When we launched the OSF Innovation Studio, the purpose was to rapidly advance innovative ideas from exploration to commercialization. And we are off to a great start.
Our team has partnered with many Mission Partners to turn their ideas into solutions that have been deployed within OSF HealthCare and, in a few cases, sold to other organizations. What we’ve learned is that bringing ideas to market and launching new businesses to commercialize products and services takes time and resources that are in short supply.
As the evolution of health care creates even more opportunities for solution development, how do we cultivate, validate and launch new ideas at a faster pace, delivering more value to the Ministry? We believe the answer lies in a new type of partnership.
We are excited to work with an established startup studio with years of experience building companies around new software ideas and products. The idea is to learn from their expertise, accelerate the development of new companies and create value not just for our Ministry and the people we serve, but for health care organizations around the country.
How will this partnership work?
First, an OSF steering committee identifies focus areas with the potential to solve a need for the Ministry as well as other health care institutions. Members of the OSF Innovation Studio and the startup studio then engage with our subject matter experts to generate hundreds of ideas over the course of six weeks.
During the exploration phase, the startup studio leverages its resources and experience building companies to whittle down those ideas considerably. This is done by conducting market research, reviewing the competitive landscape, assessing revenue opportunities and drafting business model canvases.
Ideas from this round are presented back to the OSF steering committee for further review. The committee will then select the top three concepts to move on to Sprint Week. It’s important to note that concepts that don’t move forward could still be fed back into the OSF Innovation ecosystem for further development.
During Sprint Week, the OSF Innovation Studio and the startup studio will design a realistic prototype. They will also create a go-to-market strategy, financial model and a pitch deck that can be presented to the steering committee for each of the top concepts.
OSF leaders will then decide whether to establish a new company around and invest in any of the top solutions. From there, the startup studio has the structure in place to set up the business and attract an operating team and external capital.
All of this work takes place in the span of 12 weeks.
Benefits of partnering with a startup studio
The biggest benefit of partnering with a startup studio is the ability to act on innovative ideas that address our critical needs quickly and effectively. It gives us the opportunity to capture value through equity ownership.
It allows us to gain experience in building startup companies that will bring these ideas to market. We also get access to a network of operators and co-investors who can partner with us as we continue to produce solutions in health care.
More importantly, we will be generating ideas and companies that will bring value to our Ministry, our Mission Partners and health care institutions everywhere.
