Join our program.
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.
Our Heal.LA program begins in April 2024.
Apply to join the BioScience & Healthcare Accelerator program.
Tell us about your idea & vision — and our team will be in touch with next steps & more info.
View our Heal.LA alumni
Take a look at past founders and companies who found success through our Heal.LA Bioscience & Healthcare Accelerator Program.
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.
Access to Care & Financial Equity
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.
Disease Screening, Prevention, & Treatment
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.
Holistic Well-Being, including Nutritious Foods & Mental Health
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.
Heal.LA Funders
Heal.LA Partners
Heal.LA 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.
Hando Kim
2023 Heal.LA BioScience Accelerator Cohort Member
Founder & CEO, Innometive
Applications are now open!
Join our program — Los Angeles
The Heal.LA Program is a 9-month commitment — helping you move from an idea to startup launch and growth.
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
The Heal.LA Program is a 9-month commitment — helping you move from an idea to startup launch.
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.
Expert Mentorship
Dedicated 1:1 mentorship to commercialize your innovation from LA’s top life science experts.
Pilot your Product
Develop & scale your innovation in partnership with Heal.LA’s leading healthcare partners.
Non-Dilutive Funding
Collaborate with our grant writing experts to apply for and win non-dilutive government SBIR funding.
Investment
Participate in exclusive Demo Days to pitch to a curated network of active investors.
Program Details
Program Overview
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.
Who's Eligible?
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
Funding
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.
Enrollment Deadlines
Applications open October 15, 2023 – and will be open until late 2024 February, 2024
Duration
The program is a 9-month commitment, from April 2024 to December 2024.
Commitment
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
Thank you to our team of advisors for supporting this program.
Larta Institute
Judy Hsieh
USC MESH
Vasiliki Anest
BioLabs at the Lunquist
Lindsay Bourgeois
City of Hope
Daniela Castanotto
LAEDC and WTCLA
Stephen Cheung
CTIP
Juan Espinoza
Noblespace
Stephanie Hsieh
Cedars-Sinai
Monica Jain
The Lundquist Institute
Rubayath Mohsen
WuXi Biologics
Lan Nguyen
MedTech Color
Kwame Ulmer
BioScience LA
David Whelan
UCLA Technology Development Group
Mark Wisniewski
California State University, Los Angeles
Howard Xu
Collaborate 1:1 with an expert Larta 'Principal Advisor' during the program. We have a team of highly experienced bioscience & healthcare focused mentors.
Our programs are led by seasoned industry experts with deep sector knowledge. Each startup is assigned a dedicated Principal Advisor to guide their journey from idea to sustainable enterprise.
Principal Advisor
Vivian Dullien
Principal Advisor
Sydney Edwards
Principal Advisor
Farahnaz Forozan
Principal Advisor
Lisa Geller
Principal Advisor
Earle Hager
Principal Advisor
Sunil Maulik
Principal Advisor
Min-Yi Shih
Principal Advisor
LeAnne C. Tourtellotte
Principal Advisor
Kwame Ulmer
Principal Advisor
Xiao-Wei Zhu
Our accelerator program begins in April 2024.
Apply now to join the cohort in Los Angeles.
Tell us about your idea & vision – and our team will be in touch with next steps and more info.
Learn more about our Heal.LA Initiative
Improving the health & wellness of Los Angeles County and beyond.
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FAQs
General Questions
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.
