MedArray Chosen Best of Entrepreneurial Boot Camp by Ann Arbor SPARK
June 20, 2006
Ann Arbor SPARK honored participants at the Entrepreneur Boot Camp Celebration held Tuesday at SPARK Central. The evening highlighted the Best of Boot Camp award winner, Patrick Montoya of MedArray, Inc. The eighth Entrepreneur Boot Camp, an intensive two-day business planning and preparation program, was held on June 1 and 2.
Montoya was awarded an initial engagement with the Business Accelerator valued at $5,000. MedArray is a development stage materials company whose silicone hollow fiber membrane module will be used for long-term lung support in adult and neonatal patients, as part of ECMO, or Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation.
"The Boot Camp experience was enlightening," said Montoya. "Our technology has application in many areas, but we need to focus our efforts to succeed in commercializing it. The mentors who coached us provided valuable insight relevant to our industry and sound advice for the next stages of our growth. Being selected for the Best of Boot Camp Award is icing on the cake, as it was already a very valuable experience."
"The judging panel of professional investors and repeat entrepreneurs evaluates three areas: well-defined target market, capable management team and a rational business model," noted Chuck Salley, Entrepreneur Boot Camp drill instructor. "MedArray is a shining example of how Entrepreneur Boot Camp helps prepare teams to clearly communicate the excitement of an innovation based company."
Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneur Boot Camp is an intensive business planning and preparation event designed to help early stage technology businesses increase their chances of attracting additional funding, finding resources and achieving success.
About the Entrepreneur Boot Camp
Launched in September 2002 with funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation SmartZone program and administered by Ann Arbor SPARK, the Entrepreneur Boot Camp engages seasoned entrepreneurs as mentors to assist with early stage business planning. The Boot Camp funds critical activities to reach key milestones of business development. Past Boot Camp participants include PolyTorx, a concrete reinforcing additive; INVIA Solutions (formerly known as 4DMSpect), a software supplier for cardiac imaging; and Compendia Bioscience, a bioinformatics company for cancer detection.
For additional information about the Entrepreneur Boot Camp, please visit www.annarborspark.org/business-resources/launching-your-business/boot-camp.
About Ann Arbor SPARK
Representing all communities in Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor SPARK, a non-profit organization, is the driving force in establishing the Ann Arbor region as a destination for business expansion, retention, and location by identifying and meeting the needs of business at every stage, from startups to large organizations. Ann Arbor SPARK collaborates with business, academic, government, and community investor partners including the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, the Herbert and Grace Dow Foundation, Pfizer, Washtenaw County, the City of Ann Arbor, the Bank of Ann Arbor, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the LDFA. For more information, please call (734) 761-9317.