– Cone Health forms an innovation center named Cone Health Ventures to serve as a testing ground for new products and services focused on health and wellness.
– Cone Health Ventures will serve as the innovation framework bringing together entrepreneurial insight, healthcare expertise and a human-centered approach to innovation.
Cone Health, a Greensboro, NC-based integrated not-for-profit network of providers serving people in central North Carolina has announced the launch of Cone Health Ventures, a new innovation sandbox or testing ground for new products and services with entrepreneurs at the forefront of health and wellness. The innovation center will be responsible for managing and monetizing a portfolio of innovation partnerships to maximize the enterprise value for Cone Health and its partner companies.
Expanded Partnership with prinnovo
As part of the launch, Cone Health has expanded its relationship with prinnovo, an innovation catalyst company that staffs and manages Innovation Venture Groups within large corporations to build, manage and monetize a portfolio of innovation partnerships. Cone Health and prinnovo have been working together since 2017 to find and develop strategic, mutually beneficial relationships with entrepreneurs in areas of interest to Cone Health. prinnovo CEO Mark Rainosek will serve as the Managing Director of Cone Health Ventures where he will be responsible for managing and monetizing a portfolio of innovation partnerships to maximize the enterprise value for Cone Health and its partner companies.
Cone Health Ventures weaves together entrepreneurial insight, healthcare expertise and a human-centered approach to innovation. And that, he says, is a valuable combination to both developing companies and larger, established ones like Cone Health. “The possibilities are endless,” says Greg Hewitt, executive director of innovation at Cone Health. While many companies pursue venture capital investment funds, Hewitt makes it clear that this approach to innovation is different. “Cone Health Ventures is a mechanism for our organization where we bring our collective expertise to co-create with emerging companies,” says Hewitt.
“In many cases, this kind of testing ground is more beneficial to companies than a standalone capital investment,” Hewitt says. “When we have a shared vision and infrastructure in place to co-create with brilliant entrepreneurs, we can bring better solutions to market faster than any of us could on our own.”
“The Cone Health Ventures sandbox is the innovation framework that will help propel us toward the transformative health care system we’re evolving into—one that truly connects health care and well-being,” adds Hewitt.
