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Hawkeye Surgical Lighting wins $100K at InnoVenture Challenge

December 12, 2022

Hawkeye Surgical Lighting, a University of Iowa startup founded by neurosurgery resident David Christianson and medical student Anthony Piscopo, won $100,000 at the first InnoVenture Challenge at Temple Theatre on Dec. 7 in Des Moines.

InnoVenture Iowa invited early-stage entrepreneurs to participate in its challenge, a pitch competition that brought together three startup companies to compete on-stage for the $100,000 award. Other finalists were The Hummingbirds, a platform that enables businesses and organizations to find and work with hyper-local content creators to drive revenue and recognition, and Clayton Farms (formerly Nebullam), which builds vertically integrated, direct-to-consumer indoor farms serving customers in Ames and Minneapolis.

Hawkeye Surgical Lighting developed the first voice and motion-controlled surgical headlight that integrates with an iOS through Bluetooth.

Christianson and Piscopo identified and addressed a need of surgeons for a light, bright, and comfortable pair of surgical eyeglasses. The two built Hawkeye Surgical Lighting with Christianson taking the technical and Piscopo the entrepreneurial lead. When a surgeon shines a light toward a patient’s brain or spine, the tumor lights up in a bright red color. This allows the surgeon to carefully remove the entire tumor.

InnoVenture Iowa is a $30 million co-investment fund designed to support early-stage startup companies in biosciences, advanced manufacturing, and information technology. Eligible companies must be headquartered, or have significant operations, in Iowa.

Tags: Hawkeye Surgical Lighting InnoVenture Iowa

Hawkeye Surgical Lighting wins $100K at InnoVenture Challenge | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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