Meet the Finalists for e-Fest 2023

UPDATE: Here is a link to videos of the 25 finalists presenting their ideas for their ventures. 

MINNEAPOLIS, April 3, 2023 -- e-Fest® returns to Minneapolis, MN and the University of St. Thomas, April 27-29 for the 7^th annual undergraduate business competition celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of students from across North America! 

e-Fest® is the premier national business competition for any undergraduate student with an unrelenting entrepreneurial spirit and a great idea for creating positive change in the world. The 3-day event in Minneapolis, MN provides a unique learning experience that helps students build their entrepreneurial skills in critical-thinking, empathy, problem solving, leadership and adaptability. With $215,000 in cash prizes, e-Fest is one of the top cash-prize competitions in the country. The Top 25 Finalist teams vie for cash prizes in four e-Fest competitions: Pitch Slam!, Innovation Challenge, Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge, and Social and Global Impact Awards – including up to $50,000 for the winning team and cash prizes for the runner-up teams. 

For the Top 25 Finalist Teams attending e-Fest, it is much more than just a business pitch competition; e-Fest is real-world training for any high-stakes pitches they will be making in the future. It’s a fast track to turning their ideas into impact and navigating new terrain as an entrepreneur. Teams learn how to overcome common startup challenges through hands-on professional workshops led by seasoned subject matter experts from around the country. Mentors and judges are industry leaders and experienced entrepreneurs with real-world experience who can provide valuable feedback to help teams take their venture to the next level. Students have the opportunity to sharpen their public speaking skills and confidence by pitching their startup in front of a larger audience and judges, which will help them better engage with potential stakeholders like investors, early customers, and business partners down the road. And, e-Fest creates opportunities for intentional networking, so students can build a peer-to-peer network with other young entrepreneurs across the country through hands-on experiences like the Innovation Challenge, which teams up students from other schools to solve a real-life challenge. 

Drumroll please...EIX proudly announces the Top 25 Finalists for e-Fest® 2023! After reviewing 110 submissions from 67 colleges and universities during the preliminary online round, our network of expert judges have selected the Top 25 Finalists. 

2023 e-Fest Top 25 Finalist Teams

(Teams appear in alphabetical order)

4U Medical Designs

Rowan University

4U Medical Designs reduces anxiety & fear for pediatric patients with their patent pending medical device stickers. The medical grade stickers overlay blank portions of medical devices like IV Bags, Feeding Bags, & Syringes with child friendly images that provide conversation starters for the healthcare worker & patient.

Brainable

Loyola Marymount University

Brainable brings nootropics, aka brain supplements, to a younger audience. Our first product BRAINERALL, is the perfect study aid; it helps deliver an instant boost in focus and alertness, while also helping to protect against long-term cognitive decline.

Breaking Crucial Boundaries, LLC

Western Michigan University

Breaking Crucial Boundaries is a free entertainment and dating app that aims to assist both the LGBT+ Community and Allies' journey to achieving personal healing and happiness.

Chemco

University of St. Thomas

Chemco reclaims raw materials from lithium-ion batteries in an effective and sustainable manner.

DioTeX Diagnostics

Johns Hopkins University

DioTeX Diagnostics is developing a rapid point-of-care diagnostics tool for internal hemorrhage. Leveraging technology similar to the well-known at-home rapid antigen tests for COVID-19, our mission is to save lives by reducing the training barrier for internal hemorrhage diagnostics.

Elythea

Brown University

Elythea is a machine learning-driven platform that obstetricians use to detect adverse outcomes in pregnant mothers.

Epiblock

University of St. Thomas

Epiblock is a mouth-inserted medical device that restricts blood flow to the nasal cavity and surrounding area. Its primary function is similar to a tourniquet for the nose, stopping nosebleeds at the source, however it also aids in a wide variety of surgical and cosmetic facial procedures.

Evendtor

Beloit College

Have Events Planned to Benefit You.  Simple, Fast, and Easy!

FullFlock

University of Pennsylvania

FullFlock aims to prevent avian flu outbreaks among poultry: a problem that has led to more than 58 million dead birds and incurred more than $3 billion in losses during the ongoing outbreak. We will do so through a novel chicken feed harnessing a potent, plant-based, and cost-efficient antiviral protein.

Greenscapes

University of Minnesota-Crookston

Greenscapes is bringing sustainability to the golf industry by converting recycled glass into sand for course bunkers and topdressing maintenance. As the world's first and only alternative to natural sand, we are pioneering a new use for America's unused plethora of recyclable glass and helping to alleviate our global sand shortage.

Just Pause

Grove City College

Just Pause is a companion app for individuals living with bipolar disorder. Just Pause monitors individuals' spending and other signs of manic episodes. When it recognizes a manic episode JP will text an accountability partner that you have designated while also freezing accounts for extra protection.

Lectra

West Chester University

Lectra brings a disruptive innovation to the physical rehabilitation market, helping people pave their own path to recovery, through wireless electrotherapy, and AI powered analytics.

Menta

Loyola Marymount University

Menta is an educational program for teachers and Japanese school children, offering effective and long-term knowledge about the importance of mental health. We have the goal of implementing a cultural shift in decreasing the stigma surrounding mental health in Japan.

Mitey Bites

State University of New York at Plattsburgh

Mitey Bites is a snack food company that incorporates cricket powder into products for delicious, nutritious, sustainable snacks which are good for you and the planet.

NextMed

University of British Columbia

In North America, healthcare facilities produce 29lb of waste per patient per day. NextMed aims to tackle this problem by developing reusable IV Bags and a process to clean, sterilize, and refill the bags creating a circular economy for the bags and in turn reduce both the CO2 emissions and the plastic waste generated by the IV Bag industry.

NIX Labs LLC

Florida Gulf Coast University

NIX is a nicotine cessation device that assists users with quitting nicotine in a familiar, controlled manner. Our product provides a unique and effective solution to nicotine addiction, promoting healthier lifestyle choices and greater overall well-being.

Omnis

Auburn University

OMNIS is a peer-to-peer (P2P) social platform that allows individuals to borrow money through their community with short-term, micro-loans that meet their immediate needs, the very same community that raised our diverse set of founders.

OnPoint Ventilation

Johns Hopkins University

OnPoint Ventilation is poised to revolutionize cardiothoracic surgery with a solution that provides complete lung separation and easy insertion to enable one-lung ventilation for all patients, allowing both patients and clinicians to breathe easy.

ParaWave

Ohio State University

ParaWave is engineering drone technology to help first responders save lives. Our drones can be swiftly deployed, making ParaWave an invaluable tool for any emergency response teams coordinating disaster relief and search and rescue operations. With real-time aerial imagery from ParaWave's full suite of products, first responders can easily assess any emergency.

Rarities Market

University of Wisconsin – Whitewater

RaritiesMarket is a database and marketplace for the rare coin industry. RaritiesMarket seeks to bring efficient software solutions to fragmented collectibles solutions.

ReadyCloth

Florida Gulf Coast University

The microfiber cloth that fits in your wallet.

Recreated by Rey

University of Northern Iowa

Recreated by Rey is a sustainable clothing brand that upcycles and reworks materials to create one-of-a-kind leisure wear.  Their mission is to reduce textile waste and promote eco-friendly fashion by giving new life to pre-existing materials.

Smart Dorm

University of Montana

Smart Dorm provides innovative hardware and software solutions to improve energy efficiency and tenant interaction in managed living facilities.

Sprout to Life Microgreens

California State University Sacramento

Sprout to Life Microgreens is a direct to community farm that offers quick home deliveries of organic microgreens. Unlike our competitors, we offer age-related educational kits to build healthy and educated communities.

Tadpole

Northeastern University

Tadpole aims to reshape education in America by making it possible for every child to get 1-to-1 attention from an instructor or tutor. We give schools and tutoring organizations the infrastructure they need to build and operate tutoring programs at scale, collect data-driven insights about student performance, and improve testing outcomes.

Stay Tuned, and Connect with Us!

The 2023 e-Fest Bound student teams are some of the best developed business plans we’ve seen to date. What business venture will be crowned The Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge Award winner this year? Stay tuned and follow us on social media to learn more about the Top 25 Finalists and their e-Fest Bound journey!

Connect with e-Fest:    

LinkedIn:  e-fest Home of The Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge Link      

Instagram: efest_biz Link 

e-Fest is 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.

Media Contact & Inquiries: [email protected]