Meet Five Past Winners of the Stumberg Competition

在澳门金沙线上赌博官网 's, Louis H. Stumberg新创企业竞赛, students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines get a chance to pitch their solutions  for a better future.

Whether the idea is as big as a new health care delivery system, 或者像一包清洁口腔的口香糖那么小, Tigers have launched dozens of companies through this annual competition, 在每个春天举行, 夏天, 和秋天. 

After pitching their ideas to a panel of accomplished judges in the spring, 少数入围者的奖金为5美元,000美元的种子基金, secure a spot in the 夏天 accelerator program with a 夏天 stipend, 并晋级10月的决赛, 25美元,000美元的大奖岌岌可危.

2021年种子轮即将到来, let’s look back at how past Stumberg participants impressed the judges.

蓝宝石:2020

22岁的塔拉·卢扬和20岁的扎卡里·泰勒

蓝宝石 is a water bottle lid that tracks water consumption automatically and connects wirelessly to devices such as phones and smartwatches. 

Lujan, 澳门金沙线上赌博官网足球队的学生运动员, 最初提出了这个概念, but “I thought we’d have to hire out engineering and software skills,卢扬说.  But meeting Taylor, an engineering major at 澳门金沙线上赌博官网, proved to be a perfect fit for the startup.

该产品最初是一个智能瓶子, 泰勒说, 但我们开始思考, 为什么要做一整瓶? 我们可以成为第一个智能盖子.” 

“If someone has that shared sense of entrepreneurial spirit—not everyone just wakes up and says ‘I’m starting a business today, let’s take a risk’—if you find a partner like that, they’re going to be constantly checking in on you, 推动你, 支持你,卢扬说. “这就是我喜欢的澳门金沙线上赌博官网的环境.”

LuxTurn: 2019

21届的鲍比·马吉和21届的克里斯·斯图尔特

LuxTurn is a projected turn signal for motorcyclists that flashes a powerful LED light onto an adjacent lane. 

玛吉和斯图尔特, 都是澳门金沙线上赌博官网橄榄球队的队友, focused their creative drive on solving a major challenge to motorcycle safety. “Having a projected turn signal, that’s something that’s never been done before,麦吉说。. “We’re hoping it will catch people’s eyes, and maybe realize there’s a motorcyclist right there.” 

“这是一个价值80亿美元的产业，”斯图尔特补充道. 

斯图尔特和麦吉都不是工程师, so “going through all that prototyping was a big challenge for us,麦吉说。. “Chris and I had to go through and teach ourselves how to use softwares, how to design and 3D print.”

“We didn’t even have to leave campus for the most part,” Stewart adds. “当我们不得不离开的时候, 澳门金沙线上赌博官网 had the resources and connections that we could use, 整个过程相当顺利.”

StorySpread: 2019

Chikanmah Ibeh ' 22

Storyspread is a platform aimed at giving children ages 5-15 the ability to create digital stories and comics, 不管他们的绘画能力如何. 用户可以创建头像, 创造自己的场景和背景, and eventually receive ad revenue if their work receives a certain amount of traffic.

“我从七年级就有了这个想法, so it’s been a process of waiting for the right moment to act on it,我说. “And I feel like 澳门金沙线上赌博官网 has given me the right moment to act on it，通过 entrepreneurship program and through Stumberg.”

这个软件, Ibeh说, aids in reading-writing development in line with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards.

作为一名作家, 你的故事对你来说很私人, especially because you grow up with these same stories, waiting for the opportunity to tell these stories to the world,我说. “Visual storytelling is the best way to tell your story.”

速溶咖啡:2018年

Jacob Hurrell-Zitelman 20和Selena Davila 21

快速喝 专业冷萃咖啡是创业公司吗, 他们自己酿造, 制造业, 和装瓶厂就在圣安东尼奥. Hurrell-Zitelman started the business as a first-year, teaching himself how to brew and bottle specialty coffee. 

“Not every company wants their employees chugging energy drinks,” Hurrell-Zitelman says. “我们把快速喝包装成一个更安全的产品, healthier alternative—and cold brew coffee is the movement behind that.”

Hurrell-Zitelman and Davila raised money by selling coffee out of their own backpacks. 快速喝 soon became a campus sensation at 澳门金沙线上赌博官网. “每周都有人买我的产品, 那一刻我说, “我能做到,’”Hurrell-Zitelman说. “人们喜欢我做的东西.”

通过斯坦伯格过程, Hurrell-Zitelman says “I took complete ownership of my company, 重组我们的员工, 为我们的扩张做准备. You can’t just learn entrepreneurship in the classroom—you have to be out in the field, 试着开始自己的事业.”

PATCH Technologies: 2018

安德鲁·阿特克21岁和加文·布坎南20岁

补丁技术 拥有专利, smart pill cap that promotes safety and accountability within case studies through specialty pharmacies, 它还运行着PatchRx, an app that helps individuals remember to take their medications and allows friends and family members to participate in their health.

“PATCH is basically where a gumball machine meets the internet,布坎南说. “我们正在将医学与实时数据结合起来.”

Originally envisioned as a way to prevent opioid overdoses, the Stumberg Competition prompted Aertker and Buchanan to pivot PATCH to a more niche approach of working with clinical trials. 澳门金沙线上赌博官网’s high-tech resources also gave them a chance to build their product from scratch.

“We were down at the 3D printer in Academic Technology for months on end, 我们大概花了1,000小时,布坎南说. 

“We’re just excited about what we’re doing,” Aertker says. “We feel this is of great need to the clinical trial industry.”