Dr. Fred Pestello, President | St. Louis University
Dr. Fred Pestello, President | St. Louis University
The New Venture Accelerator (NVA) at Saint Louis University is set to hold its inaugural Demo Day event on Thursday, August 1. The event will take place at the COLLAB and is open to the public.
The NVA provides equity-free investments of up to $50,000 for current SLU students and alumni who graduated within the last five years. In addition to financial support, participants receive resources and mentoring from SLU experts.
Among the ventures showcased at the Demo Day is EMBr, a wearable device designed to detect opioid overdose symptoms and alert bystanders and emergency medical services in real-time. Founder Kirti Madhu started her entrepreneurial journey through SLU's MEDLaunch program. “I originally started this as a self-injectable naloxone patch,” she explained, “but quickly realized through customer discovery that this was not what people wanted which led me to pivot to EMBr.” Madhu has experience in substance use prevention over seven years and was driven by conversations about opioid-related overdose deaths.
GenAssist is another venture presenting at the event. It is developing MyoMatrix, a regenerative biomaterial for treating Volumetric Muscle Loss (VML) and other muscle conditions. Founding partner Gabe Haas described his shift from pursuing medical school to starting a business after working in Dr. Koyal Garg's lab at SLU. “It was a great experience being in Dr. Garg’s lab,” Haas said. He emphasized the importance of learning investor language and business planning through NVA's support.
Moii Coffee, founded by Firaol Ahmed, aims to bridge the gap between coffee farmers and consumers by importing directly from Ethiopian farmers. Ahmed expressed appreciation for the guidance received from NVA: “This summer I’m learning to work on the overall business.” Moii Coffee plans to expand by connecting more Ethiopian farmers with U.S.-based roasters.
Posie Pots offers sustainable planters with a unique water-once-a-month system, using 95% less water than traditional methods. Founder Kay Wells highlighted how NVA has helped improve her product and pitching skills: “Having a group of people to troubleshoot and talk with has been immensely helpful.”
The four teams have participated in a 14-week accelerator program culminating in this week's Demo Day. Lewis Sheats, executive director of the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship, noted the competitive selection process: “We were impressed with the quality of applications we received.”
The NVA program is led by Sheats with content delivered by SLU faculty, industry experts, and mentors.
Demo Day details:
- When: 5-7:30 p.m., Thursday, August 1
- Where: COLLAB, 4220 Duncan Ave., third floor
About Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business:
Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest business schools west of the Mississippi River with several nationally ranked programs.
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