Revolution’s Mary Grove gives a tour of Rise of the Rest’s Minnesota companies

Quick and painless — Pops Diabetes Care is based in Oak Park Heights and makes a device that allows diabetic people to check their glucose levels on a cell phone app, which also provides coaching. The device received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in late 2018; this year, it got $6 million from a group including Revolution and 30Ventures, a Madison, Wis., firm. Pops says its blood-testing technology is quicker and less painful than traditional systems; the firm has already received a dozen patents for it.

Pops Diabetes Care makes a glucose- monitoring system that it plans to pitch to employers.

“What stood out about Pops was the innovation on the hardware side, as well as the virtual coaching app,” Grove said. The coaching app helped users feel more comfortable than they would with a human coach. Revolution also liked Pops! CEO Lonny Stormo, a 30-year Medtronic veteran, which helped the device clear the FDA quickly. “I think it’s having the right skills and expertise of how to navigate the process, but also having really thorough tech,” Grove said.