This post was authored by ACC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Kevin Fitzpatrick.

We have all had that “aha” moment in our personal or professional lives that makes us think about creating or re-engineering a product, service or process to fill a gap or increase efficiency. However, most of us only daydream about the possibilities, stopping short of pursuing our idea and seeing it come to life. Entrepreneurs on the other hand turn this spark of insight into action.

Last week, dozens of entrepreneurs from around the globe descended upon the nation’s capital for 1776’s Challenge Festival, a week of events centered around startups and innovation. The Challenge Festival provided a platform for innovators to share how they are moving full throttle towards disrupting established and highly regulated industries such as health care, education, energy and transportation.

1776 described the current situation in health care perfectly: “No matter where you live in the world, there is no greater single human need than to be healthy and access quality health care. Yet the health care industry lags behind every other, and there are glaring opportunities for massive scale improvement on all levels. Whether you are looking at clinical solutions, at-home care, or cost-reduction, startups are bringing the promise of today’s technologies to this globally important industry.”

During 1776’s Challenge Festival Health Day, which was co-sponsored by the ACC, thought leaders from diverse backgrounds discussed personalized medicine momentum; payer, provider and patient collaboration; big data’s role in health care; the shift from volume to value and the need to align incentives; how to address underserved populations; and much more.

Following the robust panel discussions, twenty health care entrepreneurs from across the globe pitched their startup ideas to a panel of experts, including ACC CEO Shal Jacobovitz. At the end of the day, two finalists were selected to advance to the Challenge Cup finals: Unima from Mexico City, a biotechnology startup that developed a fast and low cost diagnostics technology that allows health data collection globally and analytics in real time, and ReliefWatch from Chicago, an inventory management platform targeted at multinational non-governmental organizations operating health clinics in developing countries.

The ridesharing app Uber has made headlines for dismantling the taxi industry that was stagnant for decades overnight. While it’s unlikely that our industry will see such a momentous shift in such a short amount of time, innovators in all corners of the world and organizations such as the ACC are working day in and day out to shape the future of medicine and health care.

While the Challenge Festival was going on in D.C., the ACC hosted nine startups at Heart House for the inaugural Health Care Entrepreneurs Showcase. During the event, ACC staff, representatives from industry and partner organizations, and other stakeholders had the opportunity to hear first-hand about the innovation that’s taking place in health care and the cutting-edge technologies that are fueling the future.

From developing guidelines to launching the NCDR, the ACC has been at the forefront of innovation for 65 years. The College, as with many organizations today, operates within an even more innovative and complex environment than it has in the past. With new challenges and less time to plan and respond, it’s critical for the ACC to be a proactive generator of new innovations.

As the authors of “The Innovator’s DNA” eloquently wrote, “establishing an ‘innovation is everyone’s job’ philosophy requires creating a safe space for others to take on the status quo.” That’s why the ACC has created an innovation arm and assembled a team of “Innovation Ambassadors” from departments across the organization in order to seek novel ways to support members and improve global heart health.

It’s clear the climate is ripe and the future is bright for health care innovation. I look forward to sharing more about the College’s innovation efforts in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned!

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