MIT SLOAN HEALTHCARE INNOVATIONS PRIZE (SHIP) 2025
Thank you to everyone who participated in SHIP 2024. A special shout out to our keynote speaker, esteemed judges, and all participants for their dedication and hard work. Congratulations to our winners: Third Coast Dynamics (first prize), BridgeHealthAI (runner up), and MabLab (audience-choice)!
Breaking Barriers: Innovating for Healthcare Access
Apply by January 21, 2024!
If you have an innovative solution to a problem in healthcare, register now to compete in the 2024 Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize! Apply here by January 21st.
Please email sloanhealthcareinnovationprize@gmail.com with any questions.
ABout SHIP
The Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize (SHIP) is a pitch competition open to entrepreneurs innovating in the healthcare space . The mission of SHIP is to support early stage healthcare startups by providing feedback from, and opportunity to network with, experienced industry professionals. Past winners include Calla Health Foundation (2020), Kano Therapeutics (2021), SanaHealth (2022), and Zeph (2023). Board the SHIP to start your innovation journey in healthcare and for a chance to win prizes up to $30,000!
Details
Application deadline: January 21, 2024
Semifinals: February 8 & 12, 2023 (virtual)
Finals: February 22, 2024 (MIT Museum)
Winner presentation at Sloan Healthcare and Bioinnovations Conference: February 23, 2024 (MIT Media Lab)
Why SHIP?
Cash prizes up to $30,000
First Prize, Second Prize, Audience Choice
Feedback & coaching:
Onsite Q&A with experienced judges from healthcare industry
Dedicated VC office hours for all finalists
Networking & exposure:
Winning teams to present on the day of Sloan Healthcare BioInnovations Conference in front of industry experts and students from pharma/biotech/medtech companies, payors, providers and other healthcare-related fields
Networking hour with other teams and judges prior to final competition
Finalists present before large audience of industry experts, judges, and students
Application Evaluation Criteria*
Impact
Is this nice-to-have or need-to-have?
How big is the problem being solved?
Does the solution save lives? Does it save money?
Novelty
Is this a new idea or are there many companies building the same product?
Are IP rights clear?
Market
How big is the market opportunity?
Does the team have a clear go-to-market structure?
Is there a good product-market fit?
Feasibility
Does the team have the experience/expertise to execute?
Does the team have a clear roll-out and implementation plan?
Are there major/prohibitive technical and/or regulatory hurdles to overcome?
Are the capital needs understood, and/or are they prohibitively high?
Traction
Has the team shown product or customer development progress?
Are there customer acquisition costs to consider?
Is the business model scalable?
*Criteria is subject to slight change based on further discussion with judges
FAQ
Q: What stages of company can pitch?
A: We encourage only startups who have not yet received/raised more than $250,000 in funding to join our pitch competition. However, you need to have a solid idea in the healthcare space in order to get into the semifinals.
Q: How long should my pitch be?
A: You should plan a short version and a long version of your pitch. The short version should be less than 90 seconds, and the long version should be less than 4 min.
Q: Can I use visual aids for my pitch?
A: Your team may use PowerPoint slides to illustrate your idea. However, you are not required to use slides – this is up to your team.
Q: Do I need to pay to participate in the competition or to watch the finals?
A: There is no participation fee for teams or entry fee for the audience.
Q: Is this competition only open to students?
A: At least one member of the team must be a current student or recent graduate (graduated within the past three years).
