Tonight is Cox Business RI's #GetStatedRI business pitch competition (RSVP here, if you haven't), and we've talked with three of the finalists to get an idea on the startups they represent and what makes them tick as an innovator and entrepreneur.
Included below is Linden Wyatt, of Optera Diagnostics; Nico Enriquez, of craft ginger beer company Farmer Willie's, and Richard McDonald and Clemens Grave of financial education app Finnest.
1. What do you do?
LINDEN: I'm Linden Wyatt, and I'm the co-founder of Optera Diagnostics. I recently got my Ph.D. in physics (with a specialization in biophysics) from the University of Rhode Island, and I'm about to finish my MBA (also at URI).
NICO: We make craft ginger beer by fermenting cold pressed ginger, lemon and cane sugar with champagne yeast to create a 4.5 percent alc/vol ginger beer that is gluten free and has 75 percent less sugar and fewer calories than a glass of wine.
RICHARD & CLEMENS: We help parents build good money habits for life in their kids. Teaching about money is hard. Financial literacy tutorials have proven to be ineffective. Parents want to raise financially responsible kids, but don’t have effective tools and guidance to do this well. A cashless society, where kids see parents pay for everything with a plastic card, furthers kids’ abstraction of money. We offer innovative “learning by doing” training by guiding kids and their parents as they earn, save, and responsibly spend money by combining a debit card and gamification. Our secured debit card designed for kids is connected to an advanced mobile app which on the one hand gives parents control and oversight over all aspects of the card, and on the other coaches kids as they handle their money, all while making it fun with gamification.
2. What is your startup trying to achieve?
LINDEN: In cancer diagnosis and treatment, it's not currently possible for surgeons and clinicians to get high-quality information in real time about whether or not tissue is cancerous. If we had access to this type of information in real time, it would really revolutionize the way that biopsy and surgery procedures are done and would lead to huge improvements in patient experiences outcomes. The goal of Optera Diagnostics is to develop an instrument and accompanying assay kit that would be able to objectively analyze tissue in real time in operating rooms and doctors' offices.
NICO: We are trying to revolutionize ginger beer — by using real ginger, less sugar, and fermenting it so it is alcoholic.
RICHARD & CLEMENS: We want every child in the U.S. to receive a relevant financial experience at a young age so that they can have the behaviors and knowledge to a) be confident and comfortable making financial decisions as an adult and b) protect themselves from experiencing common negative financial situations that are results of inexperience.
3. What inspires you?
LINDEN: The amount of improvement that our technology could bring to patient outcomes inspired me to work hard to make sure that Optera is a success. Not only could our technology generate more accurate diagnoses in biopsy procedures, improve patient experiences, and cut costs due to repeat biopsies and surgeries, but we could make a huge difference to patient outcomes during surgeries to remove tumors.
NICO: Patagonia's environmental advocacy and soul really inspire me. Yvon Chouinard's culture of empowering employees and treating them well is the way business should be done. I am also a huge fan of how Bill Creelman has built Spindrift Selzter. He has gone through such absurd lengths to make seltzer with real juice (and make it freaking delicious every time) even as most consumers have no idea of those lengths. Putting the world, its people, and what you put in your bodies first is how businesses build the future, in my opinion.
RICHARD & CLEMENS: When some of our early cardholders use their accounts as a part of entrepreneurial adventures. We have one user, a very impressive 12 year old from Barrington, who knits and sells dog sweaters in the winter to her classmates. (It looks like business will pick up soon if the weather continues to turn!) This is an inspiration to us and reminds us that entrepreneurship is all about pursuing passions and that every individual has the potential to solve problems.
4. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
LINDEN: The best piece of advice that I ever received is to worry about only what you can change, not about what you can't. I think it can be easy to lose focus, and this advice has really helped me stay focused on the things in life that are productive to focus on.
NICO: Keep it simple. That is key for me — I tend to have too many ideas and overcomplicate. Every month, though, is more of a lesson of just keep it simple and then build from there. A solid foundation is more important than a fast start ten times out of ten.
RICHARD & CLEMENS: Your first job shouldn’t be the highest paying one, rather it should be the one that provides you the highest potential for learning in a field that inspires you to work hard everyday.
5. What does innovation mean to you?
LINDEN: Innovating means disrupting the established way of doing things. Optera is trying to bring innovation to medicine, where I think opportunities for innovation are easier to spot than in other areas, but are harder to implement. However, since true innovations occur somewhat rarely in medicine, bringing innovation to medicine has the potential to make a huge difference in patients' lives.
NICO: I think to truly innovate you have to connect points that have no bridge — be it flavors, technologies, arts. It seems like most often, this means you have to make something that people don't understand right away; however, the great thing is once people "get it" they can't live without it. Thats what we are trying to do for people who love ginger and lemon. [It's] small scale innovation but still quite fun.
RICHARD & CLEMENS: Innovation means addressing the needs of people in a way that is better than all other existing solutions.
Disclosure: Cox Business RI is a founding partner of Rhode Island Inno.
