UNH Spin Out Soteria Solutions to be featured at University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase on Capitol Hill

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) spin out Soteria Solutions was selected by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Association of American Universities to be featured at the University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase that was held on April 10, 2019 in Washington, D.C. The event spotlighted twenty startup companies from across the nation that have created products and services using federally funded, university-based research. The showcase highlighted the important role of federally funded university research in driving high-value entrepreneurship and the U.S. innovation economy for members of Congress, their staff, and national economic development and innovation policy leaders.

Soteria Solutions is UNH’s first female-founded research-based startup and a spin out of UNH’s Prevention Innovation Research Center (PIRC). PIRC is internationally recognized for its collaborative research and community engagement focusing on sexual and relationship violence and stalking prevention and response. Soteria Solutions was co-founded by UNH Professor of Sociology Sharyn Potter and UNH College of Liberal Arts staff member Jane Stapleton, who both still hold leadership positions within PIRC. Over the past year, they’ve worked hard with their team to launch the startup and expand upon PIRC’s academic work solving one of society’s biggest challenges: building safe, respectful environments within workplaces and schools. Before Soteria Solutions was founded, PIRC worked extensively with UNHInnovation to manage the intellectual assets related to its prevention strategies research and commercialization. 

“We are thrilled to be recognized at the APLU’s University Innovations and Entrepreneurship Showcase,” said Potter and Stapleton. “We have developed our evidence-based prevention strategies to prevent sexual and interpersonal violence and harassment with federal research awards through PIRC, commercialized our strategies with assistance from UNHInnovation, and now distribute the commercialized products through Soteria Solutions. We are the first UNH spin out founded by faculty women and we are excited to be able to share our evidence-based prevention strategies with work places, colleges, universities, high schools, and communities. Recognition from APLU highlights our expertise and reach in creating safe and respectful learning, living, and work environments.”

Path-breaking research is fundamental to the mission of public universities and strong federal investment in university-based research is essential for the U.S. because that research provides the foundation for the development of new technologies that save lives, provide security, improve quality of life, and drive the economy forward.  The University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase highlights some of the best startups that demonstrate how university-based research fuels innovation and entrepreneurship across the country. 

Startups were chosen by a selection committee comprised of innovation experts who considered the level of student engagement in the startup, the strength of the startup technology, and its connection to research. The committee also factored in whether the affiliated university had earned APLU’s Innovation & Economic Prosperity University (IEP) designation, a national accolade for higher education institutions that have demonstrated a substantial and sustainable commitment to promoting economic development. UNH earned its IEP designation in 2018.

In addition to Soteria Solutions, the following universities and startups also participating in the showcase: