Success Story

  • Moichor (formerly know as HemoGo) founders Shevy Karbasi and Matthew Chen with President Barron at the 2018 Invent Penn State Venture and IP Conference

Penn State Startup Moichor Wins Inc.U Competition and $30,000

On May 24 Moichor (formerly known as HemoGo) beat out five other teams of Penn State students who pitched their startup ideas to a panel of judges for the Inc.U competition and T.V. show “The Investment.” The competitors were all vying for a piece of the $30,000 prize pool, but in a first for the competition, Moichor took home the entire $30,000.

Sherveen Karbasiafshar, a biology student at Penn State, along with five other undergraduates, created Moichor—a smartphone application designed to assist people who want to check their complete blood count (CBC) on the go.

 

Karbasiafschar hoped to win a portion of the prize to fund clinical trials that could potentially turn his app into an alternative to standard blood test procedures.

“My grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer and I had to take him each week to have a CBC done. I noticed the results took a long time to come back. It was inconvenient,” Karbasiafshar told Penn State News. “A few years later, when I was shadowing physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital, I noticed many other patients having the same problems.”

Moichor has gained a lot of attention in a short amount of time due to their promising technology, the hard work they’ve put in and by utilizing the entrepreneurial resources Invent Penn State provides to the community. In March, before competing in “The Investment,” Moichor pitched at the 2018 IdeaMakers Challenge—the finale of Penn State Startup Week.

“It’s exciting,” said Moichor member Sherveen Karbasiafshar, a junior majoring in biology. “We started in May. I never thought we’d present [our idea]. It’s proof that if you put in the time, you can make an idea come to life.”

At the same time they were preparing to pitch at the IdeaMakers Challenge, Moichor were participating in the inaugural 20-week Happy Valley LaunchBox FastTrack Accelerator.

“LaunchBox has been instrumental in taking my idea and creating a well-rounded startup, from offering co-working space for my team, a vast network of mentors, and most of all an infectious atmosphere that motivates me to work harder,” Shevy Karbasi, co-founder of Moichor, said.

Watch Karbasiafshar, along with James Frazier, majoring in computer engineering; Mathew Chen, majoring in biology; Catherine Karbasiafshar majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology; Steve Flanagan, majoring in biology; and Kate Levenberg, a medical student at Penn State, will pitch their app on “The Investment” here.