WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 21, 2016) — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced the finalists of the 2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge, a nationwide business competition to highlight innovative products and services created and launched by cutting-edge entrepreneurs.
One finalist is Dr. Pu Wang, co-founder and chief technology officer of Vibronix, Inc. (MarginPAT) in West Lafayette, Ind. He is recognized for MarginPAT, the intraoperative assessment of breast tumor margin using photo acoustic/ultrasound imaging system.
Pu Wang graduated from Weldon School of Biomedical engineering at Purdue University with expertise in the development of biomedical imaging devices. He co-founded Vibronix with Dr. Ji-Xin Cheng, president and chief science officer.
The other finalists, who will have the opportunity to compete for the top three awards totaling $70,000 in prize money provided by Microsoft, include:
• Dr. Agnes Scoville from Scoville & Company (Pacidose), St. Louis, Mo.: Pacidose allows mothers and caregivers to accurately dose and deliver medicine to babies through a soft pacifier nipple.
• Anna Daily from Ascendant DX LLC (Melody), Springdale, Ark.: Melody is a simple and highly effective diagnostic to detect early stage breast cancer by identifying specific proteins present in tears.
• Jennifer Shipp from Brilliant Inventors LLC (Knife Glider), Mission, Texas: The Knife Glider is a cutting shield that has been statistically proven to reduce the probability of being injured or cut when preparing food with a knife by more than 90 percent.
• Sascha Mayer from Mamava, Inc., Burlington, Vt.: Mamava makes freestanding lactation suites and other design solutions for nursing mothers on the go.
• Marissa Siebel-Siero from IntelliWheels, Inc. (Tinker), Champaign, Ill.: Tinker is the first ever 3D product configurator in the wheelchair marketplace that gives customers feedback and control.
• Susan Leary Shoemaker from Undercare, Inc., Bronxsville, N.Y.: Undercare offers innovative undergarments that accommodate persons who have difficulty dressing.
• Cassandra Curtis from Once Upon a Farm, San Diego, Calif.: Once Upon a Farm creates quality, eco-friendly and nutritious baby food products for children.
• Dawn Dickson from Flat Out of Heels, Miami Beach, Fla.: Flat Out of Heels are a convenient way for women to relieve stiletto sore feet on the go.
• Elizabeth Caven from UpCraft Club, Des Moines, Iowa: UpCraft Club is changing the way digital goods are found and sold using a patent-pending process allowing brick and mortar retailers to receive revenue from the sale of a digital good.
These 10 finalists are invited to the National InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge during Women’s History Month in Washington, D.C., where they will pitch their products and ideas to a panel of expert judges.
The 2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge was launched in August 2015 with over 200 local competitions across the country hosted by universities, accelerators, clusters, scale-up communities, SBA’s resource partners and other local community organizations. The SBA sought to unearth products or services that will fill a need in the marketplace and have the greatest potential for commercialization.
For details on the competition, visit www.sba.gov/innovateHER. This site will be updated as more information regarding the event is made available.
