“Simply put, the Silverback Casualty Extraction Pack saves lives,” said Joe Strobbe, trying desperately to catch his breath.
Mr. Strobbe’s struggles were understandable. He was trying to answer probing questions about his invention — a device to haul injured soldiers — while carrying a 180-pound man on his back.
“You can put him down, by the way,” said Will Lucas, a judge at the University of Toledo’s fourth Pitch & Pour event.
About 150 people filled a hall in the university’s Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex on Thursday evening to watch six teams of budding entrepreneurs make their best sales pitches for future fame and fortune.
The Pitch & Pour event was modeled after the ABC television show Shark Tank, in which startup businesses make a presentation in hopes of obtaining investor funding.
The UT event, sponsored by UT’s LaunchPad Incubation program, worked differently. Local entrepreneurs acted as judges and cash prizes of $2,500, $1,500, and $1,000 went to the top three startup presenters.
The six teams were: Silverback; Creepy Compass, an app that connects to a database for paranormal activity enthusiasts; AudiblEYE, an app that helps direct blind people; Refine, an app that helps people learn new words; ThermoMorph, a firm that is making a medical device to remove blood clots; and Pfitz Reaction Bars, a startup that makes barbells with metal balls in them to help with strength training.
Winning top prize was Pfitz Reaction Bars, which won the $2,500. The second two winners were tied and each is to receive $1,500. They were ThermoMorph and Creepy Compass.
Molly Reams Thompson, director of LaunchPad, said the cash prizes are nice, but the what the six teams, chosen out of 30 applicants, want most are exposure and expertise.
“They come for the networking. This is the best networking opportunity in the region,” she said, adding that investors from across the state and from Ann Arbor attend the event.
Last year, Pitch & Pour teams were approached by RocketVentures, the Regional Growth Partnership’s venture capital arm, and investment group Millstream Angels.
“Starting a company is really, really hard. Making it a success is even harder,” Ms. Thompson said.
Silverback drew the most applause and attention for its potential to help wounded soldiers — a harness that deploys in 60 seconds and lets one soldier carry another while keeping his arms free.
But Creepy Compass also drew attention, and not just because it started its presentation with a loud blood-curdling scream. The app earlier won first place at a Startup competition in October at UT.
“Most people don’t know it, but there are probably 3,600 paranormal societies in the United States,” said Creepy Compass lead presenter Jeff Miller.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.
First Published November 13, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
