3 things I learned doing Challenge.gov
- June 29, 2017 9:42 pm
Live and Leave Well gained more than just a win participating in the ONC “Moving Healthcare Data Forward Challenge”. As very young startup, we are delighted we won. Yes, there is cash, but there is more. Here are 3 things I am going to do remember next time:
1) Harsh deadlines work. Third party, harsh deadlines keep you from spilling a couple weeks here and there. I have heard (not me) that some CEOs can elect to have a couple too many informational discussions over coffee (not me, I swear :-).
2) Competitive analysis is good, and good for you, but no one really does it. Extra points if you can de-position your competition. In lieu of actual customers, having this analysis really gives your business plan the weight and dimension of a real business. I have found this to be true at large and small companies.
3) Always answer the question. These agencies provide guidance and rubrics for the proposals. No design, or clever argument is better than authentically answering the actual questions. This is a bit trickier than it sounds because guidance can sometimes be contradictory or vague. Don’t suffer in silence; keep asking questions.
Checkout this guidance and consider applying:
https://www.challenge.gov/getting-started/