OCAST Technology Business Finance Program

Oct 14, 2013

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Grady Epperly PROOF OF CONCEPT FINANCING: Since 1998, innovative Oklahoma entrepreneurs have secured make-or-break financing through the OCAST Technology Business Finance Program, a state-funded program that has been recognized both nationally and internationally as a model of best practices. The program is funded by the state legislature to specifically address proof-of-concept and pre-seed stage capital needs of technology-based businesses. The TBFP is also is funded by entrepreneur who pay back to the fund each year. Most recent financings included Capacity Sports and Failsafe Hazmat Compliance, both of Tulsa, and Hassco, of Oklahoma City. Here are brief profiles on each company: Capacity Sports is developing mobile concussion management software, beginning with the iOS (iPhone) platform, to evaluate concussion symptoms in athletes and reduce the risk of permanent brain injury in sports. The Center for Disease control estimates that 10-20% of athletes sustain a concussion each season and that 3.6 million sports related concussions occur annually, predominately in high schools. Driven by heightened concussion awareness, the Capacity Sports application will evaluate balance, motor function, reaction time and memory to better manage athlete screening and provide improved information for safe return to play decisions. Failsafe Hazmat Compliance is developing software to assist and support companies that ship hazardous products and materials. Among a daily 800,000 hazmat shipments, approximately 300,000 are classified as posing extreme risk. In a single year, there were 19,277 US hazmat incidents resulting in $72,600,000 in property damage, not including the related litigation costs. The Failsafe Hazmat software is designed to keep companies compliant with all domestic and international shipping regulations and to help avoid costly accidents. www.failsafehazmat.com Hassco is developing new medical devices for laparoscopic procedures. The company currently holds a provisional utility patent on its flagship device, the Robotic Articulating Laparoscopic System (RAL SYSTEM) which will allow for improved range of motion and faster, more effective surgeries. In the U.S. alone, there are approximately 9,500,000 procedures performed annually via Minimally Invasive Surgeries (MIS) while the global MIS device and instrument market is estimated at $18.5 billion annually. The company has already secured a commitment from the Cleveland Clinic, a leading national laparoscopic clinic, for the field testing. This entry was posted in Investment . Bookmark the permalink . © 2015 i2E, Inc. All Rights Reserved.