Cohort of 8 U.S. and international startups to relocate to Bentonville for 12 weeks
Startup Junkie Foundation’s Fuel Accelerator is proud to announce the launch of a spring cohort, Fuel For Your Health, featuring eight innovative health tech companies from around the world. Beginning in April, this cohort will bring together a diverse range of solutions that are transforming the healthcare industry.
The Fuel Accelerator launched in 2018 and has included accelerators in supply chain, artificial intelligence and now is expanding into health innovation by facilitating the first cohort centered around health tech startups. Fuel is dedicated to helping these startups succeed by providing them with resources such as access to other startup founders, mentorship, and continued education throughout the program cycle.
“As the Fuel Accelerator continues to grow in both impact and scope, we see the opportunity to better serve our region by adding a focus on health-related innovations and technologies,” said Caleb Talley, Startup Junkie Foundation executive director. “Before long, people will think about Northwest Arkansas as a healthcare hub just as they currently do with retail or supply chain. We believe we can leverage the Fuel program to contribute to that regional effort by bringing effective, innovative startups and world-class talent to Northwest Arkansas.”
The program has helped all of its cohort members nurture relationships with key Fortune 500 companies and has grown within the ecosystem with enough traction to support a new vertical. The Fuel Accelerator has received funding historically by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) as a part of the state’s ongoing efforts toward promoting emerging technology, as well as the Walton Family Foundation. The new, health-focused cohort is supported by congressional Community Project Funding awarded with the assistance of U.S. Rep. Steve Womack.
The Fuel team is excited to welcome these eight companies to Northwest Arkansas from April to June. Their solutions range from AI platforms to detect diabetes to improving the quality of life for elders to streamlined mechanisms for medical exams, data, and analytics.
The companies included in this year’s Fuel Accelerator, along with the location of operation:
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Ainnovatech – San Jose, Costa Rica – empowering health care with an AI platform detecting diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases with high accuracy in seconds, discovering diabetes and preventing blindness.
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Gheorg – Sydney, Australia – a virtual character using AI-enhanced therapy to help children 7-12 years old improve their emotional intelligence and mental well-being, as well as improve emotional awareness and social literacy skills.
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Glooma – Braga, Portugal – works to detect breast cancer at an early stage, with a medical screening device connected to a mobile app that monitors and simplifies the breast self-exam.
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Lineus Medical – Fayetteville, Arkansas – a developer of cost-effective devices that relieve patients’ pain, empower nurses, and lower the overall cost of healthcare, including SafeBreak Vascular, the first FDA-cleared breakaway device for peripheral IV lines.
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MatchRite Care – Kansas City, Missouri – delivers a patient’s personal health records from multiple sources and locations in a simple format, leveraging patient insights, integrations, streamlined I.T. systems, and analytics.
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Momentum Health – Montreal, Québec – empowering families, patients, and care teams to remotely manage scoliosis with technology to monitor spine curvature, track changes over time, and measure progress over time.
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Nytia Labs – Waterloo, Ontario – developing a data-driven preventative care platform that lowers the impact of chronic diseases at workplaces and in our economy by providing community health insights to guide policy changes.
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Zemplee – Los Gatos, California – works to improve the quality of life for elder adults using our strategically placed AI-powered sensors and devices to help caretakers and family members verify an individual’s health, well-being, and safety remotely.
“Each company in this cohort has a unique value to bring to Northwest Arkansas’ health systems with their innovative tech, and it’s great to promote the collaboration between these companies and the local movers and shakers in the health sector we already see emerging,” said Matthew Ward, who served as director of the program from October 2021 to March 2023. “This year’s program is a step out of our comfort zone, and the Fuel team is excited to build on the success of the past two years and to contribute to solving relevant problems.”
Fuel is a program of Startup Junkie Foundation, in partnership with Catapult Consulting and with programming support from GrowthX. Catapult Consulting, led by Tom Douglass, former Director of Emerging Technology at Walmart Stores Inc., provides deep domain experience in business strategy to bring companies and ideas to the forefront and create the next generation of disruptive businesses.
“The great thing about the Fuel Family of Accelerators is that we are operationally focused. We don’t take equity or fees and we provide these growth-stage companies with the knowledge and opportunities to interact with enterprise-size entities in a manner that makes them successful. I’m very excited to expand this support into the area of Healthcare where technology and growth play such a vital role within the industry,” said Tom Douglass Founder and CEO of Catapult Consulting.
Startup Junkie Foundation will continue collaborating with GrowthX, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund, and will incorporate their Market Acceleration Program (MXP) into the Fuel curriculum. GrowthX’s MXP online platform enables founders, and the organizations that support them, with that same go-to-market expertise in the form of a virtual accelerator that combines live coaching, on-demand training, and interactive playbooks to deliver real results.
“GrowthX is excited to partner again with Fuel to help their founders achieve investor-readiness through a systematic path to product-market fit! We share their core belief that entrepreneurism can grow economies and create jobs when capital is combined with go-to-market expertise,” said Andrew Goldner, CEO and Founding Partner of GrowthX.
For more information about Fuel Accelerator, visit fuelaccelerator.com.
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About Startup Junkie Foundation
Startup Junkie is a mission-driven organization that exists to improve lives through innovation and entrepreneurship. With a goal to stimulate economic growth in the region, the organization provides a variety of services including mentorship, consulting, training, and more. Startup Junkie has an extensive network of partners and professionals that are dedicated to enhancing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northwest Arkansas. The Foundation has helped thousands of entrepreneurs through one-on-one consulting and hosts over 200 events and programs a year.
About Catapult Consulting
Catapult Consulting is led by founder and CEO, Tom Douglass. Tom uses his unique experiences in small business, Fortune 500 Enterprises, and deep domain experience in business strategy to bring companies and ideas to the forefront and create the next generation of disruptive businesses. As a result, Catapult Consulting launches companies to the next level. Tom supports growth-stage companies and provides them with services, skills, techniques, network connections, and the knowledge needed to engage with enterprise-size entities.
About GrowthX
GrowthX is a venture capital fund and investor syndicate powered by MXP Online, its proprietary Get-to-Market System™ that enables founders to do the work necessary to find product-market fit while providing GrowthX and its network of investors with unique and reliable early-stage investible insights. GrowthX works with a wide area, a global network of founders primarily through the dozens of accelerators and funds powered by MXP Online. It also operates its own program powered by MXP Online called The Revenue Accelerator.
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