A startup company with deep roots at Waterloo Engineering got noticed in Silicon Valley this week as budding entrepreneurs made pitches to a select audience of investors.
Vena Medical, which began as a Capstone Design project by mechanical engineering students Phil Cooper and Michael Phillips last year, is one of 141 companies from 23 countries at the Y Combinator startup school in Mountain View, California.
Michael Phillips, left, and Phil Cooper of Vena Medical pose in the Velocity Science lab at the University of Waterloo.
Held twice a year, the three-month program involves seed funding and guidance from experts, and culminates in a Demo Day during which participating startups try to sell their ideas to invited investors.
At the pitch event this week, Vena was singled out by TechCrunch, an online publisher of technology news, as one of its top seven picks.
The company’s product is a microcatheter with a camera to provide real-time navigational perspective in arteries for interventional physicians.
'Amazing to see in person'
“The camera is amazing to see in person and long-term it could unlock new ways to do medical procedures,” the website reported.
Cooper and Phillips, both sons of medical doctors, excelled in pitch competitions and other contests in Waterloo before getting into the prestigious Y Combinator program.
Included was their selection for $50,000 in backing through the Palihapitiya/Lau Venture Creation Fund at Waterloo Engineering, plus wins at the Norman Esch Capstone Design Awards and Velocity Fund Finals pitch events.