Published: November 2015
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Aspiring student entrepreneurs took the stage in Gasson 100 on the last Tuesday night of October to present their ideas for new businesses to a panel of four alumni judges with backgrounds in venture capital. An audience of their peers, friends, and faculty (who arrived to find thunder sticks on every chair) provided applause. Fifteen entrepreneurial teams had been pre-selected from among 27 applicants on the basis of video submissions. Each team had 60 seconds to present, as a large digital clock, stage left, counted down. Two minutes were then allotted for questions from the judges, who chose winners in four categories—best overall, best product, best service, and likely social impact—with cash prizes ranging from $200 to $500. A “crowd favorite” award was determined via text messages. The event was sponsored by the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carroll School of Management.
Students (and their ventures), in order of appearance: Elyse Bush ’16 (ModilMe), Chris Jewett ’16 (Pacnote), Anders Bill ’17 (MusicSplitter), Ellie Baer ’16 (Levelas), emcee Eliott Chapuis ’16 (of the student organization Start@Shea), Brianna Beaumont ’16 (Green Tops), Ameet Kallarackal ’18 (Fide), Aakash Garg ’18 (U Start), and Daniel Williams ’16 (Xperii).
Judges, from left: Thomas Jennings ’95, managing director, Summit Partners; Joe Matarese ’90, CEO, Medicus Healthcare Solutions; Rita Rodin ’90, partner in the intellectual property and technology division, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and John Clavin ’84, executive vice president, Merganser Capital Management.