Mike presented Polka to the crowd at SFTech’s mobile forum this month. At the event, he was interviewed by Matthew Bowman of Vator.TV on the business model for the company and what will motivate people to use it. A portion of the story is below:
The need to align monetary incentives for health resonates with what Venrock VC Brian Ascher told us last week. Venrock is becoming more involved in healthcare IT, and Ascher sees a need to “create financial incentives for the consumers to make better long-term choices for themselves with regards to wellness, and not just fixing the problems after the fact.”
Polka is one attempt to re-align those incentives. It’s a web application that lets users log their health-related actions—taking medication, going for a run, etc—in Twitter-esque 140 character updates. Users can share that information with doctors, emergency contacts, and others on their appointed “team.” The company partners with employers, insurance and pharma companies in the health industry to reward actions taken to improve health, without giving up any individual’s private info. Users can end up getting paid for health actions, and receive special offers based on their habits.
Getting paid to be more healthy, and helping the system at the same time. Polka.
Follow Polka on Vator.tv
