Conferences are a great way to get a feel for what technology is doing for healthcare. Although you are probably not going to see every HealthTech company in one conference, a wide array of sizes and approaches are represented. When you spend a few days in a convention center, you get to know one another.

The large, established companies pay for the high-visibility, front-and-center or corner slots, of course, because they can afford them. They seem to keep to themselves, for the most part, perhaps protective of their corner of their market. I guess I don’t blame them. New companies are sprouting up all of the time, some offering a similar service and looking for their own place in the world.

The smaller companies scattered around the rest of the convention floor generally had more specialized solutions. Some are physician entrepreneurs who saw a niche from their professional perspective and decided to take the leap and put their solution out to the public. Some, like our company, have aspirations to make a positive change from an outside perspective.

Whatever perspective it was, it seemed that we were all in the same boat together. All on the lookout to see who on the front lines of healthcare would take a chance on a less well-known company trying to make a positive impact. Meeting and talking to our neighbors gave me hope. There are a lot of good things being grown by smart people who care.