MAGNET proudly announces the winners of its 9th annual Mspire pitch competition, Northeast Ohio’s premier contest for manufacturing-focused entrepreneurs. This year’s competition awarded $85,000 worth of prizes to entrepreneurs pushing the boundaries of innovation, engineering, and operations in manufacturing.
Startups from across the region applied to showcase their solutions to a panel of judges made up of experts from the manufacturing, investment, and technology sectors. After narrowing down from more than 80 applications, 27 semifinalists were selected, and 11 finalists pitched live at MAGNET headquarters on September 12, 2024. Each finalist had 10 minutes to present their technology and business model, followed by a rigorous Q&A with the judging panel. The competition was evaluated on innovation, scalability, impact, and potential to address key challenges in the manufacturing space.
The panel of industry experts who evaluated the pitches included leaders from various sectors. Thank you to Camille Heard from Jumpstart, Carla Macklin of CWRU Veale Institute, Duane Mancini from Project MedTech, Felix Brueck, Jim Garrett, Robert Weiler and Josh Borstein from Advanced Manufacturing Fund, Luis Carrion from Renner Otto, Marilea Campomizzi from Marcum LLP, Ron Stubblefield from OAI/Parallax, Sid Good from Good Marketing, and key members of MAGNET’s own innovation and business development teams, including Mike Keller and Bass Khoury.
The 2024 Mspire winners are:
- Accelerate Wind – $20,000 Engineering Prize
Accelerate Wind, founded by Erika Boeing, is developing affordable wind turbines that capture wind energy from the edges of building roofs, complementing rooftop solar panels and helping buildings move towards net-zero energy. - Auxilium Health – $5,000 Huntington Innovation Award
Auxilium Health, co-founded by Isaiah Kaiser and Aparna Agrawal, is revolutionizing wound care with next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics that reduce complications and improve outcomes. - Daisy Makes – $15,000 Engineering Prize
Amy Mucha’s Daisy Makes transforms the art of cake popping with its 3D-printed molds, speeding up production while maintaining creativity and consistency in the process. - Galvanix – $20,000 Engineering Prize
Galvanix, led by Alan Long, is commercializing an innovative metallization process that generates critical metals like neodymium, essential for industries such as electric vehicles and renewable energy. - Peaceful Fruits – $10,000 Operations Prize
Peaceful Fruits, founded by Evan Delahanty, self-manufactures 100% fruit snacks that combine the fun, nostalgic feel of candy with the health benefits of fruit. The company is scaling its operations to seize national distribution opportunities. - Solar Sprout – $5,000 Huntington Innovation Award
Led by Lexi Knight, Solar Sprout combines agriculture and renewable energy by allowing dual-use of land for farming and solar energy generation, increasing yields while providing a sustainable energy source. - UGen – $10,000 Engineering Prize
UGen, led by Michael Hartakis, offers a smart medical device that uses sensor-based software to aid physical therapy patients with biomechanics correction, allowing for both in-clinic and remote rehabilitation.
Huntington Bank was the sponsor of the event. Annually, Mspire offers various prizes customized to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and can include services to assist engineering, marketing, operations support and more.
The finalists’ products and ideas gained exposure to industry experts and potential investors, like the Advanced Manufacturing Fund, a Northeast Ohio-based venture group that invests in early-stage high-potential manufacturing start-ups.
Andrea Navratil, MAGNET’s Director of New Ventures, noted, “We’re seeing a wealth of creativity and problem-solving among our participants. The range of ideas—from sustainable energy solutions to health technology—is a testament to the innovation driving our region forward, and Mspire is proud to support these entrepreneurs as they innovate and grow.”
Mspire is supported by the State of Ohio’s Entrepreneurial Service Program and the Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Mspire Pitch Competition (manufacturingsuccess.org)
