Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge Highlights e-Fest® 2018

Sponsored by the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas, and EIX.org, a non-profit online platform for entrepreneurship education, e-Fest celebrates 25 student teams who submitted the best business pitches in a preliminary online competition. At e-Fest in April (Minneapolis, MN), there will be a Pitch Competition, development workshops, an Innovation Challenge and the featured event: 25 finalist teams vying for places and awards in the Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge. In 2018, two new prizes will recognize entries with the most promising global impact and social impact. Travel and accommodations are provided to finalists.

e-Fest Participant Guide and Event Information

The difficult work of selecting 25 finalists from colleges and universities across North America was undertaken by a panel of nearly 40 judges. We are grateful for the hard work of our judges as well as the many participating student teams and advisors, who are investing into their careers and communities as entrepreneurs.

We are very pleased to announce this year's finalists.

e-Fest 2018 Top 25 Finalists
Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge

LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY TEAM NAME

Boost Linguistics

Drexel University

Ethan Bresnahan, Alex Dodson and Jeff Nowak. Advisor: Chuck Sacco

Artificial intelligence that augments creativity and written communication

BusRight

Northeastern University

Keith Corso, Evan Eddleston and Chris Fischer.  Advisor:  Kimberly Eddleston

Optimizes school bus routes based on the students who are riding the bus

Cradled Systems

University of New Hampshire

Brandon Allen, Ty Kartiganer, Mateusz Mroz and Ahmed Alzawar.  Advisor: Andrew Earle

Captures waste gas from petroleum and chemical processing and converts it into useful products

Creo

University of Northern Iowa

Kyle Coogler and Corey Behrens. Advisor:  Lauri Watje

A web application that streamlines the recruitment process for people with disabilities

Davinci

St Olaf College

Anthony Valiulis, Jack Schoephoester, Johannes Bang and Salvador Alvarez. Advisor: Roberto Zayas

A solution for retailers to automatically track inventory on hooks and racks within the stores.

Division 1-On-1 Trainers

University of Virginia

Grant Sirlin and Jared Vishno. Advisor: Alex Zorychta

The first and only web application solution that lets NCAA athletes earn money in an NCAA-compliant manner

ecoText

University of New Hampshire

Joel Nkounkou and Jason Martinez. Advisor:  Ian Grant

An online platform for college students to help them manage how they get their textbooks

ExpressionMed

University of St Thomas

Meghan Sharkus and Jackie Page. Advisor:  Laura Dunham

Customizable decals and stickers to provide ease and personalization of personal diabetes monitoring devices

Fairy Godmother

Susquehanna University

Hannah Gruber, Jennifer Thorsheim and Julia Bodner.  Advisor: Emma Fleck

A taxi service for women by women

Fledglink

Florida Gulf Coast University

Katlyn Sullivan and Tyler Dalbora. Advisor:  Sandra Kauanui

Make graduate school ambitions an integral part of the undergraduate career planning process

Future Forward Foods

George Washington University

Daniel Berg and Alec Ludwig. Advisor: Ravi Ramani

An ultra-natural dessert and alternative to sweets

Infiniti Greens

Binghamton University

Joseph Rigoroso and Brianna Hulbert. Advisor: Sung Kim

An urban farm operating in the heart of downtown Binghamton, NY

Inventive Byte

USC

Ankit Sharma, Chloe Arriaga and Shoshana Arunasalam. Advisor: James Bottom

An AI-powered community for college entrepreneurs to work with engineers, professionals and mentors on their projects

Lifted Roots Vertical Farms

Farmingdale State College

William Turano, Zane Smith and Tal Granot. Advisor: Jing Betty Feng

An indoor hydroponic farm that specializes in herbs and food preparation ingredients

NomadX

Washington and Lee University

Graham Novak and Mourad Berrached. Advisor: Gavin Fox

A global community enabling travel and remote work by supporting a digital lifestyle

Observe

Georgia State University

Lawrence Chen, Harsha Goli, Luis Bock, Diamond Lester and Aaron Via. Advisor: Isabelle Monlouis

Helps college students with career exploration through data insights and digital job shadowing experience

Orindi Ventures

Grand Valley State University

Jordan Vanderham and Jared Seifert. Advisor: Zoe Bruyn

The Orindi Mask enables people to breathe warm, comfortable air in the coldest environments.

Safe In Sound

University of St Thomas

Savannah Hufendick, Cameron Hufendick and Brett Hufendick. Advisor: Laura Dunham

An app and set of earbuds that processes loud sounds [music] and automatically limits amplitude and durations to safe levels

Seiji's Bridge

Portland State University

Alex Dassise and Quincy Brown. Advisor: Abby Chroman

A line of specialized toys with features that support interactivity and communication for people with autism or communication/sensory disorders

Spark

Missouri University of Science & Technology

Edward Koharik, Matthew Healy, Caleb Jett, Lucas Mefford and Edward Kufa. Advisor: Bonnie Bachman

Engineering robotics programs and tools for students to learn at home and outside of the classroom

Speed E-Box

Western Michigan University

Chris Messecar and Blake Agy.  Advisor: Lara Hobson

A replacement for conventional electric outlet boxes that does not require time consuming pre-measurement and cutting of drywall during home and industrial construction

Vers: The Rap Game

Northeastern University

Jerried Walker and Eric Martinez.  Advisor: Kimberly Eddleston

A freestyle rap-based game where the players compete to make the best freestyle rap using a set of template playing cards

Vetiver Solutions Inc.

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Leeore Levenstein, Elizabeth Alonzi and Jesse Abelson. Advisor: Fred Rose

Dedicated to fighting poverty by making sustainable farming practices profitable by promoting the planting of a tall, erosion fighting grass called Vetiver

Wilminvest

University of Delaware

Bryce Fender, Joel Amin and Demetrius Thorn. Advisor: Vince DiFelice

A solution to the issue of vacant and abandoned properties in Wilmington, Delaware that acquires and updates properties and converts them into supported housing and rentals

Zero Barrier

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Evan Wolfenden, Ben Farley and Billy Boutelle. Advisor: Michael Williams

An innovative way to 3D print metal parts