Social impact start-up ecosystem at Harvard i-Lab: the case of vaxess technology, inc.

Abstract

Several factors play an important role in the birth of any social impact startup. From the idea to the reality, a long journey has to be traversed. Many people and many organizations have a hand in the successful launch of a business which aims to benefit the society. Vaxess Technology, Inc. is one such business. Vaxess is a startup in the healthcare sector. It was founded by four entrepreneurs; Michael Schrader, Kathryn Kosuda, Patrick Ho and Livio Valenti. The objective of the company is to make old storages redundant, through the use of technology, and consequently, improve the availability of and access of the vaccines. Started in 2012, Vaxess is a product of the Harvard i-lab and its journey till date has seen several interesting turns in terms of support systems. This report details about the ecosystem that supports the startups including Vaxess and helps them to come into existence.