Jacqueline Mejia
Jacqueline Mejia is currently the Director of the gBETA Medtech program, which is a pre-accelerator program for early-stage startups in the healthcare sector. She joined Gener8tor after serving as a research scientist and lab manager for many years. Her studies focused on the development of novel solutions to address environmental issues while also protecting public health. During this time, Jacqueline learned how to manage several tasks, collaborate with a variety of people, become a good mentor, and successfully transmit her scientific findings to a variety of audiences. She even started her own biotech company! Jacqueline most recently served as a project manager at the Carlson School of Management’s Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship. Her mission was to assist scientists and engineers in taking their inventions from the lab bench to the market.
In an interaction with MedTech Outlook Magazine, Jacquelin Mejia emphasizes the importance of closing opportunity barriers for entrepreneurs, continuously improving the workforce, and cultivating partnerships with diverse cultures and organizations committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
How did the pandemic affect the startup business?
The Covid-19 pandemic has created many setbacks, but also successes, for gener8tor. Prior to the pandemic, pitching to an investor and engaging with an investment group became almost unlikely. As with every startup, initial fundraising is a typical obstacle for the founders, which as a result, restricted them from flying to other cities to meet the investor in person. However, with the widespread of Covid-19, a chance to pitch to an investor arose all of a sudden. Founders were able to pitch to a much larger number of investors in a more convenient way, doing it virtually.
GBETA Medtech is a free, seven-week accelerator that works with medical devices, healthcare-related software, biomedical and diagnostics startups for no fees and no equity
What is the primary objective of Gener8tor and its gBETA Medtech program?
Gener8tor is a turnkey platform for the creative economy that links startups, entrepreneurs, artists, investors, universities, and corporations. The platform includes pre-accelerators, accelerators, business programming, workshops, and fellowships focused on entrepreneurs, artists, and musicians. Its industry-agnostic approach ensures to work with businesses and individuals from all industries. The gBETA Medtech program is Gener8tor’s first industry-focused program. It is a free, seven-week accelerator for early-stage startups and works exclusively with startups focused on healthcare. This includes products for diagnosing, treating, and/or monitoring diseases or medical conditions, including devices, software, biological technology, and healthcare services, as well as technology or process innovations that could serve any component of the supply chain. Participants receive comprehensive, one-on-one guidance as well as access to Gener8tor’s nationwide network of advisors, clients, business associates, and investors. The program is intended to assist entrepreneurs in gaining early consumer traction for their product or concept, as well as establishing benchmarks that will enable them to compete for full-time, equity-based accelerators or seed funding.
What are the benefits that clients get from engaging with you?
Participating in an acceleration program, such as gBETA Medtech, helps the entrepreneur to interact with people who are either professional in their own companies or are investors who appreciate the other side of the equation. And as part of the company’s goal to improve the market model in terms of commercialization strategies, it is assured that the founders are able to provide a strong message when engaging with their customers and potential users. Furthermore, the expertise continuously provides input on the product that the founders are building and the message that they are communicating in the space.
What are the major gaps you’ve seen entrepreneurs struggle with that you can help to narrow?
Since the gaps and issues that businesses face are always complex, Gener8tor does not follow a structured curriculum for determining and solving client’s problems. When a new company enters the market, analysts aim to recognize the real gap that the founders are confronted with and adjust their strategies accordingly. Businesses that are unsure how to extend their business space are assisted with getting a better introduction. Startups having difficulty in their initial fundraising or have not been successful in business for a long time are assisted in refining their pitch technology nature so that they have a strong executive overview. Furthermore, the experts assist businesses in making contacts that will help to establish partnerships and provide continuous guidance on the product that the founders are developing.
How does Accelerator Program assist the organizations in order to gain knowledge?
gBETA Medtech is a free, seven-week accelerator that works with medical devices, healthcare-related software, biomedical and diagnostics startups for no fees and no equity.
Each gBETA program is capped at five companies to ensure meaningful engagement with sponsors and other resources. It is a program of University Enterprise Laboratories and Gener8tor and is sponsored by Boston Scientific with additional support from Mayo Clinic, University of Minnesota, and Medical Alley Association. UEL and Gener8tor also are both supported by a cooperative agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority – Division of Research, Innovation, and Venture (BARDA DRIVe). It is a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. So that’s how the program is funded and also receives mentorship support.
Are there anything upcoming programs that you would like to talk about?
Gener8tor’s gBETA Medtech accelerator program, based in Minneapolis, recently has announced the five members of its spring 2021 cohort. The accelerator is free for participating startups. Over 170 companies applied to join the program. The cohort includes Breathe99, a local startup that was named one of Minne Inno’s Startups to Watch for 2021. Another thing to consider is the fall 2021 program. The initiative is taken specifically for black entrepreneurs, who are underrepresented populations that are deprived of receiving as much funding as other groups in any space in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. This is going to be a fantastic opportunity to help entrepreneurs who have the potential to be successful but just need a program like ours to provide input, ensure they have a clear business strategy, and make strong connections to ensure their success.
