Late last month, 12 startups competed in this year's Tech Tournament at Invent Penn State’s Venture and IP Conference at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center at Innovation Park. The fast-paced, Shark Tank-inspired Tech Tournament features representatives from each startup, given three minutes to pitch their company or product to a panel of three judges. Then, judges have five minutes to ask the entrepreneurs tough, probing questions regarding their business plans, competition and financials.
Four awards were handed out at the tournament: third place with a monetary prize of $25,000; second place with $50,000; first with $75,000; and People's Choice.
The People's Choice Award went to ConidioTec, creator of Aprehend, a product that treats bed bug infestations more efficiently with fewer applications. A single-use, long-lasting, fungal bio-pesticide, it infects bed bugs with a fungal disease they then transmit to the other bed bugs in the infestation, eventually infecting and killing them all. The bio-pesticide is non-toxic to anyone or anything that isn't a bed bug and is safe to use around children and pets.
Third place was awarded to Aleo BME, a biomaterials startup commercializing biodegradable medical-surgical adhesives. Since its founding in 2015, it has one product FDA-approved and ready for use, the ElaSkin™ liquid bandage. The startup’s next goal is to create a 100-percent biodegradable product suited for internal surgical sites, keeping a wound closed and stable in a wet environment for six months — a healing time recommended by surgeons to produce optimal results.
In second place is ThoraciCair. Its founders developed a technology to offset the challenges and dangers presented in infants in respiratory distress. The unique technology adheres to and circles an infant's ribcage, stopping the flexible ribs from collapsing inward into the chest cavity, allowing for easier, more successful breathing.
The grand prize was awarded to Phospholutions, a fertilizer company that also competed in last year's tournament and is already making waves in the turf industry. Its product Rhizosorb is already in use on golf courses, allows for healthier grass with deeper roots thanks to a granular soil amendment that controls the release of fertilizer over time based on a plant's unique needs, a process that has been proven to reduce product runoff by 98 percent compared to conventional fertilizer.
Unfortunately, not everyone can take first prize, but that doesn't mean the following startups are any less impressive than those who won. Their companies and products are packed with ingenuity and innovation, and are moving to take over their individual industries.
Lyralux: developed low-level light technology designed to enhance colors and contrast in low-level lighting situations
Naltrexone: created a topical application medication to treat and prevent diabetic foot ulcers.
Million Concepts: introduced its newest product, which is a small, high-resolution microscope designed for at-home student usage to complement online physical sciences courses.
Wear-IT: presented a mobile platform to accurately track and monitor addiction cravings.
Helios Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals LLC: developed a cancerous tumor treatment to slow or halt the progress of Metastatic Cancers.
Simplr Technologies LLC: created a mobile app to manage and optimize photos taken by nonprofessional photographers.
OsteoSynth: in the process of commercializing a synthetic bone-grafting product, Bone Foam, which keeps dental sockets stable after tooth removal.
Captis Diagnostics: introduced a molecular cancer diagnosis process that uses more accurate, less-invasive "liquid biopsies."