Bridge to Cures

What Bridge to Cures does

Bridge to Cures (B2C) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise headquartered at the Innovation Accelerator, 1225 Discovery Parkway, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, founded in 2014–2015 by three drug development scientists from Medical College of Wisconsin (Ramani Ramchandran), UW-Milwaukee (Douglas Stafford), and Concordia University Wisconsin (Daniel Sem). The organization addresses the translational gap between academic biomedical discoveries and fundable startups by providing mentoring, business plan development, bootcamps modeled on the NSF I-Corps curriculum, and access to venture capital networks for academic researchers and entrepreneurs from six southeastern Wisconsin partner institutions.

The organization's flagship program is the annual Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) event, a Shark Tank-style competition launched in December 2015 where typically eight selected Healthcare and HealthTech teams pitch to panels of venture capitalists for approximately $35,000 in non-dilutive seed funds plus additional in-kind services (legal, regulatory, accounting, EIR/fractional C-level advising) valued at over $50,000 per event. The organization does not develop proprietary technology products; its core technology footprint is limited to its website and event registration infrastructure, with service delivery centered on direct facilitation of the annual pitch cycle and affiliated bootcamp programming.

Bridge to Cures operates a hybrid nonprofit revenue model combining private, public, and philanthropic funding, with an evergreen reinvestment mechanism where returns from portfolio companies that subsequently raise VC rounds or generate revenue are recycled into future investments. Geographic scope is regional, restricted to southeastern Wisconsin, with no global footprint. The organization reports 11–50 team members, though at least some sources indicate team members are unpaid volunteers. There is no disclosed revenue or financial reporting beyond the 2014 announcement of a $10 million fundraising target with Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) matching funds.

Name

Bridge to Cures

Legal name

Bridge to Cures, Inc.

Website

https://bridgetocures.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bridge to Cures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise that runs the annual Healthcare Innovation Pitch event, providing mentoring, bootcamps, and non-dilutive seed funding to academic healthcare entrepreneurs across six southeastern Wisconsin research institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Startup Incubation and Acceleration Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Solutions (BPAGALAI)

Keywords

• Healthcare startup incubation
• Biomedical innovation support
• Venture capital pitch events
• Academic research commercialization
• Nonprofit healthcare accelerator

Headquarters

HQ city

Wauwatosa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Nonprofit Funding Model: Bridge to Cures operates as a nonprofit with a hybrid business model relying on private, public and philanthropic funding. The organization structures new venture financings to provide reasonable returns on investment, with portfolio companies cashing out investments when subsequently funded in VC rounds or when revenue generating. Returned funds allow B2C to make future investments, creating an evergreen funding model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bridge to Cures is a nonprofit social enterprise that helps academic entrepreneurs in southeastern Wisconsin translate healthcare research discoveries into fundable startup companies. Its flagship offering is the annual Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) event, which provides non-dilutive seed funding, bootcamp training modeled after NSF I-Corps, mentoring, and direct exposure to venture capital panels for selected healthcare startup teams.

Product overview

Bridge to Cures (B2C) is a nonprofit social entrepreneurship organization that provides support services to healthcare innovators rather than a commercial product company. The organization offers the Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) event as its primary programmatic offering, which is a Shark Tank-style competition where healthcare entrepreneurs pitch to venture capitalists. B2C also provides mentoring programs, bootcamps modeled after the NSF I-CORPS program, business plan development support, and access to venture capital networks. The organization does not offer standalone software products, platforms, or technology products—it provides incubator/accelerator-style services to help academic researchers and entrepreneurs translate healthcare discoveries into startups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) Event
• Startup Entrepreneur Bootcamp Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $100,000 awarded to local entrepreneurs at first HIP event in 2015
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) of Southeast WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic consortium focused on advancing healthcare solutions that partners with Bridge to Cures to seed, mentor and grow university spinout companies. Hosts the AMPDNR (Accelerating Medical Product Development through Networked Resources) program.
• Medical College of WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of six partner research institutions, providing healthcare innovations and research for the HIP program. Home to CTSI and multiple healthcare startups including spinouts focused on cancer, personalized medicine, and therapeutics.
• Concordia University WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution that has produced Healthcare Innovator of the Year award winners. Home to Daniel Sem who serves as Dean and Professor of Business at Concordia.
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution housing the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery and UWM Innovation Campus where HIP events are hosted.
• Marquette UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution contributing to the healthcare innovation ecosystem in southeastern Wisconsin.
• Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution contributing to the healthcare innovation ecosystem, including SOURCE startup developing nanotechnology-based blood substitute.
• BloodCenter of WisconsinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution contributing to the healthcare research and innovation ecosystem.
• Milwaukee NSF I-CORPS ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Science Foundation program providing Lean Startup boot camp training that B2C co-hosts with UW-Milwaukee for HIP participants.
• The CommonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMilwaukee entrepreneurship organization providing mentoring on business models and networking events for HIP participants.
• CU VenturesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerConcordia University Wisconsin's venture arm that is a key partner for the Healthcare Innovation Pitch events.
• BioforwardminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWisconsin bio industry association that is a key partner for the Healthcare Innovation Pitch events.
• Godfrey Kahn Law FirmminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm providing legal support and partnership for HIP events.
• Alembic Biotech ConsultantsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting firm specializing in services to biotech companies and venture capital, with principal Stephen M. Coutts serving on the Seed and Growth Committee.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BioGenerator: St. Louis-based nonprofit biotech incubator and investor that supports academic and startup-stage life sciences companies with funding, lab space, and mentorship. Highly comparable to Bridge to Cures in mission, structure, and nonprofit grantmaking/seed funding model.
• MBC BioLabs: San Francisco and San Carlos-based nonprofit biotech incubator that provides fully equipped lab space and mentorship to early-stage life sciences startups. Comparable in nonprofit incubator model and focus on academic spinouts commercializing research.
• New Orleans BioInnovation Center: Louisiana-based nonprofit biotech incubator that supports startup formation from academic research with seed funding, mentorship, and access to investors. Directly comparable to Bridge to Cures in regional nonprofit health innovation focus and academic spinout model.
• MATTER: Chicago-based nonprofit healthcare incubator and innovation community that supports health technology startups through mentorship, programming, and corporate partnerships. Comparable in healthcare-focused accelerator programming and VC exposure.
• BioEnterprise (now JumpStart Health): Cleveland-based formerly independent nonprofit that supported healthcare and biotech commercialization in Northeast Ohio, now part of JumpStart Inc. Comparable in regional nonprofit health innovation and academic spinout focus.
• University City Science Center: Philadelphia-based nonprofit that operates startup incubators and commercialization programs for academic research institutions. Comparable in nonprofit research-to-startup commercialization focus and university partnership model.
• HealthTech Arkansas: Arkansas-based healthcare innovation accelerator that connects startups with hospital systems for pilot programs and provides seed funding. Comparable in regional nonprofit health innovation focus and pitch-based programming.

Broad incumbents

• Cleveland Clinic Innovations: The commercialization arm of Cleveland Clinic that spins out healthcare startups from internal and affiliated research. Comparable in healthcare research commercialization but operates as a hospital system-affiliated entity rather than independent nonprofit.

Regional players

• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF): Wisconsin-based nonprofit patent and licensing organization for University of Wisconsin-Madison research, including healthcare/biotech. Comparable in regional Wisconsin research commercialization and nonprofit status, but operates as technology transfer office rather than startup accelerator.

Others

• Venture For America: Nonprofit fellowship program that places recent graduates in startup roles in emerging US cities. Thematically comparable as a nonprofit social enterprise supporting entrepreneur development, though focused on general startups rather than healthcare specifically.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bridge-to-cures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bridge to Cures