In fantastic new addition this year we are pleased to announce the  AARP Health Innovation@50+ Tech Expo, located at Booth #2455 on the Lilfe@50+ Expo hall show floor. The Tech Expo, with 16 exhibitors, showcases the latest trends in Digital Health Technology solutions across a spectrum of health and wellness challenges that we face in our day-to-day lives. Come learn how these innovative entrepreneurs are transforming healthcare with solutions designed to improve the quality of life for you, and the ones you love.  Interact with these cutting edge technologies and voice your opinion to encourage entrepreneurs and innovators to build better products that solve real problems.

Health Innovation Frontiers: Untapped Market Opportunities for the 50+, a 119 page market research report, will be exclusively released to Health Innovation50+ attendees before it is made more widely available later in the year.

The report details the significant unaddressed needs with the greatest potential for revenue, adoption and social impact. Included are The Nine Areas of Opportunity.  Each Opportunity area and includes assessments, forecasts and tips for investors. The nine frontiers collectively represent as high as $20 billion in revenue opportunity by 2018.

So register now and secure your copy of the report when you arrive at the show.

As Jody Holtzman, AARP’s Senior Vice President of Thought Leadership put it: “127 excellent companies applied. This made for some tough decisions when it came time to determine the finalists.” Still, the advisory aboard came through and narrowed the field to 10 companies.

We are pleased to share that Adhere Tech, Caremerge, CoPatient, Inc, HomeTeam Therapy, LabDoor, Life Vest Health, Lively, SoundFest, Veristride and Wello will each be taking the stage on May 31st at the Health Innovation50+ LivePitch. Go here to review a summary of each company.

Earlybird registration ends tomorrow, May 9th, so if you have not yet registered do so now and save $100 before the price goes up.

“After careful consideration, we came away with 10 strong companies who we think are posed to make an impact in healthcare for those 50 and over – and for everyone,” Holtzman said of the evaluation process. “Not only am I looking forward to seeing each of these companies on stage, but I’m also looking forward to the Judges’ and the AARP members’ reactions to what these companies have to offer.”

Congrats to the finalists.  To them and everyone else, we’ll see you in Vegas in just over three weeks.

We are pleased to announce a Fireside Chat with Strategic Investors from United, Aetna, Humana, & Walgreens, a special addition to this year’s Health Innovation@50+. This is a must-attend insider’s session for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists alike.

We sit down with Rajni Aneja, Strategic Executive, Clinical Transformation Leader, Humana; Hugh Ma, Head of Strategy for Healthagen, an Aetna business; Jeff Shoemate, VP, Innovation and Business Development, UnitedHealthCare and Brad Fluegel, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Walgreens Co. to discuss how their companies are looking to startups to help them change the dynamics of healthcare delivery, cost, quality, and health outcomes.

For the entrepreneur, this panel will identify areas of potential opportunity for possible partnerships with these large entities. For VCs, it will provide greater insight into where exits may be along with where and how they will get the return on their investments.

Learn how these Strategic Investors view the role that technology and startups play in the transformation of healthcare for people 50+, as well as key industry developments and directions these companies expect to see over the next 12-24 months. The panel will also answer questions and offer insights on what they are looking for in the next generation of technology companies focused on aging and health innovation. Jody Holtzman, Senior Vice President, Thought Leadership at AARP will moderate the panel.

If you have not already registered to attend you can do so today and use promotional code “VIP50″ to save 50% on the current registration rate in the process.  Register now.

127 startup companies have applied to pitch at AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch taking place May 31 in Las Vegas.  Our expert advisory board and review committee are now reviewing all the applications. 10 finalist companies will be selected and announced in early May. These companies will pitch to not only to our stellar line up of judges and an audience of leading investors but in the afternoon they will also pitch to AARP Consumers in our special consumer speed pitch.  If you have not already registered to attend please do so now.

The show schedule has the nitty gritty details but here are the highlights:

• At 10:00am the first group of five LivePitch Startups will Pitch to leading investor judges and investor audience. Each company will have 5 minutes to pitch, immediately followed by 8 minutes of Q&A with Judges

• At 1:20pm the second group of five LivePitch Startups will Pitch to leading investor judges and investor audience. Each company will have 5 minutes to pitch, immediately followed by 8 minutes of Q&A with Judges

• At 3:50pm Startup Consumer SpeedPitch starts.  All 10 companies will pitch to AARP Members in a quick SpeedPitch format. Each company will receive 2 minutes Pitch, followed immediately by 4 minutes Q&A from audience

In the end there will be two winners:  a Judges Winner and a Consumer Winner.

Startup company response to the 2nd annual AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch has been overwhelming.  We are excited by the number and quality of the companies applying.  Due to the high interest we have extended the registration deadline through the weekend.  Those of you still finalizing your application, we welcome you to submit until Sunday, April 14th at 11:59pm pacific time. I’m afraid we will not be able to extend the deadline after that time.

For those of you planning on attending, the super-earlybird price-point does end on the Monday, April 15th.  We won’t be able to extend that deadline, so save $100 and register now.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Vegas.

Applications are due by this Friday, April 12th.  In end there will be only two!  Winning companies will receive prize packages containing valuable tech-related products along with  interview opportunities with the attending consumer, technology and venture media, providing them a spotlight as leaders in the future of healthcare technology.

There are two prize packages. Both the Judges Winner and the Consumers Winner will take home the following: 

1.     AARP LivePitch Trophy
2.     Apple Mini
3.     Registration & Exhibit space for AARP’s National Event & Expo in Boston in 2014
4.     Pitch Time and AARP Media coverage
5.     Opportunity to present at the InnovateLTC Health Innovation Pitch Contest

Additionally, these winning companies will most importantly receive bragging rights. Having won either the consumer or judges favorite trophy at AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch 2013, winners show that they are leading the way in innovative, cutting-edge healthcare technology.

After a day of pitching its service to a panel of Judges, investors and AARP consumers, CareLinx was voted the 2012 AARP LivePitch Consumers’ Winner.

Part of the company’s prize package included registration, housing and booth space at the 2013 AARP Life@50+ event in Las Vegas. As the national event approaches, CareLinx shared what they expect to gain from the experience.

“The entire CareLinx team was very honored and thrilled to have won the consumer vote at the AARP+LivePitch conference in New Orleans,” said CareLinx President & CEO, Sherwin Sheik. “Gaining visibility and recognition within the industry and getting the consumers to believe in us was our goal last year at the pitch event.”

This year, Sheik continued, “We’re excited to be at the booth and talking with all of the AARP members that will be present at the national conference. Because we were so focused on the pitch event last year, we didn’t have the opportunity to inform families of our service.”

CareLinx is the preeminent online Professional Caregiver Network that provides solutions to help consumers & institutions easily find, screen, manage and pay caregivers who match their specific needs and budget.

The company’s primary demographic is the baby boomer generation seeking care for parents and spouses. As many in that generation are AARP members, CareLinx hopes to further grow its business by focusing on more exclusively on interaction  at the 2013 AARP Life@50+ event.

We are pleased to announce our 2013 LivePitch Judges. After the pitches, demos and questions from the judges, two grand prize winners will be selected at the end of the day: a Judges’ Winner and AARP Consumers’ Winner. This year’s expert Judges include:

Geoffrey Clapp, Health IT Entrepreneur / Advisor to Rock Health
Brad Fluegel, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Walgreen Co.
Nina Kjellson, General Partner, InterWest

This year’s stellar advisory board is made up of several experts considered to be top thought leaders in the health innovation space. The board helps shape the AARP Health Innovation@50+LivePitch2013  program and also lends a hand in reviewing company applications.  In the end, they will help narrow applicants down to the 10 finalist companies that will be given an opportunity to present in Las Vegas on May 31st. Board members include:

Joyce Dubow, Senior Health Care Reform Director, Office of Policy and Strategy, AARP
Alicia Heazlitt, Director of Strategy, InnovateLTC
John Hotta, Investor, Nayma Ventures
Stephen Johnston, Founder, Aging2.0
Nina Nashif, Founder & CEO, Healthbox
Andrew J. Rosenthal, Business Development, UP, Jawbone
Unity Stoakes, Co-founder and President, StartUp Health
Brad Weinberg, MD, Founder, Blueprint Health, ShapeUp

Review the board members in detail here.