Techstars Demo Day on Wednesday at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth will showcase 10 innovative companies as the culmination of a three-month accelerator program that promises to revolutionize the physical health industry.
The demo day will feature companies from around the world presenting their new physical health technologies in a “Shark Tank”-like pitch-style event. The 10 companies are high-growth, early-stage startup founders who have developed new technology.
“We’re thrilled with the high level of quality of these 10 startup companies that have called Fort Worth home for the last three months,” Cameron Cushman, assistant VP of Innovation Ecosystems at HSC Next, said in a statement. “They’re emblematic of the kind of innovation we are trying to drive in physical health here at HSC, where we believe the whole health of each person should be paramount. These bright founders represent the future of health care, and we have been so glad to have them working in Fort Worth.”
Lisa Voronkova and Ilay Popov of ComeBack Mobility. ComeBack is one of the startups pitching at the Techstars Fort Worth Physical Health Accelerator Demo Day Wednesday. [Photo: ComeBack]
The companies represent the second cohort of HSC’s partnership with Techstars, the city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, and Goff Capital. Techstars is a global investment firm that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and customized programming for early-stage entrepreneurs.
HSC Fort Worth said the goal of the partnership is to revolutionize the physical health industry via new technology. The Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth accelerator is focused on supporting companies building new technologies, treatments, and therapies in the physical health space in areas such as rehabilitation, physical therapy, human performance, and exercise.
At the event, each startup’s founder will discuss the problems they’re solving and the solutions they’re building. Also in attendance will be a network of mentors, investors, and alumni.
Co-Founders Kehlin Swain and Isis Ashford (above), along with Jaylen James, launched AI-powered platform Greens by Xplosion Technology to revolutionize diabetes care for teens with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. [Photo: Courtesy/Techstars]
Supporting the next wave of healthcare tech
In September, Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth Accelerator tapped 10 innovative startups from a pool of thousands to participate in a 13-week program to develop the next wave of revolutionary health care technology, HSC said.
The founders moved to Fort Worth and worked with team members from HSC, Techstars, and Goff Capital to shepherd those ideas from concept to game-changing tech.
“We looked at more than 4,000 companies to arrive on the final 10 that are in this program,” Trey Bowles, managing director of the Techstars program in Fort Worth, said in a statement. “These founders literally came from all around the world to join this program and take their startup companies to the next level. We know this will add to Fort Worth’s reputation as being the physical health innovation capital of the world.”
Last year, HSC said it received $4.8 million in funding from the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County to start the physical therapy-focused accelerator program with Techstars.
Equity investments into the startups are being made by HSC and Goff Capital to total nearly $10 million for the project over three years.
“Our portfolio company’s innovative solutions are tackling some of the toughest problems in physical therapy, rehabilitation, diabetes, infertility and women’s health care,” Jordan Warnement, program manager for Techstars Physical Health, said in a statement. “We are grateful for the high level of support that countless mentors, supporters, sponsors, investors and business leaders have provided during this program.”
HSC said that Fort Worth is the only city in Texas other than Austin that hosts an accelerator of this magnitude.
The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth trains the health providers and scientists of the future in an interprofessional ecosystem.
HSC said that in its six schools, students learn to work in teams and to develop an innovative mindset that prepares them for a rapidly changing health landscape.
Kristen Carbone of Brilliantly. [Photo: Techstars]
Event info
The Wednesday evening event is free and open to the public, both in-person and online.
The Techstars Demo Day Pitch will be held Wednesday, December 6, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at UNT HSC, MET building, 124/125, 1000 Montgomery St., Fort Worth.
You can RSVP to attend in person here or attend virtually here.
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