2022 Monfort College of Business Entrepreneurial Challenge Winners Announced

The University of Northern Colorado's Monfort College of Business has announced the winners of the 2022 Entrepreneurial Challenge. After making improvements to their business plans based on judges’ feedback in the semifinals, five Open Division participants and five Collegiate Division participants presented their pitches in the finals on Mar. 9

The following are winners for the Open Division:

• First place ($11,000): GelSana Therapeutics

  GelSana Therapeutics is a Colorado-based biomaterials company developing new products to heal wounds, particularly chronic wounds. GelSana Therapeutics uses proprietary wound healing hydrogels that help heal tissue significantly faster and without the downsides of today’s dressings. Their strategy is to develop this superior line of wound dressings, introducing their first product under a medical device classification. Future generations of GelSana products can include drugs which are released over time, as these hydrogels have a demonstrated ability to continuously deliver therapeutics, and we have demonstrated in animal studies that diabetic wound healing time is cut by 1/2 with drug-laden hydrogels.

  

• Second place ($9,000): Slick Tools

  The Solar industry has developed rapidly in the last decade, but installers are still using generic construction tools for their projects. Slick Tools is developing specialty tools for solar professionals to provide them with the right tools for the trade. Currently, they are the industry leading expert in Animal Guard, focusing on residential solar, but are planning to expand into all three solar sectors (residential, utility, commercial) in the future.

  
• Third place ($5,000): RD Flows

  RD Flows is creating a marketplace to connect academic institutions with businesses looking to outsource their research and development. RD Flows looks to help standardize academic research and develop a pipeline connecting businesses in need of research equipment with underutilized university lab equipment. Standardized research pipelines let businesses leverage a network of university assets, conducting their research and ensuring consistency in results, regardless of a multitude of variables.

  

The following are winners for the Collegiate Division:

• First place ($10,000): Submission Nutrition

  Submission Nutrition provides organic, all natural, nutrient-dense foods, snacks and supplements designed to help fuel combat athletes. Currently, we offer five delicious flavors of overnight oatmeal. We will expand into nutrition bars, granola, trail mixes, cooking spices and all natural super food based supplements.

  

  Above: Aims student Henry Alvizo with Dallas Everhart, the
  Entrepreneurial Challenge Director

• Second place ($8,000): Blue Path

  Blue Path is a phone application that connects students with the campus police department when walking on campus. A student would open the Blue Path app and choose the on-campus location they were heading to. The app would connect the student to the university police to be monitored on their walk. The police would be able to track the student’s location and velocity changes on the app.

  

  Above: UNC student Piper Kruchoski with Dallas Everhart, the Entrepreneurial Challenge Director

• Third place ($3,000): Audition Advocate

  Audition Advocates provides free college audition coaching services to students in the Denver-Metro area who are BIPOC students from underfunded areas or students from low income families. Our students would have sponsors who would help fund their professional coaching and mentoring sessions as well as help aid the fees of auditions and applications.

  

  Above: UNC student Peyton Mazza with Dallas Everhart, the
  Entrepreneurial Challenge Director

• Fourth place tie ($2,000): Eclecticism

  Eclecticism is truly an organization built by the community. Its aim is to provide a more sustainable and affordable alternative to traditional means of clothing in an attempt to reduce global waste. What sets Eclecticism apart from other clothing companies is each time an item is purchased, 50% of the money from all purchases go toward an organization that helps repair the environment.

  

  UNC student Kennedy Dechant with Dallas Everhart, the
  Entrepreneurial Challenge Director

• Fourth place tie ($2,000): Your Pianist

  The restrictions imposed by the current pandemic were huge. In music, for instance, they impacted rehearsals, lessons, recitals and many other kinds of music making. Therefore, this idea aims to provide piano lessons and piano accompaniment to music students through a subscription service.

  

  Above: from the left, UNC student Kennedy Dechant, UNC student Helber Fernandes Ribeiro and Dallas Everhart, the
  Entrepreneurial Challenge Director

The Entrepreneurial Challenge is an annual startup venture competition hosted by the Monfort College of Business for the enrichment of student experiential learning at UNC. Learn more about the Entrepreneurial Challenge at https://mcb.unco.edu/e-challenge/.

Watch the Entrepreneurial Challenge streamed live on March 9, 2022 below:

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