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NAPLES, Fla. (Aug. 8, 2018) — Adrenaline Venture Fund I, LP, organizer of VenturePitch SWFL, invested $25,000 in Stabilized Steps, the winner of the Shark Tank-style event held at Babcock Ranch in the spring. Stabilized Steps developed patented stabilizers that attach to the bottom of medical walkers. This gives users more stability when they walk on indoor surfaces and on rough terrain such as gravel, mud, sand and snow. The Naples-based medical-device firm won first place at VenturePitch SWFL 2018 event in April at Babcock Ranch, the new solar-powered town in Charlotte County. “The $25,000 equity investment will allow us to market Stabilized Steps in traditional and digital media,” says Stephanie Gomez, co-founder, president and CEO of the startup. “This is a crucial step for us because we need to let people know about our product.” Stabilized Steps was among 42 companies from Sarasota to Naples vying for the VenturePitch equity investment. “Stephanie wowed the judges and the audience with the Stabilized Steps presentation and deserved to be a winner,” says Timothy Cartwright, managing member of Adrenaline Venture Fund. “In fact, during our follow-up conversations, we were so impressed with the company and Stephanie that Adrenaline has committed to investing up to $100,000 and to leading a $500,000 investment round.” Gomez is a former banking executive whose business partner, Eryk Hardwick, is a residential contractor. Together, they developed Stabilized Steps to help a client who couldn’t go to the beach because of lack of mobility and balance. They launched the company in 2016 to give mobility impaired people their independence and freedom. Stabilized Steps are custom-molded nylon pads that easily attach to most standard walkers for better traction. That increases safety and independence indoors while building confidence and stability in rough terrain outdoors. The elongated design increases stability to help prevent falls and lets users who weigh as much as 500 pounds carry on with daily activities. The market for Stabilized Steps is significant: the U.S. Census Bureau reports 22 million Americans have difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Although walkers address this issue, they’re not stable enough and that makes it hard to do simple tasks such as standing up. You can find out more about Stabilized Steps by visiting www.stabilizedsteps.com. The VenturePitch SWFL series is part of the Tamiami Angel Funds’ and Adrenaline Venture Fund’s joint initiative to build a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem from Sarasota to Naples. Modeled after the popular Shark Tank television show, entrepreneurs make a brief pitch to seasoned investors on stage in front of an audience. Presenting companies must be in the pre-revenue stage or within the first few months of producing revenues; must be in business less than two years; have a scalable business model; and have not already raised more than $1 million. The 2018 VenturePitch event in April was presented by Adrenaline Venture Fund, Fifth Avenue Advisors, Sun Newspapers and Tamiami Angel Funds. The next VenturePitch event will be held April 11, 2019, at Babcock Ranch. Look for announcements about the event, including the call for nominations, by visiting http://venturepitchswfl.com.