Six startup teams will pitch live for the chance to win up to $15,000 in prize money at the AFRL Commercialization Academy Spring Cohort’s Demo Day on June 29, 2017
Rome, NY – The Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI), along with Griffiss Institute and Wasabi Ventures, will hold the AFRL Commercialization Academy Spring Cohort’s Demo Day on Thursday, June 29, 2017, at 5:00 pm EDT, at Mohawk Valley Community College, 1101 Floyd Ave., in Rome, New York.
Six innovative, tech startup teams from the Spring 2017 AFRL Commercialization Academy Cohort have been selected to take the stage to compete in a live pitch competition in front of a live audience and a judges’ panel. The panel will consist of Commercialization Academy alum, the Upstate New York investor community, and event sponsors. A judges’ vote and a live audience vote will be held, with $15,000 and $5,000 cash prizes, respectively, to be given to the two best pitches of the day.
The judges’ panel will evaluate each startup based on such factors as: the ability of the business to affect Upstate New York’s start-up ecosystem and high-tech economy, the culture of innovation that has been created within the startup due to incorporating AFRL technology, the sustainability of the solution beyond the initial startup period, and marketing strategy.
The startups were incubated by early-stage venture capital firm, Wasabi Ventures, while embarking on an acceleration process to either build a sustainable startup, or enhance technology from an already existing startup, with Department of Defense intellectual property from the Information Directorate.
The AFRL Commercialization Academy is an entrepreneurial education program sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate and run by Griffiss Institute. Griffiss Institute welcomed Wasabi Ventures to lead the program in 2015. The program is designed to develop entrepreneurial leaders through the commercialization of federal intellectual property to facilitate the growth of Upstate New York’s economy through tech startups, and potentially speed technology products back into the hands of the Department of Defense.
“The AFRL Commercialization Academy has been an outstanding success for the local area and upstate New York, highlighting the technology within the Information Directorate, right here in Rome, New York, and the entrepreneurial spirit in this area. Since 2014, this effort has enabled 20+ startups, all of them are still viable companies, and we will be adding another six startups to that list at this Demo Day,” says Frank Hoke, Tech Transfer Director at Griffiss Institute.
The Spring 2017 AFRL Commercialization Academy Cohort began in February, led by Associate Dean of Wasabi Ventures Academy, Michele Pesula Kuegler, and began with six startup teams commencing a 4-month commercial viability process. Each entrepreneur sought to develop and test strategies to build sustainable startups eligible for licensing, investing, and partnership opportunities.
The six startups competing at Demo Day are:
Adk Ops – The AppMyProject platform by Adk Ops is a web-based project data collection, sharing and presentation creation platform. It leverages Google Drive, 360 panorama images and a convention based project management paradigm to improve collaboration and facilitate sharing of project tours on social networks. Adk Ops is a start-up technology solutions provider, a division of Adirondack Operations, LLC with offices in the North Country and Utica, New York.
Afterzero – Afterzero is a technology company headquartered in Maryland that seeks to design, develop, and sell consumer electronics and software in the digital entertainment market. Afterzero seeks to develop a digital media player that will simplify the consumer’s in-home digital entertainment experience.
E-Health Now – E-health Now brings high quality care to Chinese cancer patients by connecting them with reputable US oncologists through virtual joint consultation and medical tourism. E-Health Now reduces processing time from 21 days to only three days and cost 84% less than its competitors. The company can do so because it operates as a business-to-business model, is entirely digitized, and has dedicated physician partnerships. Its business partnerships so far give it direct access to six prestigious US hospitals, 4M+ affluent individuals in China, Chinese hospitals, local doctor groups, and health insurance companies. E-Health Now completed its pilot program, is currently in talks to further expand its network, and is developing its full tech platform, with anticipated beta launch in July.
Indago Innovations – A mobile document scanning and processing platform that replaces manual data entry. The platform uses a smartphone to scan and process documents, extracting the contents using computer vision and optical character recognition, and uploads the resulting information directly into a business’s backend system.
Intake – Intake is a digital health company developing next-generation diet-tracking technologies. Using advanced biosensors and wireless technologies, Intake has developed a tool that eliminates the need for food diaries and journaling. Instead, our technology enables instant discovery of an entire day’s worth of calorie, fat, protein, carbs, sugar, and calcium intake. Our tracking analytics help curate personalized nutrition guidance to simplify diet-tracking and help you meet your long-term dietary goals.
Mentis – Mentis Technologies is a Cyber Security company focused on preventing viruses and all forms of malware from infecting your computer through internet browsing, while at the same time, protecting your privacy. Mentis has developed Web Isolation Technology (WIT) that is designed to prevent 100% of all malware from getting to your computer while browsing the internet, and it completely conceals your identity from tracking software, such as cookies and ad trackers. This technology has been developed into a tool that works in the background of your browser and provides the protection you need from predatory websites and email phishing attacks.
These entrepreneurs have received an abundance of tools and resources, including a startup educational platform that teaches the logistics of building a startup.
Attendees at Demo Day will also receive updates on progress from the founder of Fall 2016 Demo Day winner MakeIt3D (Judges’ Choice), as well as Fall 2016 alum and founder of AerialForce. MakeIt3D is a Printing as a Service platform (PaaS) for 3D printing services of all types. The platform links consumers with customers, hobbyists, makers, designers, and inventors. AerialForce is an online test prep platform for commercial drone operators taking the Federal Aviation Administration knowledge exam.
Many of the founding team members selected for the Air Force Research Laboratory Commercialization Academy are students of the proven Wasabi Ventures Academy. This free startup education program provides participants a thorough overview of the startup world and allows them to learn firsthand from working alongside Wasabi Ventures’ founders and other successful entrepreneurs.
The Spring Cohort Demo Day is a free event and open to anyone interested in startups, entrepreneurship, technology, and interesting intellectual property. RSVP at https://commacad2017springdemoday.eventbrite.com/