SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwired - Jan 21, 2014) - Working within the start-up ecosystem towards a common goal of nurturing innovators who bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and solve real-world issues, Tallwave today announced that its CEO and Founding Partner Jeff Pruitt, is joining an esteemed group of "Scorpions" selected to evaluate healthcare entrepreneurs at the BioAccel Solutions Challenge on January 24 at the Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix, Arizona.

Designed to stimulate new company formation as well as increase investment in the healthcare industry, BioAccel's inaugural Solutions Challenge event will award qualified entrepreneurs with a $50,000 investment from BioAccel if the applicants succeed in receiving matching funds from the "Scorpions" in the "Scorpion Pit." Successful applicants will then have $100,000 in proof-of-concept dollars to form their companies to address issues regarding hemodialysis access, medication management, digital health or wound therapy.

"In the area of healthcare, we greatly value BioAccel's expertise in nurturing a qualified pipeline of applicants so they can also benefit from our venture development expertise," said Jeff Pruitt, Chairman of the Board, Founding Partner & CEO, Tallwave. "It's critical for the entire innovation ecosystem to collaborate to provide entrepreneurs with the knowledge and resources they need to succeed."

As a venture development firm and commercializor, Tallwave helps entrepreneurs build their early stage companies through sound capital strategy and well-executed go-to-market plans across multiple vertical market segments including healthcare.

"We are thrilled with Tallwave's participation in this collaborative and iterative process," said MaryAnn Guerra, CEO, BioAccel. "With major changes facing us in the healthcare industry, a drive for wellness coupled with opportunities for innovation creates solutions and drives positive economic impact."

About Tallwave

Tallwave is a commercializor.

The company creates commercial success and shareholder value for entrepreneurs and investors by validating, scaling and managing early-stage and growth ventures with a hands-on approach.

What separates Tallwave from the limitations of Incubator, Accelerator and traditional Venture Capital firm business models is its proprietary Tallwave Way™ closed-loop commercialization engine. The combination of Tallwave's lean Business Blueprint™ for product and company validation, its Operator Model™ for resource deployment and the access to pre-seed through Series A capital its networks provide, has been used to vet over 300 entrepreneurs and their concepts, validate more than 65 startups, and build a portfolio of half a dozen early-stage companies.

Founded and led by former iCrossing, Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, GoDaddy and Marketwire executives, Tallwave is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Twice a year, Tallwave hosts High Tide™; one of the most innovative startup competitions in the U.S. Additional information about Tallwave is available at www.tallwave.com.