Ronawk has just been accepted into Capital Factory – one of the most active investors in Texas (according to PitchBook). Joining this Austin cohort doesn’t come with cash right off the bat. Capital Factory looks for companies that have already been through an accelerator – like Ronawk with Mass Challenge – (see below) and they work with entrepreneurs to expand their network, resources, connections and contacts.
A.J. Mellott and Heather Decker of Ronawk
“They actually are pretty good at keeping with what they say they’re going to do, so it’s a really big deal for Ronawk,” CEO A.J. Mellott told the 4thEst8. “Capital Factory has an option to invest at a future date… and they do have their own fund down there.”
Spun out of the University of Kansas Medical Center and founded in 2019, the Olathe, KS startup is developing technology that can mass produce a patients own stem cells in the lab. Those stem cells, called ‘biologics’, can be used to treat many diseases, cancer, organ injuries, and burns. Ronawk sells its products to scientists developing vaccines, therapeutics, treatments and diagnostics faster and cheaper by reducing the time and cost of producing those biologics.
The company has two full-time employees (Mellott and CTO Heather Decker). This spring they announced their intention to hire 25 workers in the next 18 months, something Mellott re-affirmed with the 4thEst8 for this interview.
Pandemic and IP
Mellott and Decker used the pandemic to drill down on their technology, for which they have a patent pending, and hopes of a patent being issued later this year.
Mellott says the company is mostly bootstrapped with “a little bit of funding… by a family office” (something CrunchBase calls ‘ Venture – Series Unknown’ from June, 2020) for an undisclosed amount. 4thEst8 readers first heard of Ronawk when they were featured in this spring’s InvestMidwest Forum.
Links:
On the 4thEst8:
Ronawk joins Mass Challenge – Houston
InvestMidwest targets hot startups
