Now in its 31st year, the New Venture Championship (NVC) returned to an in-person format this year, holding its final round of competition on April 29-30 at the University of Oregon's Portland, Oregon, facility.
The eight teams selected as this year's semifinalists were selected from a large pool of applicants hailing from across the United States and Canada.
After two days of competition, the Lundquist College of Business is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 New Venture Championship.
2022 New Venture Champion and Reinmuth Cup Winner
The 2022 New Venture Champion is KLAW Industries from the State University of New York at Binghamton. They will receive $20,000 to launch their venture. KLAW Industries processes glass sent to landfills into Pantheon™, a cement replacement for concrete which allows ready-mix concrete plants to increase their product's compressive strength while decreasing embodied carbon.
Second Place
LymphaSense from Johns Hopkins University placed second and will receive $10,000 for their endeavor. LymphaSense’s wearable monitor is revolutionizing the way that breast cancer patients are monitored for signs of lymphedema, a debilitating condition that can occur after breast cancer surgery. Used in clinics and prescribed by cancer surgeons and oncologists for at-home screening, LymphaSense seeks to improve the lives of breast cancer survivors by enabling patients to monitor their body’s reaction to cancer treatment.
Runners Up
In addition to the grand prizes, Beam Commerce from the University of Waterloo and Peko Produce from McGill University each received $2,500 as finalist runners up. Beam Commerce builds next generation software for independent eCommerce stores. Its apps help with upselling, store design, order tracking, and more. Peko Produce is on a mission to fight food waste and promote access to affordable, healthy food by delivering “imperfect” or surplus fruits and vegetables to consumers at up to 40% off grocery prices.
Best Written Business Plan
Peko Produce from McGill University was presented with the award for best written business plan and $1,500.
Elevator Pitch Award
LymphaSense from Johns Hopkins University placed was awarded the elevator pitch award and $1,500 for their performance during the elevator pitch session.
Sustainability Award, Presented by Riff Beverages
KLAW Industries from the State University of New York at Binghamton took home the sustainability award and accompanying $2,000. The sustainability round required teams to present social and environmental sustainability components of their ventures. Judges evaluated each team based on its venture’s potential positive impact and its viability to launch and grow.
On behalf of the participants, faculty advisors, and staff of the 2022 New Venture Championship, we would like to express a heartfelt thank you to all of our sponsors and volunteer judges. Without you, NVC truly would not be possible, and we are tremendously grateful for your support.
We also extend our thanks and congratulations to all of the 16 teams who joined the competition this year, as well as all of those who applied. Their innovative ideas and drive to make the world a better place will take them far.
If you missed out on watching the week's activities live, each event is available for viewing on the UOBusiness YouTube channel.
Competitors
The following teams competed in the the 2022 New Venture Championships.
Semifinalist Teams
Harvard University
Sellwithotto, Inc.
Sellwithotto is a business-to-business software-as-a-service product that helps sales teams send more personalized messages. Using natural language processing algorithms to map cold outreach data to find points of overlap, Sellwithotto serves content that matters to both sender and receiver, resulting in a better starting point for a conversation.
Johns Hopkins University
LymphaSense
LymphaSense’s wearable monitor is revolutionizing the way that breast cancer patients are monitored for signs of lymphedema, a debilitating condition that can occur after breast cancer surgery. Used in clinics and prescribed by cancer surgeons and oncologists for at-home screening, LymphaSense seeks to improve the lives of breast cancer survivors by enabling patients to monitor their body’s reaction to cancer treatment.
McGill University
Peko Produce
Peko Produce is on a mission to fight food waste and promote access to affordable, healthy food by delivering “imperfect” or surplus fruits and vegetables to consumers at up to 40% off grocery prices.
State University of New York at Binghamton
KLAW Industries
KLAW Industries processes glass sent to landfills into Pantheon™, a cement replacement for concrete which allows ready-mix concrete plants to increase their product's compressive strength while decreasing embodied carbon.
University of Arkansas
Horizon Health Solutions, LLC
Horizon Health Solutions, LLC aims to increase access to care by empowering independent and health system pharmacies. Horizon focuses on developing and commercializing innovative solutions to serve health system and independent retail pharmacies, the first of which is a software-as-a-service product that improves pharmacy margins, allowing pharmacies to focus on their patients.
University of Oregon
PowHER PlayHER
PowHER PlayHER seeks to amplify the voices and increase the visibility of collegiate women in sports, who are currently often overshadowed by male talent and not afforded similar opportunities. Its customizable and easy-to-use digital home for female athletes aims to put story-telling power in their hands and increase the speed and agility of name, image, and likeness deals.
University of Waterloo
Beam Commerce Inc.
Beam Commerce builds next generation software for independent eCommerce stores. Its apps help with upselling, store design, order tracking, and more. Beam Commerce has generated more than 35 million dollars for its more than 6000 merchants.
Washington University in St. Louis
Speak Information Technologies
Speak Information Technologies, or Speak IT, specializes in voice-enabled assistance tools for healthcare providers. Its speech-to-action technology goes beyond industry standard speech-to-text automation, allowing healthcare providers to automate click-intensive processes with their voice, leading to unparalleled workflow efficiency in the electronic health record. Ultimately, Speak IT aims to reduce physician burnout and positively impact patient care
Group Round Teams
In addition to the eight teams who progressed to the semifinal round, the following eight teams were selected during the initial qualifying round to participate in the virtual group round.
Duke University and University of Southern California
Sparc
Sparc is a software-as-a-service that connects college students and recent graduates to employers for recruiting events and career opportunities. Employers leverage Sparc for talent sourcing and engagement, HR solutions, and event management. College students use Sparc for career insight, job placement, and the ability to earn money at their convenience through paid tutoring engagements with high school students.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Empallo
Empallo uses AI to revolutionize the fight against heart failure. As the leading cause of hospitalization in the U.S., heart failure costs the healthcare system $12 billion dollars in hospital stays annually. Furthermore, 20% of heart failure patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. By identifying risky patients and enabling timely interventions, Empallo improves patient outcomes and saves costs for both providers and payers.
Oklahoma State University
Titan Charts
Titan Charts is a HIPAA-secure, cloud-native workflow solution that leverages the latest advances in AI and data extraction techniques in order to automate physician referrals. Specialty physicians lose approximately 15% of referred patients due to slow and inefficient processing. Titan Charts’ software aims to solve this problem by reading, organizing, and transferring all important medical and patient information directly into the clinic’s electronic medical record system.
Quinnipiac University
ProsperOn
ProsperOn is a financial technology startup on a mission to reduce financially triggered stress and anxiety among young adults. Its web application is based on science from cognitive behavioral therapy and goal-setting theory, enabling users to pursue their definition of financial success. Using a combination of open banking and open source blockchain technology, ProsperOn empowers users to go out, grasp success, and prosper on.
University of Manitoba
My Student Wellbeing
My Student Wellbeing strives to be a valuable resource for post-secondary students to learn about their mental health and access professional mental health therapists who accept student insurance for confidential online one-to-one counseling.
University of New Mexico
EasyFlo
EasyFlo is an ecofriendly baby bottle that eliminates the hassle and waste of assembling a baby bottle on the go.
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
FutrDoc
FutrDoc is an easy-to-use web and mobile platform that provides pre-health students with tools to track, manage, and report their admission-focused extracurricular activities (clinical shadowing, research, and community service). Its platform allows students to demonstrate real-world experience, growth, and professional development through accurate tracking. Additionally, FutrDoc’s one-click validation process ensures the integrity of students’ reported hours.
Western University
Ikigai
Ikigai is a business-to-consumer education technology solution that intends to disrupt and radically transform the high school career counselling space through a holistic, experiential, and integrated model of learning. It empowers high school students in North America to identify strategic career options based on their interests, personality traits, industry inclination, and aptitude, and equips them with the tools to get accepted into a post-secondary program of their choice.
The Lundquist College of Business thanks the many teams and universities that participated in the initial qualifying round.