Hatch Fairhope has a clear purpose: Build the tech ecosystem in Baldwin County.
That vision took another step forward on Thursday, Aug. 22, as Hatch Fairhope powered by Bessel held it’s first-ever Medical Innovation Cohort Finale. The event allowed participants to showcase their new companies and pitch to potential investors and community stakeholders following the 10-week program.
Eight start-up companies participated in the cohort designed to accelerate medical innovations for a
healthier future, where the businesses received an assortment of exposure to in-person events, expert mentorships, funding, specialized workshops and consulting in technology development.
“It’s been incredible because I’ve never done anything like this before,” said Blake Martin, an Eastern Shore resident since 2006. “This whole world of getting a medical device to market is pretty complicated to navigate on your own, so to have a program like this with people who have done it before to teach you step-by-step, here’s what you need to do…this has allowed me to get the information I need to do this very fast and effectively.”
Martin’s company, NEMS Recovery, which is in the pre-seed, pre-commercial phase of business development, is about helping patients recovering from knee surgery.
“What this knee brace will do is literally build the muscle up for the patients so they can get up, be walking around quicker, get back to their daily lives. For older patients, it will help put off cognitive decline that happens when you’re immobile for long periods of time, so on a lot of levels, it will help patients,” he said.
Ryan DeBoer, an Austin, Texas, resident, created The Shape Sensing Company, or TSSC, a business that helps doctors and reduces procedure times.
“We’re developing a 3D guided system that allows doctors to navigate devices inside the body in real-time without x-ray. We’re overcoming the limitations of x-ray.” DeBoer said. “It’s kind of like, I was doing some shoe shopping online and they have the top view, and the side view, but you don’t really get context, but now they have the 3D view and you can rotate it around and have all the different angles. So kind of the same concept but now with patient anatomy and 3D devices.”
According to a news release, multiple companies in Hatch powered by Bessel have already secured funding, advanced to the commercial development stages and signed distribution deals and exclusive licensing deals to introduce their devices to the market this year. For example, DNA Nanobots, a biotechnology leader in DNA nanoparticles engineered for targeted therapeutics, received exclusive commercial licensing for gene editing technology from the University of California Berkeley. Endeavor Orthopaedics also signed a distribution contract with Point Clear Solutions for their Summit Patella Plating System and raised over $400,000 during the program. In addition, MACB, a company owned by local orthopedic surgeon and medical school professor Dr. Dan Matthews, licensed its technology designed to enhance the efficiency of total knee arthroplasty procedures.
Hatch Fairhope is funded by the Baldwin Community + Economic Development Foundation (BCEDF), Coastal Alabama Community College, PNC Bank and the City of Fairhope. Innovate Alabama, Alabama’s first statewide public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology and innovation, admitted the BCEDF into their Innovate Alabama Network in 2023 and granted it $250,000 to support Hatch Fairhope and its programming.
“We’re doing elite things in Baldwin County, and we’re excited about it,” said Keith Glines, experience architect and creative director of Hatch. “I want my kids to be able to come back here and work. I want your kids to be find jobs in the tech sector, in programming and web design, in medical devices and be happy to be in Alabama.”
Hatch Fairhope is renovating about 16,000 square feet of the former Fairhope K-1 Center. According to Glines, it’s ultimately going to be a combination of co-working spaces, schools, classes and education programs not only in the medical sectors but in all technology sectors.
“I’ve been in the tech space for 20-plus years, and I was a lone ranger for a long time in this ecosystem,” Glines said. “Having a place like Hatch to be able to work at and be able to build and be able to bring into (Baldwin) County has been so wonderful. It allows me to use my skills to further the knowledge about what we can do here.”
Hatch Fairhope’s new home is currently under construction and expected to be operational in 2026.