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CureMetrix has won the Philips Innovation Challenge in the Conference Center at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. The US start-up can then enter into a partnership with Philips. Polish StethoMe won the Wild Card and may enroll in the next round of High Tech Accelerator XL, which begins in late November.
The Philips Innovation Challenge is a collaboration between Philips , High Tech XL and Get in the Ring. The Challenge reported about ninety medical start-ups themselves, in which 21 were invited to come to Eindhoven.
Boxing Ring
Literally, representatives of the teams were in five rounds against each other in a boxing ring. After each round of votes were cast, first by the public in an advisory role, then finally by the four member jury.
It is a concept that Get in the Ring, a nonprofit that connects worldwide startups to businesses through challenges, has organized more often. “But it’s the first time we cooperate with an accelerator,” says Erwin Koenraads, one of the founders of Get in the Ring.
That challenge has been issued for Philips, would not therefore say that the participants will automatically end up at Philips according to Conrad. “Philips is looking for start-ups that whatever further, they can make partner, and where they can earn money with it.”
“High Tech XL looking again parties that they are able to guide and build from a start-up or scale-up. The companies are therefore too small for Philips, might be just good candidates for High Tech XL. ”
Drag Shepherd, one of the companies that did not belong to the winners.
Wild Card
StethoMe, Polish start-up that makes a smart stethoscope for home use, is offered a place in the next accelerator-round in November.All other losing finalists may participate in early 2017 as they wish.
Wojtek Radomski, CEO of StethoMe, now known as MyWhizzy has spent every day in talks with mentors from Philips and High Tech XL, where he learned above all that he must have well organized its earnings before there starting with something else.
It is especially important to bring startups into contact with a network of the right people.
“We want to especially benefit from the knowledge within High Tech XL, this afternoon it became clear that we have to wait to expand our business until our technology is ready. That is all a valuable lesson from a conversation of about twenty minutes. ”
Talks
According Koenraads of Get in the Ring, the conversation on the day are more important than the pitches in the final challenge. “There are also already entered into several partnerships between Philips and the participants.”
“It’s nice to see the start-ups at the end of a day in a boxing ring steps. But we feel it is especially important to bring the start-up of our network in touch with the right people. We want to ensure that emerging entrepreneurs waste time with endless searches for the right people who can help them further. We bring them there in contact straight away. ”
. @CureMetrix Is our well-deserved winner! Some spectacular battles@Philips . Let’s diagnose cancer more accurately!pic.twitter.com/KZylSkaaK4
– Get in the Ring (@GITRGlobal) November 14, 2016
Earnings
According to winner CureMetrix, a company which helps doctors in identifying breast cancer, “I lay face-to-face contact with the right people,” says Kevin Harris, CEO of the start-up. “I can mail endlessly up and down but I notice that everything goes much faster when I can sit down at the table.”
Harris is looking for three things in his partnership with Philips’ expertise, medical data and a sales team. All things that I could build myself but it would take much longer. ”
