SXSW recap: Robust, scalable technologies key traits for UPMC portfolio companies

UPMC and UPMC Enterprises team members recently made their way down to Austin, Texas to participate – for the first time – at SXSW. The festival that launched Foursquare and helped make Twitter one of the most dominant social media platforms has continued be among the most popular events for film, culture, music, health care, and technology.

At SXSW 2018, UPMC hosted the panel “A New Kind of Investor: Hospitals & Startups” as part of the Startup and Tech Sectors track featuring Tal Heppenstall, Dr. Pamela Peele, Dr. Rasu Shrestha, and Xealth CEO Mike McSherry. The panel discussed how UPMC selects startup companies for pilot programs at the hospital system and leverages its clinical, operational, and tech resources to accelerate advancement in health.

For Dr. Peele, when it comes to evaluating startups, she believes that two things are the most important: “It has to be robust. It has to be scalable.” Dr. Peele also communicated the importance of rigor and discipline to achieve innovation.

UPMC Enterprises President Tal Heppenstall echoed Dr. Peele’s comments and talked about the importance of creating a culture where people can explore and not be afraid to fail. “Seventy-five percent of the things we do at UPMC Enterprises aren’t going to work,” Heppenstall said, enforcing the significance of a safe space to innovate but also the need for a dedicated and constantly forward-looking team.

Mike McSherry, who previously worked in the mobile and internet space co-founding Boost Mobile and Amp’d, discussed his transition into health care. “We jumped into health care wanting to do something more meaningful.” McSherry communicated a shared belief of the panel that there is still a lot of room for improving patient experience and that UPMC and UPMC Enterprises portfolio companies see that as a top priority.

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