Catalyst Capital Symposia

Innovation in Women's Health Pitch Showcase

Date:
6/18/2025 12:00 PM
-
9:00 pm
Location:
601 Congress St. Boston, MA 02210

Event Overview:

The event is a dynamic pitch showcase aimed at discovering and supporting groundbreaking solutions that address critical issues in women’s health. By bringing together innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs from around the globe, this event seeks to accelerate advancements in areas such as reproductive health, mental well-being, and chronic disease management. Participants will have the opportunity to showcase their ideas, gain valuable mentorship, and compete for prizes, all while contributing to the improvement of women’s health outcomes worldwide.

Application Phase

  • Submission: Participants must apply to pitch and submit application by May 1, 2025, 11:59 PM PST.
  • Applicants: Any startup at any stage is eligible to apply, provided they are already formed as a legal entity.
  • Focus: Startups are developing technologies specifically to improve women's health.
  • Screening: Applications are reviewed by a committee which will select the finalists.
  • Finalists: Finalists are committing to pitching in-person in Boston, MA.

Preparation Phase

  • Workshops: Training sessions on effective pitching and presentation skills will be provided to the Finalists.

Pitch Presentation

  • Format: Participants present their business ideas to a panel of judges, which may include investors, industry experts, or successful entrepreneurs. Startups will have a total of 8 minutes. We recommend a 3-minute pitch followed by a 5-minute Q&A session.
  • Judging Criteria: Judges evaluate pitches based on criteria such as innovation, market potential, business model, team capability, and financial viability.

Judging and Scoring

  • Evaluation: A Judging rubrik will be utilized.  Judging scores will account for 75% of the score. An audience vote will account for the remaining 25% of the total score.

Register

Pitch Deck Help?

Are you a California startup developing a device, therapy, or diagnostic?

You may be eligible for 16 hours of complimentary Pitch Deck Consulting.

Agenda

12:00 PM EST

Investor Check-in / Networking

12:30 - 1:30 PM EST

Investor Luncheon (Accredited Investors Only)

1:30 PM EST

Doors Open, Check-in and Networking

2:30 - 3:00 PM EST

Welcome Remarks

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM EST

Investor/Expert Roundtable Discussions

  • Table Host:  Eric C. Ulchaker, MS, MFin
    • Title: “Structuring Your Capital Raise”
    • Description: Understanding financing instruments like convertible notes, SAFEs, and warrants — and how they convert in a priced round. Bringing in key opinion leaders (KOLs) as early investors can also be a strategic advantage.
  • Table Host:  Ralph Morales III
    • Title: Beyond the Buzz: What Makes AI Truly Useful in Women’s Health?
    • Description: A discussion on AI’s real impact in women’s health—what works, what doesn’t, and how success is measured beyond the hype.
  • Table Host: Ameen Shallal
    • Title: Career Development and the Role of Higher Education
    • Description: Why are so many young professionals unemployed or underemployed but more “educated” than ever before? Where is higher education going wrong and what is the best path forward to equip our next generation of leaders to be successful?

4:30 PM EST

Networking

5:00 - 6:00 PM EST

"Why Investing in Women’s Health is Smart Business"

Moderator:

  • Leah Villegas, MP of Aquillius Ventures

Panelist:

  • Eric Ulchaker, MP of Serial Stage Venture Partners
  • Anshuman Sharma, Venture Partner of Vectors Capital
  • Greg Geehan, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of ScaleUp Labs
  • Kathleen Snyder, Senior Counsel of Husch Blackwell

6:15 PM - 8:00 PM EST

Startup Showcase

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST

Concluding Remarks, Happy Hour, and Networking

Prizes

1st place winners will receive the following prizes:
  • $20k in office/lab space
  • Digital Marketing and Branding Services (worth $5,000)
  • $25k custom UX design package from the largest femtech incubator in the US
  • Exploratory biostatistics package: 3 reports
  • Membership to Mayo Clinic Innovation Exchange
  • Regulatory kit and Regulatory strategy consulting (Medical Device only)
  • $5,000 Legal fees
  • Two months campaign on startup program
  • 3-day ticket to the upcoming 2025 RESI Conference
  • Contingent Permanent Placement ($5,000 off); Retained Search services ($5,000 off)
  • $5,000 of tax services

Learn from Subject Matter Experts

Leah Villegas

Managing Partner, Aquillius Ventures

As the Managing Partner at Aquillius Ventures, I oversee the investment strategy, portfolio management, and deal sourcing of a leading VC firm that focuses on early-stage startups in the biotech, medtech and agtech sectors. I also serve as the Vice President at the Aquillius Innovation Hub, where I manage the operations, financial planning, and business development of the firm. Additionally, I am a board member of Microtek, Inc., a microelectronic manufacturing company that provides innovative solutions for the medtech industry. I hold an MBA in Finance from the University of Colorado Denver and a certificate from VC University, where I learned the latest trends and best practices in the VC field. I am proficient in investment analysis, data analysis, and SWOT analysis, and I have a passion for finding and supporting disruptive and scalable businesses that can make a positive impact on the world. I value collaboration, diversity, innovation, and social responsibility, and I seek to work with like-minded entrepreneurs, investors, and partners.

Eric C. Ulchaker, MS, MFin

Managing Partner, Serial Stage Venture Partners

Eric C. Ulchaker brings over a decade of entrepreneurial experience, including more than two years in venture capital, with a proven track record of successful ventures. He previously served as Fund Manager for the Pit Road Fund, a $23 million pre-seed and seed-stage venture fund affiliated with the University of Notre Dame, and played a key role in raising the 1842 Fund – a partnership between High Alpha Innovation and the University of Notre Dame – where he led diligence efforts following the fund’s initial $17.5 million close. Eric is currently a Managing Partner at Serial Stage Venture Partners (SSVP), a Cleveland-based, healthcare-focused investor network with over 150 members. He is also an active angel investor. Passionate about MedTech, BioTech, and HealthTech, Eric has supported startups such as Pulmonary Apps, Apportis, and Million Marker, a Y Combinator-backed company.

Ralph Morales III

Managing Director at Shokunin Ventures

Ralph Morales III is an accomplished leader in the wearables and health tech space, with over 15 years of experience driving innovation and market growth. He has held pivotal roles at companies like Oura, where he led the development of healthcare solutions that generated significant revenue and expanded digital health capabilities. Ralph is a solution advocate for integrating digital biomarkers and real-time health insights to improve therapeutic outcomes and advance health span.  

Anshuman Sharma

Venture Partner, Venture Capital

Anshuman Sharma, brings over 20 years of operator and investor experience. He started his career in R&D at Medtronic commercializing best-in-class implantable devices, including the very first DBS device. His operator experience spans early stage startups across med devices and digital health. Having been part of five founding teams, with three exits (Klio, Gecko, and iVizz) he has successfully raised multiple rounds of capital for early stage ventures from angels, UHNI, and institutional VC. As an investor he's part of CVC(BestBuy), angel/syndicate and institutional venture capital firms (MBx and Vectors). In addition to that he has held senior leadership roles at Transoma Medical, Biofourmis and at the CMS. He has an MPH from Harvard, MSEE from UC Berkeley and BSEE from Georgia Tech.

Greg Geehan

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Scale Up Labs

Greg is an AI venture studio thought leader, entrepreneur, and international networker, bringing entrepreneurs, executives and investors together from across the globe. He is a founder and partner of ScaleUp Labs, a pioneering applied AI venture studio and international accelerator. Greg is an early-stage technology startup founder, investor, advisor and operator, with a focus on digital health and international startups. Greg has been engaged in the US and international startup ecosystems for many years. In addition to his role at ScaleUp Labs, Greg has co-founded several other initiatives aimed at fostering startup ecosystems globally. He is a Co-Founder and Partner at AccelHUB Venture Partners, a company that supports the scaling of international technology startups. He also co-founded ScaleUp LatAm, an organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship in Latin America, and Accelerate Italy, which aims to boost Italian startups.

Ameen Shallal

Head of Placement, EGIS Careers

Ameen Shallal is the Head of Placement at EGIS Careers, a multi-service recruiting agency that connects early-career talent to internships and experienced candidates into full-time roles in high finance and consulting while providing coaching and mentorship to help them grow into the next generation of industry leaders. Over the last 15 years, Ameen has placed over 5,000 professionals in internships and full-time positions in industries such as venture capital, investment banking, private equity and management consulting across the United States.

Kathleen Snyder

Senior Counsel, Husch Blackwell

Kathleen Snyder is a senior counsel at Husch Blackwell where she runs the firm’s AI in Healthcare Working Group. Based in Boston, Kathleen practices at the intersection of healthcare and technology, providing clients with practical legal advice on AI Governance, strategic technology and commercial contracts, data strategies, intellectual property, and regulatory interpretation. With 20+ years of experience in the healthcare industry, Kathleen has an intrinsic understanding of the healthcare landscape. Her technology-focused transactional practice, coupled with her regulatory experience, gives her a unique perspective that allows her to provide holistic legal advice to clients.

MC/MODERATOR

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STARTUP SHOWCASE

Christine Rohan
CEO
Vasowatch develops clinical decision support technology enabling better maternal outcomes for health systems and payers. Our product is a novel Labor and Delivery technology that provides continuous monitoring of a mother’s risk for postpartum hemorrhage, excessive blood loss after childbirth, the leading cause of maternal deaths. Vasowatch analyzes streaming maternal heart rate with our patent-pending algorithm to alert clinicians to previously unknown hemorrhage risk ahead of delivery, enabling prompt and appropriate treatment.
John Nealon
President & CEO
Azura Bio is transforming women's health with the first absorbable sling for stress urinary incontinence.
Surya Srivastava
CEO
Our novel migraine gene therapy will be a “once and done” cure for effectively mitigating the debilitating symptoms of recurring migraine pain. This innovative approach has the potential to rescue patients from years of disability and significantly reduce the risk of opioid overuse associated with chronic migraine management. We will further apply this pipeline as platform to develop gene therapy towards other trigeminal root associated conditions like trigeminal neuralgia, cluster headache etc.
Scott Cohen
Founder and CEO
We provide a safer more effective way to treat breast cancer.
Kate Stephenson, PhD
VP Engineering
The Cern Device, Microbicidal light treatment for BOTH yeast and bacterial GYN infection. For those for whom drug based therapies are neither effective, appropriate or desired. Localized, non-drug, yet compatible with.
Glenn Cornett
Board Member, Scientific Founder
We increase health span and decrease Alzheimer's / stroke mortality. We do this addressing the biological dynamics of menopause (endothelial dysfunction, sympathetic activation, and salt-sensitive hypertension) with a new class of cardiovascular drug. This drug is approved in France; we are developing an improved version (with composition-of-matter exclusivity) for the US and elsewhere.
Doug Godfrin
Founder & CEO
VeraMorph can directly and indirectly enhance the duration and quality of life for patients across all disease areas by enabling the cost-effective development of efficacious treatments with its oral drug delivery technology. VeraMorph has the expertise and resources to rapidly develop and validate new oral formulations of approved drug products as patent-protected, clinically-differentiated therapies. The uniquely broad compatibility and effectiveness of our platform can also improve and accelerate clinical translation of poorly soluble drugs, which account for 90% of novel therapies.
Dr. Marcy Crouch, PT, DPT, WCS
Founder & CEO
The Down There Doc delivers scalable, expert-led pregnancy focused, pelvic floor and birth education, as well as postpartum recovery for birthing people—and the companies that employ them. We prevent injury before it happens and accelerate recovery through tech-enabled, personalized care. Our platform fills the costly gap left by healthcare and corporate wellness, improving outcomes, retention, and maternal health equity at scale. $18B Lost Annually from Maternal Turnover. We Built the Solution.
Hadas Ziso
CEO
It significantly shortens the time to diagnosis, reducing the typical years-long delay that many patients endure. With AI-powered follow-up, our solution enables continuous monitoring, offering personalized insights and proactive management to improve long-term patient care.
Stacy Blain
Founder and CEO
Concarlo is the first company to successfully drug p27 and is disrupting a >$40B annual potential drug market

JUDGES

Eric C. Ulchaker, MS, MFin

Managing Partner, Serial Stage Venture Partners

Eric C. Ulchaker brings over a decade of entrepreneurial experience, including more than two years in venture capital, with a proven track record of successful ventures. He previously served as Fund Manager for the Pit Road Fund, a $23 million pre-seed and seed-stage venture fund affiliated with the University of Notre Dame, and played a key role in raising the 1842 Fund – a partnership between High Alpha Innovation and the University of Notre Dame – where he led diligence efforts following the fund’s initial $17.5 million close. Eric is currently a Managing Partner at Serial Stage Venture Partners (SSVP), a Cleveland-based, healthcare-focused investor network with over 150 members. He is also an active angel investor. Passionate about MedTech, BioTech, and HealthTech, Eric has supported startups such as Pulmonary Apps, Apportis, and Million Marker, a Y Combinator-backed company.

Jay DeSantis

Strategic Partner, Apex Ascension 

Jay DeSantis is a visionary leader in venture capital and private equity, known for backing transformative companies like SpaceX, Lyft, Slack, LinkedIn (acquired by Microsoft), Anthropic, and 23andMe. He also serves as a trusted CFO and venture partner to leading family offices and investment funds.

Ben Stokes

Founding Partner, Chasing Rainbows

Meet Ben Stokes - the VC rebel who's flipping the entire investment game on its head. As founding partner of Chasing Rainbows, he's not just writing checks - he's rewriting the rules of who gets funded in this game. And holy shit, is he making waves... White House roundtables, SXSW mainstage appearances, and enough "40 Under 40" titles to fill a trophy room. Fast Company even named his fund one of their Top Impact Funds of 2024. But here's what makes Ben different: While most VCs are obsessed with "pattern matching" the same old founders, pattern matching means you're missing a lot... great founders are often overlooked and underestimated. And Ben's proving that backing these underrepresented founders isn't just right - it's damn smart business. This is PrideNomad Unleashed with Ben Stokes - where venture capital meets radical inclusion, and every check written is another crack in that glass ceiling.

Blair Heavey

Founder, Heavey Advisors

Blair Heavey is the founder of Heavey Advisors, a strategic advisory firm. He enjoys working with CEOs, leadership teams, and Boards to improve team alignment, go-to-market strategies and product-market fit. Blair has worked with 25+ companies across multiple industries as either a leader or advisor. While at these companies his responsibilities included building aligned and focused teams; creating and growing sales and marketing teams; increasing revenue streams; and creating successful business models. His results: multiple IPO’s, mergers and acquisitions, and growth investment rounds at increasing valuations

Stamatis N. Astra

Co-founder, Intelligent Relations 

Co-Founder at Intelligent Relations, a SaaS PR firm leveraging AI to build a broader and smarter set of relationships. Specifically skilled in taking startup projects and products from zero to exit. I'm a strong entrepreneurship professional with an MBA, MS-Communications, BA-Economics focused in Business, Economics, and Communications from Boston University. Radio host and father of 2 on my free time

Danielle C. Tarraf, PhD

Senior Principal, Flagship Pioneering

Danielle C. Tarraf is a Senior Principal at Flagship Pioneering where she is responsible for originating and growing new companies leveraging artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Previously at McKinsey she co-led the GenAI for private investors service line in North America, helping private equity and infrastructure investors position for disruptive technological trends around AI. In her prior experience as a venture investor, Danielle focused on Seed-Series D startups in technology, software, digital infrastructure & data centers, and healthcare. While at the RAND Corporation she led a congressionally mandated assessment of the Department of Defense’s posture in Artificial Intelligence as well as various strategy studies around autonomy and emerging technologies. Danielle started her career in academia as an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Johns Hopkins University. She holds a PhD and SM in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where her doctoral work was in the area of control theory.

Anshuman Sharma

Venture Partner, Vectors Capital 

Anshuman Sharma, brings over 20 years of operator and investor experience. He started his career in R&D atMedtronic commercializing best-in-class implantable devices, including the very first DBS device. His operator experience spans early stage startups across med devices and digital health. Having been part of five founding teams, with three exits (Klio, Gecko, and iVizz) he has successfully raised multiple rounds of capital for early stage ventures from angels, UHNI, and institutional VC. As an investor he's part of CVC(BestBuy), angel/syndicate and institutional venture capital firms (MBx and Vectors). In addition to that he has held senior leadership roles at Transoma Medical, Biofourmis and at the CMS. He has an MPH from Harvard, MSEE from UC Berkeley and BSEE from Georgia Tech.

Greg Geehan

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, ScaleUp Labs

Greg is an AI venture studio thought leader, entrepreneur, and international networker, bringing entrepreneurs, executives and investors together from across the globe. He is a founder and partner of ScaleUp Labs, a pioneering applied AI venture studio and international accelerator. Greg is an early-stage technology startup founder, investor, advisor and operator, with a focus on digital health and international startups. Greg has been engaged in the US and international startup ecosystems for many years. In addition to his role at ScaleUp Labs, Greg has co-founded several other initiatives aimed at fostering startup ecosystems globally. He is a Co-Founder and Partner at AccelHUB Venture Partners, a company that supports the scaling of international technology startups. He also co-founded ScaleUp LatAm, an organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship in Latin America, and Accelerate Italy, which aims to boost Italian startups.

Kathleen Snyder

Senior Counsel, Husch Blackwell

Kathleen Snyder is a senior counsel at Husch Blackwell where she runs the firm’s AI in Healthcare Working Group. Based in Boston, Kathleen practices at the intersection of healthcare and technology, providing clients with practical legal advice on AI Governance, strategic technology and commercial contracts, data strategies, intellectual property, and regulatory interpretation. With 20+ years of experience in the healthcare industry, Kathleen has an intrinsic understanding of the healthcare landscape. Her technology-focused transactional practice, coupled with her regulatory experience, gives her a unique perspective that allows her to provide holistic legal advice to clients.

Anderson Wang

BCIC Advisor

Anderson Wang is an entrepreneurial investor in biotech industry over 10 years. With a strong background in investment and business operation, he has played a pivotal role in shaping and growing innovative ventures. As the co-founder and CFO of Purinomia Biotech, a first-in-class biotech company in Boston, Anderson led the growth of the products advanced from conception, through antibody discovery and optimization, GMP manufacturing, and IND approvals to first-in-human dosing in just under 2 years, and the drug was expanded to cancer and autoimmune disease programs in multiple global sites. His previous roles in investment, consulting, and corporate finance have equipped him with the expertise to support biotech startups and established companies in achieving sustainable growth.

Judges

Eric C. Ulchaker, MS, MFin
Managing Partner, Serial Stage Venture Partners
Jay DeSantis
Strategic Partner, Apex Ascension 
Ben Stokes
Founding Partner, Chasing Rainbows
Blair Heavey
Founder, Heavey Advisors
Stamatis N. Astra
Co-founder, Intelligent Relations 
Danielle C. Tarraf, PhD
Senior Principal, Flagship Pioneering
Anshuman Sharma
Venture Partner, Vectors Capital 
Greg Geehan
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, ScaleUp Labs
Kathleen Snyder
Senior Counsel, Husch Blackwell
Anderson Wang
BCIC Advisor

Sponsors

Startup Market

Innovative products from local founders

The Startup Market is a unique marketplace designed to promote local startups. The market provides founders with the opportunity to showcase their products and to sell directly to consumers.

Interested in a booth at the symposium?

Catalyst Capital Symposia

IMPACT

Activating Startups

Catalyst Capital Symposia is a platform connecting founders and funders to catalyze innovation.

This monthly forum provides a unique opportunity for participants to gain valuable insights into emerging sectors and disruptive technologies that have the potential to revolutionize human health, the environment, and society.

Through engaging discussions, informative panels, and interactive workshops, aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs and investors can learn about essential concepts, strategies, and best practices directly from industry experts.

By engaging the venture and startup ecosystem, the symposia encourages investors to be activists and empower startups with cutting-edge technology.
BECOME AN
INVESTOR-ACTIVIST

Investing in Startups

Stay ahead of the curve by joining us at the Catalyst Capital Symposia, where you can gain valuable insights into emerging technologies, spanning various industries, from tech and healthcare to sustainability and beyond.

Join the ranks of investor-activists who not only provide financial backing but also lend their expertise, networks, and influence to nurture startups, catalyzing a collective effort towards a brighter, more innovative future.


FUNDRAISING
&
RESOURCES

Startups: Apply to Pitch

Are you ready to supercharge your innovative startup? Don't miss this golden opportunity to bring your vision to life!

Pitch your startup to an audience of industry experts, colleagues, and seasoned investors to gain valuable insights and feedback, forge strategic partnerships and connections, secure vital funding for your pioneering project, and elevate your startup to the next level!

Apply to pitch at one of the upcoming symposiums.
SPONSOR

Connecting with Potential Customers

Position your organization as a corporate sponsor and connect with a deeply engaged audience of investors, entrepreneurs, and industry experts.

Sponsorship at Catalyst Capital Symposia provides a range of advantages, such as heightened brand visibility, lead generation, networking opportunities, thought leadership, and early access to emerging technologies.

To explore the ways in which your company can benefit from sponsoring our event, reach out to us for more information.
SPONSOR

Be a Champion of Women's Health

Want to make an even bigger impact? Consider becoming a sponsor for Casino Night! As a sponsor, you'll receive prominent recognition at the event, on our marketing materials, and across our digital platforms. Sponsorship packages offer a unique opportunity to align your brand with a cause that resonates with so many.