From a release
HALIFAX: As recently graduated Canadian medical resident David Hodgson starts his radiology residency at Halifax’s Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, he’s celebrating a major win for his re-imagined asthma device company Hollo Medical and for Canada.
Hodgson was recently named Global Champion in the 2023 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA).
He advanced to represent Canada after winning the first place Peter H. Thomas Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence at EO Canada’s GSEA National Competition.
He invented an advanced asthma inhaler for his ailing father
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Inspired by his father’s respiratory illness after a sudden severe pneumonia and how he struggled using conventional inhalers, Hodgson (also a mechanical engineer) re-imagined conventional inhalers to make them more user-friendly and able to fit into a pocket like a cell phone.
His company Hollo Medical created the “Bre-Z Chamber”, a pocket-size inhaler device that enables portability and optimal drug delivery for sufferers of asthma.
His achievement in this highly competitive global contest earned him a prize of US $50,000.
Previously, his medical venture earned him first prize at the Canadian finals of the 2023 Entrepreneurship World Cup and secured his victory in EO Canada’s GSEA national competition, allowing him to move on to global rounds.
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Hodgson beat out 1,100 international competitors and six final-stage finalists to win.
A unique aspect of EO’s judging process in these awards is the weighting of scores: 70 percent of a judge’s score is based on each entrepreneur’s vision, grit, and values, ahead of their actual businesses, while 30 percent is based on the business concept and strength.
“David’s story is a perfect example of the innovation, grit and determination that make Canadian entrepreneurs some of the most successful in the world,” said Peter H. Thomas, EO Chairman Emeritus and Founder of the Thomas GSEA Foundation.
”He created this incredible medical technology innovation initially as a way to help his father and now it’s growing to potentially help millions of asthma sufferers around the world.”
He only had minutes to deliver a perfect pitch.
“You get so used to telling your story over 10 minutes,” said David Hodgson, GSEA 2023 Global Champion and Co-Founder of Hollo Medical. “The one aspect that I found hardest was deciding what details could be cut/what parts delivered the most impactful and immediate message for the audience.
“Fortunately, I didn’t have to do this alone, and I had my team and mentors help me identify things that maybe I couldn’t see myself. The advice I would give next year’s finalists is to remember that the most compelling thing, much more so than your business, is your story.”
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Hodgson will use the award money to commercialize the Bre-Z Chamber.
“We are on the fringe of commercialization,” added Hodgson. “This prize is a huge boost to achieve some of our regulatory milestones to bring the device to market, it’s our main focus and we are really excited about it.”
He somehow balanced inventing the Bre-Z Chamber with medical school.
“I’m fortunate to have a passionate and skilled team that has accelerated our vision for Hollo,” added Hodgson. “Beyond that, I think when you are forced to make every minute count, you realize just how much time there is in a day.
“You also start to get a sense of what activities are critical and what can wait. Put these things together, and things that once seemed impossible start to materialize before your eyes.”
Peter Thomas, a legacy Canadian entrepreneur, Founding EO Member & Chairman Emeritus through the Thomas GSEA Foundation, has committed $1.5 Million to Canada’s GSEA Program.
Each year, top finalists from EO Canada’s GSEA National Competition also advance to represent Canada at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards Global Finals.
