Forest Devices, Inc. wins first place in the McGinnis Venture Competition, hosted by Tepper School of Business on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

Matt Kesinger (CEO) and Dan Willis (CTO) accepting the First Place Trophy at the McGinnis Venture Competition.

Startups need capital and appealing to venture capitalists is a good way for these companies to get these much needed resources. “The McGinnis Venture Competition brings together Carnegie Mellon’s best and brightest student entrepreneurs to compete for $60k in investments.” per the competition’s website. “All participants receive priceless interaction with venture capitalists and alumni entrepreneurs, an opportunity to raise capital and valuable feedback on their venture.”

Yesterday Matthew Kesinger—CEO of Forest Devices, Inc., pitched the company’s chief product, AlphaStroke to the McGinnis Venture Competition judges. After progressing from the initial stages of the competition—which started in January, finalists were given the opportunity to sell their companies to a team of judges representing a variety of industries, including healthcare, technology, and resource management.

Matt Kesinger (CEO) holding the 1st Place Trophy for the McGinnis Venture Competition.

“We are very happy and honored to have wont the McGinnis Venture Competition,” said Kesinger. “All the companies were very impressive, and it was exciting to pitch with them.”

The McGinnis Venture Competition is made possible by a generous endowment from Gerald E. McGinnis, successful entrepreneur and founder of Respironics, Inc. This year’s competition was sponsored by InnovationWorks and Founder.Org.

Check out the Pittsburgh Maker Faire Oct 10-11th! Forest Devices will be part of a pitch event. Read more about the Maker Faire here.

UPMC Enterprises chose three companies to work within the health system’s commercialization arm, benefiting from UPMC’s medical technology and development expertise. Proscia, Forest Devices and Podimetrics were chosen by judges at the Thrival Innovation + Music Festival Sept 24. At the event, companies from across the country pitched judges about their products. Read the full article here. 

With a stroke patient, every second counts. When a stroke victim is misdiagnosed, the delay before treatment averages 110 minutes. Read the full article here.

A University of Pittsburgh Medical School student has put aside his textbooks to develop a device that would result in faster and better medical care for people who suffer a stroke. Read the full article here.