First-year CSE major becomes CTO of biomedical startup
The chief technology officer of Genetesis, a startup company combining biotechnology and big data, is not a seasoned biomedical industry professional. In fact, he’s not even 21.
Emmanuel Setegn is a computer science major in his first year at The Ohio State University. He became involved with the company in August 2013 when his friend, Peeyush Shrivastava, a biomedical science major at Ohio State, came to him with the idea.
“We both want to leave a lasting impact on the world,” Setegn said. “We knew that if we worked hard, we could see this through until the end.”
Genetesis’ technology utilizes electrophysiology data from patients’ bodies to create specific, personalized diagnoses and treatments not possible with the current technology.
The company was recently named one of 11 finalists in the 43North business plan competition, the largest of its kind in the country with a grand prize of $1 million. As a finalist from over 6,900 applicants, Genetesis is guaranteed sizable funding from 43North whether it takes first place or not.
Setegn said the company is mainly focused on improving heart disease diagnoses.
"We're extending the application of the EKG (electrocardiogram) to a research grade level of precision and quality without losing the non-invasiveness of the EKG,” Setegn said. “By using this more sensitive EKG, you are able to quantify the effectiveness of drugs before they are administered to a patient."
As CTO, Setegn’s duties range from developing the company’s proprietary software to maintaining the website. But as the company gets deeper into the product development stage, he’s working on leveraging his connections to source these tasks to professional engineers.
“We want to make the software and hardware side by side, so we’re looking for a couple more people that have experience developing product applications,” he said.
Setegn came to Ohio State with three years of computer programming experience from high school courses—skills he’s continuing to build in classes now. He’s joined several organizations at Ohio State to network with like-minded peers and professionals in his field, including Business Builders Club and the Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Scholars group.
The scholars group, in its very first year at Ohio State, aims to help students from all majors harness their passion for innovation and creativity and take entrepreneurial risks.
“I’ve met a lot of smart individuals through ICE Scholars who’ve come to me with ideas for their own ventures, so hopefully in the next couple years I can help my friends advance their own dreams with what I know,” Setegn said.
The biggest asset to students interested in getting involved in a startup is connections, he said.
“Make yourself known out there. If people know what your skill set is and what kind of person you are, it’s really easy for them to ask you to be a part of their team,” Setegn said. “The biggest reason I was asked to join Genetesis was because of trust. In a startup environment, you have to trust your team.”
Written by Karlie Frank
