Start-up supported by Polsky Small Business Growth Program receives $1 million on Shark Tank

Congratulations to Dr. Aadeel Akhtar, founder and CEO of the bionic hand start-up Psyonic, for their recent success on the ABC show Shark Tank. To promote their launch in Fall 2021, Psyonic received marketing help from student consultants supported in part by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as part of our partnership with the Polsky Small Business Growth Program.

The Polsky’s Small Business Growth Program is a quarterly program of the University of Chicago, offering support to small business owners on Chicago’s South and West sides. The program expanded in 2021 to partner with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to recruit businesses and student consultants from Illinois for some of the cohorts. OVCDEI collaborated with the Polsky Center from 2020–22.