UP students pitch and win! The Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation hosted its annual venture pitch competition, Pilot Venture Challenge, live and in-person on Saturday, April 23, in Dundon-Berchtold Hall. This year thirteen entries competed in the finals.
Students competed in three different tracks: Invention, which highlights creativity, invention, and innovation; Social, which encourages students to use entrepreneurial and business principles to organize, create, and manage a sustainable enterprise that has a positive social impact; and For-Profit.
Students, judges, and guests joined together to hear and see the 10-minute presentations followed by 5 minutes of Q&A by the track judges. All entries were judged by expert panels of alumni and community business leaders. The winners are:
Invention
1st Place: Backus AgriLabs, an automated hydroponic system to increase food production and reduce costs, by DJ Backus ’25.
2nd Place: Hearlix CliP, a device to allow the easy removal of a face mask for people with hearing aids, by Chris Parks ‘23.
Both winners move on to participate in the statewide Invent Oregon Bootcamp and Semi-Finals May 4–7 and hopefully in the Finals on June 23–24 at Rogue Community College in Grants Pass.
Social Venture
1st Place: H.I.R., an online health resource for women that provides educational resources, improves healthcare access, expands awareness of local resources, and provides social support, by Cassidy Otto ’22 and Brooklyn Fahey ’23.
2nd Place: Artivist Care creates installations in clinical settings to humanize healthcare through culturally humble and inclusive artwork, by Jasmine Yee ’24.
3rd Place: Nuova Vita, a sustainable outdoor products company that reuses recycled plastics to produce tents, backpacks, and umbrellas, by Pete Allegro ’22, Emma Chase ’22 and Andrew Douille ’22.
For-Profit Venture
1st Place: Short Society, an online forum cultivating community for fem-identifying fashion lovers under 5-foot 4-inches, by Emma Fuller ’22.
2nd Place: Tasteful Spirits, a spirits subscription service for customers wanting to expand their drinking pallet and understanding of libations from around the world, by Ethan Tubby ’22.
3rd Place: Custom Illumination produces customizable LED-illuminated wall décor, by Benny Braukmann ’22.
For more information contact the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation at franzcenter@up.edu.
About the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation:
The Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation supports all University of Portland students in the development of leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation skills, knowledge, and mindsets. The Franz Center helps students learn how to make ideas happen, create new business models and plans, develop innovative projects, and think outside the box. It has been ranked consistently among the top entrepreneurship programs nationally and is recognized for its outreach to and partnerships with Portland’s business community.