critical for community members, including programs to normalize and lessen the stigma around care.
We are dedicated to supporting community-led approaches that work in collaboration with municipalities, including aspects like food & water security, local urban farming, affordable grocery stores, mental health education, and a diversity of therapy services.
The Heal.LA program is supported by leading organizations in the LA region.
The 1:1 mentorship provided us with valuable guidance on business strategy and helped us to better understand how to prepare an effective business pitch. This mentorship gave us the opportunity to learn from an experienced domain expert and receive personalized feedback on our ideas and approach.
Applications are closed.
Up to 30 applicants who have good ideas for Los Angeles communities will be selected to participate in the 2024 program. Applications will be open from October 2023 to late February 2024. The program is scheduled to begin in April 2024, and will run until December 2024.
Program Overview & Benefits.
Powered by Larta Institute, the program serves as a development platform for promising bioscience & healthcare startups and aspiring entrepreneurs in underserved communities across the Los Angeles region.
We are seeking bioscience and healthcare innovations across a spectrum of stages.
For those in the early stages, our Early Stage Track provides invaluable guidance around product development and validation, market entry, and regulatory compliance readiness. Our expert team and tailored curriculum will assist in crafting a proof of concept through activities like validation-oriented studies, user characterization, and comprehensive market research. This track culminates in the creation of a pilot plan, poised to drive further support, mobilize advocates, and unlock potential funding opportunities.
For more mature innovations, our Advanced Stage Track is tailored to drive established products or services towards specific targeted outcomes. This track provides guidance in scaling, market expansion, connecting with strategic partners and investors, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Dedicated 1:1 mentorship to commercialize your innovation from LA’s top life science experts.
Develop & scale your innovation in partnership with Heal.LA’s leading healthcare partners.
Collaborate with our grant writing experts to apply for and win non-dilutive government SBIR funding.
Participate in exclusive Demo Days to pitch to a curated network of active investors.
Program Details.
Heal.LA’s accelerator is designed to identify, nurture and scale biosciences healthcare in SoCal. The program is designed to help accelerate the market readiness (partnering and investment) of aspiring & underserved entrepreneurs in the Los Angeles region.
The program is open to everyone, and we highly encourage applications from diverse & underrepresented innovators & founders including:
– Minority & women-led ideas and/or startups
– Innovators from marginalized communities
– Academic / student innovators (individuals or teams)
– Social entrepreneurs & grass-roots organizations
The Heal.LA Bioscience & Healthcare Accelerator program is no cost to selected applicants. There are no fees or equity to pay. The program is funded by the State of California Governor’s Office of Small Business & Economic Development, U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), and Gilead Sciences.
Applications open October 15, 2023 – and will be open until late 2024 February, 2024
The program is a 9-month commitment, from April 2024 to December 2024.
This is a part-time program intended to run alongside your
education or job. We expect the hours required per week to vary depending on phase of the cohort.
Steering Committee.
Collaborate 1:1 with an expert Larta ‘Principal Advisor’ during the program. We have a team of highly experienced bioscience & healthcare focused mentors.
Tell us about your idea & vision — and our team will be in touch with next steps & more info.
Improving the health & wellness of Los Angeles County and beyond.
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Stay up to date on all things Heal.LA with our monthly Heal.LA Newsletter. This newsletter includes program activities, such as upcoming events and ways to support our Fellows along with Fellow features and highlights and keeping up with our Alumni.
FAQs.
Our program runs for 9 months starting in April, 2024 – December, 2024. All sessions will be hosted virtually but each participating idea should be tested in either Los Angeles or Miami.
This program is open to established startups with traction as well as early-stage concepts who would like to test their idea. Your innovation could be a nonprofit model, a hybrid or a traditional business model. You can be based anywhere, but during the program will test your product in at least one underserved community in Los Angeles or Miami.
We are looking for ideas that are solving a climate change related problem and can be scaled to other urban environments. We welcome applications from any field, sector, or industry that can have an impact on climate change resilience in urban settings. It could be in the categories of water, air, energy, sustainable cities, food security but we welcome applications outside those areas as well. You do not need to be a “tech company” to be considered.
The program is free for all accepted innovations. Ideas must go through an application process to be eligible for this program. We do not take equity in participating concepts.
Participating ideas agree to test their concepts in either Miami or Los Angeles for the 9-month period between April, 2024 – December, 2024.
Each week consists of up to 1.5 hours of facilitated sessions plus assignments, office hours, accountability groups, and occasional workshops. Like anything, you get out what you put in. This program is specifically designed to allow you to focus on running the day to day operations of your business, while layering in support where needed to help you meet key milestones.
Your idea can be very early stage and still a concept, although it will be helpful to have at least a minimal viable product (MVP) with some early signs of engagement. The majority of ideas selected for Larta’s programs are live with their product or service, but exceptions can be made for promising products/founders.
Larta Institute is a non-profit accelerating entrepreneurship and innovation for a sustainable planet. Since 1993, we have helped over 4,500 startups translate their ideas into sustainable enterprises – our alumni have raised over $7 billion in funds. Learn more about Larta here.
