Olathe life sciences startup Ronawk more than doubled its revenue in 2021 and is garnering interest in new markets, such as cultured meat.
To build on the momentum, the startup added two executive hires, Chief Revenue Officer Scott Leigh and COO/President Tom Jantsch.
Ronawk was founded by scientists, and bringing on executives with business acumen is a "game changer," co-founder and CEO A.J. Mellott said.
Jantsch, who was honored as a Kansas City Business Journal CFO of the Year in 2020, has worked at startups throughout his career and is adept at financial projections and translating tech speak to investors and others. Both Mellott and co-founder Heather Decker worked with Leigh for more than a decade in their previous roles.
Ronawk developed the Bio-Block platform, which includes different substrates that easily connect to one another like Legos and enable cells to grow in a 3D format. Bio-Block eliminates the need for subculturing and allows scientists to rapidly grow cells while using less cell culture media.
"It takes something that's tedious and makes it effortless for these scientists, so they can focus more time on high-impact experiments for developing next-generation therapies," Mellott said.
Ronawk plans to launch two new substrates later this year.
The startup has sold its products to researchers in the U.S. and internationally. It's also nearing signing contracts with several contract research organizations and is generating interest with academic institutions. With more facilities open last year, Ronawk was able to have more in-person meetings, which also drove the company's growth.
Cultured meat producers are voicing interest in Ronawk's offering, which could help them overcome industry barriers, such as finding a cost-effective way to quickly mass produce meat products and compete with traditional farming. Cultured meat is a $2.2 trillion market, Mellott said. One company already is demoing Ronawk's system.
"It's nice to know we can potentially solve a problem and make something viable in a completely different industry in parallel to what we're doing now," he said.
