Community Impact
From the start, Naturacur Wound Healing has begun building a reputation not only as a health-innovation startup but also as a company that supports the Seattle entrepreneurial ecosystem and broader community through education, innovation sponsorships, and healthcare accessibility initiatives.
How can we help? We are always looking for new opportunities to provide impact to our local and global health-seeking community. Reach out if you would like us to sponsor or volunteer for an event!
Our Commitment
We remain dedicated to supporting the next generation of healthcare innovators.
What We Believe
As we grow, so should access and awareness to all avenues of safe, natural wound-healing.
Giving Back
We will always be giving back to the communities that helped us from the beginning and continue to support us.
Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing in the Seattle Startup Ecosystem
Naturacur leadership regularly engages with universities, accelerators, and startup programs to mentor and educate entrepreneurs.
Examples include:
- Sharing the company’s entrepreneurial journey with MBA and health-innovation students
- Participating in panels, judging competitions, and mentoring early-stage teams
- Providing insights into:
- healthcare commercialization
- regulatory pathways
- medical device innovation
- startup fundraising and market strategy
The company itself was born out of the University of Washington Executive MBA program, demonstrating the tight connection between the founders and the local innovation community.
Impact
- Inspires students pursuing healthcare entrepreneurship
- Bridges academia with real-world startup experience
- Helps build the Pacific Northwest life-sciences ecosystem
Supporting Health Innovation & Student Entrepreneurs
One of Naturacur’s most visible community contributions is its support of student innovators and healthcare entrepreneurs through competitions and mentorship.
- Naturacur sponsors the “Best Medical Device Idea” prize at the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge hosted by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.
- The award recognizes student teams developing promising medical technologies that can improve patient outcomes.
- Since 2025, student teams at the Holloman Health Innovation Challenge receive a $2,500 Naturacur Wound Healing prize for the most promising medical device concept.
- In 2024 and 2026, Naturacur was a main sponsor for Nucleate PNW Demo Day, a student-organized competition for emerging technologies that represents the largest global community of bio-innovators.
Impact
- Encourages innovation in healthcare technology
- Provides funding and recognition to early-stage student teams
- Helps translate academic ideas into real-world medical solutions
Philanthropic & Community Support Initiatives
Naturacur leadership has also been involved in community-focused activities, such as supporting organizations helping vulnerable populations (for example organizations like Mary’s Place Seattle, Seattle Children's Hospital, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and Auction of Washington Wines.
- Donations and Sponsorships
- Community Events
- Healthcare-Related Outreach
- Partnerships with Nonprofit Initiatives
Local Economic & Life-Sciences Ecosystem Growth
Naturacur also contributes economically and scientifically to the regional ecosystem.
Examples:
- Building R&D and manufacturing capacity in Washington state
- Partnering with dermatology and surgical clinics
- Participating in life-science organizations and regional innovation networks
Impact
- Creates jobs and research capacity locally
- Strengthens the Seattle life-science startup pipeline
- Expands the regional healthcare innovation sector
Advancing Accessible Healthcare Solutions
Naturacur’s mission focuses on creating affordable, plant-based wound-care technologies designed to improve healing outcomes and patient comfort.
Key impact themes:
- Development of low-risk, plant-based wound-healing treatments
- Expanding options for:
- post-surgical recovery
- chronic wounds
- dermatological treatments
- Working with dermatology clinics and healthcare providers to improve care outcomes
Community value
- Improves patient access to safer wound-care alternatives
- Helps reduce complications and healing time
- Supports clinicians with additional treatment options
Articles
Naturacur Wound Healing Changes the Way the World Mends
Excerpt from Alumni Startup Spotlight: Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship:
BY: CHARLES TRILLINGHAM, JANUARY 12, 2026
Naturacur looks ahead to a big 2026 after being founded in 2023 by Executive MBA students in the Foster School of Business
“You can’t make great things without revenue, but at the same time, you also have to have great things to drive revenue.”
The infectious enthusiasm of Todd Cutter (’23, MBA) spreads as quickly as his company’s signature product aims to help those in need.
Naturacur Wound Healing first offered its over-the-counter topical WoundCur® gel in 2024. The company entered 2026 with $2.6M in Series A fundraising, a custom-built research lab and manufacturing facility underway in Auburn, and more than 160 partners globally.
“We’re not a fly-by-night company that just came up with a product,” said Cutter, founder and CEO of Naturacur. “We’re meticulously building a strong foundation, so we can build a very strong, sustainable business on top of that. I really believe our plant-based topical products can change the way the world heals.”
Foster MBAs Join Forces With Wound Care Startup
Excerpt from University of Washington Foster School of Business Magazine, Features:
BY: SUZANNE LEE, OCTOBER 29, 2024
Naturacur, Inc: A healing connection formed in the Executive MBA classroom
"Todd Cutter (MBA 2023) [and] Josh McDonald (MBA 2023)... met as students in the Foster School of Business Executive MBA program. Their different backgrounds—energy, wine, and medicine—would prove crucial in their unexpected journey from classmates to leaders of a wound care startup.
Their company, Naturacur Wound Healing, began as a shared vision during the MBA capstone competition in 2023. The team tied for first place by presenting an innovative wound-healing device. But it was a personal experience that led them to their breakthrough product."
From Executive MBA To Healthcare Startup
Excerpt from University of Washington Foster School of Business Magazine, Programs:
BY: SUZANNE LEE, OCTOBER 29, 2024
Todd Cutter, Josh McDonald, and Dr. Kunal Joshi reflect on leadership and entrepreneurship skills gained in the classroom
"In 2022, three strangers from diverse industries embarked on a transformative journey. Todd Cutter (MBA 2023), an energy industry veteran; Josh McDonald (MBA 2023), a trade association leader...challenged themselves by pursuing the Executive MBA (EMBA) at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. They went back to school in a 21-month program designed for people seeking to move into senior leadership roles. While gaining expertise in the classroom they also forged a friendship, leading to the creation and incorporation of their startup, Naturacur Wound Healing."
What Led You To This Venture?
Excerpt from Poets & Quants: 2023 Most Disruptive MBA Startups: Naturacur Wound Healing, University of Washington (Foster)
BY: JEFF SCHMITT, FEBRUARY 4, 2024
What led you to launch this venture?
"Our team at Naturacur takes the concept of wound healing very seriously. Our team has worked in positions where they were exposed to the realities of wound care in nursing homes and veterans’ hospitals. Once people develop a diabetic foot ulcer, a pressure sore, a sacral ulcer, a surgical wound, or a severe contusion, these individuals tend to be hidden from society until they heal. However, what if they never heal? These groups are often in low-income households, have less than high-school education, uninsured, elderly, disabled, and many times, they are not even captured in the unemployment data once they leave the workforce due to their condition. We decided that we would be on a mission to start a company that could help all people gain access and awareness to effective and affordable treatments."
Awards
- 2023 Dempsey Startup Competition – Best Innovation/Technology Idea
- 2023 University of Washington Foster School of Business Executive MBA Capstone Competition
- 2023 University of Washington Foster School of Business Most Disruptive MBA Startup featured in Poets & Quants Publication