Spot On Sciences of Austin, Texas, is the 2014 winner of Get in the Ring: The North American Startup Clash.
Jeanette Hill, founder and CEO of Spot On Sciences, defeated seven other startups in the final round of the boxing-themed pitch contest sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation on Friday night at the Midland Theatre.
In front of a festive crowd of about 200, Hill was the most effective in pitching her company to a panel of five elite entrepreneurial judges: Devon Brooks, co-founder of Blo Blow Dry Bar; Hernan Fernandez, director and co-founder of Angel Ventures Mexico; Mark Hasebroock, founding partner of Dundee Venture Capital; Leslie Jump, founder and CEO of Startup Angels; and Paul Kedrosky, co-founder and managing partner of SK Ventures.
Hill explained to the judges that her company’s dried-blood-spot technology and devices made it possible for “anyone to take a blood sample at anytime, anywhere” for medical research and diagnostic testing.
Spot On Sciences took home $15, 000 in prizes and will compete against the world’s best startups in the Get in the Ring finals scheduled Nov. 21 in the Netherlands.
EyeVerify founder Toby Rush, whose local startup won last year’s “Get in the Ring” world championship in the Netherlands, offered his advice to Friday night’s North American winner.
“Go with pride,” Rush said. “Go with humility. Go with everything you’ve got, because everyone’s going to do the same.”
The evening’s contestants were initially matched up two at a time in a mock boxing ring. Standing side by side, each was quizzed by emcee Tim Scott about their business model, means of making a profit, team makeup and notable achievements to date. Answers from the startups were limited to 25 seconds. Following each matchup, the judges took five minutes to determine a winner, while Scott continued to interview the waiting contestants for the audience’s enjoyment.
From those head-to-head matches, the Get in the Ring judges selected four finalists, plus a fifth finalist deemed to be a “judges’ save.” The final five lined up onstage, and each delivered a last 25-second pitch, from which the winner was chosen.
The second-place finisher and winner of $5,000 was Maieutic, a Canadian startup that helps manufacturers eliminate expensive downtime with its exclusive die- and surface-casting technology.
The title of “Audience Favorite” and $1,000 was won by Kansas City startup FitBark, maker of a wireless activity monitor for dogs.
The evening’s other competing startups were: Advolve Media, a digital network of interactive advertising mediums in restrooms of major venues; Hydrobee, a renewable energy platform to provide backup power for USB devices; Identified Technologies, which uses unmanned aerial systems for data gathering; PPL Connect, a free mobile app that gives users one place to put all of their digital conversations; and the Rumie Initiative, a nonprofit effort to provide free digital education to underprivileged children.
The Get in the Ring program was streamed live over the Internet and will be locally televised Nov. 19 on KCPT.
