Submitted Questions
I would like to know if the development of a decision aid qualifies for this competition.
Yes, if the decision aid improves patient knowledge, literacy and/or satisfaction; improves healthcare quality and safety; lowers healthcare costs; and/or advances the health of populations, that sounds like an appropriate innovation for this Challenge.
Please clarify what is meant in the rules by "The Idea must not be substantially similar to an existing product distributed commercially by the Contestant or any other venture." Specifically what is meant by distributed commercially?
This Challenge is seeking unique solutions from early stage companies with high-growth potential to address community health issues. Product development is the process of bringing an item to market; once the item is widely available for sale to consumers or another target audience, it’s no longer considered “under development” and would be classified as “commercially available.” An example of a commercially available product is one that is available to consumers in national chains like CVS or Walgreens, or being produced on a large scale, like thousands of units of a product being sold to hospitals. If an applicant’s product is being sold to customers, but the stage of product development is the alpha or beta testing phase, the applicant is eligible. Applicants are also expected to distinguish themselves from competitors. In the context of the rules, if a substantially similar product has already been brought to market — either by a Challenge applicant or another business -– and is commercially available, the Idea would not be eligible. The litmus test for this requirement boils down to the answer to, “Can someone currently buy a product that’s the same or substantially similar to the one that’s being proposed?”
Can non-profit partners with a social entrepreneurship idea apply for this challenge?
Yes, businesses of any type are eligible, as are individuals/teams who have not yet created a business. All ideas are welcome as long as they address the 2019 Challenge topic, “Creating Wellness.”
What are the customer discovery requirements for participating teams?
Teams will be required to conduct a minimum of 100 customer discovery interviews in June - August 2019.
For complete Symposium eligibility requirements, please see the Official 2019 Rules.
Can summer mentoring be done remotely?
Yes. While teams are required to send the same representative to all three days of Bootcamp at Hofstra University, mentoring sessions in June, July and August may be in-person meetings or virtual ones.
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