Clemson-fostered business leaders to be featured at Innovation Roundtable

Published: October 26, 2009

CLEMSON — Three entrepreneurial startups spun off from Clemson University will share their stories during the Clemson Renaissance Center’s Fall Innovation Roundtable.

“Launching a Technology Start-Up in the Upstate: A Conversation with Clemson Affiliated Spin-Offs” is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce boardroom on Cleveland Street. The panel discussion costs $15 and reservations can be made at http://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/renaissance/events.html or by contacting Pris Foster at priscif@clemson.edu.

Panelists include Michael Bolick, founder and CEO of Selah Technologies LLC in Pendleton; Dee L. Cross, founder and president of Equi-Tox Inc. in Central; and David Myers, CEO of SensorTech Corp. in Greenville. Each of the three companies has its roots at Clemson. Two were formed by a faculty member or former graduate student, two have employed Clemson University Spiro Institute graduate student teams for several projects, and all three licensed Clemson University technology and were initially located in the Clemson University Research Foundation incubator space in Pendleton.

Selah Technologies is developing nanotechnology-enabled in vitro diagnostic test kits that will allow surgical oncologists to better visualize and remove cancerous tissue. Bolick has more than 18 years experience in starting and growing advanced materials manufacturing companies. He formed Selah Technologies to license nanotechnology patents from Clemson and is located in the Clemson University Research Foundation incubator space in Pendleton. 

Equi-Tox is a research-driven pharmaceutical company that discovers and develops products to improve animal and human health, directly and through partnerships. In the early 1990s, Cross, a professor emeritus of animal and veterinary sciences at Clemson, began searching for ways to alleviate the intense pain and suffering from fescue toxicosis in horses, cattle and other animals that graze on endophyte-infected fescue. He established Equi-Tox in 1995 to license his inventions from Clemson University and developed a product that has saved thousands of horses around the world. Equi-Tox, which was in the incubator space for many years, now is located in Central.

SensorTech is an early-stage technology company that is developing and commercializing smart polymer sensors from technology licensed by Clemson University. The technology, which was developed by former Clemson bioengineering Ph.D. student Andrew Clark, converts polymers into semi-conductive materials that can be used as uniquely durable and formable sensors in medical and industrial applications. Myers has more than 25 years management experience that includes positions with Black & Decker, Rubbermaid, Yale Security and Danaher, where he held senior executive positions in sales, marketing and business development.

Two of these entrepreneurs received assistance through the Spiro Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Clemson University. The Spiro Institute employs teams of MBA students to help entrepreneurs with early market assessment and strategic business planning. Both Selah Technologies and SensorTech engaged Clemson Spiro Institute teams on multiple occasions to help the companies validate assumptions about initial target markets and explore new market opportunities. 

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