Amazing Supporters

We are excited to announce Mexico City-based Medicheck as winner of the fifth-annual ski-based pitch competition in Taos, New Mexico.

Ski Lift Pitch Contest began in 2015 after founding ABQid board member Katie Rice came up with the idea in order to attract more investors to the state. With the support of Taos Ski Valley, the event has successfully brought together snow-loving investors and startups for the past three years. Former Ski Lift Pitch Contest winners include Taos Mountain Energy Bars, UBQid, EquiSeq, and Twistle.

“Ski Lift Pitch is one-of-a-kind,” says Executive Director T.J. Cook. “Connecting entrepreneurs and investors through shared experience is one the biggest values we bring to New Mexico, and everyone who came to this year’s competition made connections that otherwise would been very difficult.”

Competitors on the mountain pitched four judges one at a time while riding up the ski lift. The judges then scored each pitch on a five-point scorecard to determine which of the four companies made it to the final round. Those three companies then pitched to a full crowd to separate group of judges from an indoor stage.

The three finalists were K&K Skin Products, iTherapyDocs, and Medicheck.

Medicheck, represented at the event by founder Dr. Juan Manuel Arellano from Guadalajara, Mexico and CTO Michael Herrick from Albuquerque, is a platform for digitization of medical information that has already partnered with over ten of the biggest hospitals in the country. The two met when Arellano was paired with Herrick in Albuquerque as part of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), a U.S. State Department program.

“The spirit of the event is to give entrepreneurs an opportunity to make meaningful connections with investors, and this year was the best yet with outstanding pitches, investors from around the country, amazing conditions at Taos Ski Valley, and, as always, tremendous energy throughout the day,” said Katie Rice, Founder of Ski Lift Pitch.

“Getting to know all of the judges and competitors helped grow my mindset about how this startup world works,” said Arellano. “Being able to go across borders and be not only in Mexico but now in the U.S. as well is amazing. The format of the event was so completely different–and I got to see snow as well.”