When we last left CLEO, they had just wrapped up a working prototype and showcased it in Alabama Launchpad Cycle 2. At that point, the road ahead was clear: prepare for Cycle 3 and begin building toward an actual minimum viable product (MVP). What has happened since then is a story of acceleration and the formation of meaningful first partnerships.
In 2024, CLEO returned for Alabama Launchpad Cycle 3, this time participating in Founders Fest—an extensive showcase featuring 100+ startups. While they didn’t walk away as Launchpad winners, they earned the “Best Pitch” award with a 90-second pitch that captured the attention of the judges.
That recognition, paired with a small infusion of funding and valuable networking connections, reinforced the momentum. The lesson? Even when you don’t take the top prize, the visibility and relationships can be just as impactful.
In 2025, CLEO was selected for the highly competitive Generator Health Tech Accelerator. This program condensed what would typically be 6–12 months of work into just 3 months, pushing the team to refine their priorities and focus on execution.
The result: CLEO’s MVP launched in June 2025. Unlike the earlier prototype, which was built solely for demo purposes, the MVP was fully functional—capable of handling real-world medical training use cases, including uploading x-rays and student interpretations.
Since launch, the team has taken a deliberate approach to updates, rolling out incremental refinements rather than chasing feature overload.
One of the most notable improvements has been the introduction of an admin dashboard, designed to facilitate the onboarding of groups of schools with ease. This feature aligns with CLEO’s strategy: keep the platform lean while ensuring that every update is grounded in user needs.
Another significant shift was in the product’s design itself. The prototype had a single-screen setup, but with the MVP, the team introduced a split layout: X-rays occupy half the screen, while student interpretations appear on the other half. This redesign dramatically improved readability and the learning experience for students.
The most significant milestone to date is CLEO’s onboarding of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Physician Assistant (PA) program. UAB students will begin using CLEO as part of their curriculum, working through 200 cases by the end of December.
If the trial succeeds, UAB has indicated plans to host a call with other program directors to share their experience. This peer-to-peer endorsement could open doors with dozens of additional institutions.
And the team is ready: they’ve identified a pipeline of roughly 50 additional schools, strategically chosen based on geography, class size, and program ranking. Expansion efforts will be ramped up once feedback from UAB is in hand.
For Piper, the founder of CLEO, balancing her new full-time job and running CLEO has required careful scheduling. However, dedicated time is carved out to keep CLEO on track—a testament to the commitment that fuels this journey.
Her commitment to this platform is inspiring.
The immediate priority is clear: student feedback. The insights gathered from UAB’s PA students will guide not only product improvements but also future case studies. This data-driven approach ensures that CLEO’s evolution is directly tied to user experience and learning outcomes.
From its early days as a demo-only prototype to a fully functional MVP with its first major institutional partner, CLEO has charted steady progress. With accelerator recognition, a strong pipeline, and a deliberate growth strategy, the foundation is set for the next stage of scaling.
To learn more about CLEO, check out our original case study: https://resources.concertidc.com/case-studies/cleoedu