Do Good Challenge Finalist Accepted to Terp Startup Incubator

Each year, the Dingman Center provides coaching to teams competing on the venture track of the Do Good Challenge. This year, one of the ventures who made it to the Do Good Challenge Finals, Symbiont Health, later applied and was accepted into this year’s Terp Startup summer incubator. In the video above, CEO Erich Meissner discusses the positive relationship his team was able to build with the Dingman Center.

During the Challenge, Symbiont Health impressed the audience with their potential for widespread impact. Their fall detection devices for seniors automatically contact emergency services, even if the wearer is unconscious. Their model demonstrates a clear understanding of their target market of seniors, who not only have a statistically high rate of falls due to syncopy, but often neglect to wear such devices because of the stigma of weakness they can create. Symbiont Health is seeking to develop their technology so that their wearables will be subtle and attractive as well as functional. For their efforts, they received Second Place and also Audience Choice in an unprecedented tie with the First Place team, the James Hollister Wellness Foundation.

The Symbiont Health team is comprised of Erich Meissner, CEO, Kyle Liu, CTO and Maria Chen, CMO. During Terp Startup, these social entrepreneurs will receive a stipend as well as mentorship to work on their startup for eight weeks over the summer at the Dingman Center. Look forward to more posts about this team and the other eight startups participating in the program in our Terp Startup blog series this summer.