The Texas Tech Innovation Hub awards nine startups over $225,000.
On April 1, finalists for the Texas Tech Accelerator and Social Innovation Challenge, along with their friends, family and community members, gathered in anticipation. As the winning names were announced, the awardees, including the inaugural Social Innovation Challenge winner, stepped up one by one to collect their $25,000 checks.
The nine startups will participate in the 2022-2023 Texas Tech Accelerator program, hosted through Texas Tech University's Innovation Hub at Research Park. The startups will have access to funding support, $25,000 grants, co-working space and mentors during the yearlong process. The Accelerator program is made possible with the generous support of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA), and the new Social Innovation Challenge is sponsored by the Community Foundation of West Texas.
The Innovation Hub will host graduation presentations for the 2021-2022 Accelerator teams and induct the sixth cohort of the Accelerator program with a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 3-5 p.m. Thursday (April 21). The graduating cohort will share their experiences and offer advice to the companies entering the program. The public and media are invited to attend the event to hear about the companies and see their innovations. Reservations for the Accelerator Ribbon Cutting and Graduation can be made through the Innovation Hub's website.
Participants in the Texas Tech Accelerator's sixth cohort are:
3 CulinaryMed Doc: A software program consisting of culinary medicine videos for conditions such as
diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and more that will be delivered directly to
the patient via an app equipped with machine learning that will customize recipes,
meal plans and nutrition education for each person to help them manage their chronic
disease nutritionally.
Team: Allison Childress and Shannon Galyean, both assistant professors in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, and Michelle Alcorn, an assistant professor in the Department of Hospitality and Retail Management.
Amie Health: A digital health platform and artificial intelligence chatbot helping individuals
with invisible and chronic illnesses thrive at work.
Founder: Margaret Melville
BlueVerse: The world's largest data platform that owns no data.
Team: Alec Hernandez, Mason Still, Taylor Brewster, Drew Pickens, all Texas Tech students.
FloCard: A technology that enables automotive dealerships to introduce face-to-face traffic
into customer relationship management systems via digital business cards.
Team: Javien Thompson, Emanuel Krinkey, Christian Valadez, Seathan Schiller and Tae
Thompson.
HiPR Innovations: A technology focused on developing solutions to prevent pressure ulcer development.
Team: Krishan Sachdev, a student in the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine, and Koushalya Sachdev, Samuel Zhang and David Chun.
Innovative Guidance, Entrepreneurship & Outreach Center: Its mission is to empower marginalized communities
through accountability and entrepreneurship.
Founder: Jaafar Abdullah
Local LBK: A platform that develops new models of community and economic development through
technology and collaboration.
Founder: Taylor McAlpine, community member.
MYD Brain: A platform that applies deep technologies to the health care industry.
Team: Kyle Springer, a TTUHSC student in the School of Health Professions, and Bre Ward.
StarKrug: A company that develops innovative medical technologies to improve the lives of
people with disabilities.
Team: Ian Stark and Baxter Krug, both doctoral students in technical communication.
