Locally Developed Pediatric Medical Product Wins Gannon University’s Third Accelerator
Thursday May 14th, 2015
Tom Tillman, Code Kit PRO's chief operating officer, accepts the check as the third winner of Gannon University's Technology Business Accelerator business pitch.
Code Kit PRO's Pedi-PRO platform resuscitation organizer became the third winner of Gannon University's Technology Business Accelerator business pitch event this morning. The winning team went home with a $10,000 check, legal assistance from MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton LLP, along with six months of residency, coaching and strategic mentoring from the Erie Technology Incubator (ETI), which is located in Gannon's new Center for Business Ingenuity at 900 State Street.
Tom Tillman, the company's chief operating officer, and Paul Malaspina, M.D., the inventor and developer of the Pedi-PRO, participated in the Accelerator program and co-presented their pitch with John Maloney, the company's vice president of sales. The team, along with 13 other entrepreneurs, presented 12 unique concepts and businesses to a panel of five judges during the last class meeting of the Integrated Business Transformation program's Accelerator, which concluded on Wednesday evening.
Jeff Parnell, executive director of ETI, said, "The judges were not only excited about the Pedi-PRO's market potential- which they feel is extraordinary-but also with their team's ability to execute a very structured sales strategy. We are pleased to join the judges in congratulating Code Kit PRO and the other three finalists for this recognition."
The four finalists, who also included Stacey Orr, creator of Stinky Yogi™ fragrances; Nick and Sally Marinelli, developers of the Bungee Rack™ utility strap organizer; and Todd Scalise, who is launching MOSAIXTM, a customizable interior/exterior design product; were also recognized at today's event.
"In addition to the finalists, we commend every Accelerator participant for their dedication to the process over the past eight weeks," Parnell added. "Entrepreneurship is hard work, but the enthusiasm of this group makes it clear that a number of high-potential ideas are being conceived and developed right here in Northwest Pennsylvania."
Gannon's fourth Accelerator training session will begin September 16 at 6:30 p.m., culminating in the Awards Reception on November 5. Applications for technology-oriented businesses, ideas and concepts are now being accepted online here.
The Accelerator integrates resources from Gannon's College of Engineering and Business, Small Business Development Center, and Erie Technology Incubator, and was created to give participating entrepreneurs an opportunity to test a new concept, idea or line of business through the support of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development's Discovered in PA, Developed in PA (D2PA) program, which was established to build capacity to support Pennsylvania businesses and to spur creativity and innovation in the provision of economic development services. Last fiscal year, the D2PA program supported initiatives tied to growing life sciences, advanced manufacturing, business incubators, and education, workforce and economic opportunity collaboration.
