Rare Genomics Institute President Featured Speaker at Startup Weekend in St. Louis

On February 6, Rare Genomics Institute President Dr. Jimmy Lin was the featured speaker at Startup Weekend: HEALTHbio in St. Louis, the region’s first Startup Weekend specifically focused on healthcare, life science, and related technologies and services. Dr. Lin gave a talk about his experience founding Rare Genomics, and how ventures can visualize and execute projects that impact the health of many people. Dr. Lin also gave tips on creative financing for start-up nonprofits, presenting Rare Genomics’ fundraising models for patients and research, such as our crowdfunding website for families, and our company partnerships for the BeHEARD rare disease research competition.

Startup Weekends are weekend-long, hands-on experiences where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if startup ideas are viable. Beginning with idea pitches on Friday night and continuing through brainstorming, business plan development and basic prototype creation, Startup Weekends culminate in Sunday night demos and presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders to gain valuable critical feedback.Over 36% of Startup Weekend startups are still going strong after 3 months, and roughly 80% of participants plan on continuing working with their team or startup after the weekend.

For more information on Startup Weekend: HEALTHbio, click here.