Hundreds of entrepreneurs, business leaders and angel investors gathered on Wednesday, December 3rd at the new hub of innovation and collaboration in Montgomery – 23 Orchard Road, the former J&J offices in Skillman. Targeted dialogues and presentations on emerging trends in AI, global marketing, data science and biotech supported a platform for people to present their products, share dreams and strategies for development and network with rooms full of potential investors and collaborators.
South Brunswick resident Farooq Zama is the founder of CureValue, a digital marketplace that helps Americans access safe medical care abroad, often at a fraction of U.S. costs. He delivered a pitch during the NJ X Venture Summit and raised eyebrows with the attention his firm is getting from both investors and potential customers – hitting daily website traffic of 6,000 unique visitors. CureValue’s problem statement noted that 40% of American adults skip or delay medical treatment because of cost, and the average hospital costs in the U.S. is $13,600 compared to $3,000 in other developed countries.
Zama said each year, two million travel abroad for medical services and the number is expected to double by 2030. According to Patients Without Borders, in 2023 1.8 million Americans traveled outside the U.S. for medical care. By going abroad for medical procedures, he noted that ‘medical tourists’ average savings between 30% and 70%. That market is underserved since there’s no website focused on making or facilitating itineraries such as Expedia, AirBnB, or Priceline to present all the costs and features.
“CureValue is building the infrastructure for global healthcare access, utilizing AI personalization (on its website/app) with verified facilities and transparent pricing. We have an algorithm that has a unique ranking system, looking specifically at the American mindset – do people need a visa? Are the countries/facilities easy to travel to? And are they English-speaking or not? We use that huge amount of data, scaling it with AI – using the analytics of our users – to make the personalized experience better. We also provide the user with a medical service’s U.S. cost for a side-by-side comparison,” Zama shared.
Another company showcased on December 3rd was Hillsborough-based RegKey.ai, an AI-powered pharma regulatory intelligence platform that supports all aspects of drug development, and has a significant presence in New Jersey's life sciences ecosystem. Co-founder and CEO Aruna Dontabhaktuni, Ph.D., also attended the 1st Montgomery Innovation Summit back in May, held at the municipal center. She is a leading woman entrepreneur in the biotech and AI sector. The Summit allowed her time to meet businesspeople and investors face-to-face and cultivate relationships.
“At RegKey we are not just AI; we combine AI with human experts. Today’s event offered us an opportunity to better understand Central NJ’s startup ecosystem. I am pleasantly surprised by this prime opportunity to connect with investors, all gathered in Montgomery. It’s so good to see the footfall we’ve had here because many people don’t perceive NJ as a place to find investors – most people are looking at NYC, Boston, the Bay Area and those business hubs. Having the ecosystem for founders and investors to come together also presents the chances of learning from the venture capitalists and angel investors – the exchange of knowledge and ideas is what matters, especially in today’s age where AI is taking over everything including our social media feeds,” Dontabhaktuni explained.
Jim Barrood, founder and CEO of Innovation+ and INNOVATE100, gave the keynote. He serves as an advisor to startups, growth companies and higher ed institutions as well as Tech Council Venture Fund and JumpStart Angel Network. In addition, he oversees executive education programs focusing on AI. At the event he presented a morning talk on “Why the Greatest Innovators are A**holes.”
“This is a vibrant and informative event, and a great way to bring the entrepreneurship community together. People are learning about resources, government support and seeking investments. All those things are coming together in the Summit and it’s good to meet the new faces, entrants and entrepreneurs,” he said.
Bergen County resident and attorney Alexa La Barbiera thrilled the investor audience as she showcased her company – Pastamalfi – with unique “protein-rich, collagen-powered pasta” plus sauces and dietary options. The personal touch in her pitch included a weight loss transformation and early days in her career where pasta was a hearty part of her food budget. Two blue pasta boxes she brought to the NJ X Venture Summit were Basil Cream pasta, and Cacio de Pepe with pecorino, parmesan and pepper. The pasta is made using hard durum wheat semolina imported from Italy, and it contains 30 grams of protein and 340 calories per serving. LaBarbiera set up her table with a microwave for heating bite-size samples of her pasta.
Pastamalfi started a supplier relationship and is on shelves at ShopRites in north Jersey, with plans to expand soon. She spoke about her education as a consumer, and losing 55 pounds during her second year of law school in 2020. “It’s protein without compromising taste. We have zero seed oils, no soy, no gums and emulsifiers – anything that is bad for you is not found in Pastamalfi. And why collagen? It is an amazing protein source compared to whey protein, whey is super-inflammatory for the body – especially for women as it can cause jawline hormonal acne and constipation. Pea proteins also have lechitins which are super-inflammatory, but collagen is actually anti-inflammatory. The collagen market is predicted to more than double – from $ 2 billion today to over $5 billion by 2030,” she said, raising intrigue from the audience and spurring questions on the business.
A two-hour drive down to Montgomery from Westchester County, NY, didn’t stop Alex Alexandrov, chief enabling officer for Burnout Motorsport, from attending the December 3rd event at 23 Orchard Road and showing up in style. He presented an innovative booth with neon pink and baby blue, complete with a car racing backdrop and motorcycle helmet.
In its first 10 months, the startup held events and carried its overhead costs for renting track facilities , supplying race car instructors and specially-equipped cars, curating events for customers and offering catering or transportation when needed. In the spring Burnout Motorsport sponsored the ‘Cars & Caffe car show’ at the American Dream mall.
Alexandrov learned about the NJ X Venture Summit from some contacts that have been at his company’s track events. The Summit allowed Alexandrov a chance to connect with angel investors and entrepreneurs and gain business leads.
“We’re pursuing seed funding towards developing our fleet, funding our B-to-B sales and corporate events which we launched about two months ago. We completed 11 events that were open to the public and now we’re planning corporate and private race events,” he commented. A few companies expressed interest in booking with him for private events.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the NJ Commission on Science, Innovation & Technology (represented by executive director Judith Sheft) offered insights into the state’s resources and road maps available for businesses and startups.
Ben Jen, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, participated in one of the day’s featured panel discussions, “Raising Angel Investments” along with Joe Maruschak and Mellie Chow. Jen observed that the Summit attracted folks from upstate New York, Boston, New Hampshire, North Carolina and elsewhere to Montgomery.
“This is our third event with a really great turnout, and we’re probably going to do one more in July and more things like this for the NJ ecosystem. Our team definitely thinks there are a lot of investable startups here, and we recently invested in BMI Organ Bank, based in Skillman – we’re probably going to do another follow & check as well,” Jen said.
