Goals
- Inspire innovation in ophthalmology by ophthalmologists
- Develop ecosystem that supports innovation in ophthalmology
- Provide knowledge and tools that help ophthalmologists transform “ideas” into solutions for ophthalmology problems that need fixing
- Connect early stage ophthalmologist innovators with early stage investors to accelerate development of solutions to important problems
Benefits
- $25,000 cash prize for first place, $15,000 cash prize for second place, and $5,000 for third place to defray development costs—no strings attached!
- Opportunity for finalists to present concept to panel of potential investors including angel, incubator, strategic partner, and venture investors
- Direct feedback on your concept and business model from innovation experts and investors—available to all applicants
Ideal Candidate
- Ophthalmologist with early stage concept for how to solve a significant ophthalmology problem
- Very early stage ophthalmologist innovator interested in access to:
- Feedback and advice from early stage investors and successful innovators in ophthalmology
- Opportunity to win $25,000 first place cash prize, $15,000 second place cash prize, or $5,000 third place cash prize—no strings attached!
- Has submitted at least a provisional application for patent by the time of the Winning Pitch Challenge Round 1 deadline—to permit uninhibited public pitch (not mandatory)
- Product is generating little or no revenue
Judging Criteria
- Magnitude of problem
- Innovativeness of the proposed solution
- Market size, strategy, and potential reimbursement
- Competitive analysis
- Business model, including capital requirements
- Intellectual property
- The team
- Clarity of request for investment
The Pitch
- 5-8 min pitch
- 7-10 minutes of moderated Q&A with panel of judges
Voting
- Judges score finalists
- Scores are averaged to identify first, second, and third place
- Judges comment on whether they would be interested in additional discussions with a particular finalist, at sometime down the road, regarding potential equity investment
Mentor Program – Experts. Insights. Guidance.
- Winning Pitch Challenge mentors are successful entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and others who volunteer their expertise to help innovators succeed
- All Round 2 contestants are eligible to be matched with an expert mentor – while supplies last
- Eligible Round 1 submissions are advanced to Round 2 on a rolling basis (i.e. as they are received) and are immediately paired with expert mentors on a “first-come, first-served” basis, so send in your Round 1 submission as soon as possible!
- Mentors are responsible for commenting on their team’s business plan and highlighting issues that may arise in the pitches during the competition
- Mentors provide feedback on team pitches and Power Point presentations
- Minimum Mentor time commitment is up to 1.5 hours, usually in 30-minute phone call increments
- Mentoring takes place by phone, email and other means
- Mentors are matched to participants based on mentor preferences and the participants’ needs
Questions?
John Pollack, MD
C 630-544-7034 or jpollack9@gmail.com
Vance Thompson, MD
C 605-359-4070 or vance.thompson@vancethompsonvision.com
David Williams, MD MBA
C 612-382-8535 or dfws2@mac.com