Contest features cash prizes and access to classes and workshops
Innovative start-ups within the medical technology industry are invited to take the stage in the highly anticipated 2022 MedTech Color Pitch Competition, to showcase their products or services that will directly benefit patients and to tell their story to investors and corporate sponsors.
Medical device, digital health, and diagnostic start-ups founded by Black and/or Latin American professionals are eligible for the hybrid competition. In addition to cash prizes, winners receive in-kind services such as access to master classes and workshops sponsored by industry leaders. The deadline to apply is Jan 14, 2022.
The Pitch Competition is a foundational start for early-stage start-ups that have raised less than one million dollars and is designed to advance the representation of persons of color in the medical device industry. Participating start-ups are judged by a panel of industry leaders on three categories:
- Addressing the consumer problem, target market, management team, and financing
- Validation methods
- Competitive advantage
The 2022 winners will follow in the footsteps of notable achievers such as Sandra Saldana, PhD, CEO of Alva Health Inc., one of the 2021 MedTech Color Pitch Competition winners – and also the first Latin American founder to have won the $350,000 Grand Prize at the global MedTech Innovator Accelerator Competition in September 2021.
Alva Health, a Connecticut-based medtech start-up, is developing a real-time, wearable stroke monitor for older Americans living with high stroke risk. Ischemic stroke affects 700,000 Americans each year and is the leading cause of disability, resulting in $67 billion annual avoidable healthcare spending due to delays in symptom recognition and treatment.
With its first-in-class wearable medical device that accurately detects strokes, Alva Health aims to address this challenge by developing a solution to help older Americans at high stroke risk prevent disability, live independently, and bring peace of mind to their families.
MedTech Color and Pitch Competition sponsor Ximedica supported Alva Health’s participation in the MedTech Innovator Accelerator program by providing in-depth, customized mentorship from key leaders in the medtech industry, exclusive virtual networking opportunities and workshops, and pitch sessions with investors, manufacturers, providers, and customers.
MedTech Color is an organization that aims to build a cohesive community of leaders of color in the medical device industry by increasing the number of underrepresented executives who enter and stay in the industry, driving thought leadership, and serving as a catalyst for professional development.
In addition to hosting the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition, MedTech Color’s plans include creating a clinical trial information repository on its website, launching a webinar series in conjunction with its Collaborative Community, driving clinical trial enrollment of 10,000 patients from under-represented ethnic groups, and establishing 100 new CEOs of color in the medical technology industry.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for the 2022 MedTech Color Pitch Competition at four levels:
- Pitch Diamond sponsor: $100,000
- Pitch Platinum sponsor: $50,000
- Pitch Gold sponsor: $25,000
- Pitch Friend sponsor: $2,500
In addition to being awarded spots on the judging team, sponsors receive MedTech Color membership along with various levels of promotional benefits, opportunities to work with start-ups, and recognition for their invaluable support.