Innovation and Inspiration Speaker Series begins Feb. 3

Matthew Rooda and Abraham Espinoza, founders of SwineTech, will kick off the Innovation and Inspiration Speaker Series at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at MERGE at 136 S. Dubuque St. in Iowa City. The public is invited to this free event, which is hosted by the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.

Because of limited space, registration is required at www.iowajpec.org/speaker-series.

While at the University of Iowa in 2015, Mr. Rooda and Mr. Espinoza pitched an idea for a voice recognition technology that could prevent millions of pigs from dying due to their mother rolling on them shortly after birth. They gained traction and received a $3,000 grant from the John Pappajohn Founders Club Fair.

Later that year, SwineTech Inc., was founded and accepted into the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Startup Accelerator. During this program, they validated the ability to identify a piglet in distress and built a working prototype. After graduating from the accelerator, the SwineTech team applied to nearly 30 business start-up competitions from all over the world and won almost all of them, amassing more than $300,000 in grants for continued research and development. 

The public is invited to attend a networking session at 5 p.m., with beverages and appetizers provided.

Mr. Rooda and Mr. Espinoza are the first of the three-part Innovation and Inspiration Speaker Series. They will be followed by John Slump, chief financial officer for Surgical Innovation Associates, on March 3; and Patricia Miller, CEO and owner of the manufacturing company M4, on April 7.  

For more information, contact Jan Finlayson at [email protected].