ADOLESCENCE: William Duckworth, Fever Smart
As a Penn undergrad, William Duckworth says he "had no plan to give up all my free time to a startup." But when friend Colin Hill required 24/7 temperature monitoring while undergoing chemotherapy, Duckworth and other dormmates saw both a technological solution and an entrepreneurial opportunity.
Three years later, Duckworth, Hill and their Fever Smart co-founders Aaron Goldstein and Becca Goldstein are actively manufacturing and selling a smart patch thermometer that allows for continuous, remote temperature monitoring via smartphone.
Originally marketed to parents, Fever Smart is pivoting to an expanded market of in- and outpatient care and actively involved in clinical trials with healthcare providers.
Most notably for an early-stage company, Fever Smart has raised considerable funds, all without angel or venture capital. The young company received $50,000 in seed money as part of the 2014 inaugural class of the Digital Health Accelerator. A few months later, the company executed a widely acclaimed crowdfunding campaign, generating nearly $63,000 from more than 250 funders.
As students, the team had no overhead and drew no salaries, so every penny went into the company as they spent their nights building prototypes in school labs. Now, as winners of the inaugural Penn President's Innovation Prize, they are ensconced at the Pennovation Center with $100,000 in prize money (plus living expenses) as they continue to build robust direct-to-consumer sales and introduce their product into clinical settings.