Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO) is a 12-month national training program supporting cardiovascular research commercialization through education, mentorship, networking, and funding. Led by a diverse team of experts, ECHO fosters successful startups in cardiovascular health, culminating in an annual pitch competition (ECHO PITCH) offering up to $250,000 in funding.

With the upcoming 2023-2024 ECHO cohort preparing to pitch this fall, we took the opportunity to sit down with some of the ventures involved in the program to learn more about them, their commercialization process, and how the ECHO program has helped their entrepreneurship journey so far. Today we’re speaking with Nathan Holwell, Chief Marketing Officer with Panorama Health Inc. The Panorama Health team has created an app, Sofee, which helps individuals with smoking cessation. Individuals who smoke are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular issues, including heart failure, making smoking cessation an important part of maintaining good cardiovascular health.

What was the inspiration behind creating Panorama Health? 

A staggering amount of the world’s population is impacted by cardiovascular disease every year and smoking cigarettes is the single greatest avoidable cause. With a vascular surgeon on our team, they regularly see this and have many patients who have suffered heart attacks, strokes, limb amputations, and even death due to cardiovascular disease caused by smoking cigarettes. This age-old problem needs a modern solution.

Can you explain how the technology for the Panorama Health App can be applied to help those currently experiencing cardiovascular effects from smoking?

Panorama Health has created Sofee, a smartphone app that integrates with a wearable device. For smokers who want to quit and use a wearable, Sofee provides immediate access to a digital assistant that starts the user on their personalized smoking cessation journey. The biggest benefit to this model is that if an individual falls off their cessation plan and needs to start again, Sofee is in their pocket and provides a support system for life.

How did you decide to focus on wearable technology metrics when developing the app?

We believe a modern solution must use the latest technology available to provide users with a personalized approach to their quitting journey. Wearable technology is constantly evolving and gives individualized data based on the user’s metrics, which can be used to inform their cessation journey. We believe there is no one-size-fits-all for smoking cessation and personalization is critical to successful smoking cessation and management.

What makes the Panorama Health App distinct from other smoking cessation tools currently available?

We believe we have found a unique solution that provides a near-instant interaction with a personalized digital smoking cessation assistant compared to other smartphone approaches. Although our solution may be unique, it does not stand alone in helping users quit smoking and should be combined with support from health care providers.

You’ve been a part of the ECHO program since the fall of 2023. What makes ECHO unique compared to other accelerators/programs available to health entrepreneurs?  

ECHO has put together a leading program that essentially walks people through the iterative process of ideation and design, then helps navigate team development and ultimately, go-to-market strategies, IP conversations, and lessons learned from leaders in the field. We are immensely grateful for the learning, growth, and networking opportunities provided through ECHO in a friendly, resourceful and supportive environment.

What has been the biggest benefit of being part of the ECHO program so far, and what are you looking forward to in the remaining half of the program? 

Seeing an idea come to life, forming a high-functioning team, and seeing progress through amazing mentorship and access to support networks has certainly been the biggest benefit of the program. Connecting with other entrepreneurs has been incredibly helpful—it’s as though this is one big family all trying to help one another achieve!

In terms of what we’re most looking forward to, the remaining sessions and the pitch finale are sure to be exciting and educational. We look forward to taking part in the rest of the program.

How does Panorama Health plan to expand or evolve in the next five to ten years?

We are hoping to launch a beta version of our smartphone app to users at the end of 2025. We are currently recruiting focus group members and conducting a survey to help us build our app to ensure it contains elements that current/former nicotine users actually want and will truly help them to quit.

ABOUT ECHO

ECHO is a specialized training program led by veteran entrepreneurs and consultants across a variety of sectors. Its mission is to:

  • Provide entrepreneurship training, mentorship, partnership, and funding opportunities for innovators of cardiovascular technologies.
  • Create more successful start-ups in the cardiovascular health sector.
  • Accelerate the application of cardiovascular innovations and their transfer from bench to bedside.

ECHO is funded and organized by the Translational Biology and Engineering Program at the University of Toronto and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, in partnership with the Health Innovation Hub (H2i). To learn more, please visit https://tedrogersresearch.ca/echo-pitch/