A new start-up, Impact Athletic, is the latest company to emerge from the Michigan Medical Device Accelerator.
The company has been growing inside Tekna, Inc. for the past two years with the help of Michigan Medical Device Accelerator's connections to the region's existing health science infrastructure and its related services.
Within two weeks Impact Athletic expects to conclude its $1 million seed investment round of funding from angel funders.
Impact Athletic will continue to be built on intellectual property and assets for a line of athletic training equipment it acquired from Tekna, Inc. of Kalamazoo.
Tekna will continue to support Impact Athletic through product design and manufacturing in Kalamazoo.
Kevin McLeod, Managing Director of the MMDA, will be CEO and President of the new company as he continues to work with MMDA portfolio clients. Ryan Colosky is Vice President for Marketing and Sales.
The business, newly launched from the device accelerator, will start with four employees. If sales and marketing goes according to plan over the next 12 to 24 months Impact Athletic could require 30 to 40 employees within three years.
"All the manufacturing jobs will be in Kalamazoo," McLeod says. "This is a good, homegrown start-up. This is how the model is supposed to work."
Two mobile sideline tables used by athletic trainers already are among the products available from the company. Impact Athletic says Medic and Medic XL are designed to meet the rigors of the environment and the needs of today’s athletes. They are already used by more than 130 high schools, universities, and professional sports teams around the United States.
Chief Executive Officer of Tekna Kris Eager says the company looks forward "to supporting the initial product offering as well as the expanded athletic training product line as the national marketing and sales launch for Impact Athletic rolls out in 2013."
The Michigan Medical Device Accelerator supports start-up companies, helping them connect with the networks and resources available to it through its position in the
Southwest Michigan First Group of Companies. The accelerator currently manages a portfolio of more than 40 companies with products in various stages of development.
"The acquisition of Impact Athletic gives our model a leg-up as the company’s product line has already proven to be successful," says McLeod, Managing Director of the MMDA.
The device accelerator was formed in 2009 by Southwest Michigan First to take advantage of the strong medical device research and development environment in the region.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Kevin McLeod, Michigan Medical Device Accelerator
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