Pitch Contest
JoyStik and Sanacor win Healthcare Innovation Pitch Event
The Healthcare Innovation Pitch Event was held on Wednesday, October 4 at Wantable Café. Sponsored by Bridges to Cures, CTSI of Southeast Wisconsin, CU Ventures, and Accelerating Medical Product Development (AMPD) the event was a part of WI Tech Month.
Emcees Dr. Dan Sem and Michael Harrison of BioForward Wisconsin introduced eight emerging startups to the audience.
The startups were divided into two tracks. The Healthcare track was for companies developing drugs, medical devices, and diagnostic tools. The HealthTech track was for technology and devices that do not require FDA approval.
The Healthcare track competitors were:
N-Zyme Biomedical, creators of a drug discovery for the treatment of reflux presented by co-founder Dr. Nikki Johnston,
CIAN, developers of a brain injury diagnostic tool presented by co-founder Dr. Ramani Ramchandran,
Soul Mobility, designers of a device to convert manual wheelchairs to powerchairs presented by co-founder Troy Tesmer
Sanacor, creators of a medical breakthrough to prevent heart disease in diabetics, presented by co-founders Saira Ramasastry and Dr. Michael Widlansky.
Soul Mobility
Co-founder Troy Tesmer displays the Power-Flex.
CIAN
Dr. Ramani Ramchandra discusses blood flow in the injured brain.
N-Zyme Biomedical
Dr. Nikki Johnston presents new treatment for reflux.
Sanacor
Sanacor co-founders present their medical breakthrough more than a decade in the making.
The HealthTech track competitors were:
Koda Works, inventors of HypoHolder, a device to prevent practitioner needlesticks during medical procedures presented by co-founder Karen Orr PA
BetterPlay Studios, developers of video games designed to improve the player’s mental health, presented by co-founder Michael Sapiro
Joystik, creators of an app designed to improve the mental health of users, presented by co-founder Christian Stoll
Vydiant, developers of a database of healthcare data that uses AI to include lifestyle data presented by Dr. Jim Kaput
HypoHolder
Karen Orr displays the patent-pending tool to prevent needlesticks.
BetterPlay Studios
Michael Sapiro explains how video games can impact mental health.
JoyStik
Co-founder Christian Stoll details the growth of his mental health app.
Vydiant
Dr. Jim Kaput shares the impact of lifestyle data on healthcare.
The 15-minute pitches were scored by a panel of experienced investors in the healthcare industry. The judges were Paul Weiss of Venture Investors, Richelle Martin of Winnow Fund, Carrie Thome of NVNG, Marcus Fields RC Capital, Jonathon Fritz of HealthX Ventures, Beth Duray Milwaukee Venture Partners and Tom Shea, founder of Meitheal Pharmaceuticals.
The winners of the event were Sanacor and Joystik. The winning startup from each track received $10,000 of non-equity funding, a one-year membership to Milwaukee Venture Partners and $1,500 of healthcare for two employees through Tip a ScRxpt.
