On 5th– 7th July, Care Innovation Hub hosted the Challenge, a weekend hackathon for the social care sector in Barclays Eagle Labs..  Entrepreneurs from various professions came together to understand the biggest problems affecting the sector and work with market experts to explore solutions together. Entrepreneurs found the “range of entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and high-level senior executives in attendance inspiring”. All participants and mentors came away from the weekend feeling “inspired and enthusiastic” to drive positive change within care.

Christine Asbury, CEO of WCS Care said: “What an inspiring weekend – inspirational teams, challenging ideas, and a group of founders determined to develop and draw out the skills and enthusiasm the sector has to draw on.”

The weekend kicked-off with Navin Mayani, CEO of Care Innovation Hub welcoming entrepreneurs and setting the tone for the weekend. “Each idea needs to act as an enabler for happiness in care. Does it increase the quality of life of vulnerable citizens who receive care services in the UK?” he said. 

Ty Hassan, CEO and co-Founder of Streamcare shared his journey from last year’s Challenge till date. He was proud to share his experiences and transition from a lay man knowing little about the sector to piloting his idea in care homes one year later. 

Christine Asbury and Ed Russell, CEO of Deputy CEO of WCS Care spoke candidly about the sector. They offered entrepreneurs a new perspective that breaks away from the poor stigmas associated to care. Christine and Ed emphasised how innovation can reduce loneliness and isolation amongst the ageing population, help solve recruitment and retention problems and improve overall well-being to individuals receiving care in the UK, despite the lack of funding available to the sector. 

Entrepreneurs enjoyed getting to know our Founding Partners, Supporters and Mentors through a “speed-dating” session. It was the perfect opportunity to learn more about each other and match entrepreneurs to their mentors. 

All workshops were facilitated by CIH’s co-founders and Founding Partners. Alex Ramamurthy, Founder and CEO of Mirthy facilitated a creative Idea Labs session, allowing entrepreneurs to brainstorm ideas, explore “How Might We’s” and start solidifying their ideas for the weekend. Ash Goyal, Project Manager of Hallmark Care Homes provided business planning support to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into a viable solution for the care sector. Ben Allen, Founder and CEO of Oomph! Wellness provided a clear outline to entrepreneurs about planning their pitches and how to deliver a robust business presentation. Mark Laing, Director of Innovation at Home Instead and Christine Asbury delivered an engaging presentation on the impact of innovation to the ageing population from a domiciliary and residential perspective respectively. Ben Wilkins, Founder and CEO of Good Boost brought entrepreneurs’ ideas to life through storyboarding, value propositions and prototyping. Navin closed th e hackathon weekend with entrepreneurs delivering their final pitches to the entire group of entrepreneurs and mentors present.

James Sage and Mei-Ling Huang, Partners at Royds Withy King provided legal and regulatory support to all entrepreneurs at the Challenge. James Sage of Royds Withy King commented: “The Challenge was expertly run by the Care Innovation Hub and proved to be a great success, enabling the entrepreneurs to develop and showcase their ideas to tackle the biggest issues facing the care sector and gain invaluable feedback and insight from sector leaders.  It was also a huge amount of fun!”

Avnish Goyal, Chairman of Hallmark Care Homes said: “I was delighted to judge the hackathon.  It is so exciting to see the talent that is coming into the care sector to provide solutions to making a profound difference to both residents and care teams alike and we at Hallmark Care Homes are proud to be part of this”

Finalists have been announced and teams will present to our panel of judges and a group of C-level executives at the Department of Health and Social Care, hosted by Caroline Dinenage, Minister for Health and Social Care. 

Care Innovation Hub would like to thank Avnish Goyal (Hallmark Care Homes), Christine Asbury (WCS Care), Ed Russell (WCS Care), Mat Whittingham (QCS), Neil Bishai (QCS), Martin Jones (Home Instead), Mark Laing (Home Instead), Daniel Whitehead (Walden Care), James Sage (Royds Withy King), Mei-Ling Huang (Royds Withy King), Lisa Delaney (Apetito), Chris Zych (Apetito), Neil Eastwood (Care Friends), Jennifer Estherby (Barclays Eagle Labs), John Anderson (Barclays Eagle Labs), David Priseman (Quantum Care) and Vic Rayner (National Care Forum).