Startup Prize victor scores for business and community

It was a one-hour business presentation. Business leaders from five companies stood before 25 judges, all vying for the 2015 Louisiana Startup Prize, which included a wealth of prizes to benefit any burgeoning startup.

Once the decision was announced in mid-September, Innolyzer Labs, a Shreveport business, stood alone and victorious.

It’s a win that comes after three weekends of roundtables and competitions against other startups. The competition began in April. And, ultimately, the crowd of hopefuls was whittled down to five: the final five.

“I don’t think you get into the final five without a pretty good business plan,” said Innolyzer Labs CEO John Chidlow.

Chidlow founded Innolyzer Labs with Kevin Pavlick and Chris Kevil. Pavlick is now the chief operating officer, and Kevil is the chief scientific officer.

Innolyzer Labs won the competition with the pitch for its lab-on-a-chip analysis devices. As Chidlow said, the lab-on-a-chip technology allows companies to perform complex chemical analysis using a “simpler, cheaper and faster” method.

Innolyzer Labs’ product detects and measures hydrogen sulfide. It’s a test necessary for water treatment plants and the oil and gas industry. And Chidlow said there may be a medical application further down the road.

So what does the win mean for Chidlow and crew?

First, there’s the $25,000 in prize money.

Also included in the Louisiana Startup Prize, per the contest’s website, is $10,000 worth of marketing services from Williams Creative Group and $10,000 of accounting services from Heard, McElroy and Vestal.

There’s also one free year of office space provided from American Tower. And Fairfield Studios will help Innolyzer Labs develop a corporate video.

And the cherry on top for Innolyzer Labs is access to a $100,000 line of credit through ANECA Federal Credit Union, a perk offered to all of the five finalists.

But the win is not just about Innolyzer.

“We’re just as excited as they are,” said John Grindley, executive director of CoHabitat Foundation. “This is a win for the community.”

Before entering the Louisiana Startup Prize, Innolyzer Labs went to CoHab for guidance in getting off the ground.

Innolyzer Labs was also part of CoHab’s Breaking Lean program, a yearlong program aimed at putting startups in touch with muchneeded resources. “[Breaking Lean] is a program that helps businesses with funding, space, accounting,” Grindley said. “We spot winners and try to coach them. So far, we’ve been on a winning streak.”

Grindley added: “We’re hoping we had some hand in [Innolyzer’s] win.”

Chidlow agreed with Grindley.

And he listed a couple of other resources, like CoHab, that gave Innolyzer Labs the boost it required to succeed. One was the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program, which helped the fledgling company with its business plan, investment approach as well as finding office space. “They work hand-inhand with John and CoHab,” Chidlow said.

Then there’s the Louisiana Startup Prize and all the support and coaching Chidlow, Pavlick and Kevil received from that threeweekend-long process. This included numerous roundtables with business people from across the region and from a myriad of industries.

Part of the uniqueness included working alongside competitors. Chidlow said while there was a competitive nature among the different startup prospects, it wasn’t an unfriendly one. “We became friends with our competitors,” Chidlow said. “It was great networking.”

With the startup win, Innolyzer Labs is now looking at its future. As Chidlow said, it doesn’t mean going straight to market; instead, the next step is prototypes.

Shortly after winning, Chidlow and his fellow co-founders produced their first round of hydrogen sulfide analyzers. That first round will be tested and verified. From there, Chidlow said a second round of prototypes may be developed and tested.

But, eventually, Innolyzer Labs’ lab-ona-chip technology will begin a beta run, meaning a few analyzers will be sent out to prospective customers. Once fully vetted, the company will begin full production.

Chidlow said Innolyzer Labs has already identified a few “good size markets” to target once the analyzer is ready for market.

– RT Morgan