Dr. Jeffrey Sachs joined a panel of judges at the 2016 French Tech Shark Tank Competition, an event designed to identify new leaders in cutting-edge medical advances in France’s health technology sector. The competition, held at the Parker Meridian Hotel in New York on October 26th, convened more than 160 venture capitalist investors, start-up thought leaders and executives from the medtech, biotech and digital health industries. The event was hosted by the MedStartUp Program in partnership with La French Tech, a publicly funded initiative to promote French startups under a single brand in France.
Five French startups pitched their innovative technologies to the judges – Dr. Sachs, an advisor to emerging healthcare companies, Dr. Anthony Sun, an angel investor and biotechnology consultant and John Capodanno, a managing director in FTI Consulting’s Life Science and Healthcare communications group. The competing entrepreneurs were seeking visibility and partners for their startups.
The five companies in the Shark Tank competition were:
- TEXDEV – a developer of CommunicoTool, a language and development application helping non-verbal individuals communicate.
- Invivox – a global Medical platform that connects Physicians for practical on-site trainings and boosts the adoption rate of medical devices.
- Mensia Technologies – a developer of home-based, personalized non-invasive medical devices for brain-based conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder, based on neuromodulation.
- Team8 – a concept creator of a connectable watch for children that merges fun, health and security through a super-hero game requiring physical exercise.
- Umanlife – a digital solution that allows users to better understand and manage their health and well-being safely, and provides relevant advice and recommendations for personal health goals.
The judges asked questions that allowed the entrepreneurs to showcase their business models and potential. The judges also evaluated the ideas of the entrepreneurs and provided feedback. After a difficult deliberation, they selected Mensia Technologies as the winner.
“Mensia Technologies was selected as the winner of the competition because the judges felt they had the most dynamic idea and greatest chance of garnering market share. We were especially impressed with them,” said Dr. Sachs. “All five of the companies had fantastic ideas, choosing a winner was not an easy undertaking,” Dr. Sachs added. “I was honored to have been asked to participate as a judge for such an exciting competition, especially alongside John and Tony, two industry veterans.”