Oxford CoBuilders 2024 Finalists. Submitted photo.
The Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation, in partnership with the University of Mississippi, recently announced the winners of the 3rd Annual Oxford CoBuilders Business Pitch Competition.
The competition, held Wednesday June 12th at the UM Innovation Hub at Insight Park, featured six entrepreneurial teams pitching to a judging panel of five local business owners and entrepreneurial investors. The local competition acted as a qualifying event for this fall’s statewide CoBuilders business accelerator led by Innovate Mississippi. Companies selected for the statewide program will be identified through their participation in one of eight regional pitch competitions that have been held in Clarksdale, Starkville, Jackson, Vicksburg, Hattiesburg, Biloxi, Tupelo, and now Oxford.
Oxford’s first place team, and the winner of a $7,500 cash prize, went to Dr. Premalatha Balachandran, Ph.D, MBA, for her pharmaceutical research and development startup company PleXignal LLC. Through their innovate multiplex molecular model (MMM) technology, a high-throughput screening platform, PleXignal’s drug discovery process allows for simultaneous targeting of multiple signaling pathways within a single assay. This capability not only accelerates the drug discovery process but also enhances its
efficiency, drastically reducing the risk of drug failures during early screening and target validation phase.
PleXignal co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Balachandran, currently serves as a Principal Scientist at the National Center for Natural Products Research and School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi. Her husband and co-founder, Karthik Ken, B.Com., MB, will serve as CEO with 35+ years of startup experience.
The Oxford CoBuilders second place team was awarded to Julien Bourgeois, a rising junior at the University of Mississippi, and his co-founder Andrew Bradford for their smart watch sports development company Automatic AI. Automatic AI, LLC is a post-revenue startup transforming sports development with innovative smartwatch applications. Their flagship product, Automatic Basketball Trainer, launched in July 2023, harnesses the power of Apple Watch motion sensors to track and analyze basketball shooting workouts. With over 25,000 installs on the App Store and 5,000 monthly active users, Automatic AI is preparing to expand their team and scale operations.
Third place was awarded to Dr. Mac Nichols of BeWell Health. BeWell Health defines itself as a new type of medical clinic, a modern version of comprehensive, holistic and personal care. They hope to grow their established subscription, cost based model that provides 100% telemedicine, concierge care with a primary focus on nutrition and healthy lifestyle—bridging the gaps in our current healthcare environment.
All six companies participating in the competition received pre-pitch business coaching and access to development resources through partners at the Mississippi Small Business Development Center, Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Foundation, UM Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UM Office of Technology Commercialization, and Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. The other CoBuilder finalists included Keiona Jackson and Nancy Brownlee of the
Mississippi Occupational Culinary Institute, Terrence Green Jr. of TJ’s Animation Workshop, and Worth DuPerier of The Pickleball GameChanger Dink.
“We are so appreciative to all our competitors and mentors as this event turned out to be a hit. It was a wonderful celebration of our innovative community spirit,” said Allen Kurr, Vice President of the Economic Development Foundation. “We are looking forward to seeing all these companies grow and supporting them through the entrepreneurial development process.”
For more information on CoBuilders and Economic Development, contact Allen Kurr (662)234-4651, allen@oxfordms.com or visit www.cobuilders.ms .
About the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation:
The mission of the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation (EDF) is to be a leader in creating opportunities for responsible economic investment, thereby raising the per capita income for all citizens of Lafayette County. In support of this the EDF is committed to being responsive to local business and industry, being a responsible vehicle to preserve a positive business environment in the area, facilitating technology transfer at the University of Mississippi into the community, and by supporting other positive community efforts which improve the quality of life and yield economic benefits. For more information on the EDF, visit www.oxfordms.com or call 662-234-4651.
