Steel doesn’t come from a single source. It’s iron, carbon, and hard work—separate elements that must be combined under precise conditions to create something stronger than any component alone. That’s exactly what Steel Works Health Accelerator is building.
“Too many of our startups have promising technologies and services, but don’t have any capital, so they have to fight an uphill battle in just getting going,“ UNeMed’s Business Development Manager, Tyler Scherr, PhD, said.
Dr. Scherr knows the problem intimately. As UNeMed’s Business Development Manager, he’s watched brilliant healthcare innovations stall out before they ever reach patients—not for lack of merit, but for lack of resources and know-how.
Steel Works just launched as a partnership between UNeMed, CQuence Health, and UNeTech Institute—a 16-week program designed to forge Nebraska’s health innovations into investment-ready companies. The accelerator accepts up to six startups per cohort, training them on pricing strategy, commercialization pathways, SBIR grant writing, and investor pitches. Applications for the first cohort can be found here.
The location tells its own story. Housed in Omaha’s Catalyst building—formerly Omaha Steel Castings—Steel Works sits where metal was once shaped into foundational infrastructure. Now it’s forging the infrastructure of Nebraska’s health innovation economy.
Each partner brings essential elements to Steel Works. CQuence Health contributes decades of healthcare strategy expertise. UNeMed provides IP and licensing knowledge. UNeTech delivers business development support. Through additional partnerships with Nebraska Business Development Center, Nebraska Startup Academy, and Bio Nebraska, founders get plugged directly into the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Our vision here is, once you get through the incubator, we now are collaborating with more specialized training,” said Stephen Hug, entrepreneur-in-residence at UNeTech. “It’s ecosystem building that respects what already exists while adding exactly what’s missing.”
By program’s end, each startup will have completed an SBIR application, refined their pitch deck, assembled an advisory team, and—most importantly—become part of Nebraska’s startup ecosystem. Not just participants, but members.
“We want them to feel very solid and then be able to present to investors with confidence,” said Katie Paladino, Director of Growth at CQuence Health. “So they can show up for investor opportunities and gain capital.”
Beyond supporting early‑stage founders, the accelerator also reinforces CQuence’s belief that innovation thrives when talent and opportunity stay rooted in the communities that shaped them.
“Being the founder of a startup company can be a lonely place,” said Kyle Salem, PhD, CEO of CQuence Health. “It takes grit and perseverance to go from launching an idea to bringing the solution fully to market. We’re thrilled to play a role teaching and guiding these innovators to see around the corner and avoid some of the pitfalls.”
Kyle Salem, PhD, of CQuence Health announces Steelworks Health Accelerator at UNeMed’s Idea Pub Morning Edition, January 22, 2026.
Photo by CQuence Health
The first cohort begins in February. Like steel itself, these healthcare innovations need the right elements combined under the right conditions. Steel Works is building exactly that forge.
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