Last month, FedTech held their semi-annual FedTech Startup Studio Pitch Day for 18 inventions submitted from federal agencies including the National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

FedTech pairs promising inventions from federal labs with teams of experienced and aspiring entrepreneurs to perform market validation, develop a business plan and investor presentation or “pitch” with guidance from educational webinars and business mentors provided as part of the program. At the end of the program, the teams pitched their federal technology-based business proposals to 170 venture capital and angel investors, among other stakeholders, who vote on the best business, with the end goal of the entrepreneurial teams forming an actual startup company and licensing the invention(s) from the government to pursue commercialization.

Dr. Kath Bogie’s electrical stimulation bandage to promote wound healing, developed at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, was voted the BEST POTENTIAL STARTUP TECHNOLOGY. The entrepreneurs working with Dr. Bogie’s technology renamed the device the “Exciflex” and are preparing to engage in licensing negotiations with VA Technology Transfer Program after filing the paperwork for their startup. In addition to coming in first place, the technology received specific interest from a number of potential investors as a result of the presentation, and looks to have great promise for becoming the next example of VA research transitioning to real-world impact.