Diabetes Sentry wins big entrepreneur competition

Diabetes Sentry Products Inc. beat out 400 other startups across the country to win the best pitch competition at the The PerfectBusiness Entrepreneur & Investor Conference in Las Vegas.

The company, based in Orono, Minnesota, is trying to raise $1 million to $1.5 million to develop a portable device that alerts diabetic patients when their blood sugar levels fall dangerously low.

A group of engineers at Teledyne Avionics in Virgina created the watch-like device, whose sensor monitors skin temperature and perspiration, in the 1990s. The device alerts the patient to possible signs of hypoglycemic shock.

During The PerfectBusiness competition, companies gave five-minute presentations to angel investors, venture capitalists and business experts.

To win the contest, Diabetes Sentry edged out fellow finalists ElliptiGO, Inc., which makes outdoor, low-impact exercise bicycles, and Quantum Sphere Inc., a nanotechnology firm specializing in clean energy and power storage.

Diabetes Sentry won free business development and Web site services. But the real prize is exposure to prominent investors like Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Tech Coast Angels, said Michael Russin, Diabetes Sentry’s vice president of sales and marketing and one of three founders.

A New Technology Showcase Winner, Diabetes Sentry also will be presenting at the LifeScience Alley annual conference in December.