Nashville Entrepreneur Center and Vanderbilt University Team Up to Offer Valuation Lab for Founders and Students

The partnership was developed as a structured approach to valuation services for growing healthcare companies

Nashville, Tenn. (August 31, 2022) – The Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s Project Healthcare program today announces its new partnership with faculty from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Health Policy and the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, in launching the Health Valuation Lab, an independent study course designed for selected EC Project Healthcare companies, faculty, students and community industry experts.  Participating students will be divided into teams and paired with a Project Healthcare company to provide valuation services in eight different areas:

  • Technology
  • Market size/potential
  • Competition
  • Intellectual property
  • Regulatory landscape
  • Technical components
  • User evaluations
  • Financials and reimbursement

The launch event took place on August 26 at the Nashville  Entrepreneur Center. Over the next 8 to 10 weeks students will engage with their assigned company’s founder, review company materials, conduct independent research and engage with external subject matter experts on factors influencing the company.

The program’s design provides real-world experiences to students and allows EC Project Healthcare cohort companies to gain unprecedented insight from the valuation services. The first set of cohort companies participating are:

Atadas – Bill Farr, Co-Founder and CEO

Yumlish – Shreen Abdullah, Founder and CEO

Major Care – Mandy Major, Founder and CEO

GeneXsure – Smita Rao, Founder and CEO

The program’s launch featured opening remarks from Adam Boehler, CEO of Rubicon Founders Executive Chair of Evergreen Nephrology, and the former Director of the Center’s for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (“CMMI”). Students also heard from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Health Policy and Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management faculty, and industry experts from NTTData, and Aledade. Their talks covered:

  • Changing reimbursement 
  • Regulatory landscape
  • Strategy
  • Go-to-Market and productization
  • Valuation metrics
  • Private equity and capital investment 

Each participating Project Healthcare company will be evaluated by the student teams in various areas attributable to company growth and success.

“It was truly inspirational to partner with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Health Policy and the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management to launch the inaugural Health Valuation Lab program designed for our entrepreneurial community,” said Eric Thrailkill, Chair of Project Healthcare at the EC. “We credit the event’s success to the program’s innovative approach to building the community necessary for tomorrow’s leaders in the healthcare industry and the companies in the Project Healthcare cohort to grow and thrive.  A special thank you to everyone who has planned and implemented this incredible offering of Project Healthcare and our community “Friends of Project Healthcare” who continue to provide their experiences and expertise to the program”.

“This is the perfect match between students’ desire for hands-on experiences in the health sphere and founders’ desire for independent assessments and advice,” said Melinda Buntin, Chair, Department of Health Policy and University Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. 

Professor of Management and Healthcare Policy, Rangaraj “Ranga” Ramanujam of the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, added “I am especially excited from a student learning viewpoint. This initiative promises rich opportunities for students from across campus to collaborate, work closely with founders of growing companies, connect with industry experts, and evaluate business opportunities.”

To learn more about the Nashville Entrepreneur Center Project Healthcare program click here.

About Nashville Entrepreneur Center

The Nashville Entrepreneur Center (NEC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) founded in 2010 by business leaders who wanted to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and to celebrate the spirit and tenacity of the entrepreneurial community. The NEC serves as Nashville’s center for entrepreneurship, supporting visionaries—from every background, in any industry, and at all phases—by connecting them to critical resources and championing their desire to change the world. Learn more about the NEC by following @entrecenter on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and at www.EC.co.

 

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