Portland software startup gets $75K boost from new accelerator
Courtesy / KinoTek Inc.
KinoTek Inc., a Portland-based startup whose team is shown here in pre-pandemic times, develops software for movement clinicians.
The 2019 "Greenlight Maine Collegiate Challenge" winner is about to start the next chapter of its startup journey as one of six selected participants in a new sports and health tech accelerator program.
KinoTek Inc., a Portland-based developer of a digital health platform that uses computer-vision technology for body-motion assessment, is the only New England member of the program's inaugural class.
The leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator, as the Orlando, Fla.-based program is officially known, received 442 applications from 42 countries before selecting six to take to the next level. That includes $75,000 in pre-seed funding awarded to each participant along with an 8% equity stake.
"For this cohort, we sourced the absolute best in this industry — world-class, hungry entrepreneurs with solutions that are truly cutting-edge," said Christoph Sonnen, co-founder and CEO of leAD, in a news release. "It is a great mix of sports tech as well as health and well-being, two areas that gained significant importance in light of the pandemic and have been incorporated in our company's DNA even prior to that.
"As we begin our journey in Lake Nona together with the the support of our partners, we expect to see these founders aim high and grow at a very accelerated pace."
The six-month program started virtually earlier this month, but as of early 2021 will host the selected startups at its on-site business incubator at Lake Nona, Fla.
Justin Hafner, KinoTek's CEO and co-founder, plans to head to Florida in early November and be there through early May. He told Mainebiz that the program sets up participants for a large financing round and with mentors and contacts from top companies.
"I'll be able to have world-class mentors specific to my industry, people who have done it before, and that's pretty invaluable for me," he said in a Thursday phone interview.
Hafner said the opportunity comes after KinoTek shifted its target market during the pandemic from professional sports to so-called movement clinicians, and said the program will help it build strategic partnerships to take its innovation to the next level. He also said the $75,000 boost positions his company for further fundraising at the end of the program.
"I'm excited to see the next evolution of KinoTek as we start to think about building a national brand," he added. He will share more about KinoTek's startup journey in a virtual talk in December for Startup Maine's new "Entrepreneurs & Ecocystem Builders Speaker Series."
KinoTek, which signed a $100,000 strategic deal in March with Microsoft Corp. in March through the highly selective Microsoft For Startups accelerator program, employs six people full-time, including Hafner.
Other participants in the Florida accelerator program are from Los Angeles; Florida (Lake Nona and Fort Lauderdale); Toronto; and New York City.
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