This year's Edmonton Startup Week includes a showcase of the intersection between health innovation and entrepreneurship, with two panelists who pitched their startups at previous Launch Party events.
Entrepreneurs in Action: The Journey from Startup to Scaleup and Beyond brings together three Edmonton innovators: Myrna Bittner, founder and CEO of RUNWITHIT Synthetics (RWI); Izabella Roth, CEO of Infinity Healthcare; and Dornoosh Zonoobi, vice-president of artificial intelligence for Exo Imaging. They will share their experiences and pass on tips to future founders.
Zonoobi pitched her startup, Medo AI, at Launch Party 9 in 2018, before it was acquired by Exo Imaging in July of this year. And Bittner pitched RWI at Launch Party 7, which was part of Edmonton Startup Week in 2016.
Since then, RWI has racked up many accomplishments, including receiving $900,000 from PrairiesCan to develop its modelling of clean-energy transition and winning the Electric Power Research Institute's Incubatenergy Labs Challenge for its work modelling the outcomes of a power outage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bittner said she's excited to be back at Startup Week to share her successes, and to encourage would-be entrepreneurs to step onto the path that led her to this stage.
"I'm hoping that (the panel) is a catalyst for inspiring other people who are in the early stages of being founders in the region, or considering being founders in the region, with some success stories," she told Taproot. "And I think there are three very powerful and distinct success stories that are going to be shared."
Health Cities is presenting the panel at TELUS World of Science on Oct. 19, moderated by Jeremy Deeks of CBRE Canada.
Much has happened for Myrna Bittner and RUNWITHIT Synthetics since Launch Party 7, including a major grant from Prairies Economic Development Canada earlier this year. (RWI)
"Edmonton is home to a large number of successful startups, many of which have faced significant challenges to reach the stages they are in today," said Lisa Laferriere, director of business operations for Health Cities, noting this is an opportunity to bring "some of the region's most recognizable entrepreneurs and founders together to share their advice and experiences with the next generation of startups."
She said the event is part of an effort to build on the collaborative environment in the region and continue "to de-risk and accelerate our innovators' solutions."
Bittner's spot on the panel emphasizes that collaborative spirit within the Edmonton startup ecosystem, and an expansion of the conversation around health tech and healthcare to include innovators from overlapping fields. She said she hopes the event will boost understanding of "how all different types of technology are building healthier futures for more sustainable, equitable, accessible, and healthier lives."
Other health-innovation-oriented events at Edmonton Startup Week include tours of the Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation at NAIT on Oct. 19 and the Health Innovators' Meetup on Funding Your Venture on Oct. 20, featuring Nir Katchinskiy of PulseMedica and Keenan Pascal of Token Naturals.
Launch Party 13, the flagship event of the week, will showcase a couple of health innovation companies: Kidney-Chek by sn biomedical, which helps pet owners detect kidney issues in their cats or dogs, and Bladeflex, which makes and distributes healthcare solutions for musculoskeletal problems.