First Startups Unveiled for New Purdue Accelerator

WEST LAFAYETTE - Eight Indiana startups have been selected to take part in Purdue Foundry’s new accelerator to help early-stage startups prepare for outside investors. Each company selected for the inaugural Boost cohort received a $5,000 grant but could receive as much as $25,000 depending on the readiness of their products.

Thirty-six entrepreneurs applied for the program.

Purdue Foundry says each of startups has proven its solution addresses market needs and is on the cusp of launching a new product.

Bill Arnold, assistant vice president of Purdue Foundry Assistant Vice President Bill Arnold says the program will help entrepreneurs avoid pitfalls that affect many early-stage startups' ability to gain traction in their market.

'Each team will prepare for pre-seed or seed-stage funding,' said Arnold. 'Participants will test their business model, develop a customer acquisition strategy, create a repeatable sales model, develop or refine unit economics and financials, design a defensible IP strategy, strategize on building a winning team, and develop an equity strategy.'

The companies participating in Boost are:

• American Evidence Management which manages digital evidence and optimizes workflows within criminal justice organizations.
• Araqev advances the capabilities of additive manufacturing by leveraging machine learning to improve accuracy and quality while reducing waste.
• Dencoda leverages proprietary probes to measure disease biomarkers. The company says Dencoda will change the prognosis of osteoarthritis by enabling early detection and treatment.
• EverTrue developed a handheld paper device offers what it says is a faster, safer and more practical path back from COVID-19 and future pandemics through quick, accurate, affordable and convenient detection.
• Helthi has a proprietary digital health tool aims to reduce employer health care costs by enabling employees to prevent and manage chronic disease through better micronutrition.
• HemaChrome is a mobile health technology that uses digital images of the eyelid to instantly and accurately provide blood hemoglobin levels.
• Pluto Aerospace focuses on the commercialization of space travel, helping businesses test their products in space.
• ReproHealth Technologies says it is improving the efficacy of bovine reproductive technology, enabling farmers to save time and money while growing their herd.

Boost will conclude with business pitches to a panel of early-stage venture capitalists and angel investors. The foundry says if two panelists decide a team is ready for investment, Purdue Foundry will invest $25,000.