Third annual IE Challenge awards cash for eight business plans

The winners of the third annual University of Toledo IE Challenge Business Plan Competition were announced on Tuesday, December 4 in the PNC Entreprenuership Lab in the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement in the College of Business and Innovation.

“We congratulate all 26 entrants for the extremely high quality proposals they submitted,” noted Richard Stansley, Jr., UT Innovation Enterprises. “These technologically innovative ideas clearly demonstrate creative thinking within the UT campus, which is exactly what this competition strives to foster. We are pleased to see the IE Challenge Business Plan competition, now in its third year, continue to become a critical step in developing an innovation system that includes the proper infrastructure and business tools to foster the creation of legitimate new products and services.”

“We believe the carefully conceived business ideas which won this year’s competition form a solid foundation on which these entrepreneurs can build successful businesses,” said Dr. Sonny Ariss, UT College of Business and Innovation (COBI) said. “The College of Business and Innovation is pleased to have coordinated judging of these entries and stands ready to offer guidance to help these teams emerge beyond the University into the community. We want to see these ideas and business plans effectively implemented, creating jobs and enhancing the economic growth of the region.”

The winning proposals, the entrant’s name and a brief description of the winning entries are:

First Place Winner ($10,000) is Slide Off Hangers (Kyle Wasserman and Kyle Keiser) - A unique hanger design that minimizes damage or stretching when removing shirts.  

Second Place Winner ($5,000) is Heart Pacing Wire (Mohammad Elahinia) – A minimally invasive nitinol temporary epicardial pacing wire used in the removal of heart sutures.

PNC Bank Award ($2,000) is LabelED (Travis Gerrard) – An application study tool that enables students and faculty to interact with images via labeling and attaching notes and audio.

Honorable Mention ($500)

·         KLOAK Industries (Kelsie Moeller, Lorraine Walters, Oreanna Thomas, Alton Phillips and Kelsey Ranley) – A comprehensive and interactive pharmaceutical database application that makes identifying medications easy through photo recognition.

·         FI-EMF Anti-Fouling Technology (Dong-Shik Kim) – An innovative approach to the prevention of bio-fouling on solid surfaces using natural anti-fouling material.

·         Behavior Therapy App (Cathy Shaffer) – A personal software application (PSA) designed to assist patients in psychology counseling relative to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

·         Genius Student Planner (John Doncaster) – An organizational program that enables students to more effectively manage their daily activities.

·         MyTripPic (Josh Baltzell, Purnaansh Gunaicha and Scott Stocker) – A business to connect people on vacation with local professional photographers to capture their photos in once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Entries for the third IE Challenge Business Plan Competition were due in October. Finalists made an oral presentation about their businesses to a panel of judges on November 3. Prize money is awarded to the newly formed business entity, not to the individuals.

Furthermore, winners of the first Northwest Ohio Innovation Challenge were also announced on December 4.  Sponsored by INCENU, Rocket Ventures and Ohio’s IT Alliance, and in conjunction with the UT College of Business and Innovation, it was open to individuals and businesses throughout Northwest Ohio. The winners were:

First place ($5,000) PhotoTwine (Aaron Harwell and Jon Hawker) – A mobile application and easy-to-use photo stand for weddings and other events to share pictures and albums in real time.

Second place ($3,000) Bordo Tasters Tablet (Nicholas Kubiak and Lindsey Danforth) – An ergonomically designed board that allows users to carry a stemmed wine glass and a notebook simultaneously.

Third place ($2,000) Rxpectations (Geoffrey Mospan, Valerie Householder, Cindy Puffer and Rachel Rocha) – A medication therapy management (MTM) service that will improve the way medications are used.