EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


TURNING HEALTHCARE INTO SELF-CARE


The AAL Forum was opened with an inspiring speech by entrepreneur and founder of Cubigo Geert Houben. He told delegates his story of life in Silicon Valley and how he believes technology will disrupt the healthcare market in such a way that will improve the lives of everyone


G


eert Houben delivered an inspiring speech of the opening ceremony at the Forum, sending delegates off to the subsequent


reception buzzing about his predictions that technology will increasingly impact on health, disruptively turning “healthcare into self-care”. The entrepreneur is well placed


to offer that view of the changing healthcare market. His first start- up, which designed and developed software for opticians, was bought by a large retail chain, enabling him to co-found Cubigo, a mobile platform that provides simple access to a range of interconnected healthy ageing services. Cubigo has been a success, now running in four countries and the recipient of a technology and innovation award from the Belgian government.


Houben himself was voted


young entrepreneur of the year in 2014, while he also attended Google’s exclusive Silicon Valley bootcamp for foreign inventors and entrepreneurs after Cubigo was selected by Google’s Backbox. His speech reflected on his time in


Silicon Valley, where he was able to mix with other entrepreneurs from around the world in an atmosphere that enabled people to think big. “Thinking big is essential if you are going to make a difference,” he said. “You need to have big ideas and you need to know how you are going to deliver those ideas. “So when you write your plans,


always start at the last page. Know your ending, where you want to end up, and then work back from there.” In terms of the healthcare market


in which Cubigo sits, Houben likens it to banking. “Banking was inaccessible and just something you had in the background,” he said. “But then banks gave its customers the tools to operate their own accounts themselves, to make decisions and see everything they needed to see in one place.


56 | AAL FORUM 2014


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