Orthovative Technologies wins Wake Forest competition (Triad Business Journal)
Orthovative Technologies, a company started by Wake Forest MBA student David Smitherman and Wake Forest School of Medicine orthopaedic surgeon Tadhg O’Gara, won the $10,000 grand prize in the 13th annual Elevator Competition hosted by Wake Forest’s Schools of Business.
Orthovative Technologies has developed a monitoring device designed to reduce back pain and promote good posture using sound and vibrations as feedback for users. In addition to the $10,000 prize, Orthovative Technologies will be reviewed for a potential investment of up to $500,000 from the Piedmont Angel Network .
Smitherman is a student in the MBA program for working professionals at Wake and was one of The Business Journal’s 40 Leaders Under Forty for 2012. O’Gara is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon and assistant professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
The Elevator Competition is a student-run event that attracts entries from all over the country. Teams made two-minute pitches while riding in an elevator at the BB&T Financial Center in Winston-Salem. Teams who impressed the judges advanced to a boardroom round in which they had 20 minutes to present a detailed business plan to a panel of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and Elevator Competition sponsors.
The competition also includes a “social entrepreneur” track, which was won by a team from New York University with a company called Nutraceutical Market Solutions. That company aims to identify nutrition and health gaps in global populations and develop culturally appropriate products to reduce disease.