The Volgenau School of Engineering's Laboratory for IT Entrepreneurship (LITE) Pitch IT competition continues to grow and thrive. The 2016 event, which was co-organized by Max Albanese and Mihai Boicu, co-directors of the lab, received a record number of 20 applications, had the largest number of finalists, the highest attendance since its inception, and a larger judging panel than ever before.
"Being selected in the top 10 to give the public presentation makes each of these teams already a winner," said Boicu. "After the competition, students must continue working on their ideas and take them to the next level."
Students majoring in systems engineering, business, marketing, and information technology presented innovative service or product ideas to a panel of judges who represented the university and local companies. The judges evaluated the pitches based on the problem being addressed, potential market size, proposed solution and value proposition for the customer, existing competitors and competitive advantage, business model, marketing and distribution strategy, management team, and use of prize money.
"All teams did an excellent job," said Albanese. "The judges found it very hard to decide which teams were the top three."
When all of the votes were tallied, the winning team of Dane Underwood, Isaac Geisler, Kumar Karra, and Felipe Cardenas walked away with a $1,000 grant. Their idea, "Cable Shield," consists in developing a monitoring system to protect underwater fiber optic cables from damage. These cables transmit 99 percent of international communications. Because companies must rely on costly repairs or replacements, damage to the cables costs them millions of dollars annually.
Other winners included:
Second place:
Biofeedback Active Sensor System (BASS) - A biofeedback active sensor system designed to mitigate the probability of ACL injuries.
Team members: Maribeth Burns, Andrew Tesnow, Sam Miller, and Amr Attyah
Third place:
PickUp - An online dating app with an emphasis on user safety and security.
Team members: Jimi Tele, Walter Mitchell, and Edward Murphy
Popularity award:
Peloton - A mobile app providing bike riders with directions, guidance, and incentives.
Team members: Kristine Mosuela and Jared Keller
Judges from the university and local companies included: Carolyn Klenner,
Intellectual Property & Special Projects Manager, Office of Technology Transfer, George Mason University; Andre Manitius, Interim Chair, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, George Mason University; Carter McClure
Regional Manager, Mason Enterprise Center-Fairfax; David Perkins, Founder & Partner, Hyperspatial; Hadi Rezazad, Chief Executive Officer, Orchid Technologies & Management; Patrick Vandersluis, Chief Executive Officer, HealthRx Corporation
The Laboratory for IT Entrepreneurship offers several opportunities for students to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations, including the Prototype IT and Match IT programs, and can help them apply for external sources of funding. The LITE website has more details.