03.24.23
Indiana-based Navigate Maternity showing MedTech how it’s done
Tammy Allen, SR. Director | Marketing, & Communications NIIC
On March 3, 2023, Ariana McGee, Founder and CEO, Navigate Maternity, pitched at and placed third in MedTech Color Pitch Competition and won $25,000. The company also received a special prize for a spot in the Texas Medical Center’s Health Tech Accelerator.
“Techstars saw us at MedTech Color and coincidentally had a last-minute spot for their Health Accelerator, which includes a partnership between Techstars, United Healthcare, and Cedars-Sinai. We are awaiting news on this,” said McGee.
Navigate Maternity was also selected as one of seven startups to participate in the Verizon Forward for Good Accelerator: Health Equity Cohort AND accepted into Springboard Enterprises Women’s Health Innovation Program as part of the inaugural cohort.
Solving a need based on personal experience is a key to the company’s success. “Ariana McGee is the Founder and CEO of Navigate Maternity. She is a Black mother of 4 young children and has experienced the maternal mortality and morbidity crisis firsthand. After becoming pregnant with her third child during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she experienced the gaps in perinatal care and decided to create an equitable solution to impact maternal health. Navigate Maternity was created for underserved mamas by an underserved mama.” – Navigate Maternity LinkedIn post.
Rhonda Ladig, Director of Strategic Initiatives at NIIC, served as McGee’s business coach through the NIIC’s Connected Health Lab Program. “When I first met Ariana in September of 2022, I could tell she had the ‘it’ factor to be a successful founder. She is hyper-focused on the problem she wants to solve, is very coachable, and naturally approaches her solution from the buyer’s perspective, rather than the user’s perspective. This is an important difference in medical device solutions,” said Ladig.
“She and her team are some of the most knowledgeable founding teams I’ve come across. And, Navigate Maternity is one of the most exciting ventures I’ve gotten to coach. I’m not surprised they are getting so much traction and I think we’ll see them continue to succeed and grow!”
To hear more from McGee, tune in On March 30, 2023, 12 p.m. EST, to IU Ventures’ Founders and Funders Network Fireside Chat. Register here.
