Gay Le Breton to Judge Louisiana StartUp Prize: Focus on Health Competition

August 16, 2022

Gay Le Breton will be part of a panel of judges for the second annual Louisiana StartUp Prize: Focus on Health competition.

The Prize Foundation along with presenting partners Ochsner LSU Health System of North Louisiana, Ochsner Ventures, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, and LSU Health Shreveport, will be hosting the competition
as well as the conference.

For 2022, Startup Prize continued its focus on health and health innovation, turning its past success with growing companies and assisting them in development, to make an impact in the incredibly important health sector. In order to participate, entrepreneurs needed to have a health-focused business, such as a medical or surgical device, therapeutic, health technology, health service, or drug research. The finalists will compete in two separate tracks (those that
require FDA approval for their product to get to market and those that don’t), with each track awarding $10,000 cash prize and opportunity for further investment. Entrepreneurs from across the country participated, including Texas, California, Illinois, Washington, Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Virginia, Missouri, Georgia, and Louisiana.

“For the second year in a row, Startup Prize: Focus on Health has brought the best and the brightest in medical and health startups to our competition,” said Gregory. “We are proud of all the participants this year, and we look forward to hosting the finalists in Shreveport, as we continue to help evolve our city into a health innovation hub.”

To qualify for the prestigious Startup Prize finals, entrepreneurs were required to attend at least one online qualifying event this summer and submit a detailed survey and business plan. The qualifying events included roundtables, panels and keynotes from Startup Prize mentors around the country in topics ranging from accounting to legal to branding to more specialized ones on patenting and trademarks. Competitors gained valuable tools and insights as well as mentorship to take their concepts to the next level.

During the Startup Prize Finals, the five finalists will present their concepts to the Startup Prize investor judge panel and undergo rigorous questioning on the merits and feasibility of their businesses. The most exciting aspect of the finals is that members of the investor judge panel have the opportunity to invest further into any of these final projects. The grand prize winner for each track will be announced at a private awards brunch on August 28.

Established in 2014, Startup Prize is an entrepreneurial competition where innovative minds from Northwest Louisiana and across the country compete for $10,000 cash prize plus business services for a total of $25,000 in value and opportunities for investment. This unique and intimate competition is nationally recognized as a testing ground for entrepreneurs, and an opportunity for startups to find business advice, mentor expertise and investment dollars. With
over 400 companies and 750 entrepreneurs since its inaugural year, Startup Prize is the largest entrepreneurial gathering in Northwest Louisiana.