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TechLaunch, the Kinnelon-based technology accelerator, has named the most recent winner of its BullPen pitch event, a Maryland-based wearable security technology startup.TechLaunch, the Kinnelon-based technology accelerator, has named the most recent winner of its BullPen pitch event, a Maryland-based wearable security technology startup.

Untethered Labs was named the winner of BullPen #2 last week, garnering the votes of a panel of four investors as well as the audience at the event held at the New Jersey Innovation Institute at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.

“BullPen 2 saw an extremely high level of applicants, the result of quite robust screening on the part of our selection committee,” Mario Casabona, founder and managing director of TechLaunch, told NJBIZ via email. “But, in the end, when all the votes were tallied in the room, Untethered Labs emerged as the clear winner, sweeping both the audience and panel favorites. Why? Because it’s a cool, practical technology everyone can relate to, combined with an engaging presentation in which questions and comments from the room were addressed with preparedness and strategic thinking.”

According to Untethered Labs, its first product, called GateKeeper, is a wireless access control solution that prevents unauthorized computer access, fulfilling the need for hardware-based authentication and security for the health care, information technology and other industries.  

Untethered beat out three other companies, including Avollo, a visual factory management firm services firm focused on engineering management; Staffsmart Software Solutions, an employee management software-as-a-solution business targeting the catering and staffing industries; and HootBoard, a unified online communications company focused on large organizations.

The investors panel at the event included:

• Cristian Ossa, an angel investor with business consulting firm Rosetta Technology Group;
• Mike Ajnsztajn, a serial entrepreneur;
• Krishnamurty Kambhampati, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor; and
• Jonathan Hakakian, managing director of SoundBoard Angel Fund.

The first BullPen event took place Jan. 25 at Rutgers Business School in Piscataway, hosted by the university’s Scarlet Startups group.

The winner of the debut event was RistCall, a Massachusetts-based maker of wearable health care communications devices. The devices are focused on communication between hospital patients and nurses, according to the company.

RistCall won out over Pedul, a higher-education crowdfunding platform; SRP, a Big Data startup offering “dynamic pricing”-related products; and WhoseYourLandlord, a web platform connecting renters and landlords.

The investors panel at BullPen #1 included:

• Frank Graziano, chairman and CEO of Chromis Fiberoptics;
• Seth Tropper, a serial entrepreneur;
• Stephen Socolof, managing partner of New Venture Partners and general partner of NJTC Venture Fund II; and
• Katherine O’Neill, executive director of JumpStart New Jersey Angel Network.

The third BullPen event is scheduled for April 19 at the Princeton eHub. To apply for a BullPen event, click here.