43
AMPED competition awards four tech startups
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
One company makes phone cases to fit emergency medicine and another develops communication software for the health care industry.
Two others are involved in developing additive manufacturing industry capabilities.
Together, they are the winners of the Youngstown Business Incubator’s and the Burton D. Morgan Foundation AMPED competition.
AMPED will provide funding to the four startup companies as they meet specific milestones. The recipients are Hot End Works of Oberlin, $40,000; Strangpresse of Youngstown, $25,000; Case.MD of Kent, $20,000; and MedaSync of Youngstown, $20,000.
“Because of the alignment with America Makes, [the competition is] important work from a technological standpoint,” said Barb Ewing, chief operations officer at YBI.
This is the second annual AMPED competition YBI and the foundation have hosted. This time, there were 15 applicants and eight were asked to pitch their ideas. Although there were fewer applicants this year, the quality of applicants was higher, Ewing said.
The company that received the most in funding, Hot End Works, specializes in 3-D printing with advanced materials such as alumina ceramics. Printing with these materials is rare, its founders Jessica Whittaker and Ben Becker explained.
“These materials are used in aerospace and defense,” Whittaker said.
The company will use the funding to further the optimization and design of their 3-D printer and for intellectual property protection.
Strangpresse LLC was actually founded at the Youngstown Business Incubator Portfolio in 2014. The company designs and manufactures thermoplastic extruders for the additive manufacturing industry.
Case.MD was founded by three Kent State University students with an idea to make taking medicine more convenient.
Samuel Graska, the company’s chief executive officer, is an asthmatic who wanted to have easier access to asthma medication. With his partners, Ariella Yager and Justin Gleason, they developed the company and have 3-D prototypes of two products for medication cases: Epi-case for EpiPens and alula for birth-control pills. The funds received will be used to pursue intellectual-property protection and more additive manufacturing options for the company’s products.
“We are extremely grateful for this opportunity,” Graska said.
MedaSync has created a software to help nursing homes communicate with doctors elsewhere to improve the quality of life for patients and to decrease medical spending.
The money received will be used to expedite the process of getting the software out to the public.
“We are focused on improving the quality of life for millions of seniors nationwide,” said Ryan Edgerly, company CEO.