Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

We tuned in on Friday afternoon for Jumpstart Foundry’s “2024 First Look” virtual event for the 11 start-ups that are part of its most recent cohorts, and it was clearly an opportunity to look into those on the cutting edge of healthcare innovation.

Moderated by Doug Edwards, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jumpstart Health Investors, the roughly one-hour event featured many companies utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in one way or another. All of the companies were raising capital – the lowest seeking $350,000 and many hoping for $1 million.

Edwards noted that Jumpstart has made more than 200 investments since the program launched more than a decade ago.

So what did we learn?

For starters, several of the entrepreneurs were addressing problems they either experienced earlier in life or were still experiencing. That included Flora Bui, Founder of Acie, Jaime Intile, Co-Founder of Ravel Health, and Lauren Elliott, Founder of Candlelit Care. Bui explained how she was challenged with skin issues earlier in life. Acie is building the world’s first AI-powered skin-sensing device for everyday use. In Intile’s case, she suffers from Lyme disease and is focused on making Lyme disease management more effective and affordable. Finally, Elliott talked about the number of mothers – one in five – who develop a mental health condition before their newborn’s first birthday. She explained that it happened to her, and Candlelit Care is focused on Black women who have a higher risk of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders before, during, and up to a year after pregnancy.

Do you experience seasonal or severe allergies? Eddie Loomis, Founder of Allergy Butler, says the way allergies are treated has changed in 100 years, but he has a new approach. It’s an allergy-focused toothpaste that will be available soon on Amazon.

At the other end of the dental equation was Aaron Silverberg, Co-Founder of TALO that has developed a new toothbrush. Explaining that traditional brushes and even the newer, battery-operated ones, don’t address the underlying problem – namely the way dentists want people to brush. The TALO toothbrush not only addresses that issue but does so with less time – 15 to 20 seconds a side.

Jim Lightsey is the Founder and CEO of Mariposa Technologies Inc. that is focused on what to yours truly is a very important customer segment – those that want to age in their homes as long as they can. He described the operating system the company has developed to do just that so that those who care for them can collaborate on and deliver the care they need.

Other pitches came from:

• Steffany Benton, Chief Operations Officer of EmployWell, a care coordination platform that appears to be focused on better fertility treatment.
• Kirsten Hund Blair, Co-Founder and CEO of Lambent Data that equips healthcare and social service providers, payors and patients to improve outcomes in health and social drivers of health.
• Thor Clark, Founder of Revedy that is focused on revenue cycle management by automating administrative and coding activities
• Paul Dave, Co-Founder and CEO of Navipoint Health that analyzes areas like the state of gut-health, underlying genetic risks, drug-gene interactions, and current diet/lifestyle factors to generate highly personalized and precise recommendations on food, supplements and lifestyle, targeting mental health issues.
• Courtney Richards, CEO of DMEconnected, a care coordination software platform.

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