This past Tuesday was my third (at least) time attending the Vogt Awards Demo Day.

Vogt Awards

Local innovative early-stage companies are chosen each year to receive $25,000 apiece, and expert mentoring and training. The demo day is their chance to “show and tell” the cool stuff they’ve been doing. This year’s event was held at the Frazier.

The Frazier History Museum

The Frazier opened in 2004, along Louisville’s “museum row” (which includes the Science Center, Slugger Museum, KMAC, Ali Center, and others). They’re currently hosting an original First Folio from Shakespeare, the first collection of his works, and a historical toy soldier collection.

The Frazier also hosts the local “Dream Funders” television show, an entrepreneurial competition, which will air its second season on November 30.

The Winners

I already knew half the companies, so coming to congratulate them and cheer them on was like a reunion.

• Breath Diagnostics detects lung cancer through patients blowing into a bag. It’s faster, cheaper, safer, and more accurate than current diagnostic methods. You can’t make balloon animals out of it, but it can keep you from dying, so that’s good.
  • I already knew these guys. We completed the Nucleus LaunchIt program together, and I’d seen them at a previous Xlerate Health Demo Day, and would occasionally run into Rick Rummel at various healthcare events, like the ones run by HEN.

• Collabra Music helps music teachers and students work together online.
  • I also knew some of these guys. I used to work with Brandon Kobel, their CTO. Zack Pennington, one of the founders, is all over the Louisville startup scene, with things like chia and axes.

• Curio Learning is writing an app to help teachers find and share professional development strategies and content.

• G3 Tri-Tech makes the Infinite Swim gadget, to let triathletes swim for miles in a pool without having to constantly turn around for laps.
  • I’d already met Robert Mohr at this year’s Louiville Mini-Maker Faire.

• MailHaven makes a smart mailbox, to securely accept packages and notify the recipient of deliveries. It’s sort of like having a tiny robotic Allen Funt who can text you.
  • Kela Ivonye is another Louisville startup mainstay, and Nathan Armentrout is a LVL1 member, and often there tinkering on something. His laptop sticker collection looks a lot like mine.

• RMC Solutions keeps the insides of concrete mixers clean with a high-speed rotating water “enema,” if you’ll pardon the mental image.