Hyr Medical Takes 1st at HTC Pitch Night During OHTec Tech Week

April 24, 2017

Health Tech Corridor’s Pitch Night, which took place the evening of April 24 in the Agora ballroom, turned out to be a huge success! We had a great turnout, with more than 150 people coming to the event. Local professionals, entrepreneurs, and classes from Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve joined us for an evening full of engaging speakers, friendly competition, and great networking.

We heard two amazing speakers – Maciej Zawadzki (CEO and co-founder of Urbancode, an IBM company) and Jeff Hoffman (co-founder of Priceline.com) – talk about their business experiences from startup to exit. Both speakers are seasoned professionals who really know how to captivate a crowd, and each presentation was full of insightful takeaways and humor. If you weren’t inspired to give it your all before you heard them speak, you definitely were after the fact.

In addition to our two incredible featured speakers, five contestants were given the chance to pitch their startups in the hopes of winning some great prizes. There is no denying that there was a lot of talent in the room that night. After giving their presentations and fielding questions from our judges, three winners emerged:

First Place: Hyr Medical, Inc.

Co-founded by Dr. Faris El-Khider, Manoj Jhaveri, Justin Smith, and Mohamed Ismail, Hyr Medical focuses on connecting physicians locum and hospitals directly by eliminating the middleman. By creating a transparent marketplace with direct communication between physicians and hospitals, they are reducing costs for hospitals and increasing rates for physicians, all while creating a process that is 50% faster. Long term, the benefits include less shortages at hospitals, better care, and ultimately more physicians locum. They are in partnership with the largest hospitalist group in Northeast Ohio, Martin Healthcare Group, which has 20 locations in the midwest and a network more than 350 physicians.

Second Place: Reflexion Interactive Technologies

Matt Campagna, CEO of Reflexion, along with a team of students, doctors, and renowned researchers, has created a device to accurately and quickly determine if someone has suffered a concussion. Currently, the competition has many flaws: it takes too long, it isn’t portable, it doesn’t test multiple cognitions, or it simply isn’t affordable. Reflexion solves all of those problems. Already gaining a lot of traction, Reflexion has raised $200K and has gotten media coverage from sources such as Forbes, WVIZ ideastream, and Yahoo! Finance. And it goes without saying, it’s a huge winner among the parents of athletes.

Third Place: Take 2 Mask

Drug overdose death rates in the US have been on the rise, and the Take 2 Mask team is working to counteract that. Trying to save someone who overdosed is a two step process: treating the opioid overdose with Narcan and providing ventilation to keep the person breathing. The Take 2 Mask combines the rescue mask with the nasal narcan administration, simplifying the rescue process. The mask is specifically designed with a double nasal atomizer, which simultaneously administers narcan into both nostrils. After the narcan is administered, the mask remains on the patient so that rescue breathing can begin immediately.

As you can see, there are some really exciting new startups that are beginning to make some waves in the technology and bio industries. We are excited to see how these three companies continue to grow and make the world a better and safer place.

Thanks to all of our sponsors, pitch contestants, judges, featured speakers, and attendees. We hope that that everyone who joined us had a great time!

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