MBA start-up named to prestigious “Ready to Rocket” list

A new mobile phone platform being co-created by Simon Fraser MBA alumna Bella Hwang has been recognized as an emerging company in the 2012 Ready to Rocket list.

The Ready to Rocket list is a unique business recognition list that profiles British Columbia technology companies with the greatest potential for revenue growth.

Hwang’s company, Texts 4 Health, helps health organizations use their resources more efficiently via mobile phone technology to provide better care for patients. Patients respond to automated text messages that are automatically categorized by the software and analytics platform, increasing efficiency in hospitals and clinics and allowing for greater patient load.

Hwang, who recently completed her MBA at the Beedie School of Business, co-founded the venture with Jesse Coleman, former mHealth project manager at the BC Centre for Disease Control.

“We’re excited about launching Texts 4 Health and the diversity of the SFU MBA program has helped equip me with the knowledge to couple my passions of healthcare and social entrepreneurship,” says Hwang.

“Ready to Rocket” is a trademark of Rocket Builders, a management consulting firm servicing the technology industry. Each year, based on analysis of trends that will drive growth in the information technology sector, Rocket Builders identifies the top private companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the trends for growth.

Now in its tenth year, the lists have proven to be an accurate predictor of growth and investment milestones, with Ready to Rocket companies on average exceeding a 50 percent annual growth revenue rate and significantly increasing their employee headcount each year.

Texts 4 Health has been listed in the Emerging Rockets Life Science category, placing it as a company which is not yet in a high revenue growth stage but possesses great potential for investment and market breakthrough in the coming year. The Emerging Rocket list recognizes companies who have commercialized a product and are undergoing early stages of market adoption but may be possibly several years from maximum revenue growth.

As an Emerging Rocket, Texts 4 Health finds itself in a promising position, with previously-listed companies often moving to the Ready to Rocket list within a few years. Photo sharing website Flickr, one of the world’s most successful social media start-ups, is a previous entry on the Emerging Rockets list.

Texts 4 Health also recently won first place at SFU Venture Connection’s inaugural Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize competition.

For more information on the Ready to Rocket lists, visit www.readytorocket.com/