Medical Device Company Advances Toward $100,000 Global Grand Prize

Pritchard Innovations, a startup medical device company, has earned top honors in the Entrepreneurs’ Organization South Florida (EO SOFLO) Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) for its new syringe technology that reduces infections and hospital waste.

The company won $3,500 and now advances to the national round of the competition at the Startup Grind Global Conference in Silicon Valley early in 2020. The national winner then earns a trip to the global finals in South Africa and a shot at the $100,000 grand prize to further accelerate the business.

Pritchard Innovations was founded by Bryson Pritchard, a student at Stetson University.

University of Miami student Colin Hively was the competition’s runner-up ($1,000 prize), with his CYCLE recycling platform. Second runner-up ($500) was Angela Udongwo, founder of InnoHealth Diagnostics. Angela is a recent graduate of Florida State University and currently working toward her master’s degree at Emory University.

“We were impressed by so many of these exciting startups, but Bryson’s creativity, business plan and entrepreneur journey stood out,” said Eloise Gonzalez of Commercial Interior Contractors and EO chairperson for the GSEA competition. “He’s not just entrepreneurial, he’s inspirational.”

Pritchard was raised by a single mother and took a job at an early age to help pay the household bills. While working at a hospital, he observed excess cost, waste and increased risk of infection with the use of multiple syringes in common medical procedures. To help solve these serious issues, he invented the Dyad Syringe. The device sequentially deploys two solutions intravenously into a patient, making the process more efficient and effective.

“It’s exciting to learn about and help foster these students and startups so early in their development,” Gonzalez said. “We know all of these young entrepreneurs are sure to be business leaders in South Florida and beyond very soon.”

Gonzalez was joined on the panel of judges with top South Florida entrepreneurs Jerry Katz, founder of Premier Protection Insurance; Dave Kustin and Wendy Lieber of ContentBacon; and Miren Oca of Ocaquatics swim schools.

EO SOFLO has sponsored GSEA for 10 years as well as many other student and start-up programs in conjunction with area colleges and partner organizations.

South Florida is one of the world’s largest EO chapters, with approximately 200 members whose businesses account for more than $2 billion in annual revenues and 10,000 jobs in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“We’re proud to help power South Florida’s dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Katz, who serves as current president of EO SOFLO. “Providing support and direction to the students in this GSEA competition is an extremely gratifying part of this effort.”

For more information on GSEA, go to www.gsea.org.

For more details on EO, visit www.eosoflo.com.