Pennovation Accelerator Alumni - Where Are They Now?
We recently caught up with some of the past Pennovation Accelerator cohort members to learn more about the growth of their companies and and how they've advanced their products and services since participating in the program. Learn more about each Accelerator Alumni below in our Where Are They Now? Q&A series.
Julia Anthony, Founder and CEO of SOLUtion Medical, a specialty pharmaceutical company that makes both drugs and devices that address adrenal crisis treatment, sat down to talk about her experience with the Pennovation Accelerator and the importance of using every situation as an opportunity to move forward.
What did you enjoy most about the Pennovation Accelerator?
Had we not done the Pennovation Accelerator I’m not sure we would have had the other opportunities that came our way. It was a safe environment to refine our narrative, making it easier for people to understand what we were building. Everything is interconnected, and networking plays a significant role. I see every situation as an opportunity to move forward.
How has your business grown since you were in the Accelerator?
Since participating in the Accelerator, we have successfully raised our pre-Seed and Seed funding rounds and are currently closing on our Series A. Additionally, we have expanded our team, completed extensive customer discovery, and built a proprietary end-to-end supply chain for our unique delivery device portfolio—including both our pre-filled syringe and autoinjector.
Do you have one piece of advice for fellow entrepreneurs?
Be willing to be vulnerable. If you can't admit that there are things you don't know or aren't good at, or if you're unwilling to surround yourself with people who possess those skills, you're unlikely to find success.
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Josh Mastromatto, Founder & CEO of Rego, a company combating furniture waste in big cities, apartment buildings, and college campuses by leveraging data and computer vision technology.
What is something you learned from the Pennovation Accelerator that you still use today?
To think bigger! I still remember arriving to campus on day-1 and seeing robot dogs, self-flying drones, and a company developing an eye-implant a fraction of the size of a human hair. At that moment, I knew Rego was in the right environment. Surrounding ourselves with startups creating next-level impact on the world forces you to up your game.
How has your business grown since you were in the Accelerator?
Since the Accelerator, we’ve raised $700K in investment. Pennovation helped kick-off our fundraising journey by getting Rego in front of the Techstars Social Impact decision makers. We evolved from a D2C company into a B2B company. At the time of the Accelerator, we focused on “anyone” moving homes who had furniture they wanted to “get rid of.” Now we’re an integrated service for large apartment buildings (like student housing).
Do you have one piece of advice for fellow entrepreneurs?
Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, more talented, but most importantly, share your vision of the future.
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Nikhil Illa, MD - Founder and CEO of Pocket Scribe, a medical note dictation and revenue improvement tool powered by AI for clinicians, built by physicians.
What is something you learned from the Pennovation Accelerator that you still use today?
The art of the pitch! While this may always be a work in progress, effectively communicating your idea and learning how to convey your product to an outsider is a key skill.
What inspired you to start your company?
I experience the problem we are trying to solve everyday. Doctors are experiencing burnout from clinical administrative duties at an alarming rate, and need tools that work better for them. I have always been passionate about solving problems in healthcare technology, and was driven to create Pocket Scribe to help my fellow clinicians.
What is next for your company?
Launch! We have worked extremely hard on building a truly special application that is fully HIPAA-compliant and we are excited to finally get it in the hands of our waitlist users.
