Bethlehem startup wins Ben Franklin Northeast’s Venture Idol

On Monday, Bethlehem-based Ilico Genetics was named the winner of Ben Franklin Northeast’s Venture Idol.

The 20th annual Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeast Pennsylvania’s event, held in late April, named the startup the winner after bringing 300 community members, entrepreneurs, students, and investors from the area together for the pitch competition. Officials said the company, which is developing the first methylated DNA based molecular test designed to detect gastric cancer through blood sampling, won both the $2,500 Judge’s Choice prize and the $15,00 grand prize determined by audience voting.

Ilico, a spin-off of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, a university located in Chile, South America, now located in the Ben Franklin Northeast’s incubator, TechVentures, was one of four companies to compete in the pitch competition for up to $17,500 in prize money. Other competitors included CatapalloVR, Showcase and Unity Lab. Officials said the Venture Idol event was a platform to showcase and celebrate innovation and to support emerging and established entrepreneurs.

Other awards included three innovation awards – the R. Chadwick Paul, Jr. Entrepreneurial Achievement Award for the company that exemplified the entrepreneurial spirit, presented to Gilson Snow; the Manufacturing Achievement Award for achievement in manufacturing, presented to Production Systems Automation; and the Frederick J. Beste III Partnership Award, for an individual or organization whose work has furthered the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, awarded to Dr. Rodney Ridley of Alvernia University’s O’Pake Institute.