Fort Worth sought to attract investment in new health care startups. Here are the results

Trey Bowles, Managing Director techstarswatched from the audience as 11 different entrepreneurs took to the stage at Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall.

One by one, each entrepreneur had three minutes to pitch their early-stage startup to a crowd of investors and business leaders. 2024 Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth Demo Day December 11th.

Bowles smiled proudly. The event marked the end of the first three-year accelerator program, launched in 2022, focused on fostering breakthrough technologies in rehabilitation, physical therapy, human performance, and exercise.

He said this was a big moment not only for these startups, but also for Techstars Fort Worth’s efforts to grow the city as the “physical health capital of the world.”

Fort Worth is the only Texas city to host the Techstars Accelerator this year and remains the only city in the world focused on innovation in physical health, according to the University of North Texas Fort Worth Health Sciences Center. techstars is a global investment firm that provides access to one-on-one mentorship and customized programs for early-stage startups. The company has been in operation for more than 50 accelerators around the world.

The Fort Worth business accelerator has brought in about $17.5 million in funding since its launch, Bowles said.

“This was a great opportunity for us to celebrate why Fort Worth is a great place to build a business,” he told the report.

of Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth Accelerator is a partnership between the Health Sciences Center, the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Goff Capital, and Techstars.

The Fort Worth Accelerator was announced during a February 2022 City Council meeting as the city looked to enhance its economic development strategy to attract more businesses to town.

Cameron Cushman, assistant vice president for innovation ecosystems at the Health Sciences Center, previously said the lack of accelerator programs focused on early-stage companies across the country is a huge divide in the community. That’s when he started talking to Techstars about creating an iteration of the program in Fort Worth.

It was a good investment, Cushman said, because the physical health field is an industry ripe for disruption and much larger than some people realize.

“If you have cancer, you’re going to Houston. If you have heart problems, you’re going to… cleveland clinic Or maybe mayo clinic” Cushman previously said. “If you want to revolutionize physical therapy, where do you go? At least as far as I know, no city in the United States owns that kind of market.”

The accelerator was funded over three years by $4.8 million in federal coronavirus relief funds from Fort Worth and Tarrant County and about $10 million from Goff Capital and the Health Sciences Center.

Each year, accelerator program directors consider applications from thousands of companies and narrow down participants to approximately 10 companies per cohort. The company founders then underwent a 13-week program that connected them with experts in the field and helped them strengthen their business model.

Since its launch, the accelerator has recruited 31 promising companies from around the world to temporarily locate in Fort Worth. Three of these companies were originally based in North Texas, while the rest were from outside the area.

The long-term goal is to keep startups in Tarrant County, Bowles said. He added that approximately eight to 10 of the 31 companies are planning to relocate their headquarters or open regional offices in the area.

Fort Worth Mayor Matty Parker said he is proud of what has been accomplished through the partnership with Techstars.

“Our city launched one of the top accelerator programs on the planet, introducing founders to Fort Worth’s resources and supporting the entrepreneurial spirit of Fort Worth residents,” Parker said. He said this in the welcome video for Demo Day on March 11th. “Programs like Techstars, combined with our city’s talent and resources, have helped us earn honors such as being named the seventh best city to start a business.”

As the Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth Accelerator nears the end of its initial three-year investment, Bowles said the company is evaluating opportunities to determine the future of the program.

“We have to think about what we want to do next in Fort Worth and all of Texas,” he said. “There’s so much potential. It’s such an opportunity. We’re hearing a lot of good things from community leaders. We don’t know where Fort Worth will go from here, but we’re grateful to have been a part of this for the first three years. I’m proud.”

David Moreno is a health reporter for The Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Please contact [email protected] or @davidmreports.

At The Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independent of board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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