Shortly before Christmas, we at the MII were able to give a very special gift to one startup: a ticket to the state finals of the Startup BW Elevator Pitch in summer 2023. And the team of nanoshape made it.
On December 19, 8 teams from the medical sector presented their exciting projects to our jury as part of the “4C Christmas Pitch”. As an official preliminary for the state finals of the Startup BW Elevator Pitch, a ticket for the state finals in summer 2023 and thus the chance to win prize money of 3000 euros was up for grabs. But before that, the teams had to convince our jury. The jury consisted of Dr. Ulrike Brucklacher, medical device lawyer (VOELKER & Partner mbB) and board member of BioMedTech e.V., Thorsten Flink, managing director of the Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft of the city of Tübingen, and Ingo Hämmerle, CEO of MII and CEO of the startup Fysor.
Head-to-head race of the top 3
In a 3-minute pitch, the following teams presented their business ideas and faced the critical questions of the jury: Integraskin, SanoVitaSund, nanoshape, Breeflee, Eversion Technologies, Vimelio, TuCAN and Cubino. In the end, three teams went head-to-head.
Third place went to the team of Eversion Technologies from Constance. The startup develops an intelligent gait analysis for home use to find the cause of unexplained musculoskeletal complaints and to compensate for detected malpositions with individual shoe insoles.
Second place went to the team Vimelio, also from Constance. The startup is developing a special bone-sound headset that masks the unpleasant drilling noise during a dental treatment while the patient remains responsive at the same time.
CEO Litsy Hüschelrath pitches nanoshape to 1st place
The first place went to the team nanoshape from Karlsruhe, which thus enters the state finals of the Startup BW Elevator Pitch. The startup offers a novel and patented technology for surface refinement of implants. Nanostructures are created on titanium surfaces, making it harder for bacteria to adhere or even killing them on contact. Without the use of antibiotics or coating by other materials, implants thus become antibacterial.
The startup’s mission is to prevent infections from implants before they even occur. Together with implant manufacturers, they want to create the new standard for future implant design, make implants safer for patients and reduce costs for our healthcare system.
Promoting innovation together with Startup BW
The Baden-Württemberg Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, also congratulates the freshly selected state finalist nanoshape and emphasizes: “I am pleased that the Medical Innovations Incubator GmbH (MII) gives founders the opportunity to present themselves and their innovative business ideas with the preliminary decision.” Competitions such as the Startup BW Elevator Pitch and its preliminary rounds give founders the opportunity to make important contacts, for example with strategic partners or investors. Together, institutions like the MII and the Startup BW campaign can actively promote innovation.
The whole MII team would like to congratulate the state finalists from team nanoshape and thank all pitching teams as well as our jury!