Launch PNW is a Gen Z Health Accelerator based in Bellevue, Washington

OUR PARTNERSHIP

The Softeq Venture Studio and $40M Venture Fund are pleased to collaborate with the Launch PNW accelerator program. The purpose is to create opportunities for start-ups serving the unique healthcare and economic challenges of Generation Z and Millennials. The organizations will combine forces to raise funds, identify deals, invest in, advise, and nurture startups tackling the unique unmet needs of Generation Z and beyond — the world's first digital natives.

WHY GEN Z?

“Generation Z has a unique set of healthcare and economic challenges, unprecedented by past generations. Generation Z also has a refreshing outlook on digitization and the democratization of healthcare. This generation will define the future of healthcare for humanity, and we want to be front and center in accelerating much-needed change in the healthcare space,” Sanaz Maleki, Launch PNW, CEO and Founder

Generation Z refers to the generation born between 1997-2012, following millennials
Gen Z is the most digitally connected, diverse, open-minded and realistic generation in human history
Gen Z will soon become the largest cohort of consumers
Born digitally native, and often referred to as zoomers, Gen Z’s digital expectations and economic realities will be the most disruptive factor in the future of healthcare

LAUNCH PNW 2023 GOALS

150 Companies Launched in 20 Countries
$20M Raised in Accelerator Funding
Millions of Lives Improved with Better Access to Healthcare

PREVENTATIVE HEALTH

Gen Z is one of the most proactive generations when it comes to healthcare. A large underlying factor for this is that information on the potential drawbacks of not utilizing preventative healthcare resources (and waiting until an emergency, instead) is so readily available. Furthermore, the cost of living combined with the high costs for emergency medical care are large reasons why Gen Z works to prevent healthcare emergencies through preventative healthcare; the financial burden of a trip to the emergency drastically outweighs that of preventative healthcare.
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Rates of anxiety and depression are staggeringly high in members of Gen Z with mental health related struggles becoming an increasingly pressing matter. A study from the American Psychological Association reported that only 45% of Gen Zers reported having good/excellent mental health, compared to the previous generations which reported 56% (Millennials), 51% (Gen Xers), and 70% (Boomers). With the mental health issue being so staggering, there is a strong need for mental health care to be included in the picture of overall wellness, especially in the case of Gen Z.

DIGITIZED ACCESS

Gen Z is the first generation in human history to have grown up with access to the internet, starting from childhood or pre-teen years and a vast majority currently have some form of digital device that allows internet access. This means that Gen Z is an incredibly technologically literate generation that would take very well to the digitization of healthcare.
AFFORDABLE CARE

With the ever increasing cost of living for the modern individual, the challenge to access affordable care is also increasing. Gen Z is beginning to inherit the weight of these costs. This means that now, more than ever, providing affordable healthcare access is paramount to the function of society that will soon come to rely on this generation.
DIVERSITY

Gen Z is one of the most openly diverse generations, with members that are diverse in everything from ethnicity to neurological function. As a result, the healthcare needs of Gen Z are also just as diverse, so it’s important that each member of the generation can access healthcare, just as equitably as the next.