That’s A Wrap!

A successful end to the leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator inaugural program

May 19, 2021

The first six startups to join the leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator – TERSA, KinoTek, NESTRE, Phlex, AgeRate, and Break the Love – celebrated the culmination of their transformative journey through the program with an impressive Demo Day at Boxi Park. Demo Day is the program finale where startups get to pitch and showcase their products to local leaders and investors.

“The range of expertise, institutions and different players that our startups have been able to connect with is really incredible. It has opened many doors for our startups and leAD itself,” said Nathalie Sonne, program and marketing director at leAD.

The outdoor event was livestreamed and kicked off with a reflection from Deepak Chopra, who highlighted the collaboration taking place within the accelerator and how it could help expand the experience of peak performance on the field to one of peak living in our everyday lives.

“You have maximum diversity of talent here. You have great athletes, advisors, coaches. You have the best technology right here and the future depends on all of us collaborating,” Chopra said.

We also heard from industry experts who set the stage – and screen – for the startups to pitch their innovations to a crowd of peers, mentors, investors and more.

In one virtual panel, program mentors explored questions about the role of data in technology and sports – a key component to measuring the success of innovative solutions for human performance. 

“How can data be delivered in a way that’s meaningful? How can it be delivered in a way that created a positive behavior change because there is an emotional component to that data?” said Melanie Strong, managing partner at Next Ventures.

One of the startups, AgeRate, is using data to accurately reveal an individual’s biological age and recommend different lifestyle interventions to help slow down their aging.

“Aging is a really important thing to be able to measure because at the end of the day you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said Cole Kirschner, co-founder and CEO at AgeRate.

Another startup, KinoTek, is using human movement data to improve the evaluation process for clinicians who specialize in movement assessment.

“The team at leAD and Lake Nona put on a world-class accelerator that was an honor to be a part of,” said Justin Hafner, co-founder and CEO of KinoTek. “Participating in the program will forever go down in KinoTek history as one of the best decisions we have made!”

Justin was also recently named a recipient of the Front Office Sports 2021 Rising 25 Award that recognizes the top young professionals in sports business.

Over the last six months, the accelerator has helped each startup reach new heights through incredible resources and collaboration driven by the leAD and Lake Nona partnership. For many startups, a highlight of the program was the sense of community and support they received from their mentors and peers.

“Since we’ve joined the lead program, one of the things we’ve gotten is the pure mentorship and advice from some of the most experienced people in the sports and technology business realm,” said Ryan Rosenbaum, the founder and CEO of Phlex.

Phlex a startup that uses data to detect and inform swimming techniques. Rosenbaum shared that they were even able to address some of their issues just by talking to their peers in the program.

Following the company pitches, Demo Day guests were invited to visit the home of the accelerator, the MS2 Innovation Lab, and experience each startup’s product firsthand.

“Here, we have built an epicenter of innovation in sports, health and wellbeing,” said Christoph Sonnen, co-founder and CEO at leAD. “Over the next few years, we will power the next generation of startups who are shaping the future for tomorrow’s athletes.”

As this inaugural cohort comes to an end, another is preparing to begin. Applications are open for the next group of startups to explore their potential in Lake Nona. Visit www.leadsports.com to learn more and apply.