Its a brainstorming process Hall foresees all mentors and mentees at HEALab employing, followed by building a prototype and testing it out. Washbon, a junior, hopes to have a solid enough plan to pitch at one of the many ASU startup competitions before she graduates.
There are so many invaluable resources at ASU, it would be silly not to take advantage of them, she said.
And you dont even have to be a student to do so.
Drew Saenz, a former student of Halls who graduated in 2015 with a degree in exercise and wellness, started a successful company called Team Up that focuses on providing fitness training to special-needs kids. Hes looking to branch out into corporate wellness and visited HEALab on Wednesday to brainstorm with Hall on ways to do that.
Hall immediately introduced Saenz to Washbon and urged them to exchange contact information. Its clear he relishes these kinds of moments, opportunities for like-minded individuals to connect, share and perhaps create something new.
A year from now, they could have a business together, Hall said.
There are a handful of other projects Hall has been working with that he hopes to bring into the fold at HEALab, including a fitness app that uses an avatar to show people how their body will change; a nonprofit that hopes to provide detox services to infants of opioid-addicted mothers; and a business that would provide insurance for preventative health rather than treatment.
As it evolves, HEALab plans to offer a monthly speaker series (beginning Oct. 11); weekly networking and idea-generation meetings; pitch competitions; mentoring and office hours; a space in which all that can happen; and more. And its all available to students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public.
Thats really unique and smart because if were helping the community, it just helps us, and it helps with ASUs mission of social embeddedness in the downtown area, Hall said.
HEALab will also provide services to participants of Prepped, a free six-week program offered by ASUs Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation that began last year as a way to support entrepreneurs from underserved communities start food businesses.
The official grand opening of HEALab will be in October, but Hall encourages anyone interested in what it has to offer to stop by and check it out on the ground floor of Taylor Place, a residence hall on the Downtown Phoenix campus.
Our goal, said Hall, is to connect the dots between these enormous opportunities for innovation and the resources to make them happen.
Top photo:Erin Washbon meets with the director of the HEALab, Rick Hall, at Wednesday's soft launch of the entrepreneurial space. The startup incubator is geared toward health and wellness students on the Downtown Phoenix campus but is open to students of any major, as well as faculty, staff, alumni and the general public. Photo by Anya Magnuson/ASU Now
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