Meet the 24 U.Pitch Student Startup Founders

December 5, 2015

Read the original article from Karis Hustad on Chicago Inno here, 12/04/15

Chicago, get ready for Shark Tank, campus-style.

On Monday evening, Chicago entrepreneurship nonprofit Future Founders is hosting U.Pitch Elevator Pitch Competition and Showcase, a national pitch competition for top student startup founders. Students from 16 universities spanning 11 states will compete for a $11,000 prize pool, pitching to a panel of 11 judges including Shark Tank star and FUBU founder Daymond John, ContextMedia’s Shradha Agarwal, and Spartz’s Emerson Spartz. The event is sponsored by Capital One, The Coleman Foundation, Motorola Solutions Foundation, and Accenture.

This is the second year Future Founders has held U.Pitch, but the competition has grown significantly from last year said Scott Issen, president and CEO of Future Founders. Last year, the competition only drew from Illinois universities. This year, students are flying in from across the country. Though only six student finalists will pitch at the Monday evening event (which runs 5:15 to 8 pm at The Gwen), they narrowed down the applicant pool to 24 semifinalists who will pitch the judges privately earlier in the day.

Unlike other college startup competitions, which tend to be university-specific, Issen pointed out that U.Pitch lets students connect with a broader network of like-minded innovators. “What’s important in this event versus other competitions, is this is a unique opportunity where we are able to bring students together from different schools who still share that entrepreneurial passion and DNA, and give them a chance to network, compete, and build relationships,” he said. “A lot if times you stay in the silo of your own school,” he added. “We hope that students build relationships with each other, and entrepreneurial and business community.”

This year’s semifinalist cohort includes startups that range from a text translation platform to a specially designed EpiPen. Students also range in age and experience, but are all current students or within 12 months of graduation. Most of the students have promising traction, said Issen, including several that have upwards of five figures in revenue.

Here’s a look at this year’s semifinalists.

Audiovert: Ahren Alexander of Northwestern University will pitch customizable, hexagonal speakers.

Cocovana: Sheldon Barrett of the University of Florida will pitch a patented “can opener” for coconuts.

Lumia: Aaron Brown of Illinois Institute of Technology will pitch modular photovoltaic solar panels for charging batteries.

Seedslide: Joshua Doering of Morningside College will pitch a remote box opener that can make seed operations safer and more convenient for farmers.

Gamer Gel: Jonathan Eimer of University of Tennessee at Knoxville will pitch a nutritional drink aimed at gamers.

SpeechMasterPro: Daniel Floyd of Western Michigan University will pitch a patented enunciation device that exercises mouth muscles.

SpeakEazy: Brandon Frisch of Illinois State University will pitch a platform that helps people practice public speaking through virtual audiences.

FoodShare: Andrew Glantz of Washington University in St. Louis will pitch an app that lets diners donate a meal when they eat out at certain restaurants.

GPS Campus: Maria Gonzalez of University of Illinois at Chicago will pitch an app that helps student navigate their campus, find events, and earn rewards.

BarTap: Michael Johannsen of Illinois Institute of Technology will pitch an app that simplifies drink ordering at bars on busy nights.

ChairDrop: David Kirby of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will pitch an online database of medical supplies.

Scholarfunder: Elvis Komskis of University of Illinois at Chicago will pitch university-specific, need-based scholarship crowdfunding.

Qopo: Ben Le Cam of St. Olaf College will pitch interconnected devices that help improve productivity.

HUK TV Mounts: Sam Lukach of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will pitch portable, space-saving TV mounts.

Bullies Brand: Kaeya Majmundar of Emory University will pitch using Derrick Roses son PJ on future apparel, and donating proceeds to charity.

Concert Trader: Joshua Moskow of Washington University in St. Louis will pitch a ticket transaction platform.

TOTEM: Ahmad Qazi of Regis University will pitch eye catching and customizable phone cases.

FlipWord: Thomas Reese of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will pitch a language-learning app that translates words on any website a user is browsing.

EcoEats: Sunny Shah of Illinois Institute of Technology will pitch a meal sharing platform that connects hungry students with students who can cook on campus.

Kalí Zoe: Callie Spiros of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago will pitch a meditative pressure point jewelry line.

NuGrad.io: Jack Sutherland of Illinois State University will pitch a recruiting platform that identifies the top students on any campus.

Date in a Crate: Tyler Turk of California State University, Fresno will pitch a subscription date idea box.

Smaller EpiPens: Justin Valentin of University of Illinois at Chicago will pitch a specifically designed EpiPen that is less bulky than current options.

Chapter Companion: Tom Ziolkowski of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will pitch a web-based application that helps campus organizations communicate with each other.