SEED SPOT was featured in “27 Top Health Accelerators You Should Know” by Shimité Obialo, originally published by Forbes on November 9, 2026. Read the full article on Forbes.
A sale to a hospital can take years, and some health companies spend about three years raising a seed round, according to Forbes, which means a health founder often has to prove results long before the revenue or capital arrives. In “27 Top Health Accelerators You Should Know,” Forbes contributor Shimité Obialo looks at how programs across the country prepare founders for that timeline, and SEED SPOT’s virtual accelerator was included among the programs she profiled.
What Founders Gain
Health buyers want evidence that a product improves care before they commit to it, so the proof a venture can show often matters as much as the product itself. Forbes highlights SEED SPOT’s focus on “measurable impact rather than speed of scale,” and in conversation with SEED SPOT CEO Shannon McGhee, the feature explains that applicants are evaluated on traction, innovation, and their impact on stigma, access, and quality of care, which keeps the program centered on the same evidence a health system will ask for.
Many founders also pitch payers and health systems without knowing exactly what those buyers need to see in a budget, a financial projection, or a patient acquisition plan. Over 8 to 10 weeks, SEED SPOT founders build those materials with mentors from payers and health systems, who Forbes notes are also potential customers, and SEED SPOT’s 2025 Impact Report shows that each participant meets 8 to 9 mentors from a national network of more than 600 experts.
Giving up equity before a venture has proven itself is another common concern for early-stage founders. SEED SPOT takes no equity and charges no program fees, so founders keep full ownership while they focus on the commercialization and traction that, as Forbes notes, investment tends to follow.
Mental and behavioral health founders carry the added work of building trust around care that still carries stigma, and the feature notes SEED SPOT’s Accelerator, where cohorts of 20 to 25 founders take on that challenge alongside peers building in the same space.
Where Founders Go Next
Founders weighing a program want to know what happens after it ends. Since 2012, SEED SPOT has served 4,616 entrepreneurs who have gone on to generate $447 million in revenue, raise $229 million in capital, and create 11,000 jobs, according to SEED SPOT’s 2025 Impact Report, and Forbes estimates that 20 to 30 percent of SEED SPOT alumni are building in health. Forbes points to two whose results show where that preparation can lead:
- LunaJoy, a women’s mental health clinic, closed a $2.4 million seed round at the end of 2022 and raised $4.2 million in 2024 to launch LunaCare, a maternal health program for mothers on Medicaid.
- Televeda, a 2020 alum, was one of two first-place winners of the VA’s 2023 Mission Daybreak suicide-prevention challenge, earning $3 million for an app that serves American Indian and Alaska Native veterans.
A Growing Ecosystem for Heal
For a fuller picture of what SEED SPOT founders have achieved across every program, including WellMiss, which in 2025 became the first trauma clinic recognized as a Certified B Corporation, read the 2025 Impact Report.
The Forbes feature brings together a wide range of programs that combine networks, training, capital, and mentorship to support health innovation. Congratulations to every accelerator named alongside SEED SPOT, whose work with health founders is strengthening this ecosystem.
Take the Next Step
A sales cycle measured in years rewards founders who walk into every buyer conversation with a clear sales strategy, solid financials, and evidence of impact. If you’re building a venture that expands access to care or improves health outcomes, SEED SPOT’s accelerator gives you 8 weeks to build all three. Applications for the next cohort are open; you can review the eligibility criteria and submit your application today Learn more and apply.
