“We need people-centered wellness solutions that integrate brain health factors” — Charlie Hartwell, Operating Partner at the Bridge Builders Collaborative

Ques­tion: Char­lie, please share 1–2 major brain health needs you observe right now whose solu­tion demands a cre­ative and sig­nif­i­cant tech-enabled innovation.

Answer: I’d encour­age peo­ple to remem­ber that Brain Health is just part of over­all Whole Per­son Health.  Brain health solu­tions may reduce some dis­ease symp­toms but not help achieve actu­al well­ness.  We need peo­ple-cen­tered well­ness solu­tions that inte­grate brain health factors.

What advice would you give an entre­pre­neur launch­ing an inno­va­tion to address that?

Think hard about the way to grow and through what dis­tri­b­u­tion chan­nel you want to bring your solu­tion. No dis­tri­b­u­tion, no innovation.

– Char­lie Hartwell is the Oper­at­ing Part­ner at the Bridge Builders Col­lab­o­ra­tive, help­ing fund and sup­port the visions of social entre­pre­neurs build­ing bridges in the mind train­ing space. Char­lie is a Har­vard Busi­ness School grad­u­ate who has led, found­ed, run and worked in orga­ni­za­tions in 16 dif­fer­ent indus­tries. He will serve as a Judge in the first Brainnova­tions Pitch Con­test host­ed by the 2017 Sharp­Brains Vir­tu­al Sum­mit: Brain Enhance­ment in the Dig­i­tal Age (Decem­ber 5–7th, 2017).