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By Entrepreneurship, Event, Innovation, People, Rochester, Science

Forbes Entrepreneurial Competition Semifinal Winners Announced

On May 9, the 2024 Forbes Entrepreneurial Competition held its semifinals via Zoom. Since 1989, the Forbes Entrepreneurial Competition has sought to bring together student entrepreneurial teams, and give them the opportunity to pitch their ideas for prize money to invest in their respective businesses. Each team went through an extensive application process, tasked with submitting a business idea that included an overview of their company, their target market, their value proposition, and a market analysis.

Each team had 6 minutes to pitch their business idea, and 8 minutes to answer questions from a panel of judges. The judges were; Ibrahim Mohammad, a lecturer in mechanical engineering at UR and co-founder of Meliora Homes; Duncan Moore, a professor of Optical Engineering and Business Administration, and former Vice Provost of Entrepreneurship at UR; and Mark Rider, the VanArsdale Chair of Entrepreneurship at SUNY Geneseo and CEO of Accent Growth.

In first place came Formly, with members Tamuda Chimhanda ‘26Samuel Henderson ‘25Geneva Hinkson ‘24 (T5), and Nathaniel Angafor ‘25. In second place came FoodieBox, with members Lam Nguyen ‘24Angelica Reyfer ‘25Kevin Tusiime ‘24, and Rebecca Zapiach ‘24. In third place came HeartfulAI, with members Krish Jain ‘26Aishi Roychoudhury ‘26Sophia Kaganda ‘24, and Siddharth Narsipur ‘26. A huge thank you to the judges for their time and a huge congratulations to the winning teams!

By Entrepreneurship, Event, Innovation, People, Rochester, Science

SMD Entrepreneurs Hosts Big Ideas in Science and Medicine Pitch Competition

SMD Entrepreneurs is a student-run organization that hosts a variety of entrepreneurial events for undergraduate and graduate UR students, from Q&As, to networking events, to pitch competitions. On Thursday, March 28th, they hosted their third annual Big Ideas in Science and Medicine Pitch Competition, seeking to bring together student teams with innovative ideas for a product, technology, or business and giving them the opportunity to present it to a panel of judges. This year, nine teams participated, each having three minutes to present their ideas with the hope of winning the first-place $1,000 prize.

The judges for this year’s competition were Anthony Franchini PhD, a staff scientist in the Pediatric Medicine department at URMC; Mike Riedlinger, a UR professor and Managing Director, Technology Commercialization at NextCorps; Shafaqat Rahman PhD, a recent UR alumni and Principal Scientist at AGTC; and James Butler PhD, a URMC alumni and current VP of Marketing at Hamamatsu Corporation. In first place came Team W.E.L.D., with members Aveisha Maharaj ’24 (MS CMTI), Judy Monickaraj ’24 (MS CMTI), Jazmin Phommavanh ’24 (MS CMTOI), and Ignacio Rodriguez ’24 (MS TEAM). In second place came Portico Health, with member Alexander McMullen ‘25 (PhD). In third place came VAPGuard, with members Aditya Gunturi ‘28 (M.D. Candidate, URSMD), Aashay Mardikar ’26 (BS), Sudarshan Ramanan ’29 (M.D. Candidate, SKMC), and Mathew Stephen ’30 (M.D. Candidate, URSMD). Congratulations to the winning teams and to everyone who participated!

By Innovation, People, Rochester, Science, Social Entrepreneurship, Technology

Introducing the

Entrepreneur Connector

By Ain CFE Staff

WANTED: [you fill in the rest!]

On a regular basis, the U of R community asks us how to find teammates and fellow innovators. To give everyone a space to contribute, we have created the Entrepreneur Connector: an interactive wall that allows you to share what you need and/or what you are willing to give.

Inspired by the entrepreneurial spaces at universities like Harvard and MIT, our Connector wall serves as a touchstone for those who want to get involved, but may not know how to get started. Jot down your information for a short project or fill out a sheet to seek someone to co-launch your new venture… whatever you are looking for, you can find it on the Connector.

Click around on the picture below to learn more!

Ain Center Entrepreneur Connector Wall
STEP ONE: Navigate through the tunnels or come in through Dewey Hall to visit the wall outside of room 1-211. (Tip: You can also come in through Carol Simon Hall!)
STEP TWO: If you are advertising a position in your startup or posting a want ad, grab a marker and find an empty board. Fill out what you are looking for and be sure to add your contact info.
STEP THREE: Are you hoping to join a team? Check out the listings and snap a photo of any projects you are interested in. If nothing catches your attention, write down your info so others can recruit you for their projects!
STEP FOUR: Postings will stay up for three weeks, unless otherwise asked. Feel free to stop by the Ain Center if you have any questions!

Want to make your mark?

Head over to Dewey Hall, right outside of room 1-211!