Helping health startups make a difference

HCF Catalyst was Australia’s first corporate-backed health-tech accelerator to help health and wellness startups and scaleups. Here’s how it works. 

It’s one thing to have a great idea for a health startup; it’s another to be able to nurse it through a development phase and transform it into a success. When it comes to innovation, healthcare companies have the opportunity to be leaders, helping to drive better quality care and health outcomes for all Australians in a way that’s sustainable for long-term growth.

At HCF, we’re proud to be a not-for-profit organisation focused on putting the health and wellbeing of our members first. We’re leading the way with innovative health programs for members, as well as investment in research and emerging health technology.

Launched in 2015 by HCF CEO Sheena Jack, HCF Catalyst marked an exciting and important step for the industry. Its first foray into helping startups was through an accelerator program, in partnership with corporate innovation partner, Slingshot.

“Selected participants were guided through a 12-week program, during which they received mentoring and marketing advice and pitched for seed funding,” says Sheena.

The businesses then got the chance to show what they’ve learned to industry leaders.

“The final stage of the program was Demo Day, when HCF Catalyst graduates showcased their ideas to an audience of potential investors and healthcare stakeholders,” Sheena says.

“We looked for projects that promoted affordable, understandable and member-centric healthcare. We then gave the chosen innovators the chance to consider and enhance their business model and get real advice on how to be investor ready.”

To date, startups that have come through the Catalyst program have attracted more than $25 million in funding, with 55 startups and scaleups graduating and moving forward with their businesses – from more than 2,110 applications and over 250 pitches.

HCF Catalyst graduate helps mums prepare for birth

An early success story from Catalyst's accelerator program is Edwina Sharrock’s online prenatal classes, Birth Beat. Edwina, a midwife, noticed some of her clients were travelling hundreds of kilometres to take her birthing classes in a regional NSW city.

Now, she’s helped more than a thousand parents with her one-stop shop for birth and baby education. Birth Beat also offers online first-aid courses.

HCF Catalyst graduate supports better health habits

Perx Health is another great example of how Catalyst is advancing heath innovation and supporting the needs of Australians as our digital future evolves.

Perx Health is a chronic condition management program that motivates you to engage with your health using behavioural psychology and gamified rewards to develop better habits.

It also provides useful insights about your habits and adherence to your healthcare schedule, information which can also be shared with health professionals, families or carers.

Perx was part of the 2017 cohort and is building good traction in Australia and is looking to scale the business in the US.

HCF Catalyst graduate helps us get a better sleep

SleepFit was a scaleup in Catalyst’s third cohort in 2018. Its program fuses technology with medical expertise to transform sleep, health and your overall health and wellbeing.

HCF has partnered with Sleepfit Solutions to share the app with our members, which can help you identify sleep issues, recommend improvements and give you access to personalised tools.

The Sleepfit Solutions app offers an eight-week cognitive behavioural (CBT) program to help improve sleep quality. “It takes time to retrain your body. Your sleep patterns are very much governed by the way you think, your cognition and behaviours,” explains Stephen Perlen from SleepFit. “CBT is all about giving you strategies for how to deal with the thoughts that are keeping you awake at night, how to put those things aside and give yourself the space to get rest.”

HCF continues to be at the forefront of healthcare innovation

With the success of HCF Catalyst, HCF’s next phase of its investment is driven by our commitment to contribute to better health outcomes for Aussies. HCF became a cornerstone investor in XT Ventures in 2022. XT Ventures is the first venture capital fund to focus exclusively on the health, wellness, fitness and sport sector.

The investment will be made through HCF Catalyst and will ensure XT Ventures will play a pivotal role in improving the health of Australians.

“At HCF, the health of Australians is our priority,” says Sheena. “That’s why we are always looking at ways to foster innovation within the healthcare system; we need disruptors to push the boundaries and, through this investment, we’re able to support that growth.

“There’s a strong link for HCF and our members in terms of preventative healthcare and the types of startups that XT Ventures will invest in. It will do innovative things to help Australians improve their overall health and wellbeing.”

Our partnership with XT Ventures is just the first step in the next phase of the HCF Catalyst journey. Our commitment to driving innovation to benefit the health of our members and all Australians will see Catalyst invested and integrated through all stages of entrepreneurship in the years to come.

HCF Catalyst and XT Ventures are an important part of HCF’s 90-year history of industry-leading innovation, member-first milestones and investment in health tech to provide Uncommon Care for our members and better health outcomes for all Australians.

Words by Carrie Hutchinson
Published September 2022