Stella and Aging 2.0 Award $25,000 Prize to Golden Financial Care for its financial management tool

Golden selected as winner ahead of five other startup finalists at the Aging Startup Challenge live pitch event in Minneapolis


Stella has named San Francisco-based startup Golden Financial Care as the $25,000 winner of its first-ever Aging Startup Challenge, which concluded with a live pitch event held tonight in downtown Minneapolis. Co-hosted by Stella and Aging 2.0, the challenge had six selected finalists presenting their case to a panel of industry experts and in front of a live audience. Applications for the prize were sent from startups and entrepreneurs from across the county with innovative solutions, products or services that address needs within the senior care market.

The challenge marked the first industry event for Stella, the newly named parent company of non-profit health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and its subsidiaries, as well as for-profit diversified affiliate companies with national reach, including SelectAccount and ClearStone Solutions.

"This event showcased the leading edge of how we as a society need to be think differently about the changing needs of our growing senior population," said Tom Vanderheyden, president of diversified business at Stella. "Tonight's event represents the Stella commitment to this population and the increasing need for more attention, investment and innovation. This was a very diverse portfolio of competitors, which bodes well for how dramatically the market will evolve."

Golden is a financial management tool that helps families improve their parent's financial health. Golden states their company's goal as to "work to create the best financial outcomes for parents and children while sustaining a positive trusting atmosphere for families." Learn more at JoinGolden.com.

Other finalists included Daily Dental Care, prebiotic oral care lozenges; Iris Plans, tech-enabled advance care planning facilitation service; Reemo Health, wearable and smart home technology that communicates health and wellness information to caregivers; Tending, care coordination platform and concierge service for caregivers; and Wellth, tech-enabled financial incentive program to drive key behaviors among people with chronic conditions.

The judging panel for the Aging Startup Challenge included Mike Spadafore, managing director at Sandbox Industries;Troy Kopischke, co- chief executive officer and co-founder of Ivenshure; Stacia Cohen, vice president for the Medicare STARS Center of Excellence at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota; Barbara Barry, design strategist at Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation; and John Blank, chairman at Treehouse Health.


SOURCE Stella