A San Diego startup that developed a wearable wireless sensor that enables a woman to track her ovulation cycle and optimize the odds of pregnancy was declared the grand-prize winner last night at the San Diego Tech Coast Angels Quick Pitch competition.
As the overall winner, OvaPal co-founder and CEO Giovanna Scheidler (pictured above), also accepted an oversized check for $20,000 from the John G. Watson Foundation. (The foundation was created with a $1 million bequest from the family of Watson, a former pharmaceutical executive, biotech CEO, and member of the Tech Coast Angels who was murdered in 2010.)
OvaPal’s Scheidler was the last of 10 startup founders to give a 2-minute quick pitch in the competition, but she also was first with more than 400 people in the audience, who used their cell phones to vote for their favorite presentation. OvaPal is an early stage startup that uses an adhesive patch to track body temperature and other data that are transmitted wirelessly to a mobile app. The software uses reproductive science and a predictive algorithm to create an overview of the user’s fertility and a personalized calendar that shows the date with the best chance for conception.
Seven judges who offered feedback after hearing each of the 2-minute pitches also awarded a prize for “best content” to Abreos Biosciences founder Bradley Messmer. Abreos has developed a line of lateral flow immunoassays that can be use by nurses and other caregivers to determine whether biologic drugs, such as monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer, are authentic.
The judges, who volunteered from the ranks of San Diego members of the Tech Coast Angels, also awarded Rock My World founder Adam Riggs-Zeigen the prize for “best style.” Rock My World is a sensor-based health and fitness platform that uses smartphones and wearable health and fitness devices to motivate users with music while they exercise.
More information on all 10 finalists is here.