The graduates of Ohio's first hardware accelerator will showcase their companies Wednesday afternoon at Shaker LaunchHouse.
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Always a spectacle, Demo Day will break from the script today at Shaker LaunchHouse. SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio--With three business accelerators in town, product showcases have become a regularly occurring event in Greater Cleveland. But the scene at Shaker LaunchHouse this afternoon will veer from the script.
LaunchHouse is presenting the graduates of its hardware accelerator, Ohio's first. The gadget-focused boot camp attracted a different kind of entrepreneur, which should become evident when the team from the NASA Glenn Research Center takes the stage.
Rocket scientists plan to present a water purification system designed in the lab for deep space, but tweaked at LaunchHouse to possess earthly applications.
"NASA is not in the business of taking products to market," observed Shannon Lyons, the chief business development officer at LaunchHouse. "We said, 'The concept is epic. How does this product fit into someone else's value chain?'"
As they studied marketing and practiced elevator pitches, NASA engineers lent their expertise and equipment to their classmates. The result was a 16-week boot camp where startup teams had access to contacts and testing facilities unique to a space agency.
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CWRU engineering student Felipe Gomez del Campo invented a plasma-based fuel injection system for jet engines. "I would say this is probably the strongest class of companies the LaunchHouse Accelerator has graduated," said Todd Goldstein, a founder of the entrepreneurship center on Lee Road in Shaker Heights.
The 10 new companies offer products and services in aerospace, bioscience and medical technology. They include FGC Plasma Solutions, a company founded by a Case Western Reserve University engineering student, Felipe Gomez del Campo V. He applies plasma technology to jet fuel to reduce emissions and increase power.
Like the other entrepreneurs, Gomez del Campo will leave the accelerator with $20,000 in startup cash and a more-focused business strategy. He's now looking for investors, some of whom may be in attendance at the showcase.
The LaunchHouse Accelerator Expo begins at 4 p.m., Feb. 11, at LaunchHouse, 3538 Lee Road. Presentations begin at 5 p.m. The new products and services will be on exhibit until 8 p.m., when the after-party begins.
The event is free and open to the public, but you are encouraged to register at https://lhxpo2015.eventbrite.com.
