UVX Inc’s Journey: Making Health Impact with UV Technology
In today’s rapidly evolving world, innovation is at the heart of solving complex challenges, especially in the healthcare sector.
UVX Inc., a Canadian startup, has made significant strides in this space by harnessing the power of ultraviolet (UV) light technology to address infection control, particularly in senior care homes.
In this blog post, we dive into UVX Inc.’s journey, from its inception to winning Spring’s Health Impact Investor Challenge, where they were awarded over $165,000 in investment.
A Vision Takes Shape
The story of UVX Inc. begins with the dynamic duo of Kunal Sethi, the co-founder and CEO, and Saimir Sulaj, the co-founder and CTO. COVID-19 had a profound impact on senior care homes, with headlines about outbreaks and fatalities making headlines daily. UVX Inc. was founded upon the question of why UV light, a well-known pathogen killer, was not being used more extensively in this context. This sparked their journey to create a sustainable, eco-friendly solution for continuous disinfection, even when people are present. UVX Inc. aimed to make a significant impact on the fight against infections.
The Power of Impact Entrepreneurship
Starting a company, especially in the hardware and health tech sectors, is a monumental challenge. However, for UVX Inc., the motivation for their venture goes beyond financial gains. It’s about addressing a critical issue and making a real difference in the world. They believe in their mission, and it’s this belief that fuels their journey. Entrepreneurship, they emphasize, is not just about chasing money; it’s about creating lasting impact and finding fulfillment in the process.
Joining the Spring’s Health Impact Investor Challenge
UVX Inc.’s journey took a significant turn when they joined and won Spring’s Health Impact Investor Challenge presented by the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good. They learned about this program through their connections in the Vancouver tech ecosystem and the marketing efforts of Spring. Their primary objective in joining the challenge was to gain access to experienced mentors in the hardware and health tech sectors, given their relatively new entry into this space, but they also walked away with $165 000 in investment as well.
Key Takeaways from the Health Impact Investor Challenge
The Health Impact Investor Challenge provided UVX Inc. with invaluable experiences and insights:
1. The Supportive Entrepreneurial Community: UVX Inc. discovered a community of fellow entrepreneurs willing to help and support one another. Despite being competitors for the grand prize, there was a sense of empathy and collaboration among the entrepreneurs.
2. Diverse Investor Perspectives: The program exposed them to various investors, each with their unique investment thesis and experiences. It taught UVX Inc. that impact investors invest in stories, not isolated data points.
3. Having multiple investors support your company doesn’t just help with those investors, but others that may come along will look at previous investors’ opinions heavily to dictate whether they choose to invest or not. With being in the top 5 and ultimately winning the Spring Health Impact Investor Challenge, UVX found they became very reputable in the impact investment space.
Want to learn more?
The Impact Investing space is vast, take a peak at Spring’s Impact Investor challenges to see how you can get involved as a founder or investor here.