Jumpstart Foundry Announces Final Round of 2021 Portfolio Selections
At Jumpstart Foundry, our goal is to MAKE SOMETHING BETTER in healthcare. We are able to do this through investing in top healthcare startups and their founders that have the skill, expertise, and drive to bring real solutions to the healthcare industry. We are thrilled to announce the Fall 2021 JSF Cohort!
The companies in the cohort include ArchiveCore, Bordeaux Laboratories, The Comma Collective, Diatech Diabetes, EyeGage, ezClinic, HealthOpX, HireMe Healthcare, maro parents, MASQ Optical, Mentornomics, Mitivate, pal, Rekruut, Sage Medical Coding and Billing, The Skin Consult, and SOAP Health.
“While COVID-19 continues to present many challenges in our daily lives, it has been incredible to witness the creation and adoption of new innovations in the healthcare industry. I am encouraged by the incredible number of innovative startups that are changing the face of health as we know it. And I am particularly proud of these 17 new investments — as new JSF Portfolio Companies, they represent real solutions to the industry pain points and trends that have been highlighted and, in many ways, driven by the pandemic.” – Eller Kelliher, JSF Managing Director
Each selected company receives an investment of $150,000 via standard post-money SAFE notes. The 17 startups will also participate in an exclusive program for JSF portfolio founders, Jumpstart Insight. The program combines virtual learning with access to resources and a community of peers to give founders the edge required to succeed as healthcare entrepreneurs.
We are honored to add these companies to our portfolio, and we can’t wait to see what each of their futures hold. Read below to learn more about each company!
ArchiveCore
College certificates, professional certifications, license documents; one in four working-age adults rely on these when competing for jobs. Yet, they are often found collecting dust in cardboard boxes or tucked away in forgotten filing cabinets until the day they are needed. ArchiveCore’s professional identity management software removes the risk of lost or damaged documentation and ensures trust and traceability between employer and employee. Lennox McNeary, MD, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of ArchiveCore, is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician and is passionate about finding solutions to address health care disparities. Dr. McNeary received her B.A. in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University, her Doctor of Medicine Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Bordeaux Laboratories
Bordeaux Laboratories creates over the counter solutions for diabetic selfcare. Don Merriman, founder and CEO of Bordeaux Laboratories, has more than a decade of science and clinical research experience. He has a Tennessee State University MEd degree and Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Tennessee State University.
The Comma Collective, Inc.
The Comma Collective delivers sustainable, people-centric period products right to your door. This company has invented the first compostable tampon, and will never let oil-based chemicals anywhere near your down-there. A closed-cycle enterprise, revenue from every Comma product sold is re-invested into fighting period poverty and gender injustice worldwide. Founder Miller Morris is a global health innovator and social entrepreneur. With a graduate degree in the Social Determinants of Health and an M.P.H in Global Health, Miller’s passion for evidence-driven development work and her family’s background in venture capital and risk-tolerant philanthropy led her to reimagine the way period products were made and distributed.
Diatech Diabetes, Inc.
Diatech Diabetes is a MedTech startup led by people with diabetes whose mission is to improve health outcomes of patients through personalized technology. 1 million patients utilize insulin pumps encompassing a $4.5B market, yet 97% of pump users experience infusion failures that can cause increased costs and fatal blood glucose levels. Diatech’s solution is SmartFusion™, an infusion monitoring software that detects insulin pump delivery failure and provides insights on how infusion performance affects diabetes control.
Co-Founder John serves as the Chief Executive Officer, having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of nine. With a background in pediatric diabetes research at the Yale School of Medicine and Florida State University, paired with his extensive network in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, AdvaMed, and the American Diabetes Association, John leads fundraising efforts and the development of Diatech’s technology around the needs of a person with diabetes.
Co-Founder JC Gray serves as the Chief Scientific Officer and currently is a Primary Investigator for Diatech’s SBIR Phase 1 Grant. JC oversees Diatech’s current FDA-compliant preclinical and upcoming clinical studies.
Co-Founder Luis E. Blanco serves as the Chief Technology Officer and is personally connected to diabetes through his stepfather and grandmother who use insulin pumps. Luis is a Primary Investigator for Diatech’s SBIR Phase 1 Grant and leads the overall software development of SmartFusion and its B2B sales strategy.
Co-Founder Nicholas Cooper serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Diatech, currently overseeing Diatech’s legal filings, finances, and business operations. Holding a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Florida State University, Nicholas brings experience in cardiovascular medical device manufacturing engineering and operations management from his work at Oscor, Inc.
EyeGage, Inc.
EyeGage is data-driven drug screening technology, powered by eyes. Dr. LaVonda Brown, founder and CEO of EyeGage, holds a BS in Electronics Engineering from Norfolk State University, an MS and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech, as well as an MBA from the Scheller College of Business. She has developed a robotic engagement model based on user eye gaze and pupil size (dilation and constriction), as well as an eye-analysis system to validate eye tracking as a viable biomarker for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). After living with a loved one with an alcohol addiction, Dr. Brown has now applied the aforementioned eye-analysis techniques to individuals under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
ezClinic
ezClinic is a Chicago-based healthcare technology startup that provides A.I. patient monitoring using 3-Dimensional data to alert ICU nurses and stop unplanned ventilator tube removals. The company has developed proprietary algorithmic ML/A.I. to address a highly un-reimbursable multi-billion dollar market burden. The team includes medical professionals and experienced business and technology-driven individuals from focus areas of volumetric (3D) data and sensors, machine learning/artificial intelligence, medical imaging, and med/life science device R&D. A USMC Veteran, Founder James Martin is an experienced leader of operations and development in med-tech and tele-medicine startups.
HealthOpX
HealthOpX partners health insurers, hospitals, and government organizations with caregivers and community-based organizations to engage and improve the health of at-risk populations. Founder Wesley Ma is a second generation immigrant looking to improve the health of at-risk communities in America.
HireMe Healthcare
HireMe Healthcare connects healthcare professionals to job opportunities. Founded 3 years before COVID exposed how dire the healthcare staffing crisis truly is, HireMe built its integrated web and mobile platform to centralize hiring by directly connecting frontline workers to hiring managers based on its proprietary algorithm and geo-location. By facilitating quick placements and safe staffing levels, HireMe helps healthcare organizations save money and, most importantly, improve patient care and outcomes.
After practicing entrepreneurial law for 4 years and helping build several startups in various roles, Founder Ryan Lee led a Dutch social enterprise in building a startup-within-a-startup bringing health-centric energy solutions into refugee settlements. Ryan co-founded HireMe Healthcare in 2017 with Trey Ennis and Jon Olin. Trey created HireMe on a pen and pad while working in operations for a major healthcare organization in NC and experiencing the underlying causes of the staffing problems firsthand. Jon brought his experience co-founding and building one of the largest IT staffing companies in the US to guide HireMe from said pen and pad into reality.
maro parents
maro parents is the DuoLingo for family mental health. Using engaging learning modules, their mobile app helps parents deliver age-appropriate information about mental health, diversity and puberty to their kids while detecting potential mental health concerns early. As a veteran of the startup industry, Founder Kenzie Butera Davis has supported 75+ healthcare, consumer and B2B SaaS startups from incorporation to growth acceleration to securing venture funding in the roles of consultant, accelerator programs manager, investment analyst and fundraising associate. Prior to founding maro, Kenzie spent 4+ years composing an academic research thesis on the implementation of sex education in the US in tandem with conducting customer discovery.
MASQ Optical, Inc.
MASQ Optical is a trusted vision care company connecting consumers to optometrists for eye exams and glasses. Their mission is to make sure consumers receive the best vision care and eyewear experience of a lifetime. As an optometrist, founder Paul Kim enjoys helping people see better and impact their life in some way, which is why he made the decision to join the US Army to contribute to the military vision readiness mission. 3 years in active duty was the beginning of Kim’s journey into eyewear. 18 years later, Kim founded MASQ Optical to revolutionize the eyewear buying process.
Mentornomics
Mentornomics is working to transform the $3B+ virtual clinical supervision market for the Behavioral Health and Home Health industries. Similar to a doctor’s residency once out of school, behavioral health professionals such as social workers, counselors, and therapists require clinical supervision after graduation. Mentornomics has created an online marketplace where clinical supervisors can be matched with agencies and supervisees who need to receive supervision services. Co-Founder Rob Cornell has over 35 years experience in healthcare technology and operations, the last 18 years as CIO for multiple public companies (Providence Service Corp, LogistiCare, Almost Family/LHC Group) providing medical transportation, behavioral health, and home health services. Co-Founder Adam Kelley has over 30 years of experience working in enterprise software development with over 15 years of healthcare-focused experience in home health and medical transportation.
Mitivate
Mitivate is automating and streamlining healthcare cost-containment and quality administration services. Their platform allows for healthcare institutional payers to implement cost-containment services by analyzing the financial process and validating the quality outcomes of a patient’s treatment process. Founder Aaron Petty has many years of mergers & acquisitions and investment experience, contributing to over $3 billion dollars of transactions. He is an active member of the local business community, serving as the Co-Chair of the Technology Industry Group with the Georgia Minority Supplier Diversity Council, and served as a board member for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Health IT Leadership Board, StartUp Atlanta Diversity Committee and Urban League of Greater Atlanta – Young Professionals Chapter.
pal
Palbud by pal simplifies how families find qualified caregivers, coordinate care, and manage autistic children in order to help them become independent autistic adults. Founder Brent Chase is an empathetic and innovative entrepreneur who created pal as a love song to his autistic brother, Alec.
Rekruut, LLC
Rekruut is a tech company operating in the space of physician credentialing with a goal to expedite the lead time it takes to credential a medical practitioner. Founder Jonathan Bolents is a healthcare entrepreneur seeking to revolutionize the landscape of physician credentialing.
Sage Medical Coding and Billing, Inc.
Sage Medical Coding and Billing is an AI Driven Medical Coding and Billing Platform with a mission to create a set of tools to help healthcare providers have a more fulfilling and enjoyable medical practice. Founder Guenavere Blanchard is a medical coder, former CEO/Founder of a nation quick-foods chain, and serial entrepreneur, owning over 22 businesses.
The Skin Consult
The Skin Consult is an AI enabled SAAS and e-commerce marketplace for licensed providers, skin care brands and skin care seekers. The Skin Consult curates high quality skin care products, professionals and connects to consumers for concierge skincare services. This company’s goal is to create transparency in understanding skincare ingredients and boost confidence in the right personalized regimen. Founder Dr. Sajani Barot is a mother to 3 kids, a skincare enthusiast and a career pharmaceutical industry professional. Having over 12 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with 6 FDA drug launches, and a background in clinical research, FDA and pharmaceutical grade product development, she wants to bring a science-based approach to the skincare industry.
SOAP Health
With 12 million diagnostic errors made annually and 65% of physicians sued by age 55, SOAP Health has developed the world’s first scientifically and clinically validated, patent-pending, conversational AI powered synthetic human platform that improves the collection, analysis, and documentation of patient reported data to increase early disease risk detection and decrease diagnostic errors. Founder Steven Charlap, MD, MBA is a licensed physician, serial medical entrepreneur, published author, and public speaker on a mission to improve early disease risk detection and diagnosis in memory of his brother who lost his life to a far too late diagnosed cancer given an extensive family history of early cancer. Dr. Charlap’s previous experience includes founding HealthDrive, a two time INC. 500 company that he grew to be the largest provider of medical and dental services to the extended care industry and development of the world’s first mobile, multispecialty electronic health record.
Hope Helmintoller
Content Marketing Manager, Jumpstart Health Investors
hope@jumpstarthealth.co