InnovateHER is a pitch competition seeking the most innovative products and services that help impact and empower women’s lives. The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Microsoft have been hosting local pitches leading up to the InnovateHER Finals in March.
On Wednesday, December 3, organizers welcomed seven startups from the New Orleans area to the local pitch competition. Emerging biomedical company BioAesthetics won the New Orleans round of the SBA and Microsoft business pitch competition.
BioAesthetics co-inventor Nicholas Pashos pitched his company that provides surgeons with Nipple-Areolar Complex (NAC) grafts for the next step in NAC reconstruction. They are improving reconstruction options for breast cancer patients after they undergo mastectomies. BioAesthetics has a potential revenue is around $340 million per year in the U.S. alone and hopes to gain FDA clearance by 2018.
BioAesthetics is now in the running for the final round this spring in Washington, D.C., where the top 10 companies will compete for $70,000 courtesy of Microsoft. The Finals are held in conjunction with the larger Women’s Summit.
The startup also recently received $25,000 after winning the BioChallenge, a pitch competition for life sciences startups in Louisiana hosted by the New Orleans BioInnovation Center.