- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

After winning Governor’s Cup, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student startup has eyes on bigger prize

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 14:44:11 +0000

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students Nick Lester and Noah Asher are putting their prize-winning business plan into action.�� Their company,��Spiritum Solutions, along with team members Kiauna Rome and��Ingrid Helgestad, won the undergraduate division of��the��2018 Arkansas Governor’s Cup. Now they want to bring their innovative medical device – a mouth guard to keep patients undergoing surgery or other procedures from injuring themselves – to market.

The young entrepreneurs are getting help with their startup from the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center.

��On-campus assistance

The center’s��met Lester in 2016 when Trigeaud was a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate student. They competed in the Governor’s Cup together. Lester reached out to his former teammate, now an ASBTDC business consultant, to help the Spiritum Solutions team prepare for this year’s competition. “I helped them prioritize all their great ideas into something they can manage and deliver,” said Trigeaud. Spiritum has also benefited from the center’s��in-depth customer and competitor research. “Martial has worked with us since we just were an idea, to help us secure funding, and now looking into SBIR grants. He continues to check up on our progress to help address our ever-changing needs,” said Lester.

“The market research is extensive and allows us to look into areas that we might not have considered before,” Lester said. “We use these reports as a guide for who we might need to make customer discovery with next.”

��Entrepreneur mindset

While the Governor’s Cup prize was $25,000, commercializing a medical device will require a much larger sum of money and��“moving from a student mindset to an entrepreneur mindset,”��said Trigeaud. “You raise a little through competitions, but you need millions to launch.” Lester and Asher understand the challenge before them and appreciate having Trigeaud and the center in their corner. “As our company grows, our��needs change��with the growth,” said Lester. “We will consult with experts at the ASBTDC in helping us address our ever-changing��needs.” This article was written by Gwen Green, communications coordinator at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center.��

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students win big in 2018 Arkansas Governor’s Cup

Jenny Lambert — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 15:20:39 +0000

Last year, a group of students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock merged their talents and developed a business venture that has now received a substantial amount of recognition both in and outside of Arkansas. On Wednesday, April 18, the students were awarded top honors – and $25,000 – in the undergraduate division of the Arkansas Governor’s Cup, a statewide business plan competition for college and graduate students sponsored by Arkansas Capital Corporation. �� Team members include Nick Lester, Noah Asher, Kiauna Rome, and Ingrid Helgestad. Their device, Spiritum Solutions, is a mouth guard designed so that patients undergoing surgery or bronchoscope procedures do not damage their mouths by biting down on the tubes. “It wasn’t just an undergraduate exercise for them. They are going to move forward with the business,” said Stuart McLendon, an adjunct professor and team sponsor for the College of Business team. “As a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumnus, former judge for the competition, and now team sponsor, I can say that this is by far the best and most useful experience that any college student can obtain during the course of their education. It provides extremely valuable real-world expertise building a team, building a product, selling yourself and your ideas, and doing it in a collaborative way.” In addition to the team’s win, McLendon received $2,000 as team sponsor, and Noah Asher received a $2,000 cash prize for winning the undergraduate elevator pitch competition. The elevator pitch is a highlight activity of the awards luncheon during which one representative from each of the finalist teams has 90 seconds to pitch his or her team’s business plan to the audience members, who vote via text to determine the winner. “He knocked it out of the park,” McLendon said of Asher’s pitch. Recently, this group of students have been no strangers to winning. After pitching Spiritum Solutions during Texas Christian University’s Values and Ventures competition, the students received honorable mention and were awarded $2,500. They were selected as one of six finalists among 55 competing teams. “This team was truly stellar,” said Elaine Cole, public relations manager at Texas Christian University. “I enjoyed meeting them and watching their presentation.” Last fall, the students also participated in the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub’s Delta I-Fund program, an early stage proof-of-concept fund created to capitalize and train up-and-coming entrepreneurs. The 12-week program provided mentorship to the young business minds and helped them to develop and validate their ideas. After going through three stages of pitching for investment funding, the students raised $50,000 from the I-Fund program. They also received a $25,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Thanks to the numerous financial awards, the students can now move forward with prototype and design iterations, FDA consulting, paying legal and patenting fees, and continuing research. The team will continue this momentum, competing May 7 in Memphis in an accelerator competition focused on healthcare technology. For more information, contact McLendon at SMcLendon@cfonet.biz.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students participate in 2017 Delta I-Fund program

Jenny Lambert — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 16:00:17 +0000

Three University of Arkansas at Little Rock students have exceeded the halfway point of the 2017 Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub Delta I-Fund program, and are hoping to take their newly established business, Spiritum Solutions, to the next level. The Delta I-Fund is an early stage proof-of-concept fund created to capitalize and train up-and-coming entrepreneurs. The purpose of the 12-week program is to mentor young business minds while helping them to develop and validate their ideas. Representing ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in the program is Noah Asher and Nick Lester, both accounting and finance majors, and Ingrid Helgestad, a biology major. The trio teamed up with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Bioventures to commercialize a medical mouth guard that could reduce problems in surgeries involving endotracheal tubes.

Creating the solution

It is common for patients having surgery or bronchoscope procedures to bite the endotracheal tubes used for ventilation. To prevent patients from damaging their tongue, teeth, or gums, surgical technicians use plastic syringes, rolls of gauze, or wooden sticks with foam attached to the top to try to prevent them from biting the equipment. With the medical mouth guard, the chance of oral trauma can be reduced. The soft polymer bite block prevents patients from using their teeth to bite down on the equipment and safeguards them from dental distress. “We chose something that had a good chance of market success and something that’s also solving an issue that we all care about and impacts the world for the better,” Asher said. Each team accepted into the program has access to up to $50,000 in investment funding, and so far, Spiritum Solutions has gone through the first stage of pitching and has received $5,000. The students are using the funds to conduct research and interviews and attend conferences. “Our goal right now is to get as much clinical backing and validation for the problem we’re trying to solve,” Asher said. “Once we have that backing, that really empowers us to go to the next level.”

Onward and upward

The next step for the team would be getting their product through FDA trials. This process could take up two to four years, so patience for this group is paramount. Helping to stir the team in the right direction is Spencer Jones, CEO of Lineus Medical and the team’s mentor. According to Asher, Jones’ technological development, the SafeBreak IV, was similar in nature to the team’s mouthguard, so his path to market mirrors that of Spiritum Solutions. Because Jones was successful in his endeavors, Asher believes his input adds much value to the team. “We have a great working relationship with Spencer,” Lester said. “We get insight into the real world, not just in planning, but actually executing the plans and doing the business.” The further along the team gets into the developmental process, the more they get excited about the future of Spiritum Solutions. Understanding that they are only in the beginning stages of the startup makes them that much more eager to address the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. “I think we’re in a very unique position at this point in our lives where we’re much more freer to take risks like this and kind of put ourselves out there,” Asher said. “If we get knocked down, it’s not that hard to get up at this point.” Because work and school are also priorities for the students, pursuing their business comes at a major price, but it’s one that they’re willing to pay. “We have no free time,” Hegelstad laughingly said, “but it’ll all be worth it.” Fortunately, the students are receiving college credit for completing the program. Their professors are just as excited as they are about their participation in Delta I-Fund. “I think that our professors are glad to see us taking so much initiative,” Asher said. “The real world experience that we’ve gained really solidifies the teaching that we’ve received at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.” The Spiritum Solutions team is thankful for the networking opportunities they’ve received and the doors that have already opened due to being a part of this program. They hope to one day return to the university and help other students excel in the program and bring innovative jobs to Arkansas as well.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

After winning Governor’s Cup, ����Vlog��ý Little Rock student startup has eyes on bigger prize