Cheri Grantham made the leap from many years of working as a medical assistant for several gynecologists to founding her own company that brought the latest incontinence treatments and diagnostics to the many women who needed them. Her daily involvement with urodynamic diagnostic testing taught her the many inconveniences that incontinent women experience which restrict the quality of their lives. She named her new company Freedom Therapeutics LLC because its monitored pelvic floor muscle exercise therapy gave nearly all her patients the freedom to enjoy life without the constant worry of being embarrassed by diaper odor. She learned that some patients could not perform these exercises, while others were so busy caring for their families that they didn’t have the time for daily exercise. She fulfilled her childhood promise to her grandmother by imagining a surgically implanted device, then partnered with bioengineering students at Texas A&M University and created a concept for a nonsurgical device that an incontinent woman’s doctor could slide into her urethra to block leaks. Cheri’s passion to help solve the incontinence problem eventually led her to partner with a highly experienced biomedical engineer, cofounding Floelle Inc. with Dr. Shapiro. Together they translated her fervor as Cheri secured over $400,000 in investment capital and collaborated to invent, improve and clinically test the Floelle^TM device.

Birgit Mohney is a strategic professional with product marketing and communications management experience in the medical device space. She created and managed successful B2B branding campaigns and go-to-market strategies for startups and global organizations, including Siemens Medical Solutions. Birgit holds a Biomedical Engineering graduate certificate, an MBA, and an MS in Engineering Management. Her passion is to improve patients’ quality of life.

Mr. Fuchs has held senior global financial positions with Smith & Nephew for nearly eight years where he had among other roles financial oversight of 21 overseas subsidiaries; Conagra; Gateway, and Swatch Group in Hong Kong, for which he helped successfully launch the company in China. He began his career with Price Waterhouse here in Boston and is a CPA. Mr. Fuchs has demonstrated expertise in turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, and general management in fast, growing entrepreneurial environments. He graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy, holds a BS in Economics from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Bob’s experience spans investment, financing, and industrial activities specializing in emerging growth companies. He has been the CEO or President of several manufacturing companies. He concentrated on improving operating margins, lean manufacturing, pricing margins, and obtaining financing for their operations. He was Chair of his synagogue’s Investment Committee and mentor to graduate students at the University of Connecticut Graduate School of Business. He was the Managing Director of three investment partnerships and co-founded an investment advisory company. He served on the Boards of public and private companies in the manufacturing, air purification, direct mail, pet food, and fragrance industries (Initio, Energy Brands, Clean Air Group, Tristar, Turbotec Products, Facetglas, Thermodynetics, PhytoSmart, Bio Minerals). He was a graduate school lecturer for Rensselaer’s Hartford Graduate School and the University of Connecticut. He co-authored Nonlinear System Dynamics, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1992. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (CCNY), Master of Science in Mathematics (Adelphi University) and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (University of Connecticut).