Ignite

Reflecting on an incredible year at Ignite 🌟 As we close out 2024, we’re grateful for the milestones, partnerships, and community support that continue to propel our mission forward. Together, we’re empowering women entrepreneurs and sparking innovation across healthcare. Here are some 2024 highlights: 🎬 Premiered Show Her The Money: An award-winning documentary spotlighting that women receive less than 2% of venture capital funding—and how we can change that. Premiered in Houston and Dallas, uniting investors, founders, and executives. 💰 Golden Ticket Programs: Launched two new programs in Baltimore (with Accenture, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and Microsoft) and North Texas (with Lyda Hill Philanthropies/Pegasus Park) 🌟 Transformative Growth: A major investment from Lyda Hill Philanthropies is driving Ignite’s North Texas expansion, amplifying our impact for women innovators. 🚀 Ignite Accelerator: We welcomed 13 groundbreaking women founders leading innovation. Huge thanks to our mentors for their invaluable support! 🏆 Fire Pitch Competition: A night where founders connected with investors, executives, and leaders. Special thanks to our Judges: Myra Davis, Winjie Tang Miao, Kimberly Muller, Allison Rhines, Angela Shippy MD, and Andrew Truscott, as well as, our award sponsors: JLABS@TMC, Memorial Hermann Health System, SWPDC - Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium, Houston Methodist, Texas Children's Hospital, Golden Seeds, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Innovation, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Texas Health Resources. To our supporters, partners, and the bold founders we champion—you are the fuel behind this movement. Together, we’re building a future where women entrepreneurs thrive and healthcare is redefined. 2025 is calling, and it’s brighter than ever! #WomenInHealthcare #Innovation #IgniteImpact #WomenEntrepreneurs #YearInReview

Women are vastly underrepresented in founder and investment communities and healthcare research. At Ignite, we’re on a mission to change that. Since 2019, Ignite has been the catalyst for uncovering and supporting visionary female entrepreneurs who are redefining healthcare. Through our programs and events, we connect these game-changing leaders to powerful networks, accelerating their potential to drive transformative innovation. Your support this Giving Tuesday helps us: ✨ Shatter glass ceilings in healthcare entrepreneurship ✨ Discover exceptional female founders to redefine what's possible in healthcare ✨ Unlock the $4.4 trillion economic potential identified in Morgan Stanley’s ‘Trillion Dollar Blind Spot’ Together, we can foster systemic change, improving health and well-being for all. Join us in championing innovation. Your contribution will propel transformative ideas forward where healthcare entrepreneurship knows no boundaries: https://lnkd.in/gJHb2ifD #GivingTuesday #Ignite #HealthcareInnovation #WomenInHealthcare #Entrepreneurship

This Thanksgiving season, we reflect on the incredible progress, purpose, and sense of community that define our journey together. It’s a time to pause, express gratitude, and acknowledge the many blessings surrounding us. At Ignite, we’re especially thankful for the growth and dedication within our community. This year has been marked by a shared commitment to elevating exceptional female leaders and innovators who are shaping the future of healthcare. Wishing you all a joyful Thanksgiving filled with gratitude, connection, and inspiration. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey.

What an incredible night at the 2024 Fire Pitch Competition! This year’s competition was a culmination of passion, innovation, and hard work from the top startups in our 2024 Accelerator Program. These trailblazing founders earned their spot on the stage by demonstrating exceptional leadership and the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry with their solutions and devices. Thursday night, they brought their A-game, pitching live in a shark tank style competition in front of industry leading judges Myra Davis, Kimberly Muller, Allison Rhines, Angela Shippy MD, Winjie Tang Miao, and Andrew Truscott and a room filled with investors and executives in Houston, Texas—competing for prestigious awards and prizes designed to propel their businesses to the next level. A huge congratulations to the winners:  1st Place: Sarah Lee, CEO and Co-founder, Relavo winning awards from Johnson & Johnson and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati  2nd Place: Therese Canares, MD, MBA, CEO and Founder, CurieDx winning awards from SWPDC - Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium and Wilson Sonsini  3rd Place: Andrea Ippolito, CEO and Founder, SimpliFed winning awards from Texas Children's Hospital and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Other prizes were also awarded to: Kadambari Beelwar, CEO and Co-founder, Truss by Memorial Hermann Health System and Golden Seeds Mimi Gendreau Kigawa, CEO and Co-founder, Zeph Technologies by CU Innovations and Houston Methodist Ashley Yesayan, CEO and Co-founder, OneVillage by CU Innovations Your groundbreaking ideas and incredible pitches inspired us all! We are grateful to everyone who attended, cheered, and supported these outstanding founders. Your enthusiasm and energy made the evening unforgettable. A special thank you to Ignite's donors and sponsors - Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Memorial Hermann Health System, Accenture, Nichols Brar Weitzner & Thomas LLP , Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and the many incredible partners supporting this work and helping us ignite the next wave of innovation! Here’s to another successful year of celebrating women shaping the future of healthcare. Now imagine what's in store for 2025! #Ignite2024 #FirePitchCompetition #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #AcceleratorProgram #WomenInHealthcare

We are thrilled to introduce our distinguished judges for the 2024 Fire Pitch Competition! Allison Rhines – Head of JLABS, Houston Andrew Truscott – Global Health Technology Lead, Accenture Angela Shippy MD – Sr. Physician Executive, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Kimberly Muller – Executive Director, CU Innovations, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Myra Davis – Chief Innovation and Information Officer, Texas Children's Hospital Winjie Tang Miao – SEVP and Chief Operating Officer, Texas Health Resources Join us as the top startups from the 2024 Ignite accelerator take the stage to pitch in front of investors, partners, and industry leaders—competing for prestigious awards and prizes that will help propel their businesses to the next level. 🎟️ Don’t miss out! Register now to witness innovation in action: https://lnkd.in/eBnETXe6 #FirePitchCompetition #Entrepreneurship #HealthcareInnovation #Ignite #HoustonEvents #Innovation #Startups

🔥 Get Ready for the 2024 Fire Pitch Competition! 🔥 We’re thrilled to introduce the top startups from this year’s Accelerator Program who are about to ignite the competition! These innovative trailblazers have earned their spot in the 2024 Fire Pitch Competition, where they’ll battle it out live on November 14th in Houston, Texas! These high-achieving founders have emerged from our 2024 Accelerator Program, demonstrating remarkable innovation, leadership, and the potential to revolutionize their industries. These startups will now take the stage to pitch in front of investors, partners, and industry leaders—competing for prestigious awards and prizes that will help propel their businesses to the next level. 🌟 Andrea Ippolito, SimpliFed 🌟 Ashley Yesayan, OneVillage 🌟 Christine Rohan, Vasowatch 🌟 Kadambari Beelwar, Truss Health 🌟 Mimi Gendreau Kigawa, Zeph Technologies 🌟 Sarah Lee, Relavo 🌟 Therese Canares, MD, MBA, CurieDx Join us to hear these exceptional innovators pitch and engage in a lively Q&A session with our esteemed judges. Register now to secure your spot and witness these visionary entrepreneurs in action as they compete for top honors. See you there! 👉 https://lnkd.in/geheZ_fP  👈 #FirePitch2024 #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Startups #Houston #Awards #Ignite #WomenInHealthcare

Final Call! Round II of the Virtual Semi-Final Pitch Competition begins today at 11 AM (CST)! 🚨 Ready to see more cutting-edge healthcare innovations? Join us for Round II of the Ignite Virtual Semi-Finals as the next group of 7 inspiring founders from the 2024 Ignite Accelerator Cohort pitch their transformative solutions to our panel of 12 expert judges. Don’t miss this chance to witness the future of healthcare! These startups will not only share their visions but also receive live feedback from industry leaders who are driving change. ✨ Secure your spot and join the live session: https://lnkd.in/gpfRGdXQ #IgniteAccelerator #VirtualPitch #HealthcareInnovation #StartupPitch #FutureOfHealthcare #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #PitchCompetition #HealthTech #WomenInHealthcare

Last Chance! Round I of the Virtual Semi-Final Pitch Competition begins today at 1 PM (CST)! ✨ Join the live session to watch six inspiring founders from the 2024 Ignite Accelerator Cohort present their innovative solutions and receive live Q&A from our panel of 13 esteemed judges. This is your chance to see these emerging healthcare disruptors in action and hear valuable insights from our expert judges, who will challenge, guide, and encourage the next wave of innovation. From seasoned entrepreneurs to investors and executives, our judges are ready to provide feedback that will help these startups thrive. You won’t want to miss this inspiring showcase! Register now to secure your spot and join us live: https://lnkd.in/gKrF7UZC #IgniteAccelerator #VirtualPitch #HealthcareInnovation #StartupPitch #FutureOfHealthcare #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #PitchCompetition #HealthTech #WomenInHealthcare

Join WIH Houston on October 29th for an inspiring panel discussion: Career Conversations + Insights from Great Minds! ✨🧠 Register here by 10/22: https://lnkd.in/g22ymwMd #wihhouston #womeninhealthcare

If you like Shark Tank, you'll love this! Join us on October 16th from 11 AM to 1 PM (CST) for Round II of the Ignite Virtual Semi-Finals, where 7 founders from the 2024 Ignite Accelerator will pitch their innovative solutions and engage in a lively round of Q&A with a panel of industry leaders, investors, and advisors. This round will be moderated by Accelerator 2023 alum - Meghan Doyle, CEO, Partum Health with participating founders including: Andrea Cubitt, CEO Dionysus Digital Health Andrea Ippolito, CEO and Co-founder, SimpliFed Ashley Yesayan, Founder and CEO OneVillage Bo Hood, CEO and Co-founder, KidTech, Inc. Gabriele Niederauer, PhD, CEO and Co-founder, Freyya Sandra Saldana, PhD, MBA, CEO and Co-founder, Alva Health Inc. Therese Canares, MD, MBA, CEO and Founder, CurieDx We are grateful to the panel of judges participating in this round: Kyra Doolan, Valerie Bahar, MD MBA, Mitra Miller, Bill Turpin, Elizabeth Hoff, Josh Sol, MBA, Nick Pachuda, Barb Cross, Tejash Shah, Sara Brand, Ph.D., Jon Stevens, MD MPH MD, Zarrina Bobokalonova, RN, CPHQ, and Nada (Osman) Hanafi. Startups with the highest scores will advance to compete in the prestigious Fire Pitch Competition in Houston, Texas, on November 14th, where top-tier healthcare innovations are showcased. Register below to hear these exceptional founders pitch and learn more about their startups! https://lnkd.in/gpfRGdXQ #healthcareinnovation #femalefounders #IgniteAccelerator #Investors