Last week, 10 founders took the stage to pitch their startups in the Pitch Dingman Semifinal Competition. At the end of the competition, only five were selected to move onto the final round in February where $30,000 in cash prizes will be awarded. The semifinalists included a mix of undergraduate and graduate students who are spending much of their college experience building a business. Startups ranged from a virtual reality classroom and a bitters company to a web platform connecting artists and a personal chef service. Each semifinalist provided a lightning fast 3-minute pitch followed a grueling 3-minute Q&A from judges. Before the finalists were announced, the audince choice voted for their top startup. The award went to Uboard founded by undergraduate student Natalie Urban.
Register to attend the competition and watch the following startup founders compete:
Embitterment
Founder: Russell Garing
Embitterment is a DC-based cocktail bitters company that produces high-quality, handcrafted aromatic products designed for both serious mixologists and casual, at-home bartenders.
ICOW
Founder: Jonathan Kau
ICOW is democratizing higher education applications for international students. Our first product is a TurboTax-like web application that guides Chinese students through the process of writing resumes, researching universities, and writing essays.
Uboard
Founder: Natalie Urban
You’re a college student doing big things on little sleep. At uBoard, we are working to make your night more comfortable so that your day is more productive.
VentureStorm
Co-Founders: Tyler Denk ’16; Taylor Johnson ’16; and Tommy Johnson ‘16
Have you ever had a great idea for a website or mobile application, but lacked the technical skills to bring it to life? VentureStorm connects aspiring student entrepreneurs to talented student developers locally on their campus.
WeCook
Founder: Ryan Pillai
WeCook enables anyone to have a personal chef to do their everyday cooking and grocery shopping anytime, cost effectively.
The other five semifinalists did not leave empty handed. All 10 semifinalists were awarded a $250 grant to continue work on their business. The final round of competition is set for Tuesday, February 16 at 6 p.m. in Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union. Each founder will provide a 6-minute venture pitch including a product/service demo. Attendees will have an opportunity to text-to-vote for their favorite startup. Judges will be announced in January. Check out the Pitch Dingman Competition web site for more information.
[…] process by breaking it up into three stages: Idea Shell, Hatch and Terp Startup. At the recent Pitch Dingman Semifinal Competition, 10 students from the Idea Shell stage were awarded $500 seed grants provided by Capital One. […]