Sodexo Selects Startups ThriveMap, 1Huddle, and Memory Lane Games for Healthcare & Seniors Accelerator Program

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sodexo announced today the selection of three startups, ThriveMap, 1Huddle, and Memory Lane Games, to join the first cohort of the Sodexo Healthcare and Seniors Accelerator in the U.S. The selected startups – which were chosen at a pitch day on July 24, 2023, in Gaithersburg, Md. – will pilot their solutions to help Sodexo continue to revolutionize the management of healthcare organizations and senior living communities.

“Sodexo’s Healthcare and Seniors Accelerator, in partnership with L Marks, represents Sodexo’s ongoing commitment to continuous innovation,” said Pietro Ferraro, Sodexo Healthcare and Seniors Global Head of Strategy. “Our goal is always to continually improve the patient, resident, and employee experience which is why we’ve chosen these startups to pilot their innovations to not only enhance Sodexo’s offerings but help our clients thrive in difficult operating environments.”

About the startups:

ThriveMap offers personalized pre-hire assessments for high-volume, frontline hiring. ThriveMap's assessments take candidates through a virtual "day in the life" experience of the job to ensure a fit for employers and employees. ThriveMap will be piloted at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonsburg, Va.

1Huddle is a training and development platform that uses quick-burst mobile games to quickly and effectively educate and upskill a workforce. 1Huddle will be piloted at Lehigh Valley Health Network headquartered in Allentown, Pa.

Memory Lane Games turns memories into games. The application produces customized quiz games to monitor and manage cognitive decline across neurological conditions, starting with dementia, for memory care facilities and in-home care groups. Memory Lane Games will be piloted at St. Paul’s Senior Services in San Diego.

Over 100 companies submitted applications for consideration into the Sodexo Healthcare and Seniors Accelerator program. From the initial global applicant pool, a select group of 11 companies were invited to pitch their solutions and potential partnership to senior leaders, operators, and clients. From these 11, the most promising three were selected.

“This is an exciting step forward in the Sodexo Healthcare & Seniors Accelerator program,” said Daniel Saunders, CEO, L Marks. “ThriveMap, 1Huddle, and Memory Lane Games have the unique opportunity to support a leader in food and facilities management for top healthcare organizations and senior living communities across the U.S. Working in tandem, Sodexo and these startups can provide impactful solutions that will improve the lives of patients and residents as well as healthcare professionals.”

About L Marks

L Marks is a leading global innovation specialist which has created over 80 programs with its partners in Europe, Asia and North America. Founded in 2014 with an established presence in the UK and the US, L Marks has developed and delivered results-driven corporate innovation solutions, trusted by world-leading brands including BMW, Lloyd’s of London and Arsenal FC. Through their award-winning Innovation Labs, L Marks’ partners have worked with over 400 startups with a successful deployment rate of over 70%. The L Marks New Ventures unit supports its clients to create and develop new revenue-generating businesses through its Venture Studio, and transform their corporate culture within their Intra-Lab. To learn more, visit the L Marks website.

About Sodexo Healthcare & Seniors

Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 53 countries. Sodexo specializes in sustainable food and valued experiences at every moment in life: learn, work, heal and play. The company employs 94,000 people at thousands of sites in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam, and indirectly supports more than 100,000 additional jobs through its annual purchases of $20B in goods and services from small to large businesses. Routinely recognized for the organization’s commitments to sustainability as well as diversity, equity and inclusion, Sodexo North America’s purpose is to create a better everyday for everyone to build a better life for all.