Rowheels Raises $1.5 Million Financing Round Led by WISC Partners
MADISON, Wis., Dec. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Strategic operating capital fund, WISC Partners, has made a lead investment of up to $1.5 million in Rowheels, Inc. in order to advance the commercialization of its promising reverse propulsion wheel technology in the $4.5 billion global wheelchair market.
Rowheels has developed reverse propulsion wheel technology for manual wheelchair users that is designed to help counteract many of the debilitating effects experienced with traditional wheelchair propulsion and improve overall health and quality of life. The company was co-founded in 2011 by Salim Nasser and Rimas Buinevicius, who serve as the company's CTO and CEO, respectively.
WISC Partners is a strategic operating capital fund that offers its portfolio companies post-investment, hands-on expertise in company building, business development, and the acceleration of growth, liquidity and returns.
"With this investment and working relationship with WISC Partners, we are prepared to effectively go to market with our new product family," says Rimas Buinevicius, CEO of Rowheels. "WISC Partners has already helped us identify and expand our vision for additional market opportunities, so we have gained far more value than funding alone."
According to Mike Splinter, a General Partner at WISC Partners, "Rowheels has everything that we look for in an investment: a strong team of founders, impressive progress to date, clear product-market fit, and the potential to transform a large market. We are very pleased to be working with the remarkable team at Rowheels."
Adds David Guinther, also a General Partner at WISC Partners and who will be joining Rowheels' Board of Directors, "Rowheels not only has the potential to transform an industry, but to transform the lives of its customers. Health care providers will not only embrace this alternative for their patients, but will lead the way to its rapid adoption."
About WISC Partners
WISC Partners is a strategic operating capital fund focused on accelerating portfolio growth and exits by applying expertise gained from experiences and successes in Silicon Valley to promising ventures in Wisconsin. We invest in post-Angel round ventures primarily in the IT, Health Care and HCIT sectors. We are team of UW alumni, with offices in Madison, WI and Los Altos Hills, CA. Please visit us at www.wiscpartners.com.
About Rowheels
Rowheels was founded upon a simple and singular vision: to offer products that improve the propulsion efficiency of a manual wheelchair and help counteract many of the debilitating effects experienced with extended lifetime use. Rowheels' unique pullbased geared wheels mimic the activity of rowing, helping to engage the larger set of upper torso muscles that are underutilized in traditional push-only wheeling. The Rowheels' propulsion technique represents a paradigm-shift in personal mobility with the ultimate goal of improving the health and daily activity levels of wheelchair users and making the traditional wheel obsolete. We are located in Fitchburg, WI. Please visit us at www.rowheels.com.
CONTACT: Rimas Buinevicius, 608-268-9670 x103, [email protected]
SOURCE Rowheels
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