ANN ARBOR, MI – Ann Arbor SPARK awarded over $ 30,000 in prizes upon completion of its Entrepreneur Boot Camp.

SPARK awarded startup HeloGenika $ 25,000 for its Best of Boot Camp award and $ 10,000 to Culturewell as second prize.

The Entrepreneur Boot Camp, a multi-week program, aims to help new entrepreneurs assess and troubleshoot their business model. The program ends with a pitch to investors by the entrepreneurs.

“Along the way, we see companies pivot, we see companies explore new possibilities they had not considered, and we see some companies quitting when they realize that the potential for success is not there. not what they thought, “Bill Mayer, Ann Arbor SPARK vice president of entrepreneurial services, said in a statement announcing the winners. “All of the results Boot Camp creates help a business grow much faster than it would on its own. “

HeloGenika, an award-winning Ann Arbor-based genomics startup, focuses on increasing the speed and reducing the workload of pathologists working in molecular pathology laboratories for cancer diagnostics.

“The Ann Arbor SPARK Entrepreneur Bootcamp has been an eye-opening learning experience for us, and we just wish we had registered earlier,” said Snehal Patel, founder of HeloGenika, in a statement. “We have gained invaluable knowledge through formal didactics on topics critical to new businesses and hands-on experience in pitching and customer discovery. Boot Camp even helped us build invaluable relationships with business mentors in the Ann Arbor community.

The company plans to use the prize money to initiate the patent filing process and form “two strategic partnerships,” Patel said.

Culturewell, the Entrepreneur Boot Camp finalist, provides a subscription-based technology and lab service to help healthcare companies identify germs growing in their environment and reduce infections.

Imagine Chat, which took third place and received $ 1,000, is a children’s app aimed at helping children aged three to seven foster emotional and social intelligence by engaging with storybook characters. fairies and superheroes.

Past winners include Throdle, a social media platform that connects car enthusiasts.

“The Ann Arbor SPARK Entrepreneurial Bootcamp experience is transformative for the participating businesses – they receive an incredible depth of expert advice that cannot have an impact on an entrepreneur’s long-term success. be underestimated, ”Mayer said. “In fact, Boot Camp wouldn’t be possible without the mentors and advisors who are committed to strengthening our technology ecosystem through the creation and growth of businesses. “

For more information on the SPARK Entrepreneur Boot Camp, visit the website here.

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