On January 16, 2018, the Life Science Washington Institute, in collaboration with the Kauffman Foundation and The Value Web, convened the first Washington State Life Science Entrepreneurship Summit. This facilitated summit brought together 100 statewide participants, representing varied facets of the life science ecosystem. Participants explored the current state of the Washington life science ecosystem, ascertained barriers to entry and growth, discussed ways to break down existing silos which impede success and collaborated to build a vision of our ideal ecosystem going forward.
This informative, productive, and fun event featured Firestarter talks by Andy Stoll of the Kauffman Foundation, Lieutenant Governor of Washington Cyrus Habib, and Eugene Durenard of the Healthcare Impact Foundation. Hands-on modules and small group discussions focused on funding, collaboration/silo breakdowns, entrepreneurial education, and infrastructure engaged participants and helped identify actionable items and critical next steps.
During one module, designated the “History of the Future”, participants populated “Past”, “Present”, and “Future” timelines with significant milestones of the life science ecosystem in Washington. The resulting graphics highlight our past successes and failures, our current achievements and struggles and predict a vibrant and productive future spanning 2020-2040. Ideally, we will learn from our past, actively engage in growing and supporting the industry and achieve many of the goals and aspirations established for the future.
Participants were highly engaged, collaborative, and enthusiastic about the future of the life sciences in Washington. Going forward, we will be digesting all the content, knowledge and outcomes of the Summit and synthesizing a plan for continued engagement, additional collaborations and future summits. Please visit our Entrepreneurship Summit page in the coming weeks to view additional photos, summary documents and other Summit deliverables.
We welcome any comments, suggestions or thoughts. Please help us achieve our collective vision of the ideal ecosystem of the future!