We Choose to Go to the Moon
StartUp Health founder letter #3
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress a seemingly impossible goal – to send an American safely to the moon and back before the end of the decade. The space race was on, and a bold new moonshot vision was born. Looking back through the lens of history it’s inspiring to trace the impact of Kennedy’s call to action – he sparked a global sense of urgency, commitment and collaboration, pushing the world toward progress. The result was one giant leap for humankind. Bold dreams have the power to unite and inspire, especially when they push the boundaries of what’s possible and move us forward with purpose. That’s why we created StartUp Health. In 2011 we mapped our own impossible dream – a 25-year plan to improve the health and wellbeing of everyone in the world by investing in a new generation of entrepreneurs focused on transforming health. For the last eight years we’ve organized a global army of Health Transformers committed to achieving 10 health moonshots, each of which can impact at least a billion people. And this year, at the 7th annual StartUp Health Festival, we announced an urgent health moonshot – The Addiction Moonshot – to focus on ending addiction and the opioid epidemic. Thank you President Kennedy for inspiring generations of progress and unleashing the pioneer’s spirit in us all – whether we are racing to the moon, to Mars, or toward the future of health. We, too, choose to go to the moon by uniting Health Transformers everywhere, and supporting their spirit of invention, ingenuity and creation toward achieving health moonshots. Join us.