Palm Desert health technology entrepreneur eyes $10,000 prize after winning local Fast Pitch competition

Bear Simerson was on the stage at the Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City Wednesday, giving the winning presentation about his Palm Desert-based venture, 3C Health. 

"To present to that panel of judges who were very versed in business and in healthcare, it was a huge validation for the work we put in, it was awesome," said Simerson. 

The "Fast Pitch Greater Palm Springs" event is a Shark Tank-like competition where this year, 6 valley entrepreneurs pitched their ideas.

"Each year we find more and more innovators with more creative ideas. We are finding more tech companies coming out of greater Palm Springs," said Laura James, Vice President of Innovation for the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership. 

As one of three co-founders for C3 Health, Simerson has helped develop a platform that provides remote patient monitoring and automates the steps of sharing information among doctors and healthcare providers.  

Their solution, three years in development, also uses artificial intelligence to anticipate patient needs.

"Digital health is becoming more of a norm now and people are getting more used to experiencing healthcare within their home," said Simerson.

James says the Fast Pitch competition is aimed at promoting innovation in the Coachella Valley and ultimately job growth.

3C Health currently employs 3 executives in the Coachella Valley.

The company plans to hire 12 more people this fall to staff an office in Palm Springs.

"We believe that healthcare is making a huge technological shift and that is going to create a whole new dynamic of jobs," said Simerson.

For winning Wednesday, Simerson receives $1,000 worth of business services and a chance to win $10,000 cash at a county competition later this month.

3C Health is privately held but Simerson says the company could go public sometime in the future.