Winter Innovations, a female-fronted startup based in Memphis, TN, walked away the winner
of the sixth Louisiana Startup Prize this Sunday, August 25 in Shreveport, LA. Winter Innovations took home $25,000 and invaluable connections to investors and business resources. The company, founded by Lia Winter and her co-founder Preston Dishner, is working
to innovate the whip stitch method of surgical stitching with a first-of-its-kind two-part hollow needle. Their aim is to revolutionize the way the surgical world operates on athletic injuries like ligament and tendon repair and replacement.
“Winning the Louisiana Startup Prize is such an incredible accomplishment. We put a lot of
time and effort into preparing, and we are truly honored that the judges selected us as the winner,” said Lia Winter. “Contacts that we made at the Startup Prize are going to help us with our next key milestones for FDA submission. We are so thankful to the
LA Startup Prize, the Investor Judges, and the City of Shreveport for hosting us! Viva LA Startup Prize!”
Winter Innovations developed their novel Easy Whip needle based on personal experience with
sports medicine and surgery. The majority of post-surgery complications occur due to stitching failures. Easy Whip allows surgeons to complete the whip stitch process more accurately and securely, in approximately 20% less time.
“As far as the quality of the entrepreneur goes, this is the most successful year we’ve ever
had at the Startup Prize,” said Gregory Kallenberg, Executive Director of the Prize Foundation and creator of the Startup Prize. “While we are incredibly proud of Lia and Preston and Winter Innovations, we are honored to have hosted startups from all around
the country coming to Shreveport, Louisiana to be a part of our competition.”
The Startup Prize is a member of the Prize Foundation, a non-profit organization that hosts the Prize Fest family of events. This year’s Prize Fest is scheduled for October 2-6 in downtown Shreveport and Bossier City, and will feature the Louisiana Film, Food, Music, and Fashion Prizes.
