eFest Slam Pitch Competition 2nd Place

MINNEAPOLIS -- e-Fest 2024 came to an exciting conclusion on Saturday, April 20, with an amazing Championship Round judged by top business and entrepreneurship professionals: Lisa Shannon from Allina Health, Ryan Kruizenga from Arthur Ventures, Damian Novak, serial entrepreneur, Alex Bangs from Allevo Advisors, Luke Motschenbacher from Best Buy Inc, Hany Nada from Acme Capital, Michele Henry from FACE FOUNDRI  (learn more about the judges here). These judges had the difficult task of determining which team’s business venture would take home the Champions title and $50,000 grand prize!

The competition started back in February, as students nationwide submitted their business ventures for the online round. A talented nationwide community of faculty, entrepreneurs, and business leaders sifted through 150 submissions from 79 colleges and universities across North America to select the 25 teams advancing to the finals.

The finalist teams arrived in Minneapolis on Thursday, April 18, to compete in three days of business competitions and events designed to inspire these young entrepreneurs to follow their passions. After an inspiring keynote from Best Buy Founder and retired CEO Dick Schulze -- whose foundation supports e-Fest --  teams competed in the "Pitch Slam!," the first of four competitions at the event. In total, $215,000 in non-dilutive cash funds were awarded to student entrepreneurs.

e-Fest and the Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge are about energizing the entrepreneurial spirit of our rising generation of young leaders. It is about encouraging students to explore their potential, search out new opportunities and use the skills and knowledge they have acquired to make a difference in the world. Embark on a journey through the vibrant moments of e-Fest 2024 with our heartfelt highlight and thank you video. Join us in celebrating the passion, innovation, and camaraderie that made this event an unforgettable experience for all involved.

SCHULZE ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHALLENGE

Each of the Top 25 teams (learn more about the teams here) pitches their 15-minute business plan to a panel of esteemed judges.  The top teams from the finals round move on to compete to a new panel of judges in the championship round. From this round the top teams win up to $50,000 in undiluted cash funds for their venture.

$50,000 Grand Champion:

MabLab from Harvard University: Skye Lam and Vienna Sparks

Advisor: Paul Bottino

$30,000 Runner Up:

Nivoso from University of Minnesota: Gogi Gudzhedzhiani and Max Minakov

Advisor: John Stavig

$20,000 3rd Place:

Janey Health from Loyola Marymount University: Alexander Choi, Brendan Conn, and Nikola Stajszczak

Advisor: David Choi

$15,000 4th Place:

Fetal Therapy Technologies from Johns Hopkins University: Eric McAlexander and Selena Shirkin

Advisor: Sephora Saint-Armand

$10,000 5th Place:

Glaucova from Florida Atlantic University: Rachel Kavalakatt and Nicholas Moy

Advisor: Kevin Cox and Patch Paczkowski

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

$5,000 GLOBAL IMPACT AWARD: A venture with a global impact demonstrates that their business venture has global reach and the ability to be competitive in an international market.

MabLab from Harvard University: Skye Lam and Vienna Sparks

Advisor: Paul Bottino

$5,000 SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD: A venture with a strong social impact shows that their business venture can address a significant and critical social problem

Fetal Therapy Technologies from Johns Hopkins University: Eric McAlexander and Selena Shirkin

Advisor: Sephora Saint-Armand

$5,000 READY FOR MARKET AWARD: The Ready for Market Award celebrates a business venture that is closest to being a viable business in the market.

Paradigm Robotics from University of Texas at Austin: Krishnan Ram and Siddharth Thakur

Advisor: Madison Khamooshi

PITCH SLAM!

The Finalist Teams arrived at The University of St. Thomas on Thursday April 18th and kicked off the weekend with the Pitch Slam! No slides, no props, no videos, just a microphone and 90-seconds to pitch their business ventures. Dick Schulze was in attendance and able to hear the business pitches and help decide the winners.

1st Place - $10,000:

Yanie Eyewear from Georgia State University: Tatyana Langford and Claude David Mbemba

Advisor: Lyshandra Bennett and Isabelle, Monlouis

2nd Place - $5,000:

Fetal Therapy Technologies from Johns Hopkins University: Eric McAlexander and Selena Shirkin

Advisor: Sephora Saint-Armand

3rd Place - $2,500:

Glaucova from Florida Atlantic University: Rachel Kavalakatt and Nicholas Moy

Advisor: Kevin Cox and Patch Paczkowski