Indiegogo is committed to accessibility. If you have difficulty using our site, please contact support@indiegogo.com for assistance or view our accessibility notice by clicking here

This campaign is closed

The dream to better diagnose cancer - The journey

You may also be interested in

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

The dream to better diagnose cancer - The journey

The dream to better diagnose cancer - The journey

The dream to better diagnose cancer - The journey

The dream to better diagnose cancer - The journey

The dream to better diagnose cancer - The journey

Deborah Zanforlin
Deborah Zanforlin
Deborah Zanforlin
Deborah Zanforlin
1 Campaign |
Boston, United States
$1,596 USD 32 backers
7% of $20,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

My name is Deborah and I’m a Brazillian Scientist who has been working on developing diagnostic technologies for the last 6 years. A few years ago, I decided to stand up for the cancer cause and changed my life around this dream – bring a better technology to detect different types of cancer in early stages.

 

My journey starts with me being forced to drop out of my Ph.D. in Brazil. After that, I was selected over 800  worldwide applications to participate in the MIT Entrepreneurship Bootcamp with a full scholarship. I have met many more talented people who share the same aspiration and ambition. Together we started the journey of ConquerX. (http://bootcamp.mit.edu/entrepreneurship/).

 

ConquerX develops on a blood test that can detect up 18 different types of cancer in early stages. (www.conquerxlab.com). In June 2016, ConquerX beat thousands of startup applicants to become a finalist in the MassChallenge accelerator in Boston. I  moved to Boston with $998 in my wallet, one one-way plane ticket, and a determination to kickstart ConquerX in the 4 months of the program. I have left everything behind in Brazil and never looked back since then. Three weeks later, my father passed away and unfortunately, I didn’t have the means to go back to my dad’s funeral without giving up on the MassChallenge program. And because he was so proud of me, I decided not to let him down and keep the dream forward. So, I stayed in Boston.

 

We are now starting our clinical studies on lung cancer detection. As part of the US immigration requirement, I need to hold an H1-B visa in order to kickstart the business. I was selected into the Global Entrepreneuer-In-Residence program at UMass (http://vdc.umb.edu/geir/), which helps foreign entrepreneurs to obtain H1-B visa. In order to continue with the enrollment in the program, I need your help to cover part of the tuition and catalyze the process. Your every help is greatly appreciated. Your support will become the cornerstone in this journey to help much more people who lack access to cheap and efficient early cancer detection. Any donations will be very appreciated. Please share this journey and help to spread the word.

 

My story

 

My journey began in 2014.

 

I have studied diagnostics devices for almost 6 years now. In 2014, I made a discovery in the lab that would enable me to create a new type of blood test to detect cancers at early stages. At the time, I was working with breast cancer patients. Through their cancer journeys beyond the “research subject” labels,  I saw that the dream to detect cancer early wasn’t only mine. To make an impact on people’s lives, I needed to do more than just lab research and turned my invention into a product available for the people who need it most.

 

At this time, my Ph.D. professor told me “Deborah, it is your choice, either finish your Ph.D. here under my guidance or you begin your startup; I’ll not allow you to do both”. It was a simple choice. I dropped out after two years of Ph.D.

 

From that day on my journey started. I applied to the MIT Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, a bootcamp at MIT that teaches all the necessary steps to create a successful startup. I was accepted and didn’t have the money for tuition.  I couldn’t believe that among more than 800 applicants from all around the world, MIT accepted me and I didn’t have money to attend. In the last minutes, I received a call from MIT saying that I was awarded a merit-based scholarship for the bootcamp.  

 

The Bootcamp has changed my life. There, I met three other energetic and capable bootcampers who believe in my visions. After the Bootcamp, we decided to found ConquerX, a startup which is determined to bring cancer diagnostic technologies to everyone in a more affordable and efficient way.

 

We spent one year working together by Skype until the day that we were accepted into the MassChallenge program in Boston.  I left my family, my friends, my students, my 7 cats and moved to Boston to spend 4 months on the biggest startup accelerator in the world.  It was our big chance.

 

Waking up on the scariest, loneliest and most heart-breaking Wednesday in Boston when my mom called in a shaking voice, I would never forget the desperate moment of being alone in the foreign country and hear the devastating news about my father passing away. I arrived in the USA with exactly $998 and a single ticket with no way back. The most valuable belongings are probably my dream about ConquerX and a hope that everything would be alright.  I did everything to get one ticket to be back to my dad’s funeral. Even with the help of my co-founders and friends, I didn’t have enough money for a ticket or enough miles points; And I knew that if I came back to Brazil, I wouldn’t have enough money to return to MassChallenge.  I remember my father at the airport sending me off to Boston. He was so proud. He truly believes that I was able to achieve something. He was proud of me. So, I stayed.

 

MassChallenge is now over and more than ever we know that ConquerX’s destiny is here in Boston. We will start our clinical studies and construct the first product. The next step is secure a visa to stay in the country. Then, I came across the Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program from Venture Development Center at the University of Massachusetts. This program helps foreign entrepreneurs to have the proper visa to stay in the country and work on their startups. I was accepted into the program. And as one more step on my journey, I need to raise enough funding to pay the visa fees and the program. With this goal and the help of good friends, I created this Generosity campaign. If you can help one dreamer to get one more step on this journey, you can donate, or share this campaign or send to friends. All details about the fees and program you can find on our page and everything about ConquerX too. I hope my story also inspires you to follow your dreams.


 

The Global Entrepreneurship In Residence Program

 

Launching a startup company is hard. Doing it as an entrepreneur from another country who graduated from one of our universities is harder. GEIR provides the support to keep the foreign entrepreneurs in the USA.

 

By locating your company at the Venture Development Center, and working part-time contributing your specialized expertise to faculty, students and others who are trying to turn their ideas into action, the entrepreneurs can obtain a cap-exempt H-1B visa anytime during the year. The program cost $20,000 which is to lawyers fees, VISA fees, and the to locate the company on the GEIR program. 

Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.
Tags for this project

You may also be interested in

Up Caret