BCBSRI, Founders League plan to support health care entrepreneurs

PROVIDENCE – Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is partnering with the Founders League to offer support to health care innovators and entrepreneurs in Rhode Island.

Founders League and BCBSRI will expand existing programs and introduce new programs to showcase startups in the health and wellness arena, increase mentorship opportunities and leverage BCBSRI’s reach into the community to help startups grow in Rhode Island.

The three-year partnership kicked off at BCBSRI’s fall 2014 annual community meeting at Your Blue Store in Warwick, at which a group of Founders League startups were featured.
This spring, the partnership will run a showcase featuring nine ventures creating innovations across the industry, from technologies targeted at workplace wellness to ergonomic furniture and wearable devices to systems that help aging adults live longer, and more safely, in their own homes.

“At Blue Cross, we understand that improving health care delivery and bringing costs down requires working together and thinking outside-the-box,” Peter Andruszkiewicz, president and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering closely with Founders League entrepreneurs to explore creative ideas about how we tackle some of the toughest issues in health care.”

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The Founders League was created in 2013 to provide support and services to Rhode Island entrepreneurs. It offers co-working space, mentorship and programming, and recently launched a new effort focused on better integrating Rhode Island’s students and recent graduates into the startup community.

Founders League startups will offer larger enterprises, like BCBSRI, a window into emerging technologies and consumer trends, insights that can be used to improve existing services and products and spark new, transformative offerings, the organization said in prepared remarks.

“Not only are startups important to our economic future, they play a vital role in pioneering new solutions that enable us to lead better, healthier lives,” Founders League Director Melissa Withers said in a statement. “Having BCBSRI as a partner in the Founders League connects fledging ventures to a powerful portfolio of resources – mentorship, product development support and an expansive reach into almost every corner of the health and wellness marketplace. We are grateful for BCBSRI’s support and look forward to working closely together in the months to come.”

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