The first leAD accelerator program in the country belongs to the innovative region of Lake Nona in Orlando. The program is the result of collaboration between Lake Nona and the leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners investment medium, a product created by popular athlete Adi Dassler.

The leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator chose their first group of startup businesses focusing on sports and health, which will come to Lake Nona as soon as 2021 to test their work in the real world. The groups are undergoing the virtual phase, which began this month.

leAD will set up camp in Lake Nona’s Town Center. Surrounding art, cowork spaces, gigabit wiring, and the region’s 5G network will optimize the ability for these companies to focus as well as experiment and implement their new technologies.

Utilizing the area for its proximity to advanced healthcare technologies and sports facilities, the program will foster six exclusive startups. Each startup intends to enhance the knowledge base dedicated to wellbeing.

Co-founder and leAD CEO Cristoph Sonnen said, “For this cohort, we sourced the absolute best in this industry – world-class, hungry entrepreneurs with solutions that are truly cutting-edge.”

The startups in question are the best of the best: Out of nearly 450 applications from 44 different countries, only 1.36% of applicants were selected for this prestigious opportunity. Tavistock’s investment legacy, Lake Nona developers, and leAD granted each of the six seedlings $75,000 in startup funds and 8% equity.

Among the elite participants are the following:

• Tersa, from California, is an at-home physical therapy technology that uses built-in cameras and advanced movement analysis to determine problem areas.
• KinoTek, from Maine, assists clinicians in evaluating movements objectively and through the use of quantitative data.
• Nestre, located in Lake Nona, investigates and targets neurohealth through objective technology that inspects mental health, performance, and brain function.
• Phlex, based in Fort Lauderdale, covers all things swimming, from performance records and metrics to responding with improvements.
• AgeRate, in Canada, studies healthy aging through genetics; they accurately state the true age of a person and provide insights into delaying the aging process. 
• Break the Love comes from New York to institute an all-in-one sports complex and provides a digital experience for tennis players of all skill levels.

“As we begin our journey in Lake Nona together with the support of our partners, we expect to see these founders aim high and grow at a very accelerated pace,” said Sonnen. 

The leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator plans to host the six startups in-person in early 2020. The program participants hope to enhance the community with science that will promote wellbeing, health, and inventive medical treatment.

Photos Courtesy of leAD