Lancaster firm combating indoor air pollution claims top TechCelerator prize

A Lancaster firm working to combat indoor air pollution took home the top prize in the TechCelerator Startup Boot Camp competition Tuesday. 

Hema Ravindran and Raj Singh earned $10,000 for their company, KiposTech, that is developing non-thermal plasma technology to combat indoor air pollution with a focus on health care-associated infections.  

The competition, hosted by Ben Franklin Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania (Ben Franklin Partners) in collaboration with Invent Penn State, showcased the entrepreneurial spirit of startup companies throughout Central and Northern Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin Partners said. 

“[The TechCelerator] has been an incredible journey, and much of our growth and progress is thanks to the support and guidance,” said Ravindran. “The classes and coaching sessions have not only enriched my knowledge but have also given me countless memorable moments.” 

Claiming the second-place prize of $5,000 was Lightscline, the brainchild of Ankur Verma and Ayush Goyal, of Centre County. Lightscline is working to reduce sensor data analytics costs by up to 90%. Their approach targets B2B companies reliant on sensor data, effectively streamlining data infrastructure and human capital expenses. 

Ben Franklin Partners said the other competitors were; 

• North Country Gear Works (Dustin Coles, McKean County): North Country Gear Works manufactures versatile outdoor equipment for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation for outdoorsmen and women in the East and Midwest. 
• Lehr Labs (Evan Lehr, York County): Lehr Labs is designing and building a high-temperature, high-performance FDM 3D printer that can process almost all available 3D printing materials at larger size formats more efficiently and cost-effectively for manufacturers. 
• Hoffman Appalachian Farm (Joshua Brock, Elk County): Hoffman Appalachian Farms is expanding their existing hops operations, adding small grains, hemp, and other crops to diversify and is building working partnerships with local breweries and PA Wilds marketing efforts to establish the region as an Agritourist destination. 
• Allegro Learning Solutions (Joel Kline & Shaun Donovan, Dauphin County): Allegro Learning Solutions is building a workforce platform that engages and matches pools of unqualified employee candidates with the programs and training to become qualified employees for medium and large-size employers. 
• Dolphin Studios (Drew Piispanen, Dauphin County): Dolphin Studios is a chatbot consulting firm, specializing in knowledge-based chatbots through contextual learning for businesses to improve the overall customer service experience by providing targeted information more efficiently. The company chatbot plugin would be useable for three primary e-commerce platforms – shopify, woocommerce and Magento 2.