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Scholarship Honors UF MBA Startup Whiz

Devon Grimme, director of business development for Promethean Pharma LLC, and his colleague Stephen Hsu. Grimmé died last month in an accident in Hawaii, and a scholarship has been created in his name. It will be awarded to those students who exemplify Grimmé’s engagement in the community and passion for finding business solutions to social problems.
Devon Grimme, director of business development for Promethean Pharma LLC, and his colleague Stephen Hsu. Grimmé died last month in an accident in Hawaii, and a scholarship has been created in his name. It will be awarded to those students who exemplify Grimmé’s engagement in the community and passion for finding business solutions to social problems.

Devon Grimmé was known for trying to make life less painful for others.

Before he died last month, Grimmé was director of business development at Prometheon Pharma, LLC, an Alachua biotech company that created a transdermal patch that administers insulin to diabetes patients, eliminating the need for pricks and needles.

Even now, his  #NoPricks campaign stresses the ease and affordability of Prometheon’s transdermal patch, which is applied once weekly and looks like a nicotine patch.

“It’s as easy to put on as a Band-Aid,” said Stephen Hsu, Grimmé's colleague at Prometheon Pharma.  “Only two-thirds of injectable insulin that is prescribed is actually injected. If you have convenience, you have higher compliance.”

To remember Grimmé's contribution, The UF College of Business has created a  scholarship in his name.

The Devon Grimmé Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship "will go exclusively to providing financial support for future UF MBA students to participate in global emergent experiences," Alex Sevilla, assistant dean and director of UF MBA Programs, said during Grimmé’s memorial service on Sept 30.

The scholarship will be awarded to those students who exemplify Grimmé’s engagement in the community and passion for finding business solutions to social problems, she said.

Grimmé accomplished a lot in his 27 years.

Born in 1988 in Honolulu, Grimmé graduated as valedictorian of East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida. After graduating from the University of Florida, he found his home in Gainesville’s burgeoning startup scene.

Grimmé then worked with his father to investigate the BP oil spill in Kauai and returned to earn his MBA while on a full scholarship from UF. As an MBA candidate, he was inducted as an MBA Ethics Fellow for the Poe Center for Business Ethics and placed first in four case competitions.

He also created a revenue calculator that helped investors understand the implications of their investment better than the standard measures.

 

 

Erin is a reporter who can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.