Muhlenberg College’s top entrepreneurs competed for prizes recently at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program’s 13th annual Innovation Challenge.
During the challenge, students presented an innovative product or service concept they created, individually or in teams, with the guidance of mentors.
There were seven entrants in this year’s event, which was held April 25.
The winners were:
First place, $1,000: Mission Missing is an app that sends localized alerts about missing children. Created by senior Virginia McCoy Swinehart, it notifies people in nearby neighborhoods about missing children, including runaways. Recipients of the alerts can respond by entering possible sightings and other useful information.
Second place, $500: atSearch is an app that uses artificial intelligence to help injured athletes find sport-specific physicians. Created by sophomore Nicolino Berlingeri, it prompts users to enter their health insurance information, income level, sport, MRI results, injury report, and how fast they would like to return to competition. The app then searches worldwide for physicians who may be able to meet their need.
Third place, $250: Customzbyabi specializes in designing and manufacturing unique, handmade, and hand-painted footwear. Created by seniors Abe Marzouk and Anna-Maria Haddad, it strives to create a one-stop shop and eliminate the need to over shop for new and unique items.
Audience Choice, $100: Ancestral Sleep Alarm Clock is a smart-alarm system. Created by seniors Raivat Shah, Michael Johnson, and Long Nguyen, and junior Roy Hsu, it learns from a user’s sleep patterns to create a calm, serene, light-based waking experience that matches the user’s sleep pattern.
“It was great to have such a diverse group of students from across disciplines participating in the Innovation Challenge. This year, we had a really wide range of products and services that students pitched,” said Rita Chesterton, Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program.
Muhlenberg College participates in the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.’s (LVEDC) Entrepreneurship Council, which works to improve the Lehigh Valley’s environment for start-up businesses. The council identifies services that entrepreneurs need and connects them with resources to help grow their businesses.
Mentors for this year’s challenge were Barry Halper of Halper & Associates, faculty member Jean Simonnet, Matt Sommerfield of mts design + manufacture, and alumni Phil Lakin, David Bass-Clark, Jake Gordon, and Gary Salman.
The judges were Lyell Scherline of The Scherline Group, Jay’s Local, and the Jay and Jase Foundation; Jeff Berdahl, a certified public accountant; and Margaret Chase, who works in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.
This year’s event was a joint effort of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program and the Office of Alumni Affairs. It was sponsored by the Jay and Jase Foundation, which provides guidance and financial support to local entrepreneurs and startup companies.
The Innovation Challenge was started in 2010 by Dr. Trish Boyles and then Entrepreneur-in-Residence Simonnet. Since then, more than 200 students have benefited from the program, and more than 130 projects have been presented to a growing audience of students, faculty, and business professionals.